Valheim: 10 Advanced Gameplay Tips and Tricks

Using trees to chop down other trees? Rookie tip. Keeping a “temp” portal? Been doing that for months. Finally, here are ten great tips and tricks that go beyond the basics when it comes to playing the popular Viking-themed open-world survival game , Valheim.

1. Terrain Walls

Walls are an essential part of fortification as you progress in Valheim. Naturally, stone fares better than wood against encroaching beasties, and iron fares even better. Still, there’s one type of wall that won’t take damage at all: terrain.

Now, this has the potential to spike up your FPS, but raising walls or digging a trench around your base can turn waves of enemies from a dreadful encounter into a minor nuisance.

For the best effect, dig a trench around whatever space you’re protecting, and directly on the other side create a large mound of dirt for your wall. This is great for trolls especially, and also has the added benefit of trapping deer every so often. Once you make a lookout to snipe down enemies, you’re laughing.

2. Pillar Up

If you find yourself in a tricky situation where combat isn’t going so well for you, use a hoe to pillar up and get out of reach from melee attacks. So long as you’ve got your bow and some ammo, you can shoot down without fearing for your life.

Of course, you’ll need to have a workbench nearby to make this doable. But with practice, it’s more than possible (and worth it) to cheese enemies this way.

3. Levelling Ground

There are more than a few mechanics that Valheim doesn’t explain to players. Levelling ground is one of them. If you’re having trouble flattening an area evenly, it’s important to know that the game takes the elevation at your feet as its reference. Rather than walking around an area as you work, try standing in one spot, and only moving once the surrounding area is flat. Then, rinse and repeat.

What this means is that you can save tons upon tons of stone trying to build up terrain, simply by standing on a heightened spot and working from there.

By holding Shift, you can also change the point of reference to be whatever terrain you’re pointing at instead.

You’re welcome.

4. Workbench Spam

Workbenches are magic. Not just because they allow for nearly everything else in Valheim, but because they actually disallow enemy spawns.

Use this to your advantage by hiding a bunch of them in the outer perimeter of your walls, or in small pits covered with floor tiles. You’ll have to hide them to prevent enemies from destroying them, but this can work to expand your home turf by giving you some peace of mind.

5. Planting in Straight Lines

With no grid to snap to when it comes to planting, you’ve likely come to accept that the best you’ll get is crooked rows of beets and carrots. Well, your gardens are about to thank you. With some simple camera trickery, it is possible to plant in perfectly straight lines.

Tilt the camera down at an angle of about 45 degrees. Then, while moving forward, spamclick whatever it is you want to plant. This will allow you to plant in neat rows, while still - magically - leaving enough space for plants to grow happily. Naturally, you’ll get the best results when working on even ground.

6. Shelter Mechanic

The shelter mechanic is another thing Valheim has left players to figure out on their own. If you’re someone who’s drawn to more open-concept designs for your Viking house, you’re bound to encounter some seemingly random spots in your home that don’t offer the “sheltered” benefit.

The game judges this by casting 17 “rays” originating from the character in all directions. These rays check if there are walls or roofing within 30 meters, and grant the benefit accordingly.

To solve this issue, place a chair in the exact spot where shelter is available. While doing this, keep in mind that your altitude changes ever so slightly when you’re sitting down, and thus may or may not affect whether you receive the bonus.  

7. Using Trees for Building

Valheim’s structural integrity mechanic is one that, with any luck, other survival games will take note of. But even if you understand how it works, it can be a pain to try to get support structures in place for large buildings. This is where trees become your new best friend.

Trees are the strongest support pillar you can get, providing the same amount of support all the way to the top. The only potential nuisances are leaves and branches, meaning that pine will likely be your best friend.

8. Stacking Storage

Chests don’t have to take up all your floor space. By placing a 1x1 wood floor tile on top of a chest, the game will allow you to place another chest on top of the first one.

Additionally, consider placing a cart inside your storage area as well. By running into the cart at different angles, you can force it to glitch and stick inside walls, helping save space while still allowing you all those sweet, sweet slots you so desperately need to store all those trophies.

9. Rested Bonus

Even though this is some pretty basic info, its importance can’t be overstated. When you’re rested, there’s a hidden bonus to experience points - 50%! Always, always, always have the rested bonus active. Always.

10. Destroying Beds

Exploring islands and faraway lands can be scary as hell, even for experienced players. There’s just so much that can go wrong, and so much at stake.

Luckily, if you’re ever stranded somewhere and have no way back home, set a bed as your spawn, then destroy your bed. This will allow you to respawn at the power alter instead, which is bound to be a much faster and safer trip than whatever harrowing trek it would have been otherwise.

Honorable Mentions

For the Valhalla of it, here are some other Valheim gameplay tips that didn’t make it onto the list, but are worth mentioning. Wolves can’t drown, meaning you don’t need to force them onto your boat to get them to help you with that faraway boss on another island. Make use of the hoe to elevate terrain in the marsh to get rid of water in the swamp. Place a 1x1 wood floor plank on roofs while you’re constructing to give yourself a place to stand. And finally, dig out the middle of stone circles you find in the wild for a surprise.

Now go on and prove yourself, brave warrior! Odin awaits.