Valheim

Deep North arrived as Valheim’s biggest content beat, adding a new biome packed with creatures, weapons, food, materials, locations, and build pieces. Upgradeable Pockets, new Deep North mechanics, and Crossplay Across All Platforms supplied notable progression and multiplayer changes.

• Deep North content:
  • Deep North combat: 10+ creatures, 40+ weapons, four armour sets, bombs, ammunition, and tools.
  • Deep North crafting: 20+ food items, 30+ materials, 80+ buildable pieces, two capes, two trinkets, and Upgradeable Pockets.
  • Deep North exploration: New locations, events, music, mechanics, and achievements arrived alongside Lingonberries and Shovel Crafting for Snow Clearing.
• Platforms and multiplayer: PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 versions became available, while Crossplay Across All Platforms connected PC, Linux, Mac, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 2. Valheim 1.0 was announced for September 9 with new enemies, bases, weapons, and 50+ achievements planned for that release.
• World Save System:
  • New World Save System: Chunked saves wrote only modified areas and ran extra integrity checks.
  • Change in Save File Structure: World saves moved to separate folders, with database files split across multiple files; backups received separate folders.
  • Rework of the Save System in PTB: Entered testing, while Fix for rare world object erasure bug addressed object loss when large chunks split.
• Combat and survival tuning:
  • Slippery Ice Mechanics: Changed movement in Deep North; Shovel Crafting for Snow Clearing cleared deep snow.
  • Nord Greatsword damage adjustments: Removed multi-target damage reduction; Trophy Drop Chance Based on Monster Star Level improved trophy odds for higher-star monsters.
  • Ashlands: Enemy spawn rates and timing were rebalanced, while Mistlands and Ashlands Gear gained durability; Writhan spawn areas and rates increased.
• Unity 6000.0.61f1: The engine upgrade delivered faster world generation, cheaper heightmap shadows, and GPU and CPU performance improvements.

Call to Arms moved from the Public Test Branch to Valheim’s live version on September 18, 2025, delivering the window’s biggest playable addition. It expanded combat with new weapons, Trinkets, enemies, armor, and the Adrenaline system, while a PlayStation version was announced and the Deep North remained in development.

• Call to Arms content: The update added 18 weapons, including nine wooden practice weapons; 13 Trinkets; two armor sets; the Bear and Vile enemies; the CombatRuin01 location; and the Perfect Dodge Roll skill. It also added Bear Meat, eight crafting materials, three building pieces, and new hairstyles and beard styles.
• Combat systems: The Adrenaline system rewarded area attacks and other combat actions, while Perfect Block no longer cost stamina. Forsaken Powers were rebalanced, heavy-weapon movement penalties were reduced, and Trinkets were moved to Forge or Black Forge crafting. Unity 6000.0.46f also upgraded the engine behind the live build.
• Haldor: The Haldor game mode introduced a merchant-focused novelty experience with the Deer body type, Deer Raiser weapon, Shotgun, and Rock building piece.
• PlayStation: A PlayStation version of Valheim was announced, but no release occurred in this window.
• Deep North development: Several named elements were previewed rather than delivered as a finished biome.
  • Frost Foundry: A workshop addition for crafting in the Deep North was introduced in development footage.
  • Winding Tunnels: The new dungeon type was teased alongside Hervor Bloodtooth’s storyline, while Elaking and a new armor type were revealed.
  • Steeper Roof Pieces: 67° thatch and darkwood roof pieces, plus a loom extension for the Galdr table, were teased as additional building and crafting work.

The Ashlands biome update arrived with 10+ creatures, 30+ weapons, 30+ crafting materials, three armor sets, and more than 70 buildable items, alongside fire-spreading hazards, new locations, events, music, and combat mechanics. The Bog Witch update added a new progression layer around cooking, farming, crafting, and shareable feasts, while Mac support brought full crossplay to another platform.

• Ashlands: The update added bombs and ammunition, five crafting-station upgrades, two capes, new food and potions, Flametal building pieces, and a setting-specific attack-direction toggle. It also introduced hazards such as lava and spreading fire, plus new creatures including Asksvin, Voltures, and the Charred.
• Bog Witch: The update introduced the Cooking, Farming, and Crafting skills; eight long-lasting feasts that could be shared; the Serving Tray and Scythe; a new Swamp trader and location; 16 crafting materials; eight potions; new clothing, emotes, and build pieces; and the Ghosts event.
• Platform support: Valheim on Mac launched with full crossplay, alongside Mac-specific windowed fullscreen support and input adjustments. The game also moved to Unity 2022.3.50.
• Ashlands tuning: Patch 0.218.21 and subsequent balance changes reduced the spawn pressure from Asksvin, Twitchers, Charred Archers, Charred Melees, Voltures, and LavaBlobs, while lava damage and Flametal spire behavior were adjusted. The Trollstav gained dungeon restrictions and anti-overuse warnings, and the Shield Generator blocked enemy and lava-rock spawns.
• 1.0 roadmap: The Deep North was announced as the final biome update before Valheim left Early Access, with teasers showing its planned setting and features rather than a playable release.

