Grinding for resources. Fighting/building is just the occasional fun that you get to enjoy once you've gathered enough resources. You will be swinging your pickaxe for a considerable amount of time.

Originally posted by Karsui:

Originally posted by kestar:

You will be swinging your pickaxe for a considerable amount of time.

Uh. If wouldn't see the game, I would say you are writing about Minecraft...

Yeah. This game is Viking Minecraft.

From my own personal experience, the game is mostly farming materials to get better gear to progress to more difficult areas of the game. After you beat the game, it seems to get more focused on building and helping your friends with their game. If you like making things and being creative, you will have hours of entertainment. When you die, you drop everything you are currently carrying into a tombstone and lose a little experience. You can make your way back to your tombstone to collect your lost loot. This games combat can feel very basic, but challenging if you aren't careful. But for the price compared to the hours of enjoyment, I think this game is a great value. This game get infinitely more enjoyable with friends. I hope this helps

You can still focus on building even before you finish the game. Nothing stopping from building massive mead halls once you find the materials. You don't need to beat the last boss to get the full building freedom.

Otherwise everything else is true.

Unmodded, the game is mostly banging rocks and trees, and running back and forth over the same old ground. Huge, pretty world with a thin coat of content, using tedium to supplant actual gameplay.

With mods, you can avoid a lot of the tedium and the game becomes a more balanced mix of what you might expect.

You might also wait until the 1st content expansion, which is allegedly due within the month. There is considerable chatter questioning the work ethic of the devs now that they are all multi-millionaires who never need to work again in their lives. The 'Hearth and Home' content update will tell us a lot about the games future. A big, robust update will be needed to keep folks waiting for the next patch. A meager update will be a sign that the Devs are done trying.

Novelty was main thing for this game.

Once initial hype drops, you start to notice the game is completely empty and shallow.

This is extremely early early-access and I can not recommend it in current state, comparing it to other early access games I have experience with.

About 70% of the time you will be grinding for or hauling resources, there is nothing else to do in the game.

For me, what keeps me playing even after 1000+ hours unmodded, is the exploration.

Each new seed world presents its own problem of logistics.
Where should I build?
What locations are near what resources?
What combinations of biomes that will make processing ore and transport easier?

Part of the exploration is finding key things. When you find stuff for the first time it is quite satisfying.
For example
Finding the Trader
Finding your first turnip seeds. <food is important to progression as much as metal for armor and weapons>
Finding your first source for entrails.
Finding silver without a wishbone.
Finding a good location for a plains farm.

A lot of people don't put much thought into the logistical aspects of it and just end up taking long trips by boat to haul stuff around... to me the game is all about trying to avoid that as much as possible. Not that I mind sailing around and hunting at sea, just the tedium of transporting ores back and forth. Some people cheat this through portals or world hopping but to me that avoids the best aspect the game has to offer.

the closest match to playing this one in my experience is no-mans sky.
light survival, exploring, building, crafting, resource gathering.

The biggest differences apart from cosmetics/settings are that NMS buildings don't do much, the ones in Val are required, and combat in NMS is a joke, here it is harsh and a major part of the game.

Originally posted by Karsui:

What do you mean by "unmodded"? Thought it's an online game. Wouldn't it affect game and potentially lead you to being banned if you mod the game?

the game is unfinished and mods are currently tolerated. There is no 'ban' apart from the player that owns a multi player server can try to enforce a ban if you are causing disruption. It does affect the game: people cheat out some limitations like ore transportation. Its a single player game if you want, or you can play on a server run by other players as a small group. Its not a MMO where the game devs run a big server and monitor it.

let me say that again to emphasize it.
THIS IS NOTHING LIKE A MMO.

In terms of your other issues.
Death makes you drop your stuff but you can pick it up and reclaim it.
You lose some skill progress 5%.

You can not be forced into PVP .. I won't play a game like that so I really have not played many other "survival" type games.

Servers are generally small groups of friends, not open to public. People can come in and steal your stuff and destroy your home so most servers are password protected to prevent griefers.

