What Valheim's Content Roadmap Tells Us About the Game's Future
Valheim is the latest indie survival simulator to take the world by storm, despite having only 5 developers on the initial game. Now that its early access period is over, it only makes sense that the fanbase cannot wait for more content updates.
Thankfully, Iron Gate heard those cries from its fans. The February Valheim road map was nothing if not comprehensive, as included in the content map are details about 3 specific content expansions. Further to these expansions, there are several miscellaneous updates the studio has planned "If Odin Wills It." Interestingly, the names of these updates and the order in which they are planned tells Valheim fans quite a bit about the upcoming content expansions - and the future of Valheim in general.
The first update on the Valheim 2021 roadmap is one called "Hearth and Home." Its name is very similar to Hearthfire, Skyrim's second DLC, and unsurprisingly, the two seem to be closely related. Like Hearthfire, it seems that Valheim's next big concern is base building. For players who want to craft some gorgeous homesteads, this update might be revolutionary.
Although the best Valheim town builds are already something to behold, the game's home-crafting tools are not the most expansive. Consequently, it follows that the first thing that the Valheim developer would improve are these core building mechanics. Huge, spanning town and city builds are some of the most impressive things created in the game. So, what kind of new building mechanics could come to the game? It seems likely that an update to Valheim's base building would include more building materials for players to use.
At the moment, players have some unfortunate limits on their creative capabilities. Currently, there is no option for building with metal, one of the three core game materials. Furthermore, with only two types of wood available and no different textures for stone, the aesthetic flair a player can add to their constructions are very small. An update to this system might involve adding many of the game's other materials available for building; for example, metal decorations could certainly improve the visual flair of a building. Moreover, some of the most useful Valheim items shape and texture the ground. A tool like this for texturing building materials is certainly possible, especially if making a cozy homestead is the update's focus.
In an unexpected move, a dedicated gamer has already figured out how to kill Valheim's final boss with wolves. That, however, is likely not the inspiration for the upcoming "Cult of the Wolf" content expansion for Valheim. In fact, considering Valheim's relationship with Norse mythology, it seems more likely that this expansion will focus on ferocious foes rather than furry friends. Obviously, the association with the word "cult" is never positive, but the use of "wolf" here gives a clue as to a potential further endgame of Valheim.
In the game, players take on the role of one of Odin's "einherjar." These are fated warriors, carried to the afterlife by Valkyries (which is the Valraven figure players see in the opening cutscene). These are warriors who both get to eventually enjoy Valhalla and will fight at Odin's side at the end of the world. Valheim's hooded figure is likely Odin himself, watching the player. In Norse myth, when Odin does this, he is watching and preparing the warriors that will join his side during Ragnarok.
This is where the wolf comes in. Fenrir, the "fame-wolf," is a massively important figure in Norse mythology. In the story of Ragnarok, Fenrir slays Odin as part of the apocalypse, and is later defeated by one of Odin's sons. So, having an expansion called "Cult of the Wolf" heavily implies that Fenrir will make an appearance. It would also not be surprising to see Fenrir become one of the many powerful Valheim bosses. If Fenrir appears in the update, and kills Odin, the update may also include the Norse apocalypse.
As Iron Gate notes in its content roadmap, ships and the sea are already a feature in the game. Despite rumors that birds were flying away with Valheim boats, the seafaring system is already very exciting to play. Sea serpents abound among the ocean biomes, with islands and icebergs making voyages require skillful navigation.
Although racing across the waves is very exciting, there is very little to do on the ocean itself. Currently, the main draw is to farm the best food in Valheim - serpent stew. This can be made from the raw serpent meat dropped by the game's sea serpents. These sea serpents are few and far between. While higher tier versions of these enemies make for dynamic battle encounters, lower-level sea serpents tend to run from a fight fairly quickly.
An effort to make the ocean biome more interesting could involve various different changes. For example, finding the Kraken is a chief concern for anyone who wants to make all the Valheim weapon types. This hulking beast does nothing in the game apart from occasionally move and hold chitin on its back. Such an infamous mythological beast seems like a perfect boss for the water biome in the game.
Finally, the content roadmap mentions two things. First, there is the fabled "Mistlands" biome. There is very little information at present about the Mistlands, apart from it being a mysterious land of smoke, steam and wandering darkness. Perhaps this is where the final showdown of Ragnarok will take place? It is in a similar position to Valheim's Deep North biome, underdeveloped at the moment but with an awful lot of potential.
Secondly, there is all of the extra errata that the developer wants to add. These include moon phases, increased vendor inventories, Svartalfr brigands, more unique locations, a sandbox mode, and a creature called Munin.
All of these are fantastic ideas for improving Valheim's already brilliant survival mechanics. In particular, the idea of Svartalfr brigands is interesting. In Norse mythology, these are known as "dark elves," although they are often used as a stand-in for dwarfs. Roving bands of brigands would certainly add a new flavor to the siege mechanics and might have a whole host of interesting loot to give in combat.
Increasing Haldor the trader's stock is also a smart idea. This diminutive dealer bestows artefacts of great power upon players with enough purchasing power. These are items that already exist in Norse mythology. Other items the developer could add to the stock include Tarnkappe, the Nordic invisibility cloak worn by Viking heroes of yore.
Valheim is available on Steam now.
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