⚠️ Note: This update is for the Public Test branch of Valheim only, and may therefore be unstable!


Prior to launching this update to the Default version of the game, we want to have a chance to discover bugs and fine-tune the balancing to ensure the best game experience.

• ACCESS: Right-click Valheim in your Steam library, then select ‘Properties’. In the new window, select ‘Betas’ and type in the code “yesimadebackups”. The Public Test branch should now be available for you to select. The PTB FAQ can be found here.
  
  
  
• FEEDBACK: Please leave any feedback in the “#valheim-public-test” channel in our Discord or through the PTB form on our website.
  

Please remember to be considerate towards players who are not participating in the Public Test, as some may prefer to avoid spoilers. As indicated by the access code, please ensure to create backups of your save files before playing.

Hello vikings! We've got a bunch of fixes and improvements for you today, to smooth out the game and to prepare everything for the upcoming Ashlands update. This patch touches on everything from enemy spawning and build pieces to language issues and memory leaks. Most notably though, it features an upgrade of Unity and a significant change to how the game loads assets such as dungeons. If you mod the game, please see the FAQ linked further below as it will affect many mods!

* Unity engine upgraded
* Major changes how locations/dungeons are loaded to improve performance
* Multiple bug fixes

Fixes & improvements:
* Upgraded Unity engine to 2022.3.17f
* Changes to how locations/dungeons/rooms are loaded and unloaded. For more information regarding this change, please see the FAQ
* Fixed issue where Seasonal groups that extended over a year change wouldn't work in the new year
* Fixed terrain modifications around locations not getting applied properly
* Fixed bug where old pre-Mistlands terrain modification did not blend with newer modifications [Note! you have to run the “optterrain” command to update the terrain]
* Fixed issue with the point emote not orienting the player properly
* Fixed multiple bugs related to the blocklist
* Fixed a bug where menu navigation via keyboard arrows keys stopped working after the setting menu was exited via ESC or back button
* Fixed some UI elements to no longer flicker when the game is running at low FPS
* Naturally spawned beds can now be removed using the hammer
* Fixed a bug where Geirrhafa and Brenna would respawn after game restart
* Turnip inventory stacking fixed to match other vegetables
* Fixed missing text for Fermenter without a roof
* Fixed hardcoded text for Kiln
* Fixed a bug where weight for many items is not displayed for Turkish language
* Fixed text in some languages not being centered vertically in the manage saves menu
* Fixed items in merchants' stores not being centered
* Fixed Sun shafts and Soft particles graphic settings not toggling properly
* Low disk space warning improvements
* Fixed a memory leak when highlighting building objects
* Improve time to validate IP addresses which speeds up loading
* Players can now find friends on Xbox/MS Store via friends tab in server browser
* Fixed missing text when trying to use an item on a cartography table and windmill
* Fixed an issue with Linux dedicated servers
* Fixed window resizing when exiting settings
* Elder no longer spawns on his altar
* Optimised minimap to reduce FPS drops when having a lot of map markers
* Fixed an issue with cloud saves on Microsoft Store
* Weight text in UI Tooltips now show both individual weight and total weight for stacked items
* Fixed a bug that caused 2 days to be skipped instead of 1 when only Xbox clients were connected to a dedicated server
* Tweaked how camera rotation on gamepads behave [Now a lot more similar to how it behaves on Mouse/Keyboard]
* Fixed inconsistent support calculations for “Cage floor” 1x1 piece
* Fixed gap when placing banners
* Fix items to no longer move in the inventory UI when upgrading them
* Fixed creature position not updating properly when transferring ownership
* Fixed an issue where blocklist would allocate 2GB of RAM, now it only allocates what is necessary
* Fixed issues with boat ownership when a client gets disconnected
* Boats no longer suddenly stop when ownership is transferred or a player is accessing the boat storage
* Sails are now blowing in the correct direction compared to winds
* Dealing knockback to an enemy in a slope no longer affects the player dealing the knockback
* Gamepad and mouse now both behave in the same way
* Added caching for minimap creation to make startup time faster

Greetings!

We had quite a bit of a tumultuous end to January here at Iron Gate, with our Discord server unfortunately getting hacked. The server has been built back up again and we once more invite you to join us there, though we’re sad to say that most of the chat history is now gone due to the hackers deleting almost all of the channels. Still, so many of you reached out to us to offer your support and well-wishes, and it means a lot to us to have such a caring community. You’re the best!

But now on to the fun stuff: In case you’ve missed it, we are currently collaborating with Heroic Replicas! They have created some incredible Valheim replicas, both large and small, which you can now get your hands on. Check out their Kickstarter campaign, which is live for another couple of days. Book your items before February 26th while you have the chance!

