Valheim Guide – How to Build and Fish

One of the core components for Valheim’s gameplay is building. You need to create a base to rest, defend against raids and, of course, forge and create better equipment. The building interface is pretty intuitive and it’s fairly easy to snap together a rudimentary home. However, you’ll also need to take structural integrity and stability into account.

First things first, make a hammer – this can be done by gathering 3 Wood and 2 Stone. Choose an ideal spot and lay the foundation – you’ll need a flat area so make sure you have a hoe handy. If you’re looking for a taller building, then laying vertical beams in the foundation is a good idea (though different structures have different height values). Next, start setting up the floor and walls. These will snap into place easily enough, though ensure there’s enough wood on hand for creating the structures.

Once this is done, you can now add a roof. On top of allowing you to access the crafting table, it’s also good for sheltering you during storms (though you’ll need a fireplace when it gets cold). After setting this up, it’s time to create a wall around your home. Decide beforehand just how much space the overall property should occupy and begin walling it all in. Create spikes on the wall to ward off any enemies.

Again, when creating your base, stability is very important. The cursor will change colors while building to indicate how stable a structure is, from blue (completely stable) to green (somewhat stable) and finally red (a new piece placed will break off when added). If a part is somewhat stable, then anything added to it will also be somewhat stable. The further a piece is placed from a stable part, the more unstable it will become.

Keep thing simple to start off – as you acquire more materials, there will be opportunities to decorate and improve the base.

How to Fish

Fishing is a good source of food and can also be somewhat relaxing, even if it costs a good chunk of stamina. To get started, you’ll need a fishing rod and some bait pieces which only be obtained from a merchant named Haldor for 350 Coins (with a pack of 50 bait pieces costing 10 Coins). You can find him in the Black Forest biome. Later, you can sell any Rubies, Silver Necklaces, Amber Pearls and so on to him for Coins.

Next, is to travel to a river body or the ocean and look for fish. Cast a line into said area by left-clicking. Wait for the water to bubble – eventually, the bait will sink into the water, indicating that a fish has taken it. Reel it in by right-clicking. You can find three kinds of fish and they’ll each provide a different amount of raw fish. The Small Mouth Bass is worth 1 raw fish; the Medium Pike is 2 raw fish; and the Large Tuna is 4 raw fish.