Sounds like you were well into the Copper Age and perhaps beyond before Hearth & Home.

Sounds like you started over with a new viking and new world after H&H release and have been blind-sided by the increased resilience and numbers of enemies and perhaps the re-balancing of food, weapons and armor.

Same thing happened to me. My pre-H&H experience was not entirely transferable to H&H. I had to relearn some basic play skills to prevail. I doubt you are as uncoordinated and pig-headed as I am, so I am sure you can also.

Now I am walking on eggshells in the Swamp. Been to the Mountains twice, once to get obliterated on the first steep slope by two wolves, and once on a successful corpse tun. Wolves apparently are not inclined to hang around on steep slopes to see if some dunderhead will come to retrieve his corpse.

Originally posted by Sédri:

Personally I just built the Stagbreaker and used it around corners. It pushes everything and is aoe so you can just peak the weapon and it'll hurt them. Also, the entrance sometimes has a small platform that skeletons somehow can't get onto it. The weapon is created with core wood, deer trophies and leather scraps. It is pretty cheap to make.

Though before you rush straight into dungeons with this one, make sure to practice because it has a huge wind-up before slamming down and it reduces your movement by 20% when wielding it.

I've used Stagbreaker through doors and scrap piles, since you get the surprise damage bonus tts a great weapon to kill stuff without them getting a chance to hit you,. very usefull when you can kill a blob before it gets close enough to poison you.

Only downsides I've encountered is the slow windup you mentioned and that the damage also takes out the standing torches nearby so there is less light.

:))Put away the spear, forget about it, it's not the best weapon in Valheim.For trips to the crypts, you need a maximally pumped flint axe, a well-pumped wooden shield and at least clothes made of deer skins, but a troll skin is much better (although it will probably be difficult for you to get it).In the crypts, try to fight with only one skeleton, and be sure to work with a shield.Hiding behind a shield, wait for the skeleton to strike, block this blow and immediately hit with an axe (as a rule, a series of three blows is enough to kill the skeleton). MAIN.Just A FLINT AXE. And after you switch to bronze, the most convenient and MAIN weapon will be a sword, an auxiliary bow.And make sure to make a bronze club, just in order to "pump" it for the swamps, a club will be very useful to you in the swamps.

I did fine against skeletons with a flint axe and shield before hearth and home. I felt like the axe wasn't working as well against skeletons in H&H, so I tried the club. Maybe if I buffed up the axe to level 3 it would work better. I've got the deer armor - I haven't killed any trolls yet. I like to wait until I have bronze arrows before I take on trolls. Before H&H I also found the brass mace to be great against skeletons and dwarves. I just need 6 more damn smelting cores to make some brass gear.

Originally posted by PakaNoHida:

Originally posted by jdkleinman:

I got the antler pickaxe, I've mined some ore,.....

You are in the copper age

I have copper and tin, I just can't get cores to build a smelter and make good gear!

I started the game near eikthyr and spawned it 20 mins in, first challenge. Second challenge was when I wanted to mine minerals but I couldn't go anywhere near the black forest as there was a spawner and two trolls, 40 mins in. That was first week launch. The game always has been difficult you've simply been luckier before.

ya this threw me for a loop too. pre hnh, i'd go into the bf in my rags and do just fine. but my weapon of choice was the axe. axe has been slowed a bit, but it's just enough that mobs can get a hit in if you're not careful. but they do more damage now. clubs seem to swing a little faster than an axe, but do less damage. that should be made up for though by skelly's weakness to them. got me killed a few times. but that was great, it felt like a whole new game.

suggestion: craft a big shield. it helped me a lot when i was clearing crypts for the first time (i used flint dagger, but i doubt weapon matter much as long as it's leveled a bit). having armor helps too (even full leather set) and 3 hp food on top (cooked deer, boar and maybe some mushrooms\berries)

also... you don't have to fight skeletons at all. it's all rng. sometimes you may find crypts that are almost empty. so if you encounter a place with lots of enemies...might as well go to another one.

Stagbreaker + closed door

cool i hate when its to easy nice update

Make some torches
Hit skeleton, run or close the door between you, repeat after Fire Debuff ended
Its very helpfull to wear some Troll armor and surely eat the best food you have

The shift from Stone age into Copper age is really a challennging one.
Torches and Flame arrows are the best you can do.

Make sure you eat both boar meat and deer meat. I think you would also do better with a wood shield and flint axe. Block them with the shield and then hit them with the axe and you should do fine.

Originally posted by jdkleinman:

I got the antler pickaxe, I've mined some ore,.....

You are in the copper age

Originally posted by jdkleinman:

I don't know what it is about Hearth and Home. I can't get into the copper age. I got the antler pickaxe, I've mined some ore, but I keep getting killed trying to get smelting cores. The skeletons in the crypts seem more numerous and harder to kill. Even with a fully upgraded club, I get cornered and killed. This never happened before the update.

Before the update, I don't remember getting ratbacked by dwarve brutes and dwarvesshmans until I was well into the bronze age with bronze armor and weapons. Now I get mobbed my dwarves anytime I'm near a crypt and my wimpy leather armor and flint spear aren't enough. I died, all my gear is in a crypt full of skeletons, and I'm ready to rage quit. Anyone else having an expereience like this?

Yes brother Viking… yes… I’m also in leather gear with level 3 weapons. I am on the same boat as you, those ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ brutes and shamans in the Black Forest I died countless times to, IF I managed to kill them, a troll comes and crushes me. I raged so hard… I love this game though for real. I’m not giving up.

Personally I just built the Stagbreaker and used it around corners. It pushes everything and is aoe so you can just peak the weapon and it'll hurt them. Also, the entrance sometimes has a small platform that skeletons somehow can't get onto it. The weapon is created with core wood, deer trophies and leather scraps. It is pretty cheap to make.

Though before you rush straight into dungeons with this one, make sure to practice because it has a huge wind-up before slamming down and it reduces your movement by 20% when wielding it.