The complete guide · 5 min read
Dark and Light Server Hosting: The Complete Guide
Everything a tribe needs to run its own Archos: what Dark and Light is and where it stands today, choosing a map and size, rates and rules, mods, moving an old save and looking after a world that may run for years.
By Matthew Griffin, Owner, Gaming DeluxePublished · Updated
In this guide
- Dark and Light in a Few Lines
- Where the Game Stands in 2026
- Picking a Map and a Server Size
- Rates, PvE or PvP and Death Rules
- Mods, the Workshop and the Development Kit
- Moving an Existing World to Your Server
- Looking After Archos for the Long Run
- What to Compare Before You Rent a Dark and Light Server
- Dark and Light Server Glossary
- Dark and Light Server Help and Next Steps
Dark and Light in a Few Lines
Dark and Light is a survival RPG from Snail Games USA, a reimagining of a 2004 game of the same name. You arrive on Archos, a satellite world of the shattered planet Gaia, gather and craft, domesticate the local creatures and build a home, while magic runs through everything: spells for survival, transformation and combat, portals that link a network of bases, even control over the weather.
Its signature twist is the day and night split. Daytime on Archos is calm; when the sun goes down the dark forces take over, and an eclipse, when Gaia's remains block the sun, sends creatures into a frenzy while rare magical resources appear. That rhythm is why many groups still enjoy the game on a server tuned to their own pace.
Where the Game Stands in 2026
Dark and Light entered Steam Early Access on 20 July 2017 and Steam still shows it as Early Access. In February 2019 Snail lowered the price and said it was working towards full release; the 2019 patches that followed mostly fixed server transfers and character loss, and the final seasonal patch closed in November 2019. Snail's latest Steam announcement, on 3 September 2020, made 2x harvest and 2x experience the permanent base rate on its servers.
In early 2019 Snail also shrank its official network from 344 servers to 100 and told players on closed servers to request a copy of their server data so they could carry on locally or on a dedicated server. That is exactly what a rented server is for. The upside of a game that no longer updates is stability: a world you build on today will still load the same way next year.
Picking a Map and a Server Size
Two maps come with the game. The Sacred Path is the original Archos, with lush forests, ice-capped peaks, a sulphur-clouded volcano, floating islands, dark forests, swamps and caverns. Shard of Faith, released free in October 2018, is the same size and split into five areas: the Red Forest, the Acrid Swamp, the Howling Sands, Anyltheas' Hollow and the Broken Spine, with the camps and temples of four races and a Faith knowledge unique to that map.
| Community | Suggested slots | Memory on that plan |
|---|---|---|
| Friends or a single tribe | 20 | 5GB |
| Small community | 30 | 8GB |
| Active PvE or PvP | 50 | 12GB |
| Public server with regulars | 70 | 16GB |
| Large public world | 100 | 20GB |
Memory matters more than slot count on a survival server. A world fills up over weeks with structures and tamed creatures, so a group that builds a lot should move up a memory tier long before it runs out of slots. Both changes are made from the client area and keep the world intact.
Rates, PvE or PvP and Death Rules
The most important decision is pace. Official servers ended on 2x harvest and experience; on your own server you can keep the classic 1x grind, match the official 2x, or go faster for a group with little time. Decide before launch and stick to it, because changing rates midway feels unfair to whoever already ground through the slow part.
- Stop the server and open its settings files in the File Manager.
- Set the server name, a join password if it is private, and an admin password.
- Choose PvE or PvP and set harvest and experience multipliers.
- Decide whether PvE deaths drop inventory, using the server setting Snail added for hosts.
- Save, start the server and check the console as it loads.
On death rules, Snail's own notes are worth knowing: with the PvE no-drop setting on, inventory stays with you but player stats are halved on respawn, and items are still not completely safe, so players should keep valuables in secure storage.
Mods, the Workshop and the Development Kit
Snail launched Steam Workshop support and the Dark and Light Development Kit in 2018, and early community work focused on new structures, decorations and features for the Master Builder style of play. The game itself has not changed since 2019, which helps old mods, but most of them have not been maintained in years either.
- One at a time: add a mod, restart, and play for a while before adding the next.
- Snapshot first: a bad mod on a survival save can be costly to undo.
- Same files for everyone: players need the same mods to join.
- Watch the console: load errors appear there before players notice them.
Moving an Existing World to Your Server
If your group played on a self-hosted machine, a closed official server or another host, bring the world with you. Stop the new server, upload the save folder and your settings files over SFTP into the matching folders, then start it and check the console. If the save came from Snail's data copy service or an unusual setup, open a ticket and our support team will help place the files.
Looking After Archos for the Long Run
A survival world is only as good as its admins. Write a short list of rules, especially on PvP servers where raiding etiquette matters, and make sure trusted players hold the admin password. Change it whenever someone leaves the admin team.
A nightly restart at a quiet hour keeps a busy world responsive. Take a snapshot before every settings change or new mod, and remember that we also keep offsite backups of the last 7 days, which you can restore from the panel. Bases that took a tribe months to raise deserve that much care.
What to Compare Before You Rent a Dark and Light Server
Questions worth asking any host.
- Memory, not just slotsA survival world grows heavier every week.
- Access to savesYou should be able to download and upload your world.
- Ini file accessRates and rules need real file access, not a few toggles.
- BackupsAsk how far back offsite copies go.
- Ping from your PCTest locations before buying.
- No lock-inCheck for setup fees and long minimum terms.
Dark and Light Server Glossary
- Archos
- The satellite world of Gaia where Dark and Light is played.
- The Sacred Path
- The original Dark and Light map.
- Shard of Faith
- The free 2018 expansion with its own map, races and Faith knowledge.
- Eclipse
- When Gaia blocks the sun: creatures turn frenzied and rare magic resources appear.
- Harvest rate
- The multiplier for how many resources gathering gives.
- Development Kit
- Snail's official toolkit for making Workshop content.
- Snail Games USA
- The developer and publisher of Dark and Light.
Dark and Light Server Help and Next Steps
Where to go next.
How this guide was made: researched from Dark and Light's Steam store page and Snail Games' announcements on Steam (2017 to 2020), drafted with AI assistance, checked against our live order form for every plan, price and location, and reviewed by Matthew Griffin before publishing. Snail publishes no player limit or memory figure for dedicated servers, so the plan sizes and memory are our own suggestions. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Sources, checked 23 October 2026:
- Dark and Light on Steam (Snail Games USA; Early Access since 20 July 2017; Windows; 8GB RAM minimum; Workshop; co-op and PvP)
- Snail Games, New Free DLC: Shard of Faith (9 October 2018: map, regions, races, PvE death setting for hosts)
- Snail Games, Official Servers Announcement (11 January 2019: 344 to 100 official servers, server data for local or dedicated play)
- Snail Games, Price Adjustment and Full Release News (21 February 2019) and Development Kit and Workshop notes (May and June 2018)
- Snail Games, Permanent 2x Harvest and Exp (3 September 2020, latest announcement)
- Gaming Deluxe order form, Dark and Light Dedicated Server (slot slider 20 to 120)
