V Rising / UPDATED April 26, 2026

How to Password-Protect or Set Up a Private V Rising Server

Lock down your V Rising server with a password, hide it from public browser listings, or do both for a fully private friends-only setup.

V RisingprivatepasswordListOnSteamListOnEOSdirect connect

Your Two Options for Privacy

V Rising gives you two independent levers for controlling who can find and join your server:

Password protection — anyone can see the server in browser listings, but needs the password to connect
Hiding from listings — the server doesn't appear in Steam or EOS browser results; players must connect directly via IP

You can use either one alone, or combine them for the most locked-down setup.

Setting a Password

Open ServerHostSettings.json and set the Password field:

{
  "Password": "YourSecretPassword"
}

To remove the password (make the server public again), set it to an empty string:

{
  "Password": ""
}

Stop the server, edit the file, save, and restart. Players will be prompted for the password when they try to join from the browser or via direct connect.

Choose a password that's easy to share with your group but not trivially guessable. Avoid passwords like 1234 or password — strangers do scan servers and try common passwords.

Hiding from Server Browsers

V Rising lists on two separate services: Steam's server browser and Epic Online Services (EOS). You can disable either or both independently:

{
  "ListOnSteam": false,
  "ListOnEOS": false
}

Setting both to false means your server won't appear in any public browser. Players must connect via direct IP:port.

To direct-connect in V Rising:

From the main menu, go to Play > Online
Look for the Direct Connect option
Enter your server's IP address and port (default: 9876)

The Friends-Only Setup

For the most secure private server — one where only the people you invite can even find it — combine both approaches:

{
  "Password": "SharedPasswordHere",
  "ListOnSteam": false,
  "ListOnEOS": false
}

Share the IP, port, and password with your group. Without being listed anywhere, random players have no way to discover the server exists. The password is a second layer of protection in case someone already has your IP (for example, from seeing it in another player's Steam activity).

What EOS Listing Does vs. Steam Listing

These are two different discovery systems:

Steam listing (ListOnSteam) — shows your server in the Steam in-game server browser and the Steam server browser app
EOS listing (ListOnEOS) — shows your server via Epic Online Services, which is used for cross-platform discovery

For most players connecting through Steam, ListOnSteam: false is the critical one. Setting ListOnEOS: false as well covers any edge cases and ensures no cross-platform visibility.

When sharing your server details with friends, give them:

Your server's IP address (visible in your control panel)
The port number (default 9876)
The password (if set)

A typical share message looks like: "Join at 123.45.67.89:9876, password is VampireNight"