A step-by-step guide for gamers who want to self-host a Valheim dedicated server and play with friends over the internet—without the hassle of port forwarding or complicated VPN setups. You run the server; VeilNet handles the networking.
Renting a server works, but you pay monthly and your world lives on someone else’s machine. Self-hosting lets you run Valheim on your own box (a spare PC, a home server, or a VPS you control). The catch: your friends need a way to reach you. Most home connections are behind NAT, so your router blocks incoming game traffic by default.
This guide shows you how to solve that with VeilNet—a Zero Trust overlay network that lets players connect to your server without you opening ports or running a full VPN.
We chose VeilNet for this setup. Here’s how it stacks up against other options:
| Approach | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Port forwarding | No extra software to install | Requires router access; exposes your home IP; many gamers can’t (shared WiFi, strict ISP, dorm, etc.) |
| Tailscale | Polished UI; works when it works | Freemium—free tier limited to 3 users; centralized; requires Tailscale account; vendor lock-in |
| WireGuard | Open source; no third party | Manual config; you manage keys, IPs, peer lists; one misconfigured peer can break things |
| ZeroTier | Free for small networks | Central controller; network config can get messy as you add nodes |
| ngrok / Cloudflare Tunnel | No client install for players | TCP only; Valheim uses UDP—game traffic won’t work through these |
| Hamachi / Radmin | Some gamers have used it before | Outdated; LogMeIn owns Hamachi; relay latency; not built for modern NAT |
VeilNet fits gamers who want:
If you’re fine with port forwarding and your friends can reach you, you don’t need VeilNet. If you’re behind NAT, on shared internet, or simply want a cleaner setup, VeilNet is a solid choice.