Valheim hasn't dipped at all in popularity. MMO fans are enjoying the Viking love-child of Minecraft and World of Warcraft. The point of the game is simple, explore the vast open-world in search of supplies to upgrade your gear. Use that upgraded gear to find the materials needed to craft massive structures and bases. The larger their base of operations, the more players can produce, and the more powerful they can become.
Valheim fans have seen all sorts of impressive structures built on various servers. There's no apparent limit to what players can build with enough materials. Of course, where these Viking architects exist, antagonistic forces will see their structures reduced to stone and wood. Players will want to keep their hard work protected from unwanted intruders, especially when playing on a PvP server. Wards will keep their homes protected while they venture out into the wilderness. This guide will focus on how to craft Wards in Valheim and how to use them best.
Valheim - How to Craft Wards
Wards are, thankfully, pretty easy to craft. Players will have access to them as soon as they've discovered all the materials required. To craft a Ward, players will need:
- 5x Fine Wood
- 5x Greydwarf Eye
- 1x Surtling Core
As long as players are within the range of their crafting table, they'll be able to build and place a Ward via their hammer. Players will find all the Fine Wood they need by cutting down Birch and Oak trees in the Meadows and Plains Biomes. Players will find Greydwarf eyes on the corpses of Greydwarfs and their multiple variants throughout the world. These are incredibly common, and players should, at this point, have plenty. Finally, Surtling Cores can be found in Burial Chambers or as drops from Surtlings.
Valheim - What do Wards Do?
Now that players can craft a Ward, they're probably wondering exactly what they do. Wards are meant to keep your buildings safe from enemy players. They do this by casting a radius from the Ward itself that bars players from interacting with or stealing anything inside. Therefore, should the front door of Player A's base be inside the Ward's radius, Player B won't be able to open it. More importantly, Ward's will prevent Player B from building in its radius. They won't be able to erect staircases to get over Player A's exterior walls, for example.
Outside of PvP, wards will reduce the damage done to the player's structures from NPCs. Players will be able to tell if their Ward-protected base is under assault from NPCs by a blue pulsating dome that lights up with each enemy attack on their base. Ultimately, Wards are meant to keep enemy players out of your base by locking all doors and chests.
Valheim - How to Use Wards
Valheim is most fun when played with friends. Of course, this opens the door to players that may not be too friendly. Wards will lock all the doors and chests in the player's base. However, Wards can be destroyed. More importantly, if left off, enemy players can take control of a Ward and lock players out of their own homes. Players should build their Ward's in the middle of their base, or at least in an area where their most important valuables are being kept. If their base is too big, players will want to build and hide multiple wards to protect the entire area.
The most important thing players can do is hide their Wards. Build durable walls with multiple doors to keep Wards from being destroyed. Players in control of the Ward will still be able to navigate their base freely. Wards only lock other Vikings out of the base.
However, players can opt-in to the Ward when it's off. Three Vikings playing together can all opt-in a Ward before it's activated by one of them. Anybody who's opted-in will be able to open doors and build while the Ward is activated. Make sure friendly Vikings have access to the base before locking everybody else out.
What Don't Wards protect?
While Wards will keep doors and chests locked, it doesn't offer 100% protection of the player's base. There are still threats they'll have to be wary of. Here are some of the downsides to Wards:
- Wards can be destroyed by attacking enemies and players.
- Even when locked by Wards, doors and chests can still be destroyed.
- Wards do not protect carts or ship storages within their radius.
- Wards do not protect items on item stands from being taken.
Players should no let these downsides discourage them from building Wards. Should an unfriendly player in a PvP server come across a locked door, chances are they aren't going to try and break it down. Players will still be notified if their base has fallen under attack, so they can rush back home and defend it from would-be intruders. Of course, this won't be the case 100% of the time. Unfortunately, playing a game like Valheim, especially on a PvP server, comes with its risks. Don't let all that hard work go to waste. Protect those valuable Viking treasures with Wards.
Valheim is available on PC