Valheim - a brutal exploration and survival game - now available on Early Access

[PorkyThePaladin]

Been playing this game for a few weeks, and I don't get the hype at all. The setting is nice and refreshing, and I don't mind the ancient looking graphics, but there is something completely off about the gameplay. I've actually been thinking about it, because it's not completely obvious, but normally I would love this kind of a game, and I just don't find myself enjoying it at all.

Part of it is just what I would call "stupid difficulty". In other words, difficulty that comes from having to do stupid stuff over and over. As an example, after defeating the 2nd boss, I have to go to the Swamp biome. Well, first I have to find it. There are no clues or anything as far as I can see, so I have to run around all the known area looking for it. Except even the continent I spawned on initially is fucking huge, and just exploring all its sides takes forever. A really boring forever, while you just run through boring zones, doing nothing of interest. This is NOT what exploration should be like in good games.

So I initially found the Plains biome instead, 400 miles to the south. Got one-shot there by some shit fly, and took forever to recover my bronze age shit. Again this is just stupid difficulty.

Kept "exploring" for more hours, and finally found the Swamp biome in another place. Except, stupid difficulty dictates it's not even on my continent but on some fucking island chain off in the sea. So I have to take a boat there, but of course as soon as I land, I am swarmed by all kinds of difficult shit which is impossible to kite on these tiny islands, while leeches and blobs and the like attack my boat and destroy it. Dying there, I have to hunt boars again to build new boats, and then an untold amount of wasted time later come back to die again, because I am swarmed by even more shit.

Is this just the result of procedural generation gone awry? Bad luck? Bad design? I dunno, but I can vouch it's not fun.

The other major thing that kills the fun is the grind. Even in bronze age, which I think is not as bad as the later stages, it takes FOREVER to make enough bronze to make the most basic equipment. I got so bored of that process, I didn't even upgrade anything besides my primary sword. The game just doesn't have any respect for the player's time. Maybe it's better in co-op/multiplayer, but solo it's just really boring.

 

[Zombra]

Is this just the result of procedural generation gone awry? Bad luck? Bad design? I dunno, but I can vouch it's not fun.

This is the result of you trying to solo a game intended for groups. Not your fault as the game says it can be played solo, but it can't. It's a small misunderstanding with catastrophic consequences.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

That's not a small misunderstanding. If it is indeed intended for multiplayer, they should label it as such, and if not, they deserve all the critique they get.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

Is this just the result of procedural generation gone awry? Bad luck? Bad design? I dunno, but I can vouch it's not fun.

This is the result of you trying to solo a game intended for groups. Not your fault as the game says it can be played solo, but it can't. It's a small misunderstanding with catastrophic consequences.

with the right company even slapping each other in the face can be fun.
games which demand many players to be fun most probably are not really fun to begin with.

 

[typical user]

I have played it solo. It's great for midnight sessions with Spotify. But first time it is a must to play in a group to understand the progression.

I have beaten it (almost) alone - I got gifted handful of silver and wolf skin to craft a cape. I had frost resist potions and found silver ores sticking out of ground myself.

 

[vota DC]

Been playing this game for a few weeks, and I don't get the hype at all. The setting is nice and refreshing, and I don't mind the ancient looking graphics, but there is something completely off about the gameplay. I've actually been thinking about it, because it's not completely obvious, but normally I would love this kind of a game, and I just don't find myself enjoying it at all.

Part of it is just what I would call "stupid difficulty". In other words, difficulty that comes from having to do stupid stuff over and over. As an example, after defeating the 2nd boss, I have to go to the Swamp biome. Well, first I have to find it. There are no clues or anything as far as I can see, so I have to run around all the known area looking for it. Except even the continent I spawned on initially is fucking huge, and just exploring all its sides takes forever. A really boring forever, while you just run through boring zones, doing nothing of interest. This is NOT what exploration should be like in good games.

So I initially found the Plains biome instead, 400 miles to the south. Got one-shot there by some shit fly, and took forever to recover my bronze age shit. Again this is just stupid difficulty.

Kept "exploring" for more hours, and finally found the Swamp biome in another place. Except, stupid difficulty dictates it's not even on my continent but on some fucking island chain off in the sea. So I have to take a boat there, but of course as soon as I land, I am swarmed by all kinds of difficult shit which is impossible to kite on these tiny islands, while leeches and blobs and the like attack my boat and destroy it. Dying there, I have to hunt boars again to build new boats, and then an untold amount of wasted time later come back to die again, because I am swarmed by even more shit.

Is this just the result of procedural generation gone awry? Bad luck? Bad design? I dunno, but I can vouch it's not fun.

The other major thing that kills the fun is the grind. Even in bronze age, which I think is not as bad as the later stages, it takes FOREVER to make enough bronze to make the most basic equipment. I got so bored of that process, I didn't even upgrade anything besides my primary sword. The game just doesn't have any respect for the player's time. Maybe it's better in co-op/multiplayer, but solo it's just really boring.

