Originally posted by Foxglovez:

Whatcha gonna do about it?

That's a concise if slightly abridged answer to almost every conundrum presented by Valheim, and games at large. The answers are out there, and most people are perfectly capable of figuring them out. Not everyone will understand the same things at the same time because we're all different, and that's perfectly fine. There are games which require lightning-fast eye-hand coordination, and games which require more forethought than reflexes, and a whole lot of games between the extremest examples of those.

Originally posted by Foxglovez:

Thought for sure this was going to be a tree post. Trees are the alpha boss.

Joking aside, the first skills you level up are running and jumping. You run and jump all the time to build those skills, you learn what amount of stam you can waste and what you need to hoard, how high you can jump at the level you are at, what's around you, what the warning sounds are. You are AlWaYs aware of where you are in time and space, you always know what level you are on and where you have to go to be safe, what time of day it is, food level. It just comes with time and experience. Or not. But after 100 hours, it becomes second nature to be aware - or not.

Didn't see anything on potions, food, armor, time of game day, rested bonus, nighttime... and puddles? Really? Wolves announce themselves well ahead of being anywhere near you and then they run directly at you from a great distance. Mostly you should be plinking them with your bow - and always be aware that where there is one, he usually is with a buddy.

So now you know what your personal Achilles heel is in this game. Whatcha gonna do about it? Being inattentive and taking your safety for granted, not keeping your buffs up and/or being in a biome you are not equipped or ready for will get you killed until you figure it out.

And no, lots of us are pure vanilla solo players who play this game a lot, no mods, no dev commands, but we learn to be careful and cautious, and die occasionally to the usual silliness on our part. And we're not all kids either with those lovely fast twitch muscles and great hand/eye coordination. lol
Travel safe.

Totally agree with this--the problem here is lack of preparation and situation awareness. That's it. It's easy to whine about game mechanics when you don't understand or are too lazy to adapt, you just want to blast in and be an uber viking without any consideration for real tactics and prep, which includes the things you noted (food, potions, day/night, etc.) as well as having backup gear on hand when needed, using the portal system to help facilitate corpse runs so that you don't get stuck overseas without a paddle, as it were.

And yeah, those kid gamers. Twitch muscles are fun, youth is great--but the savviness of veterans can trump that in games like this. Maybe Sekiro/Elden Ring requires better timing/twitch muscles, if that's all you require to succeed then sure, you will fail epically in a game where preparation and awareness are more important than a well-timed block. Especially when blocking doesn't work exactly the same as it does in Souls games--it's similar but not identical.

One thing the kids will learn over time: Work smarter, not harder.

Too many try-hards don't get it until they've suffered a bit, some never get it at all.

Originally posted by Reften:

99% of the time, when i've died in Valhiem, it's because I was being careless, or lazy.

Indeed. It sounds more like the OP's problem is situational awareness. For wolves expect them when you are near the mountains. When you are near enough for one to enter vision range they howl alerting you to their presence. Go into sneak mode and look for good place to make a stand (or escape) before the fight begins. If there isn't a good place be ready to use the Bomenass forsaken power to stand your ground and have a medium healing mead on a hot key.

In the black forest if you see fallen trees, a copper deposit, or a troll cave chances are there's a troll nearby. You can also hear a troll growling before you are in its perception range. Go into sneak mode, find it, and pick your spot for a stand, a tactical withdrawal, or an escape. If things are dicey you can escape from anything in the Black Forest by using the Eikthyr forsaken power. Keep a small healing mead and/or a small stamina mead on a hot key.

Deathsquitos are easy to spot at range outside their perception radius. Bright yellow spots hovering in the air, all most no obstructions in the way in the plains, can easily be one shot with wooden arrows. Their sound warning isn't easy to hear but they can be killed in melee without taking any damage using a level 1 club, even stark, just by timing your swing and taking a step back right before they hit. Even growths aren't that hard. If you hear them squishing their tar pit is behind that tiny rise in the terrain that you can't see over. Sneak and avoid or circle around and pick your spot. Take them on from range one at a time with flaming arrows.

The worst thing is probably the abomination. There is no warning before it pops out of the ground but it takes several seconds to do so. More than enough time to find an appropriate spot or path out and they are easier to outrun than trolls even if you have to wade a bit to get to the best spot or path.

I'm visually impaired and my reflexes are bad from a stroke and the only place I'm having trouble is trying to see in the mistlands. If my vision were normal I wouldn't have that trouble.

Originally posted by knighttemplar1960:

Originally posted by Reften:

99% of the time, when i've died in Valhiem, it's because I was being careless, or lazy.

Indeed. It sounds more like the OP's problem is situational awareness. For wolves expect them when you are near the mountains. When you are near enough for one to enter vision range they howl alerting you to their presence. Go into sneak mode and look for good place to make a stand (or escape) before the fight begins. If there isn't a good place be ready to use the Bomenass forsaken power to stand your ground and have a medium healing mead on a hot key.

In the black forest if you see fallen trees, a copper deposit, or a troll cave chances are there's a troll nearby. You can also hear a troll growling before you are in its perception range. Go into sneak mode, find it, and pick your spot for a stand, a tactical withdrawal, or an escape. If things are dicey you can escape from anything in the Black Forest by using the Eikthyr forsaken power. Keep a small healing mead and/or a small stamina mead on a hot key.

Deathsquitos are easy to spot at range outside their perception radius. Bright yellow spots hovering in the air, all most no obstructions in the way in the plains, can easily be one shot with wooden arrows. Their sound warning isn't easy to hear but they can be killed in melee without taking any damage using a level 1 club, even stark, just by timing your swing and taking a step back right before they hit. Even growths aren't that hard. If you hear them squishing their tar pit is behind that tiny rise in the terrain that you can't see over. Sneak and avoid or circle around and pick your spot. Take them on from range one at a time with flaming arrows.

