How to Create and Join a Private Server in Locked
What's inside
- How to Create and Join a Private Server in Locked: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Before You Start: What “Private” Actually Means in Locked
- Creating a Private Server: Numbered Steps
- Joining a Private Server: Numbered Steps
- Fixing Common Join and Permission Problems
- Which Hosting Setup Fits Your Situation
- Ownership Realities: What Wears Out and What Breaks First
- Frequently Asked Questions
- How to Create and Join a Private Server in Locked: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Before You Start: What “Private” Actually Means in Locked
- Creating a Private Server: Numbered Steps
- Joining a Private Server: Numbered Steps
- Fixing Common Join and Permission Problems
- Which Hosting Setup Fits Your Situation
- Ownership Realities: What Wears Out and What Breaks First
- Frequently Asked Questions
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Contents
- How to Create and Join a Private Server in Locked: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Before You Start: What “Private” Actually Means in Locked
- Creating a Private Server: Numbered Steps
- Joining a Private Server: Numbered Steps
- Fixing Common Join and Permission Problems
- Which Hosting Setup Fits Your Situation
- Ownership Realities: What Wears Out and What Breaks First
- Frequently Asked Questions
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How to Create and Join a Private Server in Locked: A Step-by-Step Guide
To create a private server in Locked, enable the built-in Server Administration tool from the in-game menu, set a session password, and share the room code with friends; to join, they enter the code and password from the “Join Private” panel. Most join failures trace back to one of three causes: stale firewall permissions, mismatched mod lists, or a wrong session visibility setting.
Before You Start: What “Private” Actually Means in Locked
In Locked, “private” is a permission model, not a separate game mode. A private server runs the same world logic as a public one but restricts entry to players on the host’s allowlist or anyone holding the current session password. According to the game’s official patch notes, players can host a private session with up to 4 players in a standard user-hosted session and 16 players when a dedicated server is rented or self-hosted. The difference matters because it changes which settings you can rely on.
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| Server type | Max players | Host requirement | Stays online when host leaves? | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Client-hosted private session | 4 | Game client running | No | $0 |
| Self-hosted dedicated server | 16 | Spare PC or home NAS, 8GB RAM | Yes | $0 plus electricity |
| Rented dedicated server | 16–32 | None | Yes | ~$8–$20/month |
Creating a Private Server: Numbered Steps
1. Confirm your hosting method
Decide between client-hosting and a dedicated server before touching settings. The reason: the allowlist interface only appears once a hosting type is selected, and switching later resets the configuration.
2. Open Server Administration
From the main menu, choose Play → Host World → Server Administration. Hosting from the main menu produces a clean config file; hosting from inside a loaded world inherits that world’s settings and can carry over leftover public permissions.
3. Set visibility to Private
Under the Visibility dropdown, select Private rather than Friends-Only or Public. Private hides the session from the browser entirely — this is the setting that stops random joins, and it is separate from the password field.
4. Assign a session password
Enter a password of 8–24 characters. The game hashes the password on the host side, so the plain text never travels over the network. Use a different password from your platform account; shared passwords are the most common cause of an unexpected stranger joining.
5. Configure the allowlist (optional but recommended)
Add friends by their platform ID. An allowlist overrides the password requirement for listed players, which means you can rotate the password weekly without breaking anyone’s access.
6. Set the world permissions tier
Choose Build, Manage, or Admin per player. Most griefing reports in host-owned sessions come from leaving everyone at Admin, since Admin includes the right to delete structures and kick the host.
7. Start the server and copy the join code
The session generates a 6-character alphanumeric code. Send that code plus the password through a channel you trust. Codes expire when the session closes; a dedicated server keeps its code until you regenerate it.
Joining a Private Server: Numbered Steps
1. Open the Join Private panel
From the main menu, select Play → Join Private. Do not use “Browse Servers” — private sessions intentionally do not appear there, and players who search the browser for a private room often conclude it does not exist.
2. Enter the code, then the password
The code is case-sensitive. The reason it is asked for first: the client validates the code against the host’s session registry before it prompts for a password, so an incorrect code never reaches the authentication step.
3. Allow the network exception when prompted
On first join, your operating system may raise a firewall dialog. Allow both private and public networks for the game executable, since Locked uses separate inbound and outbound rules.
4. Wait for the mod sync to complete
If the host runs mods, the client downloads and verifies each one before the world loads. A 500MB mod pack on a 20 Mbps connection takes roughly 3.5 minutes — budget for it and do not force-quit, because interrupted syncs leave partial files in the mod cache.
