Valheim Save File Corrupted — How to Fix & Recover Your World

If your Valheim world won't load, reset to Day 0, or shows as 0 KB, don't overwrite anything yet. Valheim keeps an automatic backup of your last good save — here's exactly how to restore it.

Quick answer

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\worlds_local

Valheim automatically keeps the previous good save as a .old file. Close the game, back up the whole worlds_local folder, then delete the broken World.db and World.fwl and rename World.db.old → World.db and World.fwl.old → World.fwl to roll back. Always restore the .db and .fwl together as a matched pair from the same date.

Where the files live: see the full Valheim save file location guide for every platform path (PS5, Xbox, Steam Cloud).

How to transfer your Valheim save to a new PC

Fully quit Valheim (and stop any dedicated server) so nothing overwrites the files while you work — confirm it isn't still running in Task Manager.
Open the save folder: press Win+R, paste %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\worlds_local and press Enter. Characters live next door in characters_local as .fch files.
Back up EVERYTHING first: copy the whole worlds_local folder to your Desktop or a USB drive. This is your undo button — do it before any change.
Restore Valheim's own backup: delete or rename the broken World.db and World.fwl, then rename World.db.old → World.db and World.fwl.old → World.fwl. Keep the pair matched — never mix a .db and .fwl from different dates or you can get terrain glitches or a reset seed.
Launch the game and load the world to confirm the rollback worked.
Roll back Steam Cloud if the local files are also bad: exit the game, disable cloud sync for Valheim in the client, restore your known-good folder backup, then re-enable sync so the good save uploads (not the corrupt one). Cloud copies sit in worlds_cloud alongside worlds_local.
Still stuck? Right-click the file › Properties › Previous Versions (or Windows File History) to pull an older copy from a restore point.

Does cloud sync move it for you?

When Steam Cloud and your PC disagree, the client shows a sync conflict and asks which save to keep. Read the timestamps and pick the one matching your real last session. If you already picked wrong, restore the worlds_local backup you made before letting it sync again — otherwise the corrupt or older save overwrites the cloud copy too.

Common mistakes

Overwriting before backing up. Always copy the whole worlds_local folder first — it's the #1 way a recoverable world becomes a lost one.
Restoring .db without its matching .fwl (or mixing files from different save dates). Always restore the pair from the same date, or you risk terrain corruption and a reset seed.
Letting the cloud re-sync the bad save. Disable cloud sync before you restore, or the corrupt file just downloads again.
A 0 KB World.db means the last save was interrupted by a crash or power loss — the World.db.old backup is your best bet.

FAQ

Where is the Valheim save file on PC?

Worlds are in %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\worlds_local and characters in characters_local. See the full Valheim save location guide for details.

Can I recover a corrupted Valheim world?

Usually yes. Valheim keeps a .old copy of the previous successful save (World.db.old / World.fwl.old) that you can rename back into place. Always back the folder up first.

Why did my Valheim world reset to Day 0 or show 0 KB?

Almost always an interrupted save from a crash or power loss, or a cloud-sync conflict resolved the wrong way. Restore the .db.old / .fwl.old pair.

Do I need to restore both the .db and .fwl file?

Yes — always as a matched pair from the same date. Mixing a .db and .fwl from different saves can glitch terrain or change your seed.

Other games

Need another game or a quick backup? Use the Save Location Finder — pick any game to get its exact save path plus a ready-to-run backup command.