In this guide, I will explain to you the fundamentals of Valheim and the different levels and aspects of the game, beginner to advanced, solo to full server.
I will cover;
1. Building
2. Combat
3. Fundamental Mechanics, such as the health and stamina system
4. Travel
5. Difficulty
6. Grindy-ness
7. Content
and much more…
So let’s get started.
Building
Building is an integral, and most challenging element of Valheim. Builds can go from as utterly unflattering as a wooden 2×2, all the way to a huge town or city, similar to what you’d see in greats such as Skyrim and TW3.
Building in Valheim is much like real life, arguably the most realistic building there is. Using beams for support, building integrity and strength depending on; the functional stability, and/or being exposed to the elements of the world.
To build functionally and practically, one must terraform the land. Much more comprehensible, digestible Guides for this process, building alike, can be found on YouTube.
Here’s an example of a build of my own:
Not very clear, but Steam will not allow me to upload greater images. You get the idea: it’s a four-roofed mead hall and community area. Fairly simple build, approx 4/10 on difficulty scale.
Building is something, if you aren’t familiar with engineering etc, you should invest time into studying before building, as even having these buildings of your own creation present in your world will enhance your experience greatly.
Combat
There isn’t really too much to say about Valheim’s combat other than, it is incredibly relative to that of the Souls games.
- Essentially, higher armour stat = better parry and block.
- Certain weapon damages, i.e. Blunt, Pierce, Slash: some are effective against some enemies, others not so much (check Valheim wiki if you need specific enemy weaknesses)
- Dodging using M2 and Space gives you iFrames, (invincibility frames) and thus you will not be hit if you dodge perfectly. I recommend rolling FORWARD, not BACKWARD.
- Parry times are not super hard if you associate the timing in which you parry with body movements of enemies, or sound cues of enemies.
- Figure out and algorithm when fighting every enemy, i.e. general Troll fighting algorithm is 1,2,3, dodge (or parry, 1,2,3,) repeat. Be wary of stamina level, as you will need it to dodge or parry.
Fundamental Mechanics
- Food is divided into 3 main uses; Eitr, Health and Stamina. Depending on your build, you will want to adjust what you eat. My personal preferences are as follows: Magic build = 3 Eitr food, Swords etc. build = 2 health, 1 stam.
- Food becomes less effective the longer ago you have eaten it. Be sure to refresh your food when it is at about 3/4 the way through its lifespan.
- Skills have a HUGE impact on difficulty: KEEP THE SAME CHARACTER ACROSS MULTIPLE SAVES, and try your best NOT to die, as you lose skills upon death!
- Do not throw things into the water if you wish to keep them.
- Although some things are shaped like cuddly, friendly creatures… looks are deceiving.
Travel
- Boats progressively become faster and more durable the further you get in the game.
- Stamina potions can help make long walk/runs shorter.
- Eikthyr’s power, especially when there are multiple people with it in their power slot ready to reapply it once your first guys power runs out, can make running much easier.
- Run skill will absolutely, unequivocally shift your effectiveness within travel.
- Certain armours make you heavier, so taking it off when running long distances may help.
- Eat stamina food and get the “Rested” status effect to regain stamina faster, and have a larger stamina threshold.
Difficulty
The games difficulty differs depending on what build you run, your gaming background, reaction time, progress in game etc. Great utilisation of all combat styles: blocking, parrying, dodging, bows, swords, potions, and all other types of weapon types, will give you the easiest time in the game.
Over-preparation is almost equal to victory.
Grind
To be entirely honest, I have to do my Psychology homework so I’m rushing this, but the grind is LONG, and TEDIOUS, having HELP makes this EASIER.
Boom. Key words.
Content
Ranging from 60hrs to 500+ if you enjoy the game. It’s pretty spectacular.