Valheim’s Hildir’s Request update added a new merchant, three mini-bosses, new dungeons, clothing, and world customization options. The Xbox release with crossplay expanded the player base, while the Ashlands received extensive previews but did not launch during this window.

• Hildir’s Request: Added Hildir’s Camp, the Howling Cavern, Sealed Tower, and Smouldering Tomb, along with three mini-bosses, 24 clothing items, the Sparkler, Barber Station, Firepit, and new crafting extensions including the Vice Grip and Unfading Candle.
• Xbox Release: Launched Valheim on Xbox with full crossplay support, Balanced Mode graphics, and later keyboard-and-mouse support. PlayStation controller trigger swapping and improved console UI scaling also arrived.
• World Modifiers: Introduced customizable difficulty and resource settings, including Easy, Hard, and Casual presets; Casual mode prevented gear loss on death. Dedicated servers gained startup and console controls for modifiers through setworldpreset, setworldmodifier, and related commands.
• Ashlands Preview: The unreleased Ashlands update was previewed with Charred enemies, Fallen Valkyries, fortress sieges, molten-rock environments, new structures, a temple location, Ashlands weapons, and the Embla armor design. Its terrain generation was refined so the biome bordered only the Ocean.
• Unity 2022: Upgraded the game engine to Unity 2022 and improved dedicated-server performance, structural-integrity calculations, world-save size, and large-build CPU usage. Worlds loaded under the upgraded version were not backwards-compatible with earlier versions.
• Manage Saves: Added manual saving, permanent version backups, and in-game restoration for corrupt or incomplete world saves. Quick Stack and manual building snaps also made inventory management and construction more convenient.

Mistlands launched on December 6, bringing Valheim’s largest new biome with new creatures, crafting tiers, magic, farming, and exploration systems. Crossplay arrived across platforms, while Frost Caves added a new mountain dungeon and a substantial set of Fenris-themed gear and enemies.

• Mistlands update: The biome introduced The Queen, Seekers, Seeker Broods, and other creatures, alongside more than 25 craftable items, 20 materials, 35 building and furniture pieces, new crafting stations, and new food and potion recipes.
  • Magic: Eitr-based food enabled Elemental Magic and Blood Magic through new staves and skills.
  • Wisplight: Stationary and player-following wisplights helped clear the Mistlands’ obscuring fog.
  • Poultry and mushrooms: Players could hatch chickens and grow Mistlands mushrooms at home.
• Frost Caves: The new dungeon appeared in previously unexplored Mountain areas, adding the Fenris Coat, Fenris Leggings, Fenris Hood, Flesh Rippers, Red Jute materials, and the Ulv, Cultist, and Bat enemies. The “You Stirred the Cauldron” event also arrived with the update.
• Crossplay: Players could join friends across platforms, and dedicated servers gained the -crossplay option. The Join Game tab added favorite servers and server-status checks.
• Mistlands balance pass: Mistlands terrain generation increased, progression rewards were revised, and the Seeker Event, Seeker AI, Ballista, Mistlands armor, shields, and magic-staff recipes received tuning. Post-Queen night spawns also introduced Seekers, Broods, and Ticks in additional biomes.
• Core systems: Steam Deck optimization, full controller support, and single-player pausing arrived, while the Autobackup System retained two-hour and 12-hour save backups.
• Roadmap: Ashlands entered pre-production with concept art and design work, while an Xbox release with crossplay support was announced.

New Terrain Modification System introduced a more flexible way to reshape Valheim’s world, while also reducing network instances and improving loading. The game also previewed Hearth and Home and Mistlands, but neither update was confirmed as released in this window.

• Terrain and building: New Terrain Modification System made terrain changes load before buildings, lowered the stone cost for raising ground, and made terrain raising smoother and less pointy.
• World activity:
  • “You are being hunted...” and “The horde is attacking”: Two new random events were added, with event rules for Bonemass, Moder, and the Fuling army adjusted.
  • Blob event: The long-forgotten Blob event was enabled.
  • Monster AI: Greydwarfs, bosses, and other monsters received targeting and fleeing changes, including bosses no longer running from players.
• New equipment and seasonal items:
  • Armor Stand: Added a building item for displaying unused armor and gear.
  • Jack-o-turnip: Added as a fall decoration.
  • Yule tree and Yuleklapp: Added seasonal building items for the holidays.
• Combat and balance:
  • Fuling AI tweaks: Fulings spread out and circled more effectively, while Fulings and Fuling Shamans received lower health and became easier to stagger.
  • Melee weapons: Stamina costs were reduced across melee weapons, with bows also using less stamina and knives receiving more durability.
  • Bonemass, Moder, and Yagluth: Their difficulty was increased, while the Troll ground slam became blockable and Deathsquitos dealt less damage.
• Multiplayer and technical systems:
  • Dedicated Servers: Direct connections replaced Steam Datagram Relay, lowering latency; LAN joining and manual IP connections also improved.
  • Vulkan: Vulkan support was enabled in Windows builds through the -force-vulkan launch option.
  • Unity engine: The engine was updated to address random pathfinding-related crashes.