Welcome to Valheim, viking! It is time to be tested in this realm to prove yourself worthy of Valhalla. In this brutal and harsh open sandbox world, you have to survive from the weather, starvation and creatures of the biomes that are out there to kill you.
To keep you and your squad safe, you’ll need a base. Here are a couple of construction tips to start building your first Valheim base.
Choose the Right Spot
The first thing you want to do is find a good spot for your base before you start constructing your base. This is an important step, and it’s best if you don’t get too excited and rush to building your base immediately. What you’ll need is to make sure that the base is able to protect you and your squad from threats, and you’re able to use it as a proper base. Below is the checklist you’ll need to tick off before building your first base:
Close to Resources such as Trees
Building a base requires a lot of resources, particularly trees. You’ll be performing massive deforestation as you’re building it. So make sure there’s a healthy patch of forest nearby. Find a clearing surrounded by forest, so you have a big source of wood. Make sure that the wood type is exactly the type you’re looking for.
Beech and Fir trees and stumps will only drop wood, which you’ll need in the early game. Check this wiki entry for the types of trees and the type of wood they yield.
Food Sources Nearby
Your base will function as a place to reset and recuperate for your Valheim viking squad. If you’re coming back from a bloody battle and almost at the brink of death, it’s better to have enough food stored in your base. Better yet, have food sources near your base. The best thing to have is a couple of raspberry bushes nearby. A small pond or river with necktail would be a great quick snack for your team since they’re easy to kill and are easy to find.
Close to a Body of Water
This is optional, but consider having your base near a huge body of water. We’re talking about the ocean here. This leaves room for you to build a harbor and go exploring faraway lands. You’ll have a safe place to store your boats. This is of course something you’ll look at mid-game level since you’ll need to smelt iron nails to construct boats.
Level Terrain
Before starting off construction, level the terrain. This will ensure that your floor tiles will fit snugly, and you will not end up with a crooked base when you’re done adding the final support beam to your base. You’ll need to use a Hoe tool in order to level or elevate the terrain to your liking.
Use Correct Building Tiles
Valheim’s unique physics for its material allows you to build interesting structures but at the same time introduces some difficulty. Each building piece has a maximum stability and strength point. Use roof tiles to build your roof, to ensure rain does not put out your campfire in the base. Using the right tiles will also ensure that you won’t encounter a snag trying to fit in the rest of the building pieces.
Build a Chimney
Having a campfire in your base is a must. And unlike many base-building games out there, Valheim has smoke damage. So you’re going to need an efficient chimney in order to divert all the fire’s smoke outside your base. Build a sturdy chimney with a slanted protective cover on top to avoid rain from putting it out. For more detailed information on building a chimney and venting smoke, check out this guide.
What to Have in Your Base
So you have your base basic structure going. Now you’re going to need these to make your base a home:
- Have enough beds to accommodate your squad. Keep it close to the fire to enjoy the warmth bonus.
- A cooking station over your campfire.
- A row of chests to store whatever resources you’ve collected in your exploration.
- A workbench to fix your items as well as your base from time to time. You might want to keep some space to introduce other stations, so you can fix your upgraded items within your base as well.
And now you have a perfectly safe base, filled with basic requirements to survive the harsh lands of Valheim. If you’re ready to upgrade your base to the next level and start pouring some of that creative ideas you have, you’ll need to learn to make sturdy stairs. Follow this guide to build stairs properly.
Keep yourself warm, and your tummy full in your new base. And if you see a troll beelining towards your base, well….good luck. To Valhalla!