Summary
The grind inValheimis quite slow, due to the combined time it takes to build fortified bases, discover the map, stock up on food buffs, and collect enough resources to craft the next best set of gear. This can be especially tedious for solo players, although a recent update forValheimhas introduced world modifiers that can help to set a customizable pace for the overall progression, difficulty, and survival elements throughout the game. Playing in multiplayer, using mods, and/or setting custom world modifiers is a much more efficient way to gain progress inValheim, although the grind still tends to be extremely linear despite all the help these features can provide.
Valheim’s linear nature isn’t all bad though, mainly because it ensures that players will always be adequately prepared for the dangers and enemies in each consecutive biome and culminating boss fights. For players who enjoy taking their time in each ofValheim’s different biomesand related progression stages, the game’s natural order of progression allows them to master and fully complete each biome and potentially never need to return to it. The downside though is that there are very few opportunities to stray from the intended path, at least on a player’s first playthrough.
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Valheim Is an Extremely Linear Game
For players who just want to explore freely, the order ofmajor bosses inValheimcan be quite unforgiving. Players looking to find the traveling merchants inValheimmight also run into this problem, that the difference in difficulty between certain biomes is so extreme that it discourages players from exploring biomes outside the intended order.
World modifiers andunofficial mods forValheimcan all help to give players a lot more freedom regarding how players can make progress. Although players potentially risk the chance of ruining their experience withValheimwhen using these features, ultimately it’s a slippery slope to navigate the game with these tools.
WhileValheim’s grind is extremely linear, the game’s pacing is actually a symptom of a different problem, thatValheimdoesn’t offer much in terms of meaningful optional content to explore, at least as it currently stands. Compared to other benchmark games in the survival-crafting genre, games likeMinecrafthave built their reputation on the freedom of choice that the optional progression elements offer. For example, players can entirely skip the ability to brew potions inMinecraftfrom the Nether Biome. InValheimthough, no matter what state of the game players find themselves in, it’s always mandatory to keep up with the core survival elements, like food, armor, andweapons inValheim.
Valheimarguably needs more bosses and progression steps that are optional, between each of the mandatory progression stages. Ultimately though, there’s a wide variety of untapped potential that could help to steer things in the right direction, such as optional bosses, additional tiers of weapons and armor, and/or entirely new biomes.Valheim’s Leviathan monsters are actually a great example of how optional encounters can be extremely worthwhile to discover, yet few other experiences in the game end up having such an impact. Hopefully, though, this will change infutureValheimupdates.
Another potential solution thatValheimshould consider is to increase the impact of the player’s skills. One of the few noticeable skills inValheimthat can be upgraded is the jumping skill because this is a universal skill that players are likely to level up faster than other more specialized skills. Given how difficult some of the other skills can be to increase, and how minuscule their benefits are, most skills arguably aren’t worth the effort to prioritize improving them. Most ofValheim’s skills are in need of a buff, and this could also be a great way to provide players with the freedom of an alternate means of progressing, potentially making the boss order less linear.
Valheimis available now for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