The best part about the Kickstarter is that it’s run entirely by Heroic Replicas, so it hasn’t impacted the Ashlands development at all! We’d of course like to continue to give you some sneak peeks of what we’re working on, and for that we’d like to start off with the third and final Walk & Talk episode. We hope you’ve appreciated the series!



But of course we have some good old fashioned still images for you as well! The Ashlands is a hostile place, even for the creatures that live there. You’ll be able to stumble upon the corpses of some of them on your travels. Just be careful of whatever killed them in the first place…



The skulls of the very same creatures can also be used to create this fancy-looking wreath, which is both decorative and useful. Can you guess what for?



We also want to give you a clearer view of something from the Walk & Talk episode. We go into a bit of detail about the weapon customisation you’ll be able to experiment with in the Ashlands, and how you’ll use gems to give special properties to your items. This sword, for example, is the same sword that we’ve already shown you a lightning version of, but this is what it will look like if you upgrade it with a bloodstone instead:




Even though we’re yearning for spring, we couldn’t resist this dreamy winter castle by Chicken_Phobia. Well done! If you want your creation to be featured in this section, use the hashtag #ValheimBotM on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Due to changes in the tagging system on Facebook and Instagram, please also send us a DM with a link to your entry as well as using the hashtag if you post there! You can view previous builds in this thread on Steam.



Ready your swords!

/The Iron Gate team

If you’d like to discuss the content of this post, please visit our Discord, or our forums on Reddit and Steam, or make a comment on social media!

Hello 2024!

We hope you’ve all had a lovely yuletide and that you’re ready for another year in the tenth world, because we sure are! As we mentioned last time, we are aiming to release the Ashlands update sometime during the first half of this year, and we’re already hard at work to ensure that it happens.

We want to kick off the year right away with another episode of our Walk & Talk series; it seemed like a lot of you really appreciated episode one, and we hope you’ll enjoy listening to us chat once again:



Just like last time, this episode shows off some things we haven’t revealed previously. One such thing is a twitcher spawner, which you will encounter a lot of in the Ashlands. You’ll have to check out the video to hear what we have to say about them, but we’ll give you a peek of what they look like right here:



Something else we want to show you is an updated visual of the fallen valkyrie. She really has come a long way from where we started out with her, and you’d better keep an eye on the sky if you want to avoid a swift death!



While most things in the Ashlands are indeed out to get you, there are still places where you might find some rest and refuge (at least for a precious moment or two). This temple is one such place, though you still need to be on your guard in case the charred dead decide to return to their place of worship…




For the first Build of the Month this year we want to highlight this lakehouse by JosephMavridis! It was a very hard choice this month, so we suspect many of you have had some extra time to build over the holidays! If you want your creation to be featured in this section, use the hashtag #ValheimBotM on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Due to changes in the tagging system on Facebook and Instagram, please also send us a DM with a link to your entry as well as using the hashtag if you post there! You can view previous builds in this thread on Steam.



May your new year be prosperous!

/The Iron Gate Team

If you’d like to discuss the content of this post, please visit our Discord, or our forums on Reddit and Steam, or make a comment on social media!

Well met, vikings!

The year is drawing to a close and we have reached the final dev blog for 2023. We know that a lot of you have been asking about when the Ashlands update is due to be released, and we now want to officially confirm that it will be released sometime during the first half of 2024! Like with all our updates, it will hit the PTB first and then the live version a short while after that.

But for now we want to leave you with a little something over the holidays, so we’re going to share with you the first of a short series of “Walk & Talk” videos, in which community manager Josefin, artist/generalist Robin and programmer Jonathan chat about some Valheim and Ashlands topics. It’s not unlike the Fireside Chat videos we have previously made, but in a slightly different packaging:



Just in case you missed it, we have also shared another interview with one of our freelancers. This time it was Lee Williams, the writer behind a lot of Valheim’s lore, who got to introduce himself and his creative process!

And now, as usual, over to the teasers!

Since it’s almost yuletide, we wanted to show you some of the tasty-looking dishes we have cooked up in the Ashlands kitchens. May we tempt you with some Mashed Meat, a Piquant Pie, or perhaps a Spicy Marmalade?



Of course, you can’t cook without ingredients. Not much can grow in the hot and arid landscape of the Ashlands, but some plants are resilient enough to still thrive there. We thought we’d give you a glimpse of what they will look like:



And last, but the very opposite of least, we want to show you a hint of how absolutely badass you’ll be able to look in the Ashlands:




The final Build of the Month for 2023 we would like to award to paddy_fr for this base in the snowy Mountains! If you want your creation to be featured in this section, use the hashtag #ValheimBotM on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Due to changes in the tagging system on Facebook and Instagram, please also send us a DM with a link to your entry as well as using the hashtag if you post there! You can view previous builds in this thread on Steam.



A merry yuletide and a happy new year to you all!

