Valheim – Full Basic Guide

A full compilation guide about Valheim.

Guide to Basics

Introduction

In this guide you will find usefull information about Valheim and how it works, keep in mind that you could find some spoilers here so be advised.

Craft System and How Unlock Recipes

Craft system

There are four ways to craft items in this game:

  • Basic crafts from your TAB menu.
  • Crafting from a workbench or forge.
  • Placing structures using the hammer.
  • Processed items from smelter, charcoal kiln, cooking station.

How to unlock new recipes

To unlock different recipes or structures you have to get at least one of the necessary items to make the craft. For example, if you want to get the recipe to craft a flint axe you need to find flint and wood first.

Sailing Basics

There are three ships in the game:

  • Raft: Small slow basic boat.
  • Karve: Larger and faster that raft. You can unlock it when you gather Fine Wood from birchs.
  • Longship: Much bigger then Karve.

The raft is the boat you are going to be using until you unlock the Longship.

  • You use W to increase speed and S to decrease speed in the rudder indicator.
  • You use A or D to turn the rudder left or right.

There are two indicators in our UI which will help us to sail.

1. Rudder indicator

  • Shows rudder direction. You can turn left or right 90º.
  • Shows your speed indicator.

2. Wind indicator

  • Shows wind direction and if the wind is moving your ship. If the wind icon is white and is hitting the gold part of the circle the ship is getting enough wind to move. Gray wind and hitting the black part of the circle your ship will be not able to move using the sail.
  • Shows your speed indicator.

Speed indicator info

1. Small arrows in the wheel icon:

  • One arrow up: Rowing speed forward.
  • Two arrow up: Low sail speed.
  • Three arrow up: Full sail speed.
  • One arrow down: Rowing speed backward.

2. Icon above the wind circle:

  • Oar: Rowing speed.
  • Raised sail: Low sail speed.
  • Lowered sail: Full sail speed.

If you fall out of your boat you can jump in again looking for the ladder in the back of the raft or in the left side of the Karve.

Bosses

List of different bosses in the game, where you can find them and which items you need to summon it:

Eikthyr

  • Name – Eikthyr    
  • Biome – Meadow
  • Summon items – Deer Trophies x2
  • Drop – Hard Antler and Eikthyr trophy

The Elder

  • Name – The Elder    
  • Biome – Black Forest
  • Summon items – Ancient Seed x8
  • Drop – Swamp Key and Elder trophy

The Elder Temple

Bonemass

  • Name – Bonemass
  • Biome – Swamp
  • Summon items – Whitered bone x10
  • Drop – Wishbone and Bonemass trophy

Bonemass Temple

Note: There are more bosses in the game but I didn’t fight or find them yet.

Surtling Core and How to Get Them

What is a Surtling Core?

Surtling core are very important in early game as they allow you to craft the Smelter and the Charcoal kiln which allows you to melt ores and craft cooper, iron and other better weapons and tools.

You need 10 Surtling core. 5 to craft the Smelter and 5 to craft the Charcoal kiln. I recommend to craft the Smelter first as you can get some coal from cooking station burning food.

Where I can get Surtling Core?

You can find this item in:

  • Random chest: This has very low drop since I didn’t find any in a chest yet.
  • Inside dungeons. Aroung 0-9 In just one dungeon. There are some dungeons which are empty and there are large dungeons with a lot of them.
  • Surtling mob drop: Fire mobs which drop it.

Breaking the Smelter or the Charcoal kiln:

  • If you break one of those building you will get your 5 Surtling Core back, so don’t worry about it.

Swamp Key

You can get a Swamp key after defeat The Elder boss. This key allow you to open a Swamp temples that you can find in the swamp biomes.

You can use 1x Swam Key to unlock one of these temples.

Inside the crypts you will have to break some Muddy scrap pile to be able to keep going and exploring the crypt, these pile will give you iron an other items.

To break a Muddy scrap pile you need a pickaxe.

Inside the crypt you also will find some chest with items and strong enemies so be ready to fight.

How to Add Markers on the Map

You can add 5 different markers in your map. This markers are local so if you are playing with some friends they won’t be able to see them.

To select one marker you have to left click on it, you can find the markers on the bottom right corner of the map.

To place a new marker double left click on the map, write the name of the marker and press enter.

To remove a marker right click on it.

Biomes

List of different biomes you can find in the game.

Meadows

  • Starting area.
  • Full of trees, stone, deers…
  • Not very dangerous.

Black Forest

  • Second area you will explore.
  • Full of pines, stones, mushrooms, Greydwarfs and Trolls.
  • More dangerous than Meadows. Have care with Trolls.
  • You can find copper and tin here.

Mountain

  • Permanent blizzards make you freeze (damage over time debuff).
  • You need close to a firepit or wear warm clothes.
  • Full of wolfs. They are very dangerous so be ready.
  • You can find iron here.

Swamp

  • Full of slimes, skeletons, draugrs and dangerous creatures.
  • More dangerous than Black Forest.
  • You can be poisoned.
  • You can find iron here.

Mistlands

Ocean

  • Not much info about it.
  • If you sail far away from the coast you will move into it.

Deep North

Ashlands

Merchant

You can find a traveler merchant in the Black Forest. The spawn location is random but when you are close you will be able to see a bag icon in your map.

You can buy and sell some items to this merchant.

  • Fishing rod (350 coins).
  • Bait.

Portals

Portals allow players to travel long distance instantly. You need two portals named with the same tag.

You need to have a Workbench in range or the portal won’t work.

There are some items which can’t be teleported so if you have one of these in your inventory you won’t be able to use the teleport. These are:

  • Tin ore
  • Tin
  • Copper ore
  • Copper
  • Bronze
  • Silver ore

Fishing

To be able to fishing you need a fishing rod and fishing bait that you can buy in a merchant.

How to fish:

  • Equip your fishing rod and get some bait in your inventory.
  • Look for fishes in the sea, lake or similar. Don’t randomly throw your hook in to the sea.
  • Left click using the fishing rod. Longer you hold left click further away the hook will go. You will spend one bait every left click.
  • Wait until a fish hit your hook, when the hook goes down press right click and hold it until the fish is close enough to be able to pick it pressing E.
Volodymyr Azimoff
About Volodymyr Azimoff 7936 Articles
I love games and I live games. Video games are my passion, my hobby and my job. My experience with games started back in 1994 with the Metal Mutant game on ZX Spectrum computer. And since then, I’ve been playing on anything from consoles, to mobile devices. My first official job in the game industry started back in 2005, and I'm still doing what I love to do.

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