---
title: "RuneScape: Dragonwilds Worlds, Saves and Backups"
description: "Where Dragonwilds saves live, how the server picks which world to load, how to upload an existing world safely, and how to back up before an update."
url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/runescape-dragonwilds/worlds-saves-and-backups/"
category: "RuneScape: Dragonwilds"
category_url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/runescape-dragonwilds/"
published: "2026-08-19T11:00:59.480Z"
updated: "2026-08-19T11:22:15.596Z"
source_format: "markdown"
site: "GameServerKings"
---

# RuneScape: Dragonwilds Worlds, Saves and Backups

Everything your group has built in Ashenfall lives in a single save file on your server. This page covers where that file is, how the server decides which world to load, how to move an existing world onto a server, and how to back it up before you need to.

> [!TIP] The three facts that explain most world problems
> **1.** The server loads the **most recent `.sav` file** it finds in its save folder. **2.** If it finds none, it **creates a new world** named after your Default World Name setting. **3.** Changing that setting later **does not rename an existing world** — the name travels with the save.

## Where saves live

Jagex documents the layout, and it is the same on a hosted server:

| What | Where |
|---|---|
| World saves | `RSDragonwilds/Saved/Savegames` |
| Server log | `RSDragonwilds/Saved/Logs/RSDragonwilds.log` |
| Server config file | `RSDragonwilds/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/DedicatedServer.ini` |
| Your **local** saves (your own PC) | `C:\Users\<your_username>\AppData\Local\RSDragonwilds\Saved\SaveGames` |

You can reach the server-side paths through your panel's file manager or over [SFTP](/knowledge-base/general/how-to-upload-files-via-sftp/).

> [!NOTE] A note on the config path
> Jagex's guide points at `Saved/Config/Linux/`. On our platform the server's configuration lives under `Saved/Config/LinuxServer/`. Either way you should not need to edit it — your panel settings are re-applied to the game on every start and override what is in the file. See [Server settings and startup variables](/knowledge-base/runescape-dragonwilds/server-settings-and-startup-variables/).

## How the server picks a world

Jagex states the rule precisely:

> "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 with the default config.ini values applied."

Two consequences worth internalising:

**The newest file wins.** If you drop a second `.sav` into that folder, the server loads whichever is most recent — not whichever you meant. This is the single most common way people accidentally roll their world back.

**A world's name is baked in.** The Default World Name setting names a world *at the moment the server creates it*. After that, the name lives in the save. Renaming the setting on a server that already has a world changes nothing that players can search for.

> [!WARNING] "My world reset itself"
> It almost certainly did not. Either the save folder was emptied (so the server created a fresh Standard world on the next boot), or a different, newer `.sav` file is present and the server is loading that instead. Check the folder contents and the file timestamps before assuming data loss — and do not start the server again until you have, because another boot can create yet another save.

## Uploading an existing world

Moving a world from your own PC to the server is a file copy — but the **order matters**, and getting it wrong is how people lose things. Jagex's own procedure:

1. **Stop the server.** Not "restart later" — stopped, now. Copying files under a running server is how saves get corrupted.
2. **Back up what is already there.** Copy every file out of the server's `RSDragonwilds/Saved/Savegames` to somewhere safe first, even if you are certain you do not want it.
3. **Empty** `RSDragonwilds/Saved/Savegames` on the server. This is the step that guarantees the server loads *your* world and not a leftover one, because the newest file wins.
4. **Copy your local `.sav`** from `C:\Users\<your_username>\AppData\Local\RSDragonwilds\Saved\SaveGames` into the server's `RSDragonwilds/Saved/Savegames`.
5. **Start the server.**

Once it is up, remember that players search for the **world's own name**, which is the name it had on your PC — not whatever your Default World Name setting says. If people cannot find it, that is usually why. See [Server not showing up](/knowledge-base/runescape-dragonwilds/server-not-showing-up/).

> [!WARNING] Step 3 is not optional
> Skipping the "empty the folder" step is the classic failure. The server loads the newest `.sav`, and if the world it generated on first boot happens to be newer than the one you just uploaded, it will load that instead — and you will conclude the upload failed when the files are sitting right there.

## Creating a world with custom settings

There is no way to configure world generation options on the server itself. A dedicated server with an empty save folder always creates a **default Standard world**. If you want anything else — Custom, Creative, or particular settings — you generate it on your own PC first and upload it. Jagex's procedure:

1. Launch RuneScape: Dragonwilds on your PC.
2. **Create a new world** with the settings you want.
3. **Enter the world**, then **exit** it. This is what makes the game actually write the save to disk.
4. Follow the upload steps above.

