If you build a lot your framerate will dip but that's it. BSOD / restarts while gaming are almost a thermal issue.

thanks for the feedback. :)

I suggest you spread out your builds on different biomes where the instance line begins or near it. For ex I have my Kitchen House, Farm, Home, Workshop, windmill farm and Mage Tower all sperated on different biomes and it REALLY helps with the FPS. Obviously this only works if Valheim is the cause of your issues. GL

Be careful with lights, and if you build in the mountains, turn your Particle Light to low (Even a mighty RTX 3090 will go sub 40fps during a blizzard if this is set to high)

Other combos to look out for: Any light behind the Dark Wood divider. The complex shadowcast really taxes your CPU drawcall budget, on a game already straining there.

You can also Optimize the performance in your own base by building a certain way. Lots of walls that occlude lines of sight can help. The worst possible way you can build is large, open structures. If you want to build a single large structure, have many interior walls dividing it up.

Instance bloat isn't nearly as big a deal as it used to be. The game cleans up landscaping instances well now, and you'll seldom see it go over 7k unless you're buildling in the black forest (For some reason). In earlier version of the game, it was not uncommon to see 14k+ in big areas.

BSOD has output that tells you what caused it, usually filename.dll . Looking at this can be useful, as it can be a driver, or part of the game. Read the message and write it down (just the file name, the hex crap isnt useful in general), the post it here or research it to see if its the game or something else. I mean the game can be the cause, but its important where it happened. BSOD is a critical (operating system, eg driver or windows itself) software failure. Red RSOD is a hardware critical failure.

The more instances (building pieces) you have in an area, the more the game will tax your computer and your FPS will dive. Unfortunately optimisation and Valheim don't travel in the same circles. But I've not personally experienced something as serious as what you have, just my FPS dropping to about 25-ish and occasional lag spikes. I have a fairly decent system but not crazy fast.

I love it

Add some supports. Once you reach the iron age, you can basically create anything.

Or if working within limitations is not possible, then there are mods made for this exact purpose. Got get 'em, tiger.

I personally think it's a fun mechanic.

The walls need reinforcement for taller structures. Placing the wood iron posts in the corners of the frame, allows one to build much higher with greater structural integrity. Sometimes just the core-wood posts are enough, depending on the height one wants.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi72d-qTfAw

The materials have different strengths and you need good support from the ground and up. Check the colour of the pieces you're building upon for clues about what height you can expect. I'd check youtube videos for better explanations. It's easier to see it explained than to type it.

also you dont have to craft the piece beforehand and you get 100% materials back when scrapping - muuuuch more convenient than ark for sure

Build the frame first. Then snap floor, roof, and wall pieces to it. You can kinda build a bit like you would frame in walls, trusses, and floors in a real house. You may find that easier until you get the hang of the building system.

Actually the pieces snap a lot better than in ark. Look up building tutorials on Youtube, i think it will clear a lot up for you. The game could use a few more parts, but the building system feels better than ark.

There are a few tricky parts when building a part close to the ground, but the video tutorials show a lot of good ideas on that.


If you really like to build much and have the option to use mods then maybe take a look at the building-mods. There is a mod that greatly increases the controls when building. You can then place items very fine tuned and even rotated back/forth.

I figured out that the more snap points the better, try using half beams instead of full beams then you can add more points onto that. once your happy with the end result replace the half's with full beams to give it a more finished look. Doors are a huge help as well they have 3 snap points for walls giving you more options for a more "textured" look to your wall. other then that its just playing around and see what flows. Trust me i was messing with one roof for 3 hours to give it that unique look. Happy building

Generally, if you're having difficulty, aim for corners or edges, those are the main snapping points. It's a bit sensitive and may take some finer aiming with some pieces and angles, but you'll likely get the hang of it after a bit. Also consider the angle you're building from; it's easier to extend things downwards from below, easier to build up from above, etc.

Honestly I consider the building in Valheim better than that in other games because there are few restrictions when it comes to overlapping pieces or overlapping with the terrain. In games like Rust and Ark, you need to build in a flat area, work carefully around terrain, and avoid overlapping pieces. Because of this those games have only a handful of particularly viable building spots and even less variation in building styles. In Valheim, some pieces might be more tricky to place correctly, but you have total control over both the building and the terrain itself.

Thank you everyone

You kinda get used to the snapping in this game, after building awhile. I think its really easy to make something good-looking in Valheim, and most building blocks plays into the viking aesthetic. I cant wait for more building blocks though, like that inverse quarter-block, for under stairs.

Scroll wheel is your friend especially with those roof pieces :)

Changing position helped me a lot when building, there are also several mods that are designed to make it much easier.