Valheim is a new survival game that is becoming extremely popular. It has become one of the biggest games on Steam right now! More and more people are starting their Viking adventure.
We want to give you some of our knowledge so your time in Valheim is a little less overwhelming. So, we’ve made a list of a few tips and tricks for beginners that you must know.
One of the best parts of Valheim is its exploration and discovery. We won't spoil anything that we believe is more fun to naturally discover and learn by yourself. This guide is to make your first few hours go a little bit faster.
Collect everything! You can harvest, chop down, mine, and collect almost anything.
You can basically collect everything in Valheim. Chop down every new tree you see, collect new resources you find, and mine new ore that you’ve discovered! Even if you don’t think you have a use for it now, still collect them. Every resource has a purpose and you will eventually need them, and a lot of them.
Craft everything regardless if it seems useless.
Whenever you unlock a new crafting recipe, craft it. You might not think it'll be useful; however, crafting a seemingly useless item might unlock a wealth of new crafting recipes. Whenever you see bronze nails, give it a craft, and see what new things you can create, you’ll thank us later!
Kill the bosses. They are your objectives.
What is your purpose in Valheim? Your overall objective is to kill the bosses of Valheim. Treat them as your objectives. Killing a boss will unlock the next pathway for you to follow. It is how you progress in the game. For example, to start mining ore, you will need to defeat the first boss. So, go kill all the bosses of Valheim.
Use your map to its full potential.
You can do more than just stare at your map. You can add markers to it and see other players.
Select an icon on the right side of the map and then double click anywhere on the map. This will create a marker that you can name. It will stay in there forever until you remove it. You can remove markers by right clicking on them twice.
Another useful tip is by clicking once on a marker. Doing so will put a red “x” over it. If you find copper ore and mark it on the map, you can then mark it with an "x" when you’ve mined it all.
Try out all of the weapons!
Craft and try all the weapons. There is no “best” weapon in the game. You might like one weapon and how it feels over another. You will never know if you don't try!
Also, certain weapons are more effective against certain enemies. For example, if you see a yellow number appear when you are attacking a skeleton, that weapon type is more effective to skeletons, so keep using that weapon.
Oh, also try clicking your middle mouse button with your weapon. That is its special attack.
Spend more time exploring and less building in early game.
The more time you spend exploring, the more of the game you unlock. It is a waste of time to build an entire mansion in early game because you quickly unlock other critical building materials. Meaning, you're going to have to tear down what you built!
We recommend building a basic base that has all the things you need to explore and craft. Once you unlock the majority of building structures, that is when you want to start crafting your stronghold.
What you eat determines how much health and stamina you have.
The hunger and health system in Valheim is pretty unique. Your health and stamina is directly based on the food that you eat. Make and collect different types of food. The combination of different foods will give you higher stamina and more health.
Repair. It's free!
When your tool dies—don’t craft a new one—repair it. Repair your gear all of the time; it is free! You don’t want to travel halfway across the ocean to realize your pickaxe has 50% of its durability left.
Back up your world.
Valheim is surprisingly in early access and with that means there is a possibility something might go wrong. Even the developers recommend backing up your world and character often.
To back up your world/character locate your game files, located here:
C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\
You can quickly access the appdata folder by searching "%appdata%" using Windows file search.
In the Valheim folder you will see a "characters" and "worlds" folder. Within these are the files you want to backup. Find your world and/or character folders and back them up somewhere safe.
Have portals ready-to-go.
Make sure you have crafting materials for portals available all the time. You never know when you will need to craft a portal. They are vital for exploring. If you die and have a portal all set up, it will make getting your loot so much easier. Nothing is more frustrating than dying on a different island with no portal.
So when you plan on sailing to a different island, bring portal supplies!
Play with friends. Co-op is fun!
Playing alone in Valheim is very peaceful and can be relaxing. However, the real fun begins when you get to play with your friends in Co-op.
We offer Valheim dedicated servers! You can play co-op with a Valheim multiplayer server at Shockbyte.
Teaming up and conquering the bosses of Valheim with other people is a next level experience. Exploring the world is faster and creativity thrives when more people are involved. Build strongholds & villages filled with other players on a Valheim dedicated server, where anybody can play at anytime.
