Valheim patch changes how dedicated servers work, causes some problems
Valheim's latest patch was meant to improve server latency, and but it created unforeseen problems for some.
Valheim updates continue, and the latest patch, version 0.147.3, introduced a big change to how dedicated servers work in the co-op survival game. Valheim has shifted from using Steam Datagram Relay (SDR) for its dedicated servers, to a direct connection (directIP) method.
Developer Iron Gate said this will make it possible for most players to have lower latency when playing on dedicated servers. Private dedicated servers continue to exist, and you can only connect to them by entering the server IP. The SDR system is still in place for non-dedicated servers, however, and Iron Gate noted that Valve is working on fixing recently reported SDR issues, which are currently being tested in a Steam beta client.
Unfortunately, the change has not been without problems. Following the patch's release, a number of players have reported being unable to connect to newly-upgraded servers. The game would attempt the connection, but fail a few seconds later with a 'disconnected' error. This has come up on the Steam forums, Reddit and elsewhere.
The Reddit user in the linked post suggested uninstalling and reinstalling dedicated server files, and others said re-forwarding ports is the way to get it working. But many have tried both solutions to no avail. It's not yet clear how widespread the problem is, though the issue has 100 votes on Valheim's bug tracking board.
Beyond that, 0.147.3 also brought a number of various other fixes for network interpolation, the Bonemass puke-effect and reduced the number of wolves by making them procreate less. Head to Steam for the full change log.
For more on Valheim, we recently updated our guides for building and house designing, and what to do when you run into The Kraken.
You should also bookmark our excellent console commands page because Valheim does have a few of those you're going to need as you play.