Wurm Unlimited Adventure vs Creative Map: Which to Host

Wurm Unlimited ships with two worlds. Adventure is a finished world with a tutorial, NPCs, a main quest to obtain the Key of the Heavens, abandoned houses, hidden caves and unique creatures, and it is the better pick for new players. Creative is a blank map with no villages and no NPCs, only wilderness and creatures, and it suits builders and experienced players who want to shape everything themselves. Choose before anyone settles: switching worlds later means everyone starts again.

The two bundled worlds

When the server starts it loads one world folder. The two that come with the game are Adventure and Creative (in the server's dist folder). Each holds its own map and its own databases, so characters, skills, deeds and items on one never appear on the other.

Adventure

Wurmpedia describes Adventure as the recommended map for new players. What you get:

• A tutorial that teaches the basics.
• A goal. You set out to obtain the Key of the Heavens and ascend as one of Wurm's deities.
• Things to find. Abandoned houses, hidden caves, unique creatures and loot.
• NPCs that interact with players and the world, and point them to events like the Hunt of the Ancients.
• PvP on by default, with kingdoms to choose from when making a character.

Who it suits:

• Groups where some players have never played Wurm.
• People who like a reason to explore beyond building.
• Small groups who want the world to feel inhabited from day one.

One thing to plan for: because PvP is on by default, a public Adventure server is open to raids and theft. For a friends server, set a password, or turn PvP off for a peaceful game.

Creative

Creative is the opposite. Wurmpedia calls it "a completely blank map". What you get:

• No villages and no NPCs. Only the raw world, its creatures and its wilderness.
• Random soul stones that can serve as spawn points.
• Total freedom. Every road, bridge, mine and deed on the map will be yours.

Who it suits:

• Builders and terraformers who want empty land.
• Experienced Wurm Online players who know what they want to do.
• Communities that want to design their own towns, economy and events from scratch.

A detail for PvP: on a Creative server with PvP on, players only see kingdoms where a starting town has been created. On a blank map that means a GM sets up starting towns before kingdom play makes sense.

Side by side

How PvP and Epic change either map

Two server settings matter more than which map you pick:

PvP. With it on, players can fight, steal and destroy buildings. With it off, the game is peaceful and building focused. Either map works both ways.

Epic. Epic switches the server to the rules of Wurm Online's Epic servers, including the faster Epic skill curve. Small groups often turn it on so they reach high skills without years of grinding, which matters even more on Creative, where there is nothing to buy or loot early on.

Common setups:

Have a GM character either way

Whichever map you choose, Wurmpedia recommends at least one GM character, even if you mostly play as a normal player. A GM can fix stuck characters, lost items and broken terrain. At power 5 the character gets an ebony wand, the main GM tool. Setting power on a dedicated server is covered step by step in our Wurm Unlimited setup guide.

When to use a custom map instead

Both bundled maps are fixed in size and layout. If your group wants a bigger world, a particular landscape, or a fresh map after finishing Adventure, you can generate a custom map and point the server at it. That is a bigger job (a map generator, copying a world folder and rebuilding its databases) and it resets everyone, so it is best done at the start of a new world. The setup guide covers the steps.

Memory is the other consideration. A small map for a few friends runs comfortably on 4 GB; a classic 2048 map with a community is better on 8 GB, and a large 4096 world with many deeds wants more. Map size and what has been built matter more than player count.

Switching later

Changing the world setting does not convert a world. It loads a different one, with its own characters and progress. Players start over. If you think you might come back, keep the old world folder and take a backup first. See how to back up a game server for a routine.

Picking a world on a hosted server

On a Wurm Unlimited server from GamezServers, the World setting picks the folder to load: dist/Adventure (the default) or dist/Creative, or the path of a custom map you uploaded with the file manager or SFTP. Enable PVP and Epic sit next to it in the panel, along with the server name, password and admin password. Take a one click backup before switching worlds so the old one is safe.

FAQ

Which Wurm Unlimited map should I start on?

Adventure if anyone in your group is new to Wurm, since it has a tutorial, NPCs and a quest. Creative if you want a blank world to build from scratch.

Is PvP on by default in Wurm Unlimited?

On the Adventure map, yes. Set a password or turn PvP off for a private, peaceful server.

Can I switch my server from Adventure to Creative?

Yes, but it loads a different world. Characters and progress do not carry over.

Do Wurm Unlimited maps share characters?

No. Each world has its own databases, so characters and skills stay with that world.