Valheim: From Humble Beginnings to a Frosty Future

Valheim: A Viking Saga Through the Ages – From Humble Beginnings to a Frosty Future

Valheim, the survival game that burst onto the scene like a longboat raiding a coastal village, launched in February 2021 and, let’s be real, nobody expected it to become the colossal hit it did. We’re talking millions of copies sold in the first month – a staggering number that forced Iron Gate to ditch their initial roadmap and get their ship in order. And, boy, has it been a ride ever since! Seven major updates over four years have transformed Valheim from a cool concept to a bona fide Viking epic. So, let’s grab our mead horns and delve into Valheim’s past, its current state, and the icy, epic future that awaits.

Abandoning Ship (The Roadmap, That Is)

The initial success of Valheim was… well, unexpected, to say the least. Iron Gate, bless their cotton socks, had to scramble to fix bugs and optimize performance to accommodate the massive influx of players. It wasn’t all smooth sailing, but who expects that from a bunch of Viking game devs? The first major update, Hearth & Home in September 2021, marked a turning point. Forget the roadmap, they said, we’re focusing on solidifying the game. And good call, I reckon! They balanced the food system, added a new iron cooking station, oven, and three cauldron upgrades. But that’s not all, oh no! They introduced tar pits in the Plains (nightmare fuel, if you ask me) and the gnarly Growths. Tar gave us new darkwood building pieces, but also new weapons, shields, and vital fixtures like the obliterator (for all that unwanted trash) and the multiplayer-friendly cartography table. Oh, and let’s not forget the best part, the addition of saddles allowing us to ride frickin’ lox. It was a necessary move, and frankly, Hearth & Home was arguably the most impactful update for the game. It laid the groundwork for future content, solidifying Valheim’s foundation. And yeah, most of the original roadmap items have since been added, just, y’know, in due time.

Swamp Thing (and other horrors)

But 2021 wasn’t done with us yet! A sneaky update dropped in November, with patch notes that were more ominous than informative, bringing us one of Valheim’s most iconic creatures: The Abomination. These swampy terrors emerging from the ground with a guttural groan – still gives me the chills – and their animation and sound design are top-tier. From these rooty fiends came the Root Armor set, and shortly after, the armor stand recipe to show off our ill-gotten gains. Iron Gate closed the books on 2021 with a bang, or should I say, a groan.

2022: The Year of the Viking

2022, my friends, was a bloody good year for Valheim. It started with the Frost Caves update in March, and this was only the first of two major drops! These mountain dungeons brought us the Ulv, Cultists, and the ever-annoying Bats. Clearing these bad boys gave us new resources and items like the Fenris armor (still my favorite) and the flesh ripper fist weapon (unleash the beast!). On top of that we got some sweet new buildable items like jute carpets and standing braziers.

Unfortunately, it also brought us the dreaded \”You Stirred the Cauldron Event.\” Nobody asked for that.

Then, the update we’d all been waiting for: Mistlands. At the end of 2022, the Mistlands finally arrived, the first new biome since Valheim’s launch. It took the existing web-covered landscape and plunged it into a deep and mysterious fog. This update was… controversial, let’s just say that. But along with the new biome came everything you’d expect: a new boss, creatures, weapons, armor, food, building pieces, crafting stations, and the brand new mana mechanic of Eitr and spellcasting staves. And let’s be real, the soundtrack? Fire. The fishing system was also revamped with a new skill and biome-specific fish with varying quality levels. Despite all the goodness, players were on the fence due to poor visibility and the stamina-sapping cliffs of the biome, but I gotta admit, it’s grown on me. The Mistlands is mechanically diverse, with its creatures, resources, and gameplay progression. There are these beautiful, rare moments when you break through the mist, see the landscapes and appreciate the gorgeous view that is often overlooked.

2023: Console Ports and a touch of Fashion.

2023 was less about new content and more about expansion. The Xbox release in March brought Valheim to a whole new audience, with accessibility features added later. Not completely without gifts, the Fishing Hat was added in February to take advantage of the new fish, and then, out of nowhere came Hildir’s Request in the summer. A new vendor! That’s right, our boy Haldor got some company. Hildir gave players three quests to complete, with dungeons and mini-bosses in the Black Forest, Mountains, and Plains with role playing clothing from her shop. And for the customization junkies among us, we got new hairstyles, beards, and a slew of modifiers for our worlds, allowing for different ways for Vikings to play their game. Hildir was the first NPC added to the game, and thankfully, not the last.

