---
title: "RuneScape: Dragonwilds Server Not Showing Up: How to Fix It"
description: "Dragonwilds server missing from the list? Fix version mismatches, case-sensitive world name searches, missing settings and failed startups, in order."
url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/runescape-dragonwilds/server-not-showing-up/"
category: "RuneScape: Dragonwilds"
category_url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/runescape-dragonwilds/"
published: "2026-08-19T11:00:58.325Z"
updated: "2026-08-19T11:22:15.596Z"
source_format: "markdown"
site: "GameServerKings"
---

# RuneScape: Dragonwilds Server Not Showing Up: How to Fix It

Your RuneScape: Dragonwilds server says it is running, but it does not appear when you search for it — and neither you nor your friends can get in. This is the most common Dragonwilds server problem, and it very nearly always has one of five causes.

Work through them in order. The list is ordered by how often each one is actually the answer, not by how technical it sounds.

> [!TIP] Check this first — it is the answer most of the time
> **Did the game update recently?** A server running an older build than your client does not appear in the list at all. Restart the server, which pulls the current build, and try again. That single step resolves the majority of these reports.

## 1. Version mismatch after a game update

**Symptom:** The server was working yesterday. Today it has vanished from search, for everyone. The server itself looks perfectly healthy in the panel.

This is by far the most common cause, and Jagex documents both the symptom and the diagnosis:

> "If you cannot see your Dedicated Server any more, use the logs to ensure that the version it runs matches the one your game does. **This is likely to happen any time an update or hotfix is released.**"

Dragonwilds ships hotfixes frequently — three landed inside 48 hours at the end of July 2026 — and nearly every patch note carries the same instruction: *"Dedicated Servers will need to be restarted to sync updates."*

**The fix:** restart the server. With automatic updates enabled (the default), the restart downloads the current build before launching the game, so the restart *is* the update.

**How to confirm it:**
- The server version is printed at the **top of the server log**.
- Your client version is shown in the **top-left corner** of the game.
- If they differ, that is your answer.

Full detail in [How to update your server](/knowledge-base/runescape-dragonwilds/how-to-update-your-server/). If you would rather not have to notice, put a restart on a schedule — [How to setup Schedules](/knowledge-base/general/how-to-setup-schedules/).

> [!WARNING] Automatic updates turned off will reproduce this forever
> If auto-update has been disabled, restarting will not fix the mismatch, because the server will just start the same old build again. Check that setting before you conclude the restart "did not work" — see [Server settings and startup variables](/knowledge-base/runescape-dragonwilds/server-settings-and-startup-variables/).

## 2. You are searching for the wrong string, or the wrong case

**Symptom:** Nothing comes up, but the server has not been updated recently and the log looks fine.

Two traps here, and both catch people repeatedly.

**Trap one: server name vs world name.** These are separate settings, and only the **world name** is searchable. Jagex's instruction is to *"enter your exact World name"* — searching your Server Name returns nothing, every time.

**Trap two: capitalisation.** Jagex states the search is **case sensitive**. `AshenfallCrew` and `ashenfallcrew` are different searches. So are `Ashenfall Crew` and `AshenfallCrew`.

**The fix:** open your panel, read the **Default World Name** value exactly as it is stored, and search for precisely that — character for character, capital for capital. Copy and paste it into a message to your players rather than typing it from memory.

> [!TIP] The "it works for me but not for them" case
> If you can find the server and your friends cannot, this is usually it — you know the exact spelling and they are guessing at it. Send them the string; do not describe it.

## 3. The world is not the one you think it is

**Symptom:** The search string is definitely right, but the server is still not there.

The server names its world from the **Default World Name** setting **only when it creates a new world**. Jagex describes the startup logic exactly:

> "When a Dedicated Server starts, it loads the latest `.sav` file available in `RSDragonwilds/Saved/Savegames`. If the folder doesn't contain a `.sav` file, the dedicated server will create a default Standard world."

So if a save already exists, the server **loads that save** — under the name the save already carries. Changing the Default World Name setting afterwards does not rename it. Jagex lists this among its own troubleshooting steps: *"please make sure that the world name you searched is the one your server is currently running."*

**The fix:** check the server log to see which world it actually loaded, and search for that name instead. If you want to rename the world properly, see [Worlds, saves and backups](/knowledge-base/runescape-dragonwilds/worlds-saves-and-backups/).

