A realm that even the Norse gods themselves actively try to avoid, this literal god-forsaken place will now serve as your playground, as you try to purge it of all the evil in it. Naturally, doing that is so much easier said than done. While Valheim is a rather straightforward game that takes away many of the annoying subtleties that plague other survival games, it’s not exactly without its own set of complications that make it difficult for beginners to simply jump right in and expect results on their first try. With that said, we’ve rounded up some tips that every Viking warrior should know when playing Valheim.
Build Weapons First
It’s tempting to focus on building your first settlement, even if it’s only just a hut. However, we definitely recommend skipping it. At least, for the first few days, as you focus on building weapons and everything else you need to build stuff that you can use to defend yourself. Having a shelter is great and all, but Valheim requires you to venture out more often than not. For example, your first order of business when you start the game is to pick up a couple of branches on the ground, so you can build a Club that you can use to kill enemies in 3 to 4 hits.
Don’t Rush
The game’s first boss, Eikthyr, will be near-impossible to take down unless you have decent weapons on hand. To get said weapons, you’ll need to have a stash of specific resources and a house where you have a fire to use for your workbench. This means that you can’t just go on rushing and focusing on exploring and hunting. Remember, Valheim tasks you to not only rid the plane of all the evil creatures that populate it, but also turn it into a home fit for fallen warriors such as yourself. You can’t do that if you keep on fighting. You’ll have to put in the equal effort when you’re exploring, hunting, gathering, and building, so you can accomplish your goals. The more focused your efforts are on a particular objective, the more prepared you’ll be to take on the next task. Just try not to get too obsessed with completing “objectives” and end up building yourself a mansion when a simple cot will do.
Be Observant
Valheim is a living and breathing world. Or, at least, that’s how it was designed to be. Because of this, Valheim has a specific set of rules that govern everything in it. Like, for example, how flint can only be found directly in water or near water sources. So, if you want flint, you don’t specifically go looking for it – you go look for water. The same rules and logic apply to creatures, so if you want to avoid skeletons, stay away from the burial chambers. Another tip is to try and watch out for the direction of the wind. Remember, you’re not exactly the most hygienic person and the creatures of Valheim are sort of sensitive to smell, so they can literally smell you from a mile away if the wind direction is heading towards them and you’re not careful. Valheim might seem like a chaotic game where everything goes, but some commonalities affect resources and creatures alike. You’ll want to pay more attention to your surroundings and even the time of the day if you want to maximize your efforts.
Build a Cart ASAP
Not a lot of Valheim players know this, but you can actually build a Cart to carry all of your burdens for you. Well, not literally all of them. The cart only adds 18 inventory slots, which isn’t that much. However, in Valheim, you take what you get, and because the Cart doesn’t have a weight limit, it’s the ideal choice for transporting heavy items like ores and more. For the price of just x20 Wood and x10 Nails, the Cart can be yours.
Map Markers Are Your Friend
The realm of Valheim is vast and it’s easy to get yourself literally lost in it. Prevent this from happening by placing map markers, which you can do by simply opening your world map. You can prevent this from being a boring task by dragging the icon you prefer and naming the marker whatever you want.
Ensure You Eat Your Fill
With a base health of 25 points and a limited stamina gauge, you’re not exactly a mighty Viking warrior when you get to Valheim. While these stats will increase over time, a good way to raise your health and stamina is to eat. You can eat up to three different food items simultaneously and their effects will stack. However, eating similar types of food is not possible until its initial timer has run out. You can find the icons of the food you ate to the left of your health bar - this makes it easier to keep track of what you’ve eaten and when their effects will expire. Just keep in mind that healing in Valheim works in ticks. Food doesn’t heal you instantly. Instead, healing will come every 10 real-world seconds or so. However, stamina bonuses are instant.
Use Old Buildings
They say that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. In Valheim, those old buildings are the closest thing to a treasure that you can find. The different biomes are home to destroyed buildings that you’ll want to take apart piece by piece as soon as possible, so that you can extract resources basically for free and with minimal effort.
Be The Best Viking That You Can Be
Cleansing Valheim won’t be easy. However, you won’t be alone, and you certainly won’t be coming in unarmed. With our tips, you’ll be able to prepare yourself better to take on Eikthyr and future bosses.
