ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR SURVIVING IN VALHEIM
February 17, 2021
Valheim released on Steam Early Access just two weeks ago, and it’s already become a worldwide phenomenon. With over two million units sold, a huge amount of perished Vikings are entering the secret tenth realm for the first time. Those players are quickly finding the lands to be rather harsh, with immense struggles around every corner. Instead of wandering endlessly through the unfriendly forests, follow our tips and tricks to survive and thrive in the afterlife.
Stock Up On Wood
It’s you and the wilderness in Valheim, and you’re going to need some essentials in order to make it through the first day. It’s absolutely crucial to collect supplies as soon as you drop into the game.
The most important resource to grab on day one is wood, as it can be used to create a number of invaluable items. Wood can be used to craft axes, clubs, hammers, and much more. These are items you’ll always need to have in your inventory in order to move deeper into the game. Luckily, there’s wood all over the place for you to collect.
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Wood can be found laying on the ground, or by destroying bushes and other plants. Gather whatever you can find and start turning it into useful tools. Once you’ve made the basic items, you’ll want to start branching out. Putting together a workbench will let you create some more advanced tools, but as you might suspect, you’ll need some other resources to pair with them. Items like stone, coal, metals, are key to making better goodies, but again, it all starts with wood.
Build A Shelter
Once you’ve put together some tools, your next objective should to be sheltered. There are a lot of unfriendly monsters out in the wild, and you don’t want to spend the night sleeping next to them. Putting together even the most humble of shelters can ensure that you’ll live to fight another day.
You should have a hammer and a workbench crafted by now, which is all you need to make a simple shelter. That said, there are some rules your abode will have to follow in order to actually qualify as a shelter. As you’re building a shelter, make sure you have enough cover over your head, room for a fire, and finally, a bed. As long as your bed is covered by some sort of roofing and you have a fire close by, you’ll get the stamp of approval for moving in. Remember, your shelter doesn’t have to be huge or impressive. It’s literally meant to be the first line of defense against you and the creatures of the night.
If you don’t feel like building your own shelter, there’s another way to keep you safe. You’ll have to get a bit lucky, but you might be able to find an abandoned shelter on your journey. There are a handful of these spots sprinkled around the map, and they’re pretty much move-in ready. They might even be a bit nicer than what you can build on your own at the time. If you happen upon an abandoned shelter, do a bit of tidying up to set things as you’d like, get that fire going, and call it a night.
Practice Makes Perfect
Since you’re a newcomer in Valheim, you’re going to start at square one with all of your abilities. If you want to beef up your skills, you can easily do so by performing them over and over. The more time you spend on select skills, the quicker your stats will grow with them.
All the skills in Valheim are important, but there will probably be a few that you want to focus on based on your style of play. If you’re someone who loves to fight, spend a lot of time shooting your bow and arrow or swinging your sword. If you’re more interested in athletic skills, pour ample time into swimming and running across the landscape. Perhaps you’re someone who likes to make moves without others noticing. Take a stealthy approach to movement and you can enhance your sneaking skill. Again, dedicating time to any of these skills over a long period of time will help you reach their upper levels.
Feast like a Viking
Last but not least, you’ll want to keep yourself fed before you head out for exploration. While you can’t go hungry in Valheim, eating food can boost both your health and stamina. Both are extremely important for making your way through the world and surviving battles. You can forage mushrooms and other plants to fill out your health and stamina bars, but eating meat will get the job done much quicker. With a fishing rod or spear, you can get yourself a filling meal. Either way, having a full belly gives you a much better chance of surviving a particularly nasty battle, either by brute force or running away.
Valheim is going to be particularly unforgiving in the early days, but don’t give up. Knocking out our list of suggestions will have you well-positioned for days to come. There are sure to be setbacks and challenges that’ll be hard to come back from, but just remember that everyone is dealing with the same struggles. They’ve all managed to come back better than ever, and there’s no doubt you will too!
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Kevin Cassidy has been covering all things Nintendo for over 15 years now and has been leading the weekly GoNintendo Podcast for just as long. Kevin is also quite passionate about pro wrestling, anime, comic books, and more! Follow Kevin on Twitter via @GoNintendoTweet.