Usually a small Island of forest biome has a copper mine and every low coast has tin while swamp Is stupid because crypt where you find iron aren't guaranteed, you can find 10 in a small Island or zero in a huge swamp continent....clearing crypts Is funny, exploring swamp Is boring because you are always on water

 

[Latelistener]

Is this just the result of procedural generation gone awry? Bad luck? Bad design? I dunno, but I can vouch it's not fun.

The other major thing that kills the fun is the grind. Even in bronze age, which I think is not as bad as the later stages, it takes FOREVER to make enough bronze to make the most basic equipment. I got so bored of that process, I didn't even upgrade anything besides my primary sword. The game just doesn't have any respect for the player's time. Maybe it's better in co-op/multiplayer, but solo it's just really boring.

You're a pussy, that's all there is to it. You didn't upgrade anything other than your sword and then decided to go to the swamps. Good job.

For starters, you should have at the very least a fully upgraded troll armor set. I'm not saying anything about the bronze, since I had no problems farming swamps without it so I never crafted it.

Second, you should put a portal every time you set your foot on a new island.

Third, in my world every Elder boss has a swamp biome nearby, which means you most likely missed it. I can't vouch for that, but you can upload your seed and check the map for yourself: https://valheim-map.world

Forth, food is super important. Especially now after they rebalanced it.

Then again, if you find this to be hard, the next biome will destroy you.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

You actually misunderstood what I said. I only upgraded the sword beyond level 1, but I did have a full set of bronze armor and other bronze stuff, just didn't upgrade it. Level 1 bronze armor is better than fully upgraded troll armor, no? The rest of your arguments are just as wrong. Fanboys are gonna fanboy..

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Level 1 bronze armor is better than fully upgraded troll armor, no?

No. Upgraded troll armour is comparable to bronze level 1 and doesn't even have the mobility impediment.

 

[Latelistener]

Level 1 bronze armor is better than fully upgraded troll armor, no?

Bronze plate cuirass level 3 = Troll leather tunic level 4.

https://valheim.fandom.com/wiki/Bronze_plate_cuirass
https://valheim.fandom.com/wiki/Troll_leather_tunic

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

Eh, relax your autistic sphincter. So troll armor level 4 is slightly better than bronze armor level 1, still doesn't have anything to do with my issues with the game. Bad design is bad design.

 

[Latelistener]

Your main issue is butthurt caused by inattention, which resulted in aimless wandering and dying, which caused even more butthurt.

The only issue I can agree with is that the game in fact does not respect your time.

 

[Frank Capicoli]

Tried this out recently don't see the hype at all. Move speed is awful for how large and empty they've made everything. Progression is glacial slow with retarded crafting requirements, 10 flint for a spear that breaks after killing 7 of the most basic enemy with no early game repair system? I enjoyed fighting the first boss at least. Step foot in the Black Forest and get swarmed by enemies that are a waste to fight of time to fight for no reward, que Benny Hill theme running around avoiding enemies to get to mine, have a good laugh at mining 2 tin nodes with the pickaxe and 1/5th of its durability was gone already.

I don't play many of these games but this one probably has the most retarded design decisions of the ones I have tried so far.

 

[Latelistener]

Items can be repaired on a workbench used to craft that item. In your case, it's the starting workbench made from 10 woods.

Make at least two pickaxes. The one made from antlers isn't suppose to last long. Just enough to get you started and get an actual pickaxe.

 

[typical user]

Tried this out recently don't see the hype at all. Move speed is awful for how large and empty they've made everything. Progression is glacial slow with retarded crafting requirements, 10 flint for a spear that breaks after killing 7 of the most basic enemy with no early game repair system? I enjoyed fighting the first boss at least. Step foot in the Black Forest and get swarmed by enemies that are a waste to fight of time to fight for no reward, que Benny Hill theme running around avoiding enemies to get to mine, have a good laugh at mining 2 tin nodes with the pickaxe and 1/5th of its durability was gone already.

I don't play many of these games but this one probably has the most retarded design decisions of the ones I have tried so far.

It's supposed to be played in co-op, so resources are farmed faster; x2, x3 or more. You get swarmed in black forest probably because you venture at night when spawns are turned to 11. Flint spear and antler pickaxe are trash level items, they can be repaired at the most basic workbench which you can place anywhere at any time if you have 10 wood in your pockets. Once you get bronze level items or above and improve them you will see the difference.

If you know what you are doing, you will speedrun through first portion of the game. Once you kill second boss, then things slow down to glacier speeds.

 

[Hag]

Also, this game is shit so don't waste your time and go play something really enjoyable instead.

 

[Frank Capicoli]

You get swarmed in black forest probably because you venture at night when spawns are turned to 11.

Not really the spawn rate in this game for trash mobs is just too high probably because 'muh co-op'. It would've been interesting if destroying the nests reduced spawns in that specific biom or if killing the second boss had an unlock option that did that as a reward for "beating" that biom.

Once you get bronze level items or above and improve them you will see the difference.

I got a bronze pickaxe and upgraded it to level 3 now I can mine 1 and a half copper veins instead of half of one. Amazing difference.

