Few developers can say one of their early access games sold over a million copies in just eight days. If that alone doesn’t show what Valheim has to offer, the sales since has been just as impressive. Those that love survival games, base building, monster killing, and thriving in what is essentially a Viking purgatory will love playing Valheim. It is truly a unique and enjoyable experience worth trying.
This game is obviously the next big thing and gaming fans should take the time to understand how it works now. Once they learn the basics, there are some ways to make sure they are a step above the rest when it comes to being a Viking in the afterlife.
Updated October 7, 2022, by Patrick Armstrong: Survival-crafting sensation Valheim gives players incredible freedom to live out their Viking dreams. Exploring procedurally generated worlds, gathering resources, constructing lavish bases, and taking down terrifying bosses are all part of what makes this game so exciting. The game is big and deep enough that many of its coolest features don’t reveal themselves until the player is a fair way into the game. Whether the player is a day-one beginner or a Valheim veteran, there are some tips that can keep one’s Viking alive and prosperous. Mapping and base-building are just two important things that players must consider as they explore and expand.
18 Mark Your Map
With a massive, procedurally generated world to explore, it’s safe to say that most players will spend a long time just wandering around Valheim’s beautiful biomes, getting the lay of the land. There’s no single right way to do this, but some methods make things easier than others.
One important tip is to mark important locations on the map. Crypts, burial chambers, copper deposits, troll caves, shipwrecks, and other sites of interest are worth noting if the player doesn’t intend to explore them right away. That makes returning to those locations in the future much easier.
17 Explore From The Outside In
Though this isn’t always possible depending upon the player’s starting location, it’s often useful to explore islands from the outside in. To start off, players should navigate around the entire outside edge of the island, tracing its shoreline and establishing its general size and layout. They can then start pushing inwards, methodically revealing one area at a time.
Planned exploration of this kind isn’t for everyone, but it has the benefit of reducing the amount of tedious backtracking that is sometimes necessary to lift the last fog of war from a location. Having to hike into the forest for the seventh time just to color in a tiny patch of the map is frustrating, and while it may only matter to completionists, perimeter mapping makes it easier for everyone.
16 Bring Base Supplies
Valheim isn’t just big; it’s also dangerous. There’s no shortage of calamities that could befall the player as they explore their starting island, let alone the terrible things that can happen once they set out to chart new lands. In Valheim, as well as in many other underrated survival games, the player’s base is a refuge from the dangerous world, but it’s rooted in one spot.
For this reason, it’s wise to bring base-building supplies wherever one goes. If the player is just making a quick dash into the bush to farm some resources then it doesn’t matter, but the longer and farther the trip the more important this becomes. Having enough wood and stone with which to build a small home, bed, workbench, and fire gives the player the freedom to create a pop-up camp anywhere. With that ability, the world of Valheim truly opens up.
15 Tow In The Serpent For An Easy Kill
Taking down the Serpent can seem like a tall order while out on the high seas. The creature has a total of 400 health and inflicts 70 damage per attack. Early in the game, it will take a lot of arrows to kill the beast in the ocean.
Instead of fighting it while on a vessel, gamers can use the harpoon to capture it and tow it to shore. The massive Serpent will try to slither back into the water, but if pulled far enough inland, it will be easy to kill. Looting the creature is also far easier on land.
14 Chop Down Trees Faster
In Valheim, there is an advanced trick to get wood even faster. Falling trees will knock over other trees like dominoes. By cutting at the right angle, survivors can knock down three or four trees at once. When cut down, trees will fall in the exact direction that a player is facing while chopping.
By just taking a few seconds to line up the cut, players can save a lot of time while farming. After the trees are chopped down, logs can be cut at the same time too as long as they are close enough together.
13 Get Infinite Berries
Players are not able to plant berries in Valheim, this means that the only harvestable berries are in the wild. Each berry plant will not bear fruit for a total of 300 minutes after it is harvested. The timer will reset if a user comes within around 200 meters of the berries as well.
To get around these harsh farming barriers, gamers should look on the far ends of the map for clusters of three or more plants. Then, they can wall the area off and set up a portal to visit the locations every day. With these tips, and a few portals linked to clusters, gamers will have all the Berries they need.
12 Turn A Base Into A Palace
Most players are able to create a safe base with enough space to house all of their important items and materials. However, the majority of bases could use some sprucing up. Below are a few advanced decoration tricks to improve the aesthetics of any build.
