Valheim is one of the latest Early Access titles to go live on Steam and has already sold an impressive 2 million copies since its launch on February 2nd. There's a good chance that if you're reading this that you've picked up Valheim for yourself to see what all the fuss is about but are unsure on some of the mechanics? Well, fear not, as today we'll go over 5 things you need to know in Valheim!
1 - Characters & Worlds
When you create a character in Valheim, that character isn't locked to a specific world, unlike traditional survival games. This means that a character can jump between worlds, be it solo or multiplayer, and keep anything they find in that world. This means that if you have a solo save and your character is struggling to obtain specific resources from high-level areas or against difficult enemies, you can visit a multiplayer world and team up with some friends or random players online and work together to obtain those resources and bring them back to your solo world.
2 - Food Types
In Valheim you'll find various sources of food that you can consume to recover health or increase your maximum health. Valheim takes the food system in a rather unique way in which consuming different types of food together will give the player a higher maximum health pool. By consuming a piece of meat, a mushroom, and a raspberry, you are receiving a benefit for using three different food types, this means your maximum health will be much higher than it would be if you at two different types of berries and a piece of meat.
3 - Building Mechanics
You'll need a base of operations in Valheim to craft new gear and tore materials & resources you find along the way, this, of course, means you'll need a house of some kind. When building a house in Valheim there are some things to consider though. Valheim won't allow you to build floors and walls unless they are connected to the ground via support. This can be a pillar connecting it to the ground but you can also just place a floor on level ground to support it. You'll also need to build more supports as your house gets larger to prevent pieces from collapsing. Make sure to build a chimney or ventilation in the roof as well or you'll find yourself suffocating from smoke inhalation.
4 - World Map & Waypoints
As you explore the world of Valheim you're going to come across places you'll want to re-visit. This is where the map comes in handy, you can see some waypoints like the boss altar and the summoning stones on the map already as well as any beds you have claimed. Things like small villages, traders, or even dungeons won't show up on the map after discovering them so you'll have to mark them with a waypoint to find your way back to them. Also, did you know that if you zoom out whilst in the map menu you'll release the world is spherical and every single part of it can be explored to your heart's desire?
5 - Boss Encounters
To progress your technological age in Valheim you'll have to defeat the bosses you were first informed about at the start of the game when you first spawned in. Each of these bosses has different abilities and traits, you'll have to defeat them to further advance your progress and attain better gear and resources. You can summon them by sacrificing the appropriate trophy and once you've defeated them you can return a boss trophy to the summoning stones to receive a temporary stat buff.
There is, of course, much more to Valheim than just this but now you know 5 things you should keep in mind when playing Valheim. But what do you think of the game so far? Are you impressed at how polished it is for an Early Access title or do you think the game still has a ways to go before it can become the next big survival game? We'd love to know in the comments below!