 

[typical user]

Not really the spawn rate in this game for trash mobs is just too high probably because 'muh co-op'. It would've been interesting if destroying the nests reduced spawns in that specific biom or if killing the second boss had an unlock option that did that as a reward for "beating" that biom.

Well, the problem is every single black forest on every other island would be empty. If you destroy greydwarf nests there will be significantly less, but still. I don't think there is any option to fine-tune it. Maybe have similar approach like with meadows where you can find draugr villages if you are far from center of your world. Just get troll armor upgraded with good weapons and you will be able to ignore those creatures.

I got a bronze pickaxe and upgraded it to level 3 now I can mine 1 and a half copper veins instead of half of one. Amazing difference.

You don't need that much but yeah I know, spent too much of my time in crypts mining iron. Maybe devs will tune it. It used to take a lot more swings to get stuff out of rocks and some recipes required more of it before buffs.

 

[Delphik]

This game feels like it was made for people who like to grind endlessly and spend their entire existence to get an armor upgrade only to throw it 2 hours later when they kill the new boss and they have to upgrade their armor again
Regardless the game is trivial with the dodge I-Frames being too generous and the parry windows feel really big so you feel invincible once you get the hang of it, there's no switching up the attacks or anything.
I played it with mods that increase drop rates since I fucking hate grinding, especially mindless ones, I don't know why it takes them so long to make an update with all this undeserved success, the formula is literally 90% the same in every new region: Grind resources for armor and weapons > Grind trophies > Kill area boss > Go to the next area, there's nothing interesting or new in this game and it feels like wasted potential, all in all go play Terraria if you feel like playing a survival game with bosses.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

Yeah, see my post at the top of this page. Extremely overrated game, no idea why so many people love it. The grind is insane, and while the general idea of gather, craft, build, fight, get stronger is great, there are games that implement it so much better, like 7 Days to Die or Subnautica.

 

[dextermorgan]

Been playing this for a couple of weeks, about to quit before beating the 4th boss, for 2 reasons:

- Skill drop penalty on death is insane. The risk of losing all your gear, hair-raising naked runs to recover the body, having to build ships and portals to facilitate body recovery, these are all fine, skill penalty on top of that is just stupid
- Climbing near-vertical mountains to grind silver is long and boring as fuck

Also, game balance seems to be geared towards multiplayer, I don't mind hard but this is a bit ridiculous

 

[JarlFrank]

This was fun when I played it with friends.

Probably wouldn't be fun solo because you have to do a lot of farming for resources, and that's never fun. Ever.

 

[Delphik]

Been playing this for a couple of weeks, about to quit before beating the 4th boss, for 2 reasons:

- Skill drop penalty on death is insane. The risk of losing all your gear, hair-raising naked runs to recover the body, having to build ships and portals to facilitate body recovery, these are all fine, skill penalty on top of that is just stupid
- Climbing near-vertical mountains to grind silver is long and boring as fuck
- Game balance seems to be geared towards multiplayer, I don't mind hard but this is a bit ridiculous

There's a great difference between hard and tedious, the game balance is what I would call tedious, there's absolutely nothing that requires skill in mining > going to another node > mining > endless cycle, I was only able to enjoy this game with 4x the resources dropped.

 

[Grunker]

Been playing this for a couple of weeks, about to quit before beating the 4th boss, for 2 reasons:

- Skill drop penalty on death is insane. The risk of losing all your gear, hair-raising naked runs to recover the body, having to build ships and portals to facilitate body recovery, these are all fine, skill penalty on top of that is just stupid
- Climbing near-vertical mountains to grind silver is long and boring as fuck

Also, game balance seems to be geared towards multiplayer, I don't mind hard but this is a bit ridiculous

It's a shit solo game, which everyone and their mom except for fanboys would tell you

 

[Latelistener]

Been playing this for a couple of weeks, about to quit before beating the 4th boss, for 2 reasons:

- Skill drop penalty on death is insane. The risk of losing all your gear, hair-raising naked runs to recover the body, having to build ships and portals to facilitate body recovery, these are all fine, skill penalty on top of that is just stupid
- Climbing near-vertical mountains to grind silver is long and boring as fuck

Also, game balance seems to be geared towards multiplayer, I don't mind hard but this is a bit ridiculous

I would expect even more shit like this in the future as I'm getting the feeling that there is some sort of "hardcur" inner circle has formed around this game that pushes it into this direction. For example, they've nerfed food and stamina a few months ago, which made it even more tedious rather than hard. In my opinion, they should remove stamina from the game as it does nothing at all. To work properly there has to be a good combat system, but there isn't any and trying to make Dark Souls out of it is a lost cause, although their inner circle thinks otherwise.

As for the silver, you should build a base on top of a mountain to melt it and create a new armor and weapons. When you're done, take some ingots with you and you should be good as silver is probably the least useful metal and transporting raw ore from there doesn't make much sense overall. Also, don't go there without the insane armor buff from the third boss as without it wolves during an attack will eat you alive. Note that I haven't played since the last big update with a new biome, so some things might have changed.