Getting Started

Getting Started in Valheim covers your first in-game day. This guide walks through the essential steps needed to survive, build shelter, secure food, and prepare for early progression in the Meadows.

🌄 Step 1: Pick Up Everything

When you first spawn:

Collect loose branches and stones from the ground.
Pick up berries and mushrooms.
Approach small trees and bushes for wood.

Picking up new materials unlocks crafting recipes automatically.

🪓 Step 2: Craft Basic Tools

Open your inventory (Tab) and craft:

Stone Axe (wood cutting)
Hammer (building)
Club (basic melee weapon)

The Stone Axe allows you to cut down trees, which unlocks most early progression.

🛖 Step 3: Place a Workbench

To begin building:

Equip the Hammer.
Place a Workbench on flat ground.
Build walls and a roof around it.

The Workbench must be sheltered to function properly.

This becomes your first base of operations.

🔥 Step 4: Build a Fire & Cook Food

Place a Campfire inside your shelter (ensure smoke can escape).

Then:

Craft a Cooking Station.
Hunt Boar or Deer.
Cook meat over the fire.

Always eat three different food items for maximum health and stamina.

Food determines your survivability.

🛏 Step 5: Build a Bed

Craft and place a Bed inside your shelter.

Requirements:

Roof overhead
Nearby fire
Enclosed walls

Sleeping:

Skips nighttime
Sets your spawn point
Reduces early enemy pressure

😌 Step 6: Activate the Rested Bonus

Sit near your fire inside shelter to gain the Rested buff.

The Rested bonus:

Increases stamina regeneration
Improves health regeneration
Makes exploration much easier

Avoid long trips without it.

🗺 Step 7: Explore the Meadows

Before leaving your starting biome:

Craft a Shield.
Craft a Crude Bow.
Gather Deer Trophy drops.
Activate any Vegvisir rune stones you find.

Avoid entering the Black Forest too early — enemies there are significantly stronger.

⚡ Step 8: Prepare for Your First Boss

Once you have:

Leather Armor (optional but helpful)
Cooked food
A shield and weapon
2 × Deer Trophy

You are ready to summon Eikthyr.

Defeating Eikthyr unlocks metal progression and the next phase of the game.

❌ Common First-Day Mistakes

Exploring at night without shelter.
Fighting multiple enemies at once.
Ignoring food buffs.
Leaving the workbench exposed.
Cutting trees without watching where they fall.

Trees can kill you.