I was not expecting such amazing help! The photos are VERY helpful! It seems to me that even though this game isn't the best for a fan of base building like me, the player base more than makes up for it! I'll try these methods and get back to you guys if I end up with more questions! Thank you so much, everyone!

I will also throw in that you can check out mods to help with basebuilding itself.
Odins Hammer and Clutter bucket add tons of decorative and building choices.
Defensive something or the other adds a variety of turrets that automatically shoot at enemies (as opposed to just cheezing baddies with moat or dirt wall)

pretty sure scandinavians 1k yrs ago could make ground pretty flat if they wanted to, i hope the designers can fix this so we can make ground really flat. some of us are annoying perfectionists.

Originally posted by Awesome Possum:

pretty sure scandinavians 1k yrs ago could make ground pretty flat if they wanted to, i hope the designers can fix this so we can make ground really flat. some of us are annoying perfectionists.

Quality of life changes is something Valheim is severely lacking, especially to the building system (and ground leveling as a result). It can be so much better but there doesnt seem to be any urgency in making that aspect better.

Also consider that you don't really need to flatten the ENTIRE ground. Only the perimeter really matters. If all your outside walls are blue then they are foundation attached and you can build from them.
You can have uneven lower terrain inside the house and just cover it with flooring. That is what you will wind up doing anyways right?

You can even have a basement. As long as the house in question is not too huge your flooring will not collapse. If it does and you need to go more than 5 floorings away from your initial grounded floor, then you can always prop it up with a pillar as described below if you wanted a basement, or just raise the dirt in one area in the middle to provide stability.

This way you can just run in a line and level ground around the perimeter instead of flattening the entire area.

My typical first house is on top of an indestructible boulder.

Just start by putting a bench by the rock and putting a floor section up high and build around it. Put in corner posts for the roof and you have an early house no one can touch.

Until I summon the electric elk anyway ha ha.

A nice set up really since if you get the bench up against a good rock the roof of the house covers under it for the bench. Also the top of the rock can be used as a fire spot inside for sleep/cooking.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2660632173

As far as hoe use it can be bad. There are "seams" and leveling across them can really get wonky. In the end I avoid use and work with terrain as much as possible. If I flatten anything it is typically for crops or setting up the kiln/forges if needed... and when I do that I try to do it in as few clicks as possible. I found over clicking one area just makes it worse.

Step 1: find a flat area
Step 2: do nothing with it
Step 3: build flat platform with Iron Poles (Or Core Poles) sticking into the ground
Step 4: build house on flat platform

You may now make infinitely large flat floored buildings (height pending).

As someone else pointed out, the hoe is really useful for leveling ground.

Instead of a trench or moat, you can also build walls to keep out enemies... out of the ground itself. After I had three trolls nearly destroy an entire base, I simply built the ground up until it made sheer vertical walls all the way around the base.

When you deform the ground up like this, it's indestructible. Nothing can break it (it's actually the bottommost layer of the game, there's nothing below it).


https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2760270660

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2760270389

The tops of the walls are pretty uneven, it was a project to level them all out nice and clean, just never finished it at this base.

I also built up the ground around what had been the first floor of the base, turning it into a basement basically. Forge, workshop, and most of the crafting tables are down there, along with a treasure vault, bulk storage and portals.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2760270510

These "merlons" made out of stone were an experiment, after I had the ice drake raid. They fly, and shoot ice blasts, so the merlons (stone spikes) were to hide behind so the projectiles didn't hit me. I hadn't applied it along the entire wall.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2760270446

I have tiered ramps like this in the corners, just to make it easier to get over the walls.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2760270592

Can ground only be dug up/down a certain distance from it's starting position?

Yes. There is a min/max level to each voxel. If you lower it as far as it will go, you'll have to break the voxel with your pickaxe to keep lowering. Keep in mind there is a global max you can raise/lower from the originally generated voxel (8 I think?)

What is your advice for clearing a large area?

Stand in the center of your intended build spot, then basically spin around while spamming LMB in an outward tiering spiral (one rotation close, aim further away, one rotation, etc.). It may take a couple clicks. If the ground doesn't level out, it means you need to either remove a voxel (pickaxe) or add one (raise ground).

Also do keep in mind that the more voxels you alter in an area, the more it is going to affect performance while you're in that area. Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do about that.

In addition, I read that eventually monsters will come to attack your bases. Is this just based on where it is located?

Raids occur after you beat bosses, increasing with difficulty with each boss killed. After you down a boss, the raid for that biome is added to the spawn chance. Which biome your base is in does not effect which raid spawns when the check is made.

I read that building a trench around the area will fix it

This does not "fix" raids, it cheeses them since monsters cannot climb 90 degree slopes or jump across them.

EDIT: Also a feature of the hoe that not many new players realize is Shift+LMB to smooth out terrain, but not attempt to raise/lower it. Per the wiki:

To more effectively level the ground there are two things to keep in mind. Shift-clicking attaches the hoe to the level of ground it is pointed at. When not shift clicked it defaults the hoe to the level of ground the player is standing on.

theres a limit to how much the ground will go up with leveling, if its too low, you'll need to raise to even it up (requires rocks). Use your pickaxe to lower it to where you need it, trying to level a hill with just the leveling thing isn't going to work.

For monster attacks, mobs may randomly wonder to your base and attempt to destroy base structures if it sees them (torches, workbenches, etc). "Events" is when you'll be alerted monsters are approaching (the forest is moving, ground is shaking, etc). Where you'll need to defend your base for a couple minutes and then it stops. They will know where you are, so its advised to not hide or they'll wreck your walls and house.

Of course, using a raised ground wall or trench can make your base very difficult to penetrate, but if you're on a hill it should be easier to defend. Make the hill steeper or trench at the bottom. Place torches or workbenches (bury them slightly with only a bit poking out, so monsters cant attack them, if its completely buried itll be destroyed). This will keep mobs from spawning in a certain radius.

You have to build your vision, I get it. But because of issues I had getting a level space for large buildings I started going to village look. I have my residence, a blacksmith shop, kitchen, pantry, warehouse, boathouse and when I get stone I make an armory and vault. Paths lead between them and I plant trees and make light poles.

THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!

This was absolutely the impression I was getting regarding the "voxels" because they just did not seem to want to budge sometimes...but other times I could get them exactly where I wanted them to do. I couldn't quite figure it out. Sounds like I still want to find the flatest possible area because it seems like it'll effect performance. And less work to do, of course. Sounds like making several buildings rather than one all-encompassing mega building would be the way to go.

I understand the raids now too. This is more of an event that can happen, not a constant deluge of monsters. That does make me significantly less worried! Thank you!