We go to Valhalla. Oh, and Odin finally comes up & says hi for once, instead of spying on us while we fight in his name.

Originally posted by Hobo Misanthropus:

The only thing I'm willing to bet on right now is that Odin ends up being the final boss.

I'll take that bet and make it 5 bucks on Jormangundr being last boss.

Originally posted by Hobo Misanthropus:

The only thing I'm willing to bet on right now is that Odin ends up being the final boss.

I'll take that bet and make it 5 bucks on Jormangundr being last boss.

The only thing I'm willing to bet on right now is that Odin ends up being the final boss.

Originally posted by knighttemplar1960:

Originally posted by Fzanco:

Crazy Theory: You wake up from a coma and forget everything that happened and enjoy boring normal life.

Otherwise basically agree knighttemplar either stay in purgatory, go into Valhalla (I think going into Valhalla is a boring ending imo.

Or Odin now sees you as the threat because he's a god who can change his mind on a whim. Either he kills you and that's that or maybe you get the chance to fight him and . . .?

I don't know enough about north mythos to make an educated guess on what happens if Odin dies, but you kill him and become Odin? The game ends up being a never ending loop of a purgatory where everytime you see Odin watching you in-game it's actually a previous you waiting for the yet again inevitable battle and reset of the process.

The Norse gods have life spans of several thousand years. A mere human has 70ish. Some versions of Norse myth claim that a mortal even touching Odin's spear will cause the instant death of that mortal. Other versions say that the spear gungnir is so well made and balanced that it can strike any target no matter the strength or skill of the user.

Being sent to Valhalla would be an exciting ending since those that are sent to Valhalla are chosen to fight by Odin's side at Ragnarök (war that ends the realms). In some versions of the myth some of the gods survive. In others none of the gods survive and only 2 humans a woman Lif and the man Lifthrasir survive and repopulate a reborn Earth. In still others Surtr sets fire to the world with his sword and the Nine Realms fall in flames. In some of the myths that end in this way this is just a cycle and a new world tree grows from the ashes and the gods are all reborn but without any of their memories from the previous cycle and it all starts over again ending once more with Ragnarök.

Ooo what about this then. Last boss is a one time chance. If you die against the last boss you respawn as usual with skill loss & naked but returned to the middle stones, and all boss trophies are reset. Assuming its a requirement all boss trophies need to be hung to attempt last boss.

If you beat the last boss without dieing during the attempt you go to Valhalla. Maybe just an end cut scene or you could play some sort of neverending battle where you end up dieing in greatness

when you beat the game, the screen goes black...
...you slowly open your eyes, blurry and dazed...
...you see yourself prisoner in the back of a moving cart and hear "hey, you are finally awake"

We go to Valhalla. Oh, and Odin finally comes up & says hi for once, instead of spying on us while we fight in his name.

Any conclusion with end-credits. It can even be a groundhog day conclusion like Stranded Deep but a fulfilling conclusion like Subnautica would be my preference.

Crazy Theory: You wake up from a coma and forget everything that happened and enjoy boring normal life.

Otherwise basically agree knighttemplar either stay in purgatory, go into Valhalla (I think going into Valhalla is a boring ending imo.

Or Odin now sees you as the threat because he's a god who can change his mind on a whim. Either he kills you and that's that or maybe you get the chance to fight him and . . .?

I don't know enough about north mythos to make an educated guess on what happens if Odin dies, but you kill him and become Odin? The game ends up being a never ending loop of a purgatory where everytime you see Odin watching you in-game it's actually a previous you waiting for the yet again inevitable battle and reset of the process.

At the very end?

Initially Depression sets in and we ask ourselves 'what will I do with my life now Valheim is over?'

I know I'll start again.

Originally posted by Fzanco:

Crazy Theory: You wake up from a coma and forget everything that happened and enjoy boring normal life.

Otherwise basically agree knighttemplar either stay in purgatory, go into Valhalla (I think going into Valhalla is a boring ending imo.

Or Odin now sees you as the threat because he's a god who can change his mind on a whim. Either he kills you and that's that or maybe you get the chance to fight him and . . .?

I don't know enough about north mythos to make an educated guess on what happens if Odin dies, but you kill him and become Odin? The game ends up being a never ending loop of a purgatory where everytime you see Odin watching you in-game it's actually a previous you waiting for the yet again inevitable battle and reset of the process.

The Norse gods have life spans of several thousand years. A mere human has 70ish. Some versions of Norse myth claim that a mortal even touching Odin's spear will cause the instant death of that mortal. Other versions say that the spear gungnir is so well made and balanced that it can strike any target no matter the strength or skill of the user.

Being sent to Valhalla would be an exciting ending since those that are sent to Valhalla are chosen to fight by Odin's side at Ragnarök (war that ends the realms). In some versions of the myth some of the gods survive. In others none of the gods survive and only 2 humans a woman Lif and the man Lifthrasir survive and repopulate a reborn Earth. In still others Surtr sets fire to the world with his sword and the Nine Realms fall in flames. In some of the myths that end in this way this is just a cycle and a new world tree grows from the ashes and the gods are all reborn but without any of their memories from the previous cycle and it all starts over again ending once more with Ragnarök.

Various games like this will simply begin anew when they end, if you so choose. UnReal World, Conan Exiles and Barotrauma come to mind, but there are probably many, many others.

what I would do:

upon defeating the final boss (how ever many that will end up being) Odin presents himself and gives you two choices.
1. you can choose to remain in Valheim and maintain Odin's peace. If you do, he presents you with the magic "cheat sword" that you can spawn in with commands. the thing absolutely WRECKS and it's super fun to use.
2. you ascend to Valhalla. if you do, it perma retires that character, but the next new character you make has some kind of "blessing" from the retired one; a static boost, perhaps start out with +5 to all skills, or something similar. maybe choose from a list.

If we are theorizing just for the sake of theorizing. Depending on what language and its age the devs took the name from the word Val means wither fallen or battlefield in English and in all 3 possible languages heim means home in English.

That suggests that Valheim is some kind of Norse purgatory not connected to the world tree or the rainbow bridge where dishonored/bad/inept Vikings go at death, which means there are 2 possible endings.

You are stuck there forever reliving your sins over and over again or you eventually achieve penance and are taken to Valhalla.

Valheim is the tenth realm of the world tree...

Originally posted by ManAnt:

Valheim is the tenth realm of the world tree...

You mean that its a fictitious tenth realm. Only the known 9 realms are certain to be connected to the world tree. You can see the tree from Valheim but no point at the edge of the world is connected to the world tree or the rainbow bridge. You can confirm that by sailing all the way around and fully exploring any world seed.

I wonder if the devs are entirely sure where they'll go with this - a game like ending which would satisfy most who've spent time in Valheim, or a more cynical view where we'll be shown what we did in the world - grinding away, industrialising, mining the landscape, and killing off the inhabitants, villages, spirits, for greed, progress, dreams of nostalgia, and to blindly serve some spiritual authority of some kind?

There is some room for a message, but it's just a game in the end, and not much of a choice in it, if the choice to play Valheim has been done.