Risk of Rain 2 Can't Connect to Dedicated Server? Fix It Here

When you can't connect to a Risk of Rain 2 dedicated server, the cause is almost always one of four things: your game is a newer build than the server, the connect line in the console is typed wrong, the password was not sent with cl_password, or you are using the wrong address or port. Check them in that order. The version problem catches nearly everyone, because the official dedicated server has not been updated since build 1.2.4.1 in 2022.

First: the error you see tells you where to look

Risk of Rain 2 is not chatty about connection failures, but what happens on screen narrows it down quickly.

Version mismatch: the big one

The free Risk of Rain 2 Dedicated Server tool on Steam (app 1180760) stopped at build 1.2.4.1 in May 2022. The game kept going, including Seekers of the Storm in 2024. A client only joins a server with the exact same build, so a player on the current Steam version gets the version differs message every time.

Nothing on the server fixes this. Restarting, reinstalling or turning on auto update only gets you the same 1.2.4.1 build again, because it is the newest one the tool has. The players have to come to the server instead: download build 1.2.4.1 through the Steam console and launch that copy on server nights. We wrote the full walkthrough in how to roll back Risk of Rain 2 to join a dedicated server.

If your group will not give up the newest content, a dedicated server is not the right tool for now. Peer to peer lobbies from the game menu stay on the current build.

The connect line

There is no menu button for joining a dedicated server by address. You join through the developer console, and the console is strict about syntax.

1. Start the game and wait for the title screen.
2. Press Ctrl + Alt + ~ (the key left of 1 on a US keyboard). The console slides down.
3. Type the whole line, then press Enter:

cl_password "yourpassword"; connect "203.0.113.10:27015";

Things that break it:

• Missing semicolons. Each command ends in ;. Without them the console reads both commands as one.
• Missing quotes around the address. Keep them, especially when the address includes a port.
• The port left off. Our panel shows the full address with its port. Type all of it, not only the IP.
• Typing in the in-game chat instead of the console. Chat opens with Enter and does nothing with commands.

If Ctrl + Alt + ~ does not open the console on your keyboard layout, try Ctrl + Alt + ` (the backtick). Non US layouts sometimes put that key elsewhere.

Passwords

Risk of Rain 2 sends whatever password is stored in cl_password when you connect. That has two consequences:

1. If the server has a password and you only type connect, you are refused.
2. If the server has no password and you joined a passworded server earlier, the console still sends the old password, and you can be refused for that too.

So always set it first, even when it is empty:

cl_password ""; connect "203.0.113.10:27015";

On the server side, the password lives in sv_password in Risk of Rain 2_Data/Config/server.cfg. On our servers it is the Server Password field in the panel, and the panel writes it into that file for you at every start. If you change it, restart the server so it takes effect, then send everyone the new value.

Address and ports

The dedicated server uses a game port (sv_port, 27015 by default on a self hosted server) plus a Steam query port and a Steam port. If you host it yourself, all of them have to be open on your firewall and forwarded on your router, and your friends need your public IP, not the 192.168.x.x address of your PC. Our Risk of Rain 2 hosting guide has the full server.cfg and port list.

On a hosted server the ports are already assigned and open. Copy the address exactly as the panel shows it. If the connection times out:

1. Check the panel. Is the server running, and does the live console show it finished starting?
2. Restart it and watch the console for errors.
3. Confirm you typed the same port the panel shows, not 27015 out of habit.

Finding the server in a list

The main menu has no browser that lists dedicated servers by name, so friends should not wait for it to appear there. Advertise Server in our panel sets steam_server_heartbeat_enabled, which reports the server to Steam's master list. That is useful for public lobbies, but for a private group the console join is faster and always works. If you do not want strangers in, turn Advertise Server off or set a password.

Mods

Black or white screens on connect usually mean the client and server do not run the same thing. That can be a mod one side has and the other does not, or a mod built for a newer game version running on the 1.2.4.1 build. Our server template runs the plain dedicated server, so join it with a vanilla copy of the old build. If you self host a modded server, every player needs the same mod list and versions as the server. The Risk of Rain 2 mods guide covers matching a profile to the server's build.

Server full

The base game supports four players. sv_maxplayers above four only works with mods on every PC, so on a vanilla server the fifth person is refused. If someone left but their slot seems stuck, a server restart clears it.

A quick checklist to send your group

Paste this in your group chat before the first run:

1. Download the 1.2.4.1 build once and launch it from its own folder.
2. Open the console with Ctrl + Alt + ~.
3. Paste: cl_password "PASSWORD"; connect "ADDRESS:PORT";
4. No password? Keep the empty quotes.
5. Still stuck? Tell the host exactly what you see on screen.

Skip the hosting half of the problem

Half of these fixes are about keeping a server reachable: ports, a PC left on, a home IP that changes. A Risk of Rain 2 server from GamezServers takes that off your plate. It is live within about a minute, has its own address, and the password, hostname, max players and public listing are fields in the panel, with a live console that shows the server's build when it starts. The version rollback is still on the players, because no host can run a newer build than the one Gearbox released.

FAQ

Why does Risk of Rain 2 say my version differs from the server?

The official dedicated server is stuck on build 1.2.4.1 and your game is newer. Download that build through the Steam console and launch it to join.

How do I open the console in Risk of Rain 2?

Press Ctrl + Alt + ~ on the title screen. On some keyboard layouts the key is the backtick, left of 1.

Is there a server browser for Risk of Rain 2 dedicated servers?

Not one you can rely on in the main menu. Join with the connect command in the console using the address and port.

Why does it reject me when the server has no password?

The console reuses the last cl_password you set. Send an empty one first: cl_password ""; before connect.

Can more than four players join?

Not in the base game. Larger lobbies need mods installed on the server and on every player's game.