11 Take Down Deathsquitos With The Bow
Deathsquitos are the most irritating enemies in the Plains biome. They do not have much health but can be difficult to hit with a melee weapon and seemingly impossible to kill with an arrow. A pro tip to taking these creatures down is to wait until they charge and shoot them with the bow.
As soon as a Deathsquito starts to close the distance, that is the time to strike. They will move in a completely straight line at the character’s eye level. Once people get the timing down, dealing with these pests will be easy.
10 Only Eat Good Food
Look, people shouldn’t eat too much junk food in real life, and it’s the same in the world of Valheim. The better the food quality that players consume with their character, the better bonuses they will receive.
Mushrooms and berries are fine, but cooked proteins can do far more. Regaining health and gaining various bonuses is absolutely worth it, so become a master Viking chef.
9 Spend Coins Wisely
Players need to make sure that when they get coins they don’t spend them thoughtlessly. It can take some work to find the Trader in the Black Forest, but it’s absolutely worth doing so.
Players are recommended to pick up the fishing pole early on as seafood is an excellent way to fill up characters’ bellies. Of course, there are plenty of other options for those who can’t stand the relaxing yet monotonous nature of fishing.
8 Understand Boss Summoning
No one wants to get their butts handed to them by a boss before they are actually ready to fight them. Summoning bosses is a straightforward process that usually requires placing two related trophies at a specific altar. Once the boss is summoned, it’s an all-out fight for survival.
Each boss requires a different summoning method, and there are even hidden bosses in the game that aren’t easy to find. Remember those heavy dragon eggs no one wanted to carry back to base Survivors will need those to summon Moder.
7 Make Delicious Mead
It takes Fine Wood to be able to craft a Fermenter, but it’s definitely worth doing as soon as the ability is unlocked. It’s one of the most worthwhile endeavors in the entire game, particularly for those who appreciate buffs.
The various bonuses that Mead has to offer can make certain boss fights, or various resource-collecting missions, much easier. Everything from Frost Resistance to massive stamina regeneration is possible with a bit of this honeyed drink.
6 Get Pets Early On
Who doesn’t want a pet Boar or Wolf? It’s not only possible to tame a Boar in Valheim but tame a Wolf as well. It takes a little time and patience, but with a bit of work, these fluffy friends will stay by the sides of Viking adventurers.
Players should try to lure them into areas with makeshift cages as it makes feeding far easier. The only way to tame a beast, at this time, is to feed it, which can be a little tricky to do while they’re still hostile.
5 Stacking Storage
Efficiency is key in any survival game, so players should make sure to use chests wisely. A lot of players never realize that they can stack chests in the game so their storage takes up much less space.
Inventories can fill up fast, so having loads of chests conveniently ready to put things in makes the game go much more smoothly. Getting the Megingjord Belt from Haldor (the trader) will help a lot too.
4 Craft Wolf Armor
Similar to Breath of the Wild, exploring the frozen mountains of Valheim can literally freeze players to death. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to avoid this that players should look into early on. Players just need to craft Wolf Armor.
Ironically, getting the wolf hides and other resources requires players to head up to the mountains where they will also face the cold. There are ways around this, but doing this as soon as possible makes things easier for further exploration. It’s worth making a top priority.
3 Harvest Honey
“Not the bees!” Even Vikings trying to survive in some weird form of purgatory have to deal with bees. Getting beehives is worth figuring out early on to get the honey supplies flowing liquid gold.
It only takes ten wood and a Queen Bee to craft one, and players can get their queen by smashing beehives they find in the world. Bee-lovers may not like doing so, but it’s definitely a means to an end.
2 Farm Greydwarf Nests
Greydwarves aren’t always easy to take down, but doing so can offer players tons of resources that are even more of a pain to hunt down. Occasionally, nests of Greydwarves will appear at random in various spots of the game.
While there’s no way to control the spawn, players shouldn’t destroy the next right away. Instead, they should take down as many waves of the creatures as possible to get things like stones, wood, resin, and rare Greydwarf Eyes.
1 Use Console Commands
Everyone has different feelings about cheating in games, but the console commands in Valheim give players countless options worth exploring. It’s possible to use them to delete items, make events begin, or even just take pretty pictures.
Not to mention, teleporting is incredibly useful and can save the effort of a long and boring walk to get next to friends. Traditionalists may prefer the latter, but given how much there is to see and do in Valheim, most will be happy for the chance to speed things up a little.
Valheim is available now on PC and releases in the first half of 2023 on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