## 4. A required setting is missing or still on its default

**Symptom:** The server never fully starts, or starts and immediately stops, or starts but never appears.

Jagex's own checklist includes *"please make sure the mandatory config variables have been set"*. The values that must be right:

| Setting | Must not be |
|---|---|
| **Owner ID** | The placeholder `PLAYER_ID` |
| **Server Name** | Empty |
| **Default World Name** | Empty |
| **Admin Password** | Empty |

The Owner ID is the one that catches people. Jagex's dedicated-server guide states *"The server will not start without your owner ID."* Jagex separately announced in April 2026 that this requirement *"is becoming optional"*, but has not updated the guide — so set it either way. It is your in-game Player ID, found at the bottom of the game's **Settings** menu.

**The fix:** fill in every required value, save, and restart. Reference: [Server settings and startup variables](/knowledge-base/runescape-dragonwilds/server-settings-and-startup-variables/).

## 5. The server did not actually finish starting

**Symptom:** The panel shows the server as on, but it never became joinable.

"Running" in a panel means the process is alive. It does not mean the game finished loading — and a Dragonwilds server does real work at boot, including checking Steam for updates before the game even launches.

> [!TIP] The one line that proves the server is genuinely up
> Look for **`START SESSION - Success`** in the console output. That is the exact string that marks the server as fully started. If your console has gone quiet without it, the server has not finished coming up, and the reason is above that point in the log.

**The fix:** read the log from the top. Jagex's guidance is the same — *"finally, look at the log - it should tell you how your server is doing."* Give a first boot, or a boot after a large update, several minutes before deciding it has failed.

## Found the server, but cannot join it

Different problem, different causes. If the server appears in the list and joining fails:

- **You are being asked for a password you do not have.** The world password is a separate setting from the admin password. Get the world password from the server owner.
- **You have been banned or kicked.** Bans persist. The owner can lift them — see [Admins, bans and player management](/knowledge-base/runescape-dragonwilds/admins-bans-and-player-management/).
- **The server is full.** Six players is the dedicated-server cap.
- **A general network problem.** Jagex maintains a standard connection-troubleshooting list — restart your router, prefer a wired connection over wi-fi, disable any VPN or proxy, allow Steam through your firewall, and flush your DNS (`ipconfig /flushdns` on Windows). Our general guide covers the server-side half: [Players Can't Connect to My Server](/knowledge-base/general/players-cant-connect/).

> [!NOTE] Steam invites do not work — this is a known Jagex issue
> Jagex lists it explicitly under Known Issues in its dedicated-server guide: *"Inviting a player to your Dedicated Server via Steam Invites doesn't currently connect as intended."* If you have been trying to pull someone in via a Steam invite, that is not your server misbehaving. Have them search the world name on the **Public** tab instead.

## Console and 1.0 questions

If you are reading this around the **15 September 2026** launch, two extra notes:

- A 1.0 update is a very large version bump, so cause #1 above applies with full force. Restart the server after the update lands, before anyone tries to join.
- Jagex has confirmed crossplay at 1.0 but has **not** stated whether console players can join a dedicated server, nor how server discovery works from a console. If a console player cannot find your server after launch, that may not be a fault you can fix. See [Is RuneScape: Dragonwilds crossplay?](/knowledge-base/runescape-dragonwilds/is-runescape-dragonwilds-crossplay/) for exactly what has and has not been confirmed.

## Diagnostic checklist

Run this top to bottom before asking for help — it resolves nearly everything and it makes any remaining problem much easier to diagnose.

1. Has the game patched since the server last restarted? → **Restart the server.**
2. Is auto-update enabled? → It should be.
3. Does the version at the top of the server log match the version in your client's top-left corner?
4. Are you searching the **world** name, not the server name?
5. Is the capitalisation exactly right?
6. Does the log show which world actually loaded, and is that the name you are searching?
7. Are Owner ID, Server Name, World Name and Admin Password all set to real values?
8. Does the console show **`START SESSION - Success`**?
9. Have you waited a few minutes after a fresh boot?

Still stuck after all nine? Collect the server log — Jagex stores it at `RSDragonwilds/Saved/Logs/RSDragonwilds.log`, reachable over [SFTP](/knowledge-base/general/how-to-upload-files-via-sftp/) — and raise a ticket with it attached. The log almost always contains the answer.

## Related

- [Getting started with your RuneScape: Dragonwilds server](/knowledge-base/runescape-dragonwilds/getting-started-with-your-server/)
- [Server settings and startup variables](/knowledge-base/runescape-dragonwilds/server-settings-and-startup-variables/)
- [How to update your server](/knowledge-base/runescape-dragonwilds/how-to-update-your-server/)
- [Worlds, saves and backups](/knowledge-base/runescape-dragonwilds/worlds-saves-and-backups/)