

Also, you drop everything (including your equipped weapons and armor) when you die. When you die, you could lose some skill points, so it’s best to value your life as much as possible. You get bigger and better for doing the things you love! That said, there are stakes and risks here. Blocking with a shield, stabbing with a knife, swimming, jumping, whatever. Valheim uses a skill-based advancement system that rewards you with proficiency for doing things. You may have noticed that as you run, cut, and craft that your skills are going up. With that, you can cut down the bigger trees and start collecting massive amounts of wood. Using the rocks and wood, craft yourself a makeshift axe. No, this isn’t Minecraft, but you are going to need some wood! Don’t try and knock down the massive trees just yet, start on the small bushes and find yourself some rocks lying around. The first order of business is to start punching trees. Time to get to work! Your first night will fall quickly, and like other survival games, Valheim’s evenings are much more dangerous than the days, and having shelter is important. You’re cold, it’s wet, and you have some raggedy pants on. Doesn’t sound too scary, right? Well, we’ll get to more on that later. Your first big mission is to summon and destroy Eikthyrnir, a giant stag demigod. Here, at a magical altar, you can see runestones depicting the various gods that you’ll be taking on over the course of the game. When you begin Valheim, you’re unceremoniously dropped into a little forest nook in the Meadows biome where you get a taste of what your future holds. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves a bit here. Getting a group that enjoys a mix of tasks is a big benefit, dividing and conquering activities like building up your homestead, exploring underground dungeons, and gathering essential materials. You can play with up to 10 people in a single game, and bringing more fledgling Vikings into the mix greatly improves your efficiency and survivability. First, it’s important to note that you can (and probably should) tackle the dangers of Valheim with friends.