Originally posted by Karsui:

Originally posted by GunsForBucks:

Servers are generally small groups of friends, not open to public. People can come in and steal your stuff and destroy your home so most servers are password protected to prevent griefers.

That's actually good to know.

From what I can see, game really sounds more like it's being about the Settler rather than Viking tbh.
Kinda hoped it focuses more on combat aspect, potentially in online mode.

The game is more of a Viking mythology game than a pop-culture Viking sim. In the story of the game, you're the spirit/soul of a Viking who needs to prove them-self worthy of Valhalla. You're sent to Valheim (which is one of the worlds in Norse mythology) with nothing to protect yourself. You need to survive the dangers of that world and defeat the evils that fight Odin for control there in order to earn your final reward and enter Valhalla.

So yes, being a settler is totally part of that, and that does fit being a Viking as well as in our real history Vikings were great explorers and settlers :)

There is a lot of combat involved as well of course, but it's against monsters, beasts & bosses.

For me the best part of the game is the sense of escape I get while playing. When the weather was hot (anything over 70 is hot in Seattle) I spent a great deal of time in the mountain biomes, because it actually made me feel as if the computer-heated room I was in had cooled off a few degrees.

The artwork and animation are superb for the low-res style, and the choice of sound-effects, although they are apparently widely used in other games, add to the immersion and escape experience.

Exploring the world looking for interesting places to build a base and amassing chests full of fish-wraps are also high on my list of reasons for coming back to Valheim day after day!

It goes in tiers. Early game, the main thing you do is roam around, hunt, survive, fight enemies, build a base. This is the most fun tier. Then you reach a tier where almost all you do is mining (hacking at stones). And in the end you roam a bit more, but at that point the game is pretty barren in content.

My advice is wait 1-2 years and then buy

Originally posted by Karsui:

Originally posted by kestar:

You will be swinging your pickaxe for a considerable amount of time.

Uh. If wouldn't see the game, I would say you are writing about Minecraft...

Yeah. This game is Viking Minecraft.

From my own personal experience, the game is mostly farming materials to get better gear to progress to more difficult areas of the game. After you beat the game, it seems to get more focused on building and helping your friends with their game. If you like making things and being creative, you will have hours of entertainment. When you die, you drop everything you are currently carrying into a tombstone and lose a little experience. You can make your way back to your tombstone to collect your lost loot. This games combat can feel very basic, but challenging if you aren't careful. But for the price compared to the hours of enjoyment, I think this game is a great value. This game get infinitely more enjoyable with friends. I hope this helps

You can still focus on building even before you finish the game. Nothing stopping from building massive mead halls once you find the materials. You don't need to beat the last boss to get the full building freedom.

Otherwise everything else is true.

Unmodded, the game is mostly banging rocks and trees, and running back and forth over the same old ground. Huge, pretty world with a thin coat of content, using tedium to supplant actual gameplay.

With mods, you can avoid a lot of the tedium and the game becomes a more balanced mix of what you might expect.

You might also wait until the 1st content expansion, which is allegedly due within the month. There is considerable chatter questioning the work ethic of the devs now that they are all multi-millionaires who never need to work again in their lives. The 'Hearth and Home' content update will tell us a lot about the games future. A big, robust update will be needed to keep folks waiting for the next patch. A meager update will be a sign that the Devs are done trying.

What do you mean by "unmodded"? Thought it's an online game. Wouldn't it affect game and potentially lead you to being banned if you mod the game?

Novelty was main thing for this game.

Once initial hype drops, you start to notice the game is completely empty and shallow.

This is extremely early early-access and I can not recommend it in current state, comparing it to other early access games I have experience with.

About 70% of the time you will be grinding for or hauling resources, there is nothing else to do in the game.

For me, what keeps me playing even after 1000+ hours unmodded, is the exploration.

Each new seed world presents its own problem of logistics.
Where should I build?
What locations are near what resources?
What combinations of biomes that will make processing ore and transport easier?

Part of the exploration is finding key things. When you find stuff for the first time it is quite satisfying.
For example
Finding the Trader
Finding your first turnip seeds. <food is important to progression as much as metal for armor and weapons>
Finding your first source for entrails.
Finding silver without a wishbone.
Finding a good location for a plains farm.

