Backup Strategies for Game Servers

Losing a game server's world data is painful. Hours, days or months of player progress gone because of a corrupted save, a bad update or an accidental deletion. A proper backup strategy prevents this. Here is how to set one up for any game server.

The 3-2-1 rule

The standard backup rule applies to game servers too:

3 copies of your data (the live server plus two backups).
2 different storage types (server disk plus external storage).
1 offsite copy (a backup that is not on the same machine as the server).

Most game server hosts provide on-server backups. That covers the first two copies. For the offsite copy, you need to download backups or use external storage.

Automatic backups in the panel

If your host uses Pterodactyl (like HostValues does), you have built-in backup functionality:

Go to the Backups tab in your server panel.
Click Create Backup. The panel compresses your server files and stores them separately.
Set up a schedule in the Schedules tab to automate this. A daily backup at a low-traffic hour is a good starting point.
The panel keeps a configurable number of backups. Older ones are automatically removed when the limit is reached.

What to back up per game

Minecraft

The world/ folder (and world_nether/, world_the_end/ on Paper).
plugins/ folder with configs and data.
server.properties and other config files.
Tip: back up before every version update. Minecraft world upgrades are one-way.

Rust

The server/ directory containing .sav, .map and .db files.
oxide/ or carbon/ folder for plugin configs and data.
Tip: back up right before each wipe so you have the final state of the previous cycle.

Palworld

The Pal/Saved/ directory containing world and player data.
PalWorldSettings.ini for server configuration.
Tip: Palworld saves are large. Compress them to save backup storage space.

ARK: Survival Ascended

The ShooterGame/Saved/ directory.
GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini.
Tip: ARK saves can exceed 1 GB on large maps. Schedule backups during low-player periods to avoid save lag.

FiveM

Your resources/ folder (scripts and their data).
The MySQL/MariaDB database (use mysqldump).
server.cfg and any custom configs.
Tip: database backups are separate from file backups. Set up a cron job for mysqldump.

Offsite backup options

Download to your PC - the simplest option. Download backups from the panel periodically.
SFTP script - automate downloads with a script that pulls backups to another server or your home NAS.
S3-compatible storage - if your panel supports it, send backups directly to S3, Backblaze B2 or similar. Cheap and reliable.

How often should you back up?

Daily - minimum for any active server.
Before updates - always back up before updating the game or installing new mods/plugins.
Before wipes - keep the final state of each wipe cycle for Rust or similar games.
Hourly - for very active servers where losing an hour of progress is unacceptable.

Testing your backups

A backup you have never tested is not a backup. At least once, restore a backup to a test server and verify that the world loads, player data is intact and plugins or mods work correctly.

What if I forgot to back up?

Some hosts keep daily snapshots of the underlying storage. Contact support and ask. At HostValues, we keep server snapshots that may allow recovery even without manual backups.

Do backups slow down my server?

Briefly, yes. The backup process reads and compresses server files. On NVMe storage the impact is minimal (a few seconds). Schedule backups during low-traffic hours to minimize any effect.

How long should I keep old backups?

Keep daily backups for a week, weekly backups for a month and one backup from before each major update permanently. This gives you recent recovery points and the ability to roll back major changes.

All HostValues plans include automatic backups through the panel with easy one-click restore.