/The Iron Gate team

If you’d like to discuss the content of this post, please visit our Discord, or our forums on Reddit and Steam, or make a comment on social media!

Aside from some regular fixes and tweaks, this patch features two special things that we really hope you will appreciate! Firstly we have changed the seasonal items to be set to activate depending on the date. Since we're in December, that means the yuletide items will be available right now! And the second highly requested feature is that we have added keyboard/mouse support for Xbox, so that you can play the game however you prefer!

Happy holidays!


* Settings menu revamped
* Added automatic toggling of seasonal items
* Multiple bug fixes

Fixes & improvements:
* Fixed blurry item counters in inventory
* Fixed issue where player profile link in Player List would open multiple times
* Fixed problem where text "None" was hard coded in the build HUD to instead use localized string
* Enabled auto-size on BuildHUD amount text objects as they need to be sized down for some translations to fit
* Alleviated issue with music stuttering when playing with low FPS
* Added automatic toggling of seasonal items
* Fixed issue where the skill value UI text wouldn't update properly for bonus levels
* Added proper support for IME-input
* Added NumPad support for the Hotbar
* Fixed bug where key hints wouldn't display correctly on non-QWERTY keyboard layouts
* Implemented a system to detect low local disk space when saving
* Fixed an issue where admins couldn’t kick players via the player list UI on dedicated servers
* Tweaked boss-spawning to prevent bosses from getting stuck
* Fixed an issue where signs would be flashing with anti-aliasing on
* Fixed a bug that could cause boats to take damage due to low FPS
* Fixed bug where D-pad input was unresponsive in menus on Steam Deck
* Localization updated

Settings menu revamped:
* Split "Controls" tab into two: "Controller" and "Keyboard & Mouse"
* New tabs "Gameplay" and "Accessibility" for PC and Linux version with according settings
* Some settings can be found on multiple tabs so they can be found more easily
* Reordered some settings into other tabs
* Tool-tips for some settings to clarify their functionality
* Predefined graphic modes for PC and Linux: "Performance", "Quality", "Balanced" and "Very low"
* Added a "Keyboard & Mouse" tab for Xbox
* More graphic customization for Xbox versions
* Separate settings to invert the camera for controller and mouse
* Fixed overlapping of controller button labels

Xbox:
* Added Keyboard/Mouse support for Xbox

This update is for the Public Test branch of Valheim, and may therefore be unstable. Before we launch this update to the Default version of the game, we want to make sure to have a chance to discover bugs and adjust the balancing, to give you the best game experience possible.
Access the Public Test branch by right clicking Valheim in your Steam library, and then select ‘Properties’. In the new window, select ‘Betas’ and type in the code “yesimadebackups”. The Public Test branch should now be available for you to choose from.
Please leave any feedback you may have in the appropriate channel in our Discord, or in the appropriate forum on our website.
As always, remember to be considerate towards players not partaking in the Public Test, in case they want to avoid spoilers.
As the password indicates, please make sure to make backups of your save files before playing.

This patch features some further fixes and tweaks, but hopefully it should be ready to be moved to the live branch soon!

Fixes & improvements:
* Fixed bug where all mouse input was reset to "Mouse Back".
* Added fix for IME-input not working for first chat message.
* Fixed bug where the player can't reset keybindings if left mouse is set to switch tabs in settings
* Fixed overlapping graphic texts in settings
* Localization updated

Xbox:
* Removed render scale from all graphic presets
* Reset render scale for users on Xbox that have altered the render scale was done because the render scale is now disabled on Xbox
* Fixed issue where input wasn't validated properly on Xbox when using Keyboard/mouse input

This update is for the Public Test branch of Valheim, and may therefore be unstable. Before we launch this update to the Default version of the game, we want to make sure to have a chance to discover bugs and adjust the balancing, to give you the best game experience possible.
Access the Public Test branch by right clicking Valheim in your Steam library, and then select ‘Properties’. In the new window, select ‘Betas’ and type in the code “yesimadebackups”. The Public Test branch should now be available for you to choose from.
Please leave any feedback you may have in the appropriate channel in our Discord, or in the appropriate forum on our website.
As always, remember to be considerate towards players not partaking in the Public Test, in case they want to avoid spoilers.
As the password indicates, please make sure to make backups of your save files before playing.

Some tweaks and fixes to the PBT today!