A lot of people don't put much thought into the logistical aspects of it and just end up taking long trips by boat to haul stuff around... to me the game is all about trying to avoid that as much as possible. Not that I mind sailing around and hunting at sea, just the tedium of transporting ores back and forth. Some people cheat this through portals or world hopping but to me that avoids the best aspect the game has to offer.

the closest match to playing this one in my experience is no-mans sky.
light survival, exploring, building, crafting, resource gathering.

The biggest differences apart from cosmetics/settings are that NMS buildings don't do much, the ones in Val are required, and combat in NMS is a joke, here it is harsh and a major part of the game.

Originally posted by Karsui:

What do you mean by "unmodded"? Thought it's an online game. Wouldn't it affect game and potentially lead you to being banned if you mod the game?

the game is unfinished and mods are currently tolerated. There is no 'ban' apart from the player that owns a multi player server can try to enforce a ban if you are causing disruption. It does affect the game: people cheat out some limitations like ore transportation. Its a single player game if you want, or you can play on a server run by other players as a small group. Its not a MMO where the game devs run a big server and monitor it.

let me say that again to emphasize it.
THIS IS NOTHING LIKE A MMO.

In terms of your other issues.
Death makes you drop your stuff but you can pick it up and reclaim it.
You lose some skill progress 5%.

You can not be forced into PVP .. I won't play a game like that so I really have not played many other "survival" type games.

Servers are generally small groups of friends, not open to public. People can come in and steal your stuff and destroy your home so most servers are password protected to prevent griefers.

Originally posted by GunsForBucks:

Servers are generally small groups of friends, not open to public. People can come in and steal your stuff and destroy your home so most servers are password protected to prevent griefers.

That's actually good to know.

From what I can see, game really sounds more like it's being about the Settler rather than Viking tbh.
Kinda hoped it focuses more on combat aspect, potentially in online mode.

Originally posted by Karsui:

Originally posted by GunsForBucks:

Servers are generally small groups of friends, not open to public. People can come in and steal your stuff and destroy your home so most servers are password protected to prevent griefers.

That's actually good to know.

From what I can see, game really sounds more like it's being about the Settler rather than Viking tbh.
Kinda hoped it focuses more on combat aspect, potentially in online mode.

The game is more of a Viking mythology game than a pop-culture Viking sim. In the story of the game, you're the spirit/soul of a Viking who needs to prove them-self worthy of Valhalla. You're sent to Valheim (which is one of the worlds in Norse mythology) with nothing to protect yourself. You need to survive the dangers of that world and defeat the evils that fight Odin for control there in order to earn your final reward and enter Valhalla.

So yes, being a settler is totally part of that, and that does fit being a Viking as well as in our real history Vikings were great explorers and settlers :)

There is a lot of combat involved as well of course, but it's against monsters, beasts & bosses.

For me the best part of the game is the sense of escape I get while playing. When the weather was hot (anything over 70 is hot in Seattle) I spent a great deal of time in the mountain biomes, because it actually made me feel as if the computer-heated room I was in had cooled off a few degrees.

The artwork and animation are superb for the low-res style, and the choice of sound-effects, although they are apparently widely used in other games, add to the immersion and escape experience.

Exploring the world looking for interesting places to build a base and amassing chests full of fish-wraps are also high on my list of reasons for coming back to Valheim day after day!

It goes in tiers. Early game, the main thing you do is roam around, hunt, survive, fight enemies, build a base. This is the most fun tier. Then you reach a tier where almost all you do is mining (hacking at stones). And in the end you roam a bit more, but at that point the game is pretty barren in content.

My advice is wait 1-2 years and then buy

Grinding for resources. Fighting/building is just the occasional fun that you get to enjoy once you've gathered enough resources. You will be swinging your pickaxe for a considerable amount of time.

Originally posted by kestar:

You will be swinging your pickaxe for a considerable amount of time.

Uh. If wouldn't see the game, I would say you are writing about Minecraft...