How to Play the Mistlands Update in Early Access – Valheim

Valheim devs offer the private beta password you will need for access on the official Valheim Discord server. If you haven’t already, hop on the server — it will come handy for asking questions, troubleshooting, keeping up with the early access updates, and reporting pesky bugs. (Just in case, we also included the developer FAQs at the end of this guide to get you started).

How to Access Mistlands Content on Steam and Game Pass

As tantalizing as it is to dive into the new Mistlands content, before you switch to the public test branch, Iron Gate encourages you make sure you back up your Valheim data — if you haven’t done so already. Your saved files can be found on your computer at the path:

C:Users<username>AppDataLocalLowIronGateValheim

The developer recommends you make copies of the Worlds and Characters folders before you switch to the public test branch. You can also use the cloud save feature in Valheim to create backups that you can copy. See the pinned messages in the Valheim Discord valheim-public-test channel for details.

Then, to access the public test beta branch on Steam:

Go to your Steam Library and right-click on Valheim in your games list.
Select properties and then the betas tab on left side of the window.
Enter the private beta password. This can be found on the Valheim Discord server in the pinned messages of the valheim-public-test channel. (At the request of the developer, we won’t paste the password here.)
Click the Check Code button and click the opt-in option that appears below.

This private beta choice should appear in the list of available betas at the top of the window. It should automatically be selected, and you should see Valheim start to update in the game list. You know you succeeded if the name changes to Valheim [public-test].

Alternatively, here is how to access the public beta branch for Xbox Game Pass:

Launch the Xbox Insider Hub app
In the “Previews” tab find Valheim and select “Join”
Then, go to the Valheim page in the Microsoft Store and install the Valheim Public Test

If you want to go back to the original game version, just opt out of the preview in the Xbox Insider Hub and then re-download the game.

Official FAQs

Q: Do I need a new world?

A: No, if you haven’t explored your placeholder Mistlands areas. But it is highly recommended you start a new one because terrain generation has been slightly altered across the board, and you might find your buildings floating and collapsing.

Q: My dedicated server isn’t working, what do I do?

A: Dedicated servers need to be updated to the Public Test version.

Q: My mods are not working, what do I do?

A: The mod authors need to update their mods to be compatible with the current update. For the time being it’s best to disable all mods as the Public Test version is likely going to be updated frequently.

Q: Will my progress carry over from Public Test to Live version?

A: Yes

Q: Is it available on Xbox Game Pass?

A: Yes

Have any more questions or issues you are still trying to figure out? Located an elusive fix to a pesky problem you had? Share with us in the comments below!