Support us on Patreon to keep GamingOnLinux alive. This ensures all of our main content remains free for everyone. Just good, fresh content! Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal. You can also buy games using our partner links for GOG and Humble Store.
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

Valheim continues to be one of the most popular survival games on Steam, and it seems in an upcoming update there's going to be much more extensive customization of the difficulty.

Teased in Twitter post by developer Jonathan Smårs, there's a quick video and a follow-up gif to show off some of the new options coming. After watching the quick video here's a breakdown of the modes shown off (all subject to change of course):

  • Easy: Combat is easier and there are less raids on your base.
  • Hard: Combat is harder and monsters will raid your base more often.
  • Hardcore: Combat is a lot harder and monsters will raid your base more often. When you die all items you are carrying and skills are lost forever. You have no map and you may not use portals.
  • Immersive: In immersive you have no map and you may not use portals so you will need to use your wits to keep track of where you are in the world.
  • Hammer Mode: In Hammer mode you can build all buildings for free. There are no raids on your base, and monsters will not attack you until you provoke them. Other difficulty settings are normal.
  • Casual: In casual mode monsters will not attack you until provoked, there are no raids on your base, resources are plentiful, you will not drop equipped items or lose skills on death and combat is a lot easier and events are based on your individual progress.

Those are just the preset levels though as there's sliders and tickboxes for various things underneath you can change like: the combat difficulty, death penalty, resources, raid rate, portal items, no build cost, player based events, no map, no portals and passive enemies.

Source - Jonathan Smårs on Twitter.

In replies Smårs clarified you will be able to change them whenever you want, and it will be set per-world for all players and can be changed on current worlds.

When to expect it? Smårs said it is planned to come with the "Hildirs Quest update coming soon".

Valheim is available to buy on Humble Store or Steam. It has Native Linux support and it is Steam Deck Verified.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
12 Likes
About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
See more from me
8 comments

Nezchan Apr 18, 2023
I really like the option of changing individual sliders, which can be more fine-tuned to your needs than a preset mode. Although having both is even better.
const Apr 18, 2023
Great, sounds like I might finally get into the game again. Random attacks were really frustrating for me.
fabertawe Apr 18, 2023
I'm all for options! Personally, I may lower "Death Penalty" and "Raid Rate", otherwise it's business as usual for me. Saying that, my current seed still has Eikthyr undefeated as I don't like any raids. My previous seed has all bosses defeated
rcrit Apr 18, 2023
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
I agree with all the comments about the raid rate. I might play with aggression a bit as well. I haven't even tried the mistlands update because once past the swamp I found the game very grindy. I'm too casual to always play games in hardcore mode.
Marlock Apr 18, 2023
yay, I can finally try it with my incomparable (bad) gaming skills!
Soulprayer Apr 18, 2023
I like the casual mode without raids on my base. They were just annoying.
CanadianBlueBeer Apr 18, 2023
Well, the wolf raids were/are just meat delivery systems.
(same for the first ones where Eik rallies the critters of the forest)

Greydorfs are eye delivery systems.
Trolls are just annoying.
Skellies are a hoot! Bones asplodey everywhere.
The swamp stinks :P
Goblins, well, ha-ha, uh-wut? Free money.
Bug raids are really really annoying.

Only thing that bugs me about the raids, is timing. Always when I am just about out of rested bonus. :(

(actually, for the greydorfs, I get more of them when building a new temp base in the black forest,
than during a raid.)

I like the sliders though.
ssj17vegeta Apr 19, 2023
It was about time they did !

Half the userbase was whining that the game wasn't hard enough, the other half complained about the game being a tad unfair with certain mechanics (like turrets that target you besides the enemies).

This kind of things will ensure everyone gets what they want without ruining it for everybody else.
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
Login / Register


Or login with...
Sign in with Steam Sign in with Google
Social logins require cookies to stay logged in.