> [!TIP] Do this before you invite anyone
> Deciding you want a Creative world after twenty hours of Standard means starting over. If your group has a preference, generate the world you want and upload it before the first session.

## Backups

Jagex's official backup guidance is, in full, to copy the save files somewhere else and *"rename the files to include the backup save in their names to makes things simpler"*. That is accurate, and it is a manual process that depends on you remembering.

Use your panel's backup feature instead — it captures the server's files without you having to identify which ones matter. [How to create a backup](/knowledge-base/general/how-to-create-a-backup/) covers the mechanics.

**When to take one:**

- **Before any game update**, and especially before the 1.0 release on 15 September 2026.
- **Before uploading a world**, on both sides — the one you are replacing and the one you are uploading.
- **Before changing world-affecting settings.**
- **On a schedule**, so that "before" is already handled. See [How to setup Schedules](/knowledge-base/general/how-to-setup-schedules/).

> [!WARNING] A backup you have never restored is a hope, not a backup
> Once, on a quiet evening, confirm you can actually get a world back from a backup. Finding out that your backups were capturing the wrong thing is much cheaper before you need them.

## Restoring a world

The safe sequence, which is the upload procedure with a different source:

1. **Stop the server.**
2. Copy the current contents of `RSDragonwilds/Saved/Savegames` somewhere else — even the broken state. If the restore goes wrong you want the option of going back.
3. **Empty** `RSDragonwilds/Saved/Savegames`.
4. Put the `.sav` you are restoring into the now-empty folder, on its own.
5. **Start the server** and verify in-game before telling anyone it is fixed.

> [!WARNING] Never restore onto a running server
> Stop it first, every time. Writing save files underneath a running game is how a recoverable problem becomes an unrecoverable one.

## Running more than one world

A dedicated server runs **one world at a time** — the most recent `.sav` in the folder. To swap between worlds, stop the server, move the current save out, put the other one in on its own, and start again.

There is no in-game world-switching menu on a dedicated server. If you want two worlds available simultaneously, you need two servers.

## Save integrity and restarts

Two pieces of Jagex guidance are worth carrying into any restart.

Before forcing a restart, Jagex advises that *"users on Dedicated Servers are encouraged to collect any belongings from gravestones and rest at beds before forcing restarts of servers"* — written explicitly *"to protect save file integrity"*.

And always stop the server cleanly rather than killing it. A graceful stop lets the game finish writing its save. More on the restart cycle in [How to update your server](/knowledge-base/runescape-dragonwilds/how-to-update-your-server/).

> [!NOTE] Jagex has fixed save-related bugs before
> The 0.11.0.8 patch on 7 April 2026 resolved an issue where *"players connecting to a dedicated server should not experience rollbacks on progress from previous sessions"*, and another where *"config files were overwritten on server shutdown"*. Both are fixed — but they are a reminder that a game in active development is exactly when backups earn their keep.

## Worlds and the 1.0 release

Jagex's position on wipes, stated in its FAQ before the launch date was announced, is that it is *"endeavoring to avoid wipes whenever possible; this includes updates and our eventual full release."*

That is an intention, not a guarantee, and it was written before 1.0 was scheduled. Jagex has announced **no** world migration step, **no** save format change and **no** wipe for 15 September 2026.

> [!IMPORTANT] Announced, not observed
> Everything in this section is Jagex's stated intent before the fact. The correct response to "they intend not to wipe worlds" is still to take a backup before the update. See [Dragonwilds 1.0: what changes for server owners](/knowledge-base/runescape-dragonwilds/dragonwilds-1-0-what-changes-for-server-owners/).

## Quick reference

| Task | Key step |
|---|---|
| Find your saves | `RSDragonwilds/Saved/Savegames` |
| Which world loads? | The **newest** `.sav` in that folder |
| Empty folder? | Server creates a new **Standard** world |
| Upload a world | Stop → back up → **empty the folder** → copy in → start |
| Custom world settings | Generate on your PC, then upload |
| Rename a world | Not possible after creation — the name lives in the save |
| Restore | Stop → keep a copy of the current state → empty → place → start |
| Before any restart | Clear gravestones, rest at beds, stop cleanly |

## 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/)
- [Server not showing up](/knowledge-base/runescape-dragonwilds/server-not-showing-up/)
- [How to upload files via SFTP](/knowledge-base/general/how-to-upload-files-via-sftp/) · [How to create a backup](/knowledge-base/general/how-to-create-a-backup/)