2024: Ash and Bog, Fire and Brimstone.

2024 came in swinging, right alongside 2022, with two major updates, one of which was the end game Biome of Ashlands in May. Here, you navigate treacherous jutting rocks in the new Drakkar ship, evade terrifying bone serpents, and land in an unforgiving wasteland that’s quickly earned a rep as the most difficult biome. The biome is full of siege weapons like catapults and battering rams. Inside, players found the charred to overcome and gather precious gemstones to embed in their ashlands weapons for elemental powers. Again, like the Mistlands before it, the Ashlands got mixed reviews with its difficulty being a turn off for many, but thankfully the Iron Gate team responded to the concerns and reduced the number of creatures in the biome for a better experience.

And the Mac gamers rejoiced! Valheim finally came to Apple computers. But 2024 wasn’t finished with us. A surprise content drop in October gave us a new NPC, a vast set of new meads, and a revamp of the food system with the Bog Witch. The cauldron was split into three with the addition of the preparation table, mead kittle and new food items called feasts, craftable with ingredients from the new swamp NPC. New skills were added and various quality of life features long desired by the community. And just like that, we closed the books on 2024, and now, we look to 2025 and beyond.

The Icy Horizon: The Deep North Awaits

So, what do we know about the future of Valheim? Well, not much, honestly. Iron Gate’s only official release is a screenshot of the northern lights, confirming it to be the final biome, and this release will officially usher in 1.0. But, don’t fret, the devs have been dropping breadcrumbs that I’m about to share with you.

First, while pre-production of the Deep North has begun, we will have to wait a while before we get this update, and in the meantime we can expect at least one other smaller update, like the Bog Witch update. My money is on the long-awaited ocean biome revamp. Back to the Deep North, Iron Gate has said not to expect the difficulty spike we saw in the Ashlands. It will still be an end-game biome, but they suggest a difficulty similar to the Ashlands, but with moments of peace.

And the devs have made comments about the difficulty that have made me speculate that the Deep North and Ashlands might just break the existing ‘linear’ progression of Valheim. Today, you conquer the meadows, then move to the black forest, swamp, and so on, with the experience ending in the Ashlands. I think that, after the release of 1.0, players, once finished with the Mistlands, will have the option of choosing between the Ashlands or the Deep North to progress.

What makes me think this? Well, the Deep North will, of course, be its own biome with new resources, weapons, armor, and boss, but the Iron Gate team have indicated the game will receive a proper ending with this release, so I think that we just might get another boss beyond what is in the Deep North for one final battle sending us to Valhalla. Maybe even Loki, or Odin himself!

As for the specifics of the Deep North content, the details are few. Grimmcore, a Valheim dev, has said that they want to add a new weapon for every weapon class and that the Deep North will introduce a creature bigger than any boss we have seen to date! A Jotun maybe!? And not only will we get the new biome, Iron Gate has said this update is meant to feel like a TRUE 1.0. To achieve this goal, they plan to release small additions to every biome to make for a new experience from start to finish, encouraging new and returning players to start a new play through. And on top of all that, you can expect achievements for Steam and Xbox, and some kind of mod support.

When Will We See 1.0 and the Deep North?

So, the million-dollar question: When are we going to see 1.0? The short answer is, nobody knows. But I can speculate! Based on previous major update releases, there were 7 months between the launch and Hearth & Home, about 14 months between Hearth & Home and the Mistlands, and another 17 months before we saw the Ashlands. Considering the scope of the 1.0 release, and past development timelines, my best-case scenario would be the holiday season of November or December of 2025. Realistically though, I think we will be waiting until 2026, with maybe February to align with the fifth anniversary of Valheim.

So, that’s where we stand, Vikings. It’s been a hell of a journey so far, and with the Deep North on the horizon, the best is yet to come. So, grab your axes, gather your crew, and let’s prepare for what Valheim has in store. And who knows, maybe we will see each other in Valhalla after all.