Use these tips and tricks to start strong in Valheim
Getting to grips with Valheim is often a matter of trial and error. But if you’re finding the game’s massive world daunting, thisValheim guideis filled with essentialtips and tricksto help you to master the game, covering everything from weapons to building, from boss battles to boar taming. We have everything to get you started.
What to do on Day 1 in Valheim
The first thing you’ll need to do when you start a new game in Valheim is gather some wood and stone so you can craft some basic tools. Wood can be harvested from branches on the ground or by punching plants and bushes, while stones can be found dotted about the ground.
The first tool you should make is the Axe, to chop trees and gather wood more easily. After that, craft a Club to defend yourself, and a Hammer to start building with.
Place down a Workbench and make sure it’s covered and protected from the elements. Use ourValheim Workbench guideto help you with this! With the Workbench you canrepair broken toolsand weapons for free, so build one as soon as possible.
Everything in Valheim has certain criteria for spawning into the world. Beyond just wood and stone, one of the first major resources you’ll need to gather is Flint. Make sure you read our guide onwhere to find Flint in Valheim, because that’s a good example of how everything spawns in particular areas of the map.
Another example later on in the game is Iron. Many new players are confused abouthow to find Iron in Valheim, but once you know the rules governing its spawn locations, it becomes quite simple.
Certain other resources, such as Bronze, can’t be found anywhere naturally and so must be crafted. Check out our guide onhow to make Bronzefor full details.
Finding good food sources in Valheim is also important. You can’t starve in Valheim, but the fuller you are, the higher your maximum health and stamina. You can eat up to three different types of food at a time, and each will extend your health bar by a certain amount for a while, while also healing you up over time.
To begin with, the best sources of food come from Boars, Necks, and Mushrooms found in forests. If you need some help on creating a reliable source of food, you should definitely look intoBoar taming in Valheim.
There are several different weapon types in Valheim, and each of them has their own skill. Skills in Valheim use theSkyrimmethod of levelling up the more you use them. So if you want to get good at chopping wood, you need to chop lots of wood.
All the different weapon types have their strengths and weaknesses, so it’s a good idea to mix things up and increase your skill level with all of them. Check out our guide to thebest Valheim weaponsfor more information!
Most enemies are weak or resistant to particular damage types (piercing, blunt, slashing, fire, etc.). Pay attention to the colour of your damage numbers:
A good companion to our weapons guide is our guide to thebest Valheim Armorand how to craft it.
It’s rare for a survival game to give you such a clear set of objectives to help you progress, but that’s what Valheim has given you with the Forsaken boss battles, so use them as your main goals to work towards.
These bosses are not pushovers. Don’t make the same mistake I did: only summon the first boss, Eikthyr, when you’re well and truly ready. To find out what you need to be ready, check out ourEikthyr boss fight walkthrough.
For details on all the other bosses in the game, be sure to consult our largerValheim bosses guide, which contains details on what to expect with every Forsaken, and what you get out of defeating them. Each one drops unique and powerful loot which is required to unlock major new technologies and tools, such as theValheim Pickaxe- which you’ll need to start miningCopperandTinso you can craft stronger metal equipment.
I’ve already touched on how important it is to know where to find each resource, material, and creature or enemy in Valheim. That means knowledge of theValheim map and its biomesis of utmost importance.
Did you know, for example, that Copper and Tin veins can be found in the Black Forest - as can gigantic Trolls and powerful self-healing Greydwarf Shamans?
Did you know that each biome in the game has its own naturally spawning structures, crypts, and dungeons?
Did you know that each Valheim map is procedurally generated from a starting seed, and that we have a list of thebest Valheim seedsso you can find the perfect world for your newest journey?
Building is one of the most satisfying aspects of Valheim. There’s a lot to learn about building, from the importance of chimneys to wood decaying in the rain, to understanding how the game determines the stability of your house. All of that and more is covered in our dedicatedValheim building guide.
But as much fun as it is, I’d recommend you keep your bases functional and simple until quite a bit later on in the game when you’ve unlocked more of the fundamental tools for building. Otherwise you’ll end up wanting to tear down your just-completed mansion the moment you find out you could make the whole thing so much better with the new building material you’ve just discovered.
In my opinion, Valheim is a game best enjoyed with others. The devs at Iron Gate seem to agree, so they’ve given players the tools to easily set up their owndedicated Valheim serversso you can easily start playing with friends and family.
If you want to host your own server, you’ll need to have a basic knowledge of how to useValheim console commands and cheatsto control the world and its players. You can also use the console for things likeforcing the game to save, so it’s not all about cheating.
Just remember that the game difficulty scales up to match the number of players in the world, so be prepared for raids and enemies to hit harder in multiplayer!
Valheim has some very impressive simulations going on behind the scenes, and the best part is they’re all there for a reason, and you’ll need to learn how to master them.
For example: wind direction is very important. The arrow in the corner of your minimap shows the current wind direction. Take note of it, because animals like Deer will smell you more easily if you’re approaching from upwind rather than downwind.
Another important simulation: smoke from your firepit will collect if built indoors. If you don’t build a chimney, you’ll start to suffocate from the fumes. Again, learn how to avoid such things by perusing ourValheim building guide.
Another example: chopped trees will take into account the tree’s leaning, wind direction, the angle of the chop, and the slope of the ground with its fall. Falling logs can kill you in a single hit, but they can also be very useful if they crash into other logs and trees and break them apart, sparing you the effort of chopping everything down yourself.
Let’s finish up with some more general tips and tricks on everything from Valheim’s UI and controls to setting up your own beehives.
And with that, our Valheim tips and tricks come to an end. Hopefully you’ve learned a thing or two about how to better survive and thrive in Valheim’s forbidding and punishing lands. Keep checking back every so often, because we’ll continue to add more guides and update our existing pages with the most up-to-date info!
