I just killed Moder on my permadeath/no portal/no map run. Its made me realize even more than my previous permadeath/no portal run that to a great extent the journey is the adventure. I mean 'Frodo and Sam took a portal to the volcano and threw the ring in the lava' is not a very satisfyng adventure. When you have portals available, you bypass most of the environmental challenges, simplify decisions and condense the game. Some people want that, but some people like me want ever increasing challenges and more epic adventures.

Originally posted by 815|Shouldabeen:

the appeal of no portal playthroughs? From my point of view, players are just making things take longer. The seas aren't dangerous enough to provide a ton of entertainment as you sail from point A to point B.

It just seems like a pretty large time investment just to do the same thing that you would do if you used a portal. I could understand if it was a PvP server, but on a PvE server or server it seems strange to me.

If the metric is making things take longer, why not just put yourself in god mode, give yourself the best weapon, give yourself all the boss summoning materials and then kill all the bosses? That's a way faster way of playing the game.

Given the lack of content and lack of mob and boss difficulty, you could finish the game in a couple RL days without cheese, I am trying to extend that time to complete by not using portals and I also play no map to achieve even more longevity.

I don't think portals are done well here either. You shouldn't be able to teleport so early in a survival / exploration game and it doesn't work well with the theme either. The romantic notion of vikings is that they would sail to far away lands to loot and return in their long boats with said loot and feast. Doesn't make sense to be able to instant teleport around the map.

Immersion.

To me it's Immersion-Breaking when Players spam portals.

For instance, I ran with a group that used Valheim+ and would Spam Portals (Everyone would carry supplies for 1 Portal).

Found an Ore Node you want? Place portal, 6 people port through gathering and stripping the land of everything useful leaving it a barren waste devoid of Rocks or Trees.

Hard mob? Place Portal, wipe the land.

The portals made playing and experiencing the game minute and trivial so much so that in 6 days we were all equipped with Padded Armor and Blackmetal Weapons. Our base looked like garbage but had everything needed. There was no base planning or care for how the base looked. The entire game just because a massive Loot Gather with nothing remarkable.

Our chests were just a hodgepodge of stacked clutter. (Because of the mod no organization was needed, everything was drawn from the chests automatically).

No one took in the "sights". Sailing was very much pointless (we only sailed when necessary), same with running by foot.

After two weeks there was nothing left to do and everyone quit playing. It wasn't fun at all because it was all Rush-This;Skip-That.

Originally posted by 815|Shouldabeen:

Originally posted by Polonius Ulf:

Expand your vision a little. Danger isn't the only source of entertainment.

I would need clarification. Because afk sailing across an ocean does not sound like entertainment to me.

Maybe some people just enjoy sailing, it's relaxing.
And No Portal runs add another layer of preparation for each journey, a management of time to get the most amount of things done in as little travel as possible

Originally posted by 815|Shouldabeen:

Originally posted by Polonius Ulf:

Expand your vision a little. Danger isn't the only source of entertainment.

I would need clarification. Because afk sailing across an ocean does not sound like entertainment to me.

I enjoy sailing because it is relaxing. The sea spray and the varying moods of the sea are well done. When you are sailing through known waters in good weather, going afk to make a snack is a reasonable thing to do. So is studying the map, planning and doing research.

Valheim isn't all one thing. Sometimes there is intense combat and it becomes a twitch game. At other times, you get to relax and plan and it becomes a game of logistics.

As to not using portals, some players want more of that. And you have more chances to catch sea serpents.

I currently play a "no portals - no bosses" run.

It's the most relaxing gaming experience I've ever had.

You take your time.
You built when and where you want.
You gather your needed resources while exploring the land.
You sail to distant continents, where you need to find shelter and rebuild again.

It's a totally different adventure. One, that does not care how many mobs you slay and how fast you can kill bosses.

It's the true sandbox game Valheim can be, if you let it.

Originally posted by electricdawn:

I currently play a "no portals - no bosses" run.

It's the most relaxing gaming experience I've ever had.

You take your time.
You built when and where you want.
You gather your needed resources while exploring the land.
You sail to distant continents, where you need to find shelter and rebuild again.

It's a totally different adventure. One, that does not care how many mobs you slew and how fast you can kill bosses.

It's the true sandbox game Valheim can be, if you let it.

Sorry if the question is dumb, but how do you sail or build interesting things if you don't even get the pickaxe?

I ask my friendly neighbor, the Troll, for help. ;)

Originally posted by electricdawn:

I ask my friendly neighbor, the Troll, for help. ;)

I realized this just recently. Farming copper becomes exponentially more entertaining if you can get Mr. Troll to help.

Originally posted by 815|Shouldabeen:

the appeal of no portal playthroughs? From my point of view, players are just making things take longer. The seas aren't dangerous enough to provide a ton of entertainment as you sail from point A to point B.

It just seems like a pretty large time investment just to do the same thing that you would do if you used a portal. I could understand if it was a PvP server, but on a PvE server or server it seems strange to me.

Why do you assume substantially more sailing is done? I enjoy exploring and spend much of my journey on land. Prior to Longship I avoid unnecessary sea travel simply because I can't carry the makings of a base with me easily on a Karve (it can be done its just a bit awkward).

Understand that when I play no portals, I don't create a fixed base that I'll keep throughout the run, or even a portion of it. It isn't uncommon for me to have a distributed base spread out over a few hundred meters. A rest stop here, a farm and food processing base there, a repair shop here and there, a manufacturing mini-base, etc.

During the bronze age I rely far more on the cart than the Karve. It isn't until early iron and the Longship that I start going more by sea. Even then, I don't haul ore back from the mines/crypts to some faraway base. It is far easier to move the crafting close to the mines.

The logistics can be challenging, but that is part of the fun.

i think most people who play Valheim for the first time make a large base but soon realise that this means alot of running backwards and forwards form your base especially the more you explore the map which is tedious (why people needed portals).

Most realise at some point that it is easier and less tedious to make an outpost in or near the biome to gather and refine ores then forge Weapons/armour on site only taking surplus metal back to main base (i believe this is how the devs envisioned their game, not making 1 base but many bases across the map which is why metal cant be taken through portals and why some crops only grow in some biomes)

I think that some people see the no portal run as the purest form of playing valheim a true nomad viking going where the wind blows never having a permanent home.

Each move to a new biome means taking food and resources for crafting stations, choice of base location is more important as access for ingredients for potion brewing and extra building resources is key. Having to use what that biome has to build bases with or make do, will you run out of supplies before you can get more food and gear up, trying to get a comfortable base there while fighting off the biomes enemies. Then pack everything up and move on to next challenge :)

Expand your vision a little. Danger isn't the only source of entertainment.

Originally posted by Polonius Ulf:

Expand your vision a little. Danger isn't the only source of entertainment.

I would need clarification. Because afk sailing across an ocean does not sound like entertainment to me.

I've never tried a no portal run, but I can imagine that inventory management and weapon wear can be interesting challenges. Making sure that you have food supplies and all can also be tricky if you can't teleport to your main base.

Maybe try it and see for yourself.