How to Reset your World or Restore a Backup World on your Server

Your Palworld server is more than just data; it's a world you and your squad have poured hours into. It's the epic base you spent all weekend building, that perfectly-bred Jormuntide Ignis, and every hard-won victory against the island's toughest bosses. Imagine losing all of that to a surprise game update or a simple server glitch. That's where this guide comes in. Think of it as your personal time machine—a way to create a perfect "save state" of your world, ensuring that no matter what happens, your adventure is always safe.

Downloading your Current World as Backup and Reinstalling your Server

Step 1: Access Your Server Control Panel

1. Log into PingPlayers account:
   • Enter your login credentials to access your account.
2. Go to Your Server Dashboard:
   • Once logged in, locate the server management section and click on your Palworld → Manage Server to access the dashboard.

Step 2: Backup Your Current World 

Before starting fresh, it’s a good practice to back up your current world in case you want to return to it later.

1. Locate Your World Files:
   • In the server dashboard, find the FTP details option and connect to the server using a client (FileZilla, WinSCP, etc) or Windows File Explorer. Here is the guide explaining it in detail: PingPlayers FTP Guide
2. Download the Backup:

   • Select the folder that contains your current world and download it to your computer. This ensures you have a copy of it, just in case. The files and/or folders that must be saved are:

     Players folder contains a .sav file for each unique player that has entered the server and backup folder contains the world data.

     • Level.sav
     • LevelMeta.sav
     • Players
     • backup
   • These files are located in a path similar to this one (the folder name after SaveGames will be different as well as the date for the backup you take). Bold path after 0/ is an example, you'll see something different on yours.  /Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/4EF3997B44D6315B6CAEB2885B76733E/backup/world/dateofbackup

Step 3: Delete Your Server and Create a New One

Now that you have a backup (if you chose to make one), it’s time to reset your world. You can simply recreate your server by simply going to Actions, then Reinstall Server. With this option, if you made any changes in the Basic Settings, they will be retained.

It should provide a warning which says: Reinstalling your game server will replace all the files/folders on your game servers filesystem with the original.
Reinstalling will NOT change your basic settings or any advanced configs you have setup in the config manager. You just need to type "reinstall my server" in the box below it.

Once you click Confirm, the server will automatically reinstall. Think of it as a Server Wipe that will only delete your world save data, but not the settings you have set up.

Restoring data from a backup

1. Shutdown your server by going to Actions, then Shutdown, and go to File Manager or connect to FTP. For a detailed guide in connecting to FTP, you can go to this link: How to connect to FTP

2. Go to the path Pal\Saved\SaveGames\, delete the \0 folder that was created automatically, and then upload your backup \0 folder. Remember that both the World data and Player data are inside. If you want to only transfer the World just transfer the backup folder.

Important: Before or after transferring your backup folder, open it and take note of the folder name, which should be 32 Characters. This is needed in the further steps in restoring your backup.

3. After adding your backup files, go to this path: Server/Pal/Saved/Config/WindowsServer and find the file GameUserSettings.ini . Edit it by replacing the DedicatedServerName with the 32 character name you have taken note.
    

4. Once you're done, scroll to the very bottom and you'll find the option Save. Click on it and then restart your server by going to Actions then Restart.

And there you have it! You have fully restored your backup!

Conclusion

And there you have it! You're now equipped with the ultimate insurance policy for your server. With the power to back up and restore your world, you can experiment with settings, survive any buggy patch, and sleep easily knowing your massive fortress and army of Pals are secure. So go on, get back out there and explore the Palpagos Islands with confidence. 

If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out to our support team at PingPlayers. 

Happy gaming!