Fixes & improvements:
* Fixed overlapping labels in the settings menu
* Fixed multiple issues connected to input and input fields
* Fixed not being able to bind keyboard keys to tab
* Removed NumPad support for hotbar

Xbox:
* Removed render scale setting on Xbox due to flickering issues
* Fixed a bug that could cause the Xbox to hang

This update is for the Public Test branch of Valheim, and may therefore be unstable. Before we launch this update to the Default version of the game, we want to make sure to have a chance to discover bugs and adjust the balancing, to give you the best game experience possible.
Access the Public Test branch by right clicking Valheim in your Steam library, and then select ‘Properties’. In the new window, select ‘Betas’ and type in the code “yesimadebackups”. The Public Test branch should now be available for you to choose from.
Please leave any feedback you may have in the appropriate channel in our Discord, or in the appropriate forum on our website.
As always, remember to be considerate towards players not partaking in the Public Test, in case they want to avoid spoilers.
As the password indicates, please make sure to make backups of your save files before playing.

Aside from some regular fixes and tweaks, this patch features two special things that we really hope you will appreciate! Firstly we have changed the seasonal items to be set to activate depending on the date. Since we're in December, that means the yuletide items will be available right now! And the second highly requested feature is that we have added keyboard/mouse support for Xbox, so that you can play the game however you prefer!

* Settings menu revamped
* Added automatic toggling of seasonal items
* Multiple bug fixes
* Xbox keyboard/mouse support added

Fixes & improvements:
* Fixed blurry item counters in inventory
* Fixed issue where player profile link in Player List would open multiple times
* Fixed problem where text "None" was hard coded in the build HUD to instead use localized string
* Enabled auto-size on BuildHUD amount text objects as they need to be sized down for some translations to fit
* Alleviated issue with music stuttering when playing with low FPS
* Added automatic toggling of seasonal items
* Fixed issue where the skill value UI text wouldn't update properly for bonus levels
* Added proper support for IME-input
* Added NumPad support for the Hotbar
* Fixed bug where key hints wouldn't display correctly on non-QWERTY keyboard layouts
* Implemented a system to detect low local disk space when saving
* Fixed an issue where admins couldn’t kick players via the player list UI on dedicated servers
* Tweaked boss-spawning to prevent bosses from getting stuck
* Fixed an issue where signs would be flashing with anti-aliasing on
* Fixed a bug that could cause boats to take damage due to low FPS
* Fixed bug where D-pad input was unresponsive in menus on Steam Deck

Settings menu revamped:
* Split "Controls" tab into two: "Controller" and "Keyboard & Mouse"
* New tabs "Gameplay" and "Accessibility" for PC and Linux version with according settings
* some settings can be found on multiple tabs so they can be found more easily
* Reordered some settings into other tabs
* Tool-tips for some settings to clarify their functionality
* Predefined graphic modes for PC and Linux: "Performance", "Quality", "Balanced" and "Very low"
* Added a "Keyboard & Mouse" tab for Xbox
* More graphic customization for Xbox versions
* Separate settings to invert the camera for controller and mouse
* Fixed overlapping of controller button labels

Xbox:
* Added Keyboard/Mouse support for Xbox

Greetings, vikings!

November is pretty dark and dreary, but we hope to brighten the darkness with this blog post!

As you may have noticed, we released a patch earlier this month which both featured a Unity upgrade as well as some seasonal items for autumn. Unfortunately it was released from the Public Test Branch a bit later than we had hoped, which meant that you didn’t get the jack-o-turnip and the pointy hat until after Halloween was over. We’re sorry about this, but we will make sure to switch this system to an automatic one in the future, so that you will always have the seasonal content available during certain times of the year!

But as always, on to the teasers!

We want to start off this post by showing off one of the new armour designs for the Ashlands, now fully modelled and textured. Since fire is not only a symbol of destruction, but also of rebirth and new beginnings, we have named this set after one of the two first humans in Norse mythology: Embla.



And as you may recall, we have said that Fortress time! will be a central part of the Ashlands. This is still the case, and we wanted to show you a current peek of one of the eponymous fortresses. Of course, it will not just be the wall on its own that you have to get past…



Last time we showed you some weapons that will be added to the game with the Ashlands update. Many of you pointed out that they didn’t look particularly magical or special compared to the earlier concept art, and you are correct. We won’t tell you just yet how you will be achieving the extra power boosts for these weapons, but we wanted to show you one of them in a more final form:




For this month, we want to show off this massive castle by aGurkis1! It was technically posted in October, but after we had already made our selection for that month. Since it was so impressive, we wanted to show it off now instead! If you want your creation to be featured in this section, use the hashtag #ValheimBotM on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Due to changes in the tagging system on Facebook and Instagram, please also send us a DM with a link to your entry as well as using the hashtag if you post there! You can view previous builds in this thread on Steam.



May your swords be sharp!

/The Iron Gate team

If you’d like to discuss the content of this post, please visit our Discord, or our forums on Reddit and Steam, or make a comment on social media!

Some small, but still very much important, fixes for this patch!

* Fixed a loading order issue for ObjectTypes, so now items/creatures won’t load before terrain is finished
* 'Use item' hints on objects for the hotbar are now visible again when playing with a controller