How to Change or Reset the World on a RuneScape: Dragonwilds Server

Context

On a RuneScape: Dragonwilds server hosted by Winheberg, the world loaded at startup is the one named in the DEFAULT WORLD NAME variable of the Startup tab. Each world is stored in a file of the same name, for example MyWorld.sav, in the RSDragonwilds/Saved/SaveGames folder.

This makes three operations simple, switching worlds without losing the current one, starting over on a new world and going back to the previous save. This guide covers all three, as we checked them on a Winheberg server.

Requirements

An active RuneScape: Dragonwilds server on the Winheberg game panel
Access to the server's Startup, Files and Backups tabs on panel.winheberg.com

Before resetting a world, create a backup from the Backups tab, see our guide How to Create and Restore a Backup of Your Gaming Server. A deleted world file cannot be recovered without it.

1. Switch worlds without losing the current one

Open the Startup tab, under CONFIGURATION in the side menu, and replace the value of DEFAULT WORLD NAME with a new name. Then click Restart at the top of the page.

DEFAULT WORLD NAME variable of the Startup tab on the Winheberg panel outlined in red

At startup, the server finds no save under that name and creates a new world. It says so in the console with a line like this one.

LogDomServerGameMode: No save found for configured world [NewWorld]; creating it

The previous world is left untouched, its file stays in RSDragonwilds/Saved/SaveGames.

Your players find the server by typing the world name in the Public tab of the worlds screen. Give them the new name, the old one will no longer return anything.

2. Go back to a previous world

The available worlds are the .sav files in the RSDragonwilds/Saved/SaveGames folder, visible in the Files tab. To load one again, set its exact name in DEFAULT WORLD NAME, without the .sav extension and with the same capital letters, then restart.

RSDragonwilds/Saved/SaveGames folder in the Files tab of the Winheberg panel with the world files outlined in red

The server confirms the load with this line.

LogDomServerGameMode: Loading configured world [MyWorld] from save slot [MyWorld]

3. Reset the world and keep its name

To start from scratch under the same name, the world file has to be removed before startup.

Stop button of the Winheberg panel outlined in red

In the Console tab, click Stop and wait for the Offline state. If the server is running, its next automatic save would write the file again.
In the Files tab, open RSDragonwilds/Saved/SaveGames.
Rename the world file, for example MyWorld.sav to MyWorld-old.sav, or delete it if you no longer want it.
Click Start. The server no longer finds a save under that name and creates a new world.

Menu of a world file in the Files tab with Rename and Delete outlined in red

The MyWorld.sav.backup file does not protect the old world. We checked it, when MyWorld.sav is missing, the server ignores this copy and creates a new world.

4. Go back to the previous save

The game keeps the previous save in a .sav.backup file, for example MyWorld.sav.backup. In our tests, the server saved the world every 5 minutes, so this copy was about 5 minutes behind the main file.

It lets you undo an incident that happened just before the last save.

Stop the server with Stop.
Rename MyWorld.sav to MyWorld-incident.sav to keep it aside.
Rename MyWorld.sav.backup to MyWorld.sav.
Start the server with Start.

We checked that the server then loads the world as it was at the previous save. To go further back, you need a backup from the Backups tab.

Troubleshooting

❌ The server starts on a blank world

Compare DEFAULT WORLD NAME with the names of the .sav files in RSDragonwilds/Saved/SaveGames, a single typo creates a new world
Check the capital letters, MyWorld and myworld do not point to the same file
Set the exact name again, without the .sav extension, then restart, the old world was not erased

❌ The reset world came back

The server was probably running during the change, its automatic save wrote the file again
Start over by stopping the server first with Stop

❌ Players can no longer find the server

After a world change, they must search for the new name in the Public tab
See our guide "Why Your RuneScape: Dragonwilds Server Does Not Show in the List" for the other causes

Best practices

Create a backup from the Backups tab before every reset, it is the only way to go back more than 5 minutes
Rename old worlds rather than deleting them, a file of a few dozen kilobytes weighs nothing on your disk space
Write down the exact name of each world, it is what you will set in DEFAULT WORLD NAME and what your players will search for

Need help

If a world will not load despite a correct name, open a ticket with our support team from your client area, Technical department, with the server in the Related Product field. Our team can look at the startup logs with you.

A new world is waiting for you. 🎮