Fixing Common Join and Permission Problems
| Symptom | Most likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| “Session not found” | Host session closed or code mistyped | Confirm host is online; re-copy the 6-character code with exact casing |
| Password rejected though it is correct | Host rotated the password after sharing; or trailing space from a paste | Re-type the password manually rather than pasting |
| Stuck at “Connecting…” then timeout | Firewall or NAT blocking the host’s port | Add inbound and outbound exceptions; the default port must be forwarded on the host router |
| Kicked immediately after joining | Wrong allowlist group, or mod list mismatch | Ask the host to verify your platform ID and to share their exact mod list and versions |
| Can see the world but cannot build | Permission tier set to a read-only or below-Build tier | Host promotes the player under Server Administration → Players |
| World desyncs and rolls back | Host machine is throttling; client-hosted sessions depend on host upload bandwidth | Move to a dedicated server; client-hosting needs roughly 100 Kbps of stable upload per player |
Which Hosting Setup Fits Your Situation
| Your situation | Best setup | Why | Ongoing cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2–4 friends, casual weekend play | Client-hosted private session | No setup, no cost, host is always present | $0 |
| 5–16 players, shared persistent world | Self-hosted dedicated server | Stays up when any individual leaves | $0 plus roughly $3–$6/month in electricity for a mid-range PC |
| Players in different time zones | Rented dedicated server | Always-on uptime without owning hardware | ~$8–$20/month |
| Mod-heavy play with a large pack | Rented dedicated server with 8GB+ RAM | Mod packs are memory-bound; 4GB fails on most 100-mod setups | ~$15–$25/month |
A worked example: cost per session hour
A renting group paying $15/month who play 4 sessions a week at 3 hours each logs 48 hours a month, which works out to about $0.31 per player-hour across a four-person group. Self-hosting the same schedule on a PC drawing 120W at an average $0.15/kWh costs roughly $0.54 per session in electricity, so renting is typically the cheaper option unless the hardware is already running for another purpose.
Ownership Realities: What Wears Out and What Breaks First
- World save files grow fastest. A heavily built world can pass 1GB, and save corruption after an abrupt shutdown is the single most common data loss in host-owned sessions. Enable rolling backups before inviting anyone.
- Port forwards break silently. Consumer routers lose port mappings after firmware updates or a power cut; if a previously working server stops accepting joins, re-check the mapping first.
- Mod updates are the second most common breakage. A single version mismatch between host and client blocks the join entirely rather than degrading gracefully, so agree on an update schedule.
- Host upload bandwidth is the usual ceiling on player count. Client-hosted sessions degrade well before the nominal 4-player limit if upload is under about 1 Mbps total.
- Common mistake: setting visibility to Private but leaving the old public password in place, then sharing the public one. Reset both together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make a private server in Locked without a password?
Yes. Setting visibility to Private restricts the session to allowlisted players only, and the password field can be left blank. Be aware that a password-less private session still accepts anyone whose platform ID an admin adds, so keep the allowlist maintained and remove players who no longer need access.
Why does my friend see “session not found” when the code is correct?
This almost always means the host session is no longer running, or the client is on a different game version. Confirm the host is still in the world, then compare build numbers on both machines — private sessions do not appear in the server browser, so a closed session and a wrong code produce the identical error message.
Do I need to forward ports to host a private server?
Only for players outside your local network. Players on the same home network can join over the local connection without any router changes. For remote friends, forward the server’s default port on the host router and add matching firewall exceptions for both inbound and outbound traffic.
How many players can a private server hold in Locked?
Per the game’s official patch notes, a client-hosted private session supports up to 4 players, while a dedicated server supports 16 by default, rising to 32 on higher-tier hosted plans. Practical limits are usually lower than these figures because host upload bandwidth and memory use during mod sync become the real constraints.
Why can I join but not build or open containers?
This is a permission tier issue rather than a connection problem. The host sets each player’s tier under Server Administration → Players, and the Build tier is the minimum required to place or destroy structures. Ask the host to confirm you are not sitting in a read-only or visitor group.
How do I stop griefing on a private server?
Keep the default tier at Build rather than Admin, enable the allowlist, rotate the session password every few weeks, and turn on rolling world backups. Admin rights include kicking the host and deleting world structures, so grant them only to players you would trust with the save file itself.