The worst thing is probably the abomination. There is no warning before it pops out of the ground but it takes several seconds to do so. More than enough time to find an appropriate spot or path out and they are easier to outrun than trolls even if you have to wade a bit to get to the best spot or path.

I'm visually impaired and my reflexes are bad from a stroke and the only place I'm having trouble is trying to see in the mistlands. If my vision were normal I wouldn't have that trouble.

Ok, I didnt want to have to tell a specific story, but I guess I'll have to. Since everyone's go to thought is, "this person is trash".

So, one of my deaths involved being on the Mountains, next to the Plains. I had Fenris gear on, with a silver sword, and serpent scale shield. Two wolves came after me, so I coaxed them around a rock to fight them one on one. First wolf went down easy. Second... Not so much. Since I was on a mountain side, my hits weren't exactly connecting right, so I slide down further. I didnt want to go all the way down to the Plains, mind you. Since you never know what kind of BS could be behind me. Goblins, mosquitos, etc. So I find a nice patch of snow on the side of the mountain. Now, mind you, by now my stamina has taken quite the hit. All 150 of it, from the food I ate, as I PREPARED for this outing. So this patch of ground was my last stand. Wolf squared up with me, I block, I swing. Miss, miss, miss. Because, you see, the wolf was a smidge angled on the snow. Magically making my sword swings mean nothing. I get hit, I'm one hit away from death. I reposition myself. I swing, and stun the wolf. Great, now all I need is one hit and I'm safe. Move in for the last hit, along with my stamina bar. Miss, miss, miss... Terrain issues... Again. Bite, dead.

This is what I was talking about. And I know, it's "part of the game", but it happens all the time. And it's just not fun, when you have to get all your stuff back, half a world away, with barely any fast means of doing so. And yeah, I'm sry, but I'm not building Portals everywhere. I'm not building armories in every corner of the world. I know thats what everyone's going to suggest, but thats ridiculous. You should never have to be THAT anal in any game. Specially when resources are so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ finite.

Originally posted by Ichbin:

I just get the impression that everyone playing this game is either using console commands/creative mode, or has a dedicated group of friends.

I just passed 700 hours. All vanilla, all but 1 or 2 solo. You are just unwary.

Originally posted by Ichbin:

This is what I was talking about. And I know, it's "part of the game", but it happens all the time.

This is the part that I referred to in a previous post. It just keeps happening--well, if you keep dying this way then you're not adapting. You know the issue is there, you know there are ways around it, yet you keep failing to adjust.

I've had terrain level issues in fights too, and I've died to them. Not repeatedly like you, but a couple times. Then I learned to adjust my tactics, do something different, or at least pick a better way to fight the mob. If what you are doing keeps failing repeatedly then do something different. Pick a better spot to make a stand, use a different tactic, something other than just fighting and dying the same way, over and over again.

The game isn't perfect but it's not difficult if you learn from things that happen. If you refuse to learn and keep insisting on doing it *your* way then yes, you will be frustrated. As the saying goes, "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me" ... you're fooling yourself, over and over, instead of adapting/adjusting.

I've got a lot of hours in Valheim and if I die now due to elevation differences, then that's my issue because I already know how the game works. As do you.

I think it helps to always keep a bit of stamina while pulling away from the enemy in case you need to jump or something.

I'm going to laugh here--not at the person, just at the post. It reads as a lesson of constantly trying to slam a square peg into a round hole instead of figuring out how to work with the system to be more successful. A few bad things, fine, but repetitive fail because of a refusal to adapt...yeah, that's not the game, that's the player. So, I laugh. /chuckle

Originally posted by Subsonic:

I'm going to laugh here--not at the person, just at the post. It reads as a lesson of constantly trying to slam a square peg into a round hole instead of figuring out how to work with the system to be more successful. A few bad things, fine, but repetitive fail because of a refusal to adapt...yeah, that's not the game, that's the player. So, I laugh. /chuckle

I know the post reads like I'm some bumbling fool, but I can assure you, I was prepared and knowledgeable in every biome I was in. Its also the downward spiral of you being killed by absolute BS, and losing those precious items you need, to simply get your stuff back.

Im sry, I like the game and all, but... As someone who's completed all maps in Ark, alpha. For someone who's perfect parried Sekiro. Have played through Elden Ring over a dozen times.

This game is BS.

99% of the time, when i've died in Valhiem, it's because I was being careless, or lazy.

For me it's silent stealth raids that kill you in total silence while spending a couple hours just building, take my attention away for about 2 minutes still sat right by the game but not a sound. Oh look nekkid dude again.

How about trying to make the terrain your ally instead? It's simply a matter of choosing when and where (and sometimes how) to engage, and unless you're AFK on a boat and you're relying on your shield brother or sister to steer it away from enemies, it's your own action which decides outcomes.

Originally posted by Reften:

99% of the time, when i've died in Valhiem, it's because I was being careless, or lazy.

Same...

This one time, a seeker soldier managed to clip through dungeon walls and kill one of my buddies. I think that sort of thing can be blamed on the game, but anything short of that, it's not easy to lay the blame anywhere else than the players...

Originally posted by Reften:

99% of the time, when i've died in Valhiem, it's because I was being careless, or lazy.

Originally posted by Ichbin:

Originally posted by Subsonic:

I'm going to laugh here--not at the person, just at the post. It reads as a lesson of constantly trying to slam a square peg into a round hole instead of figuring out how to work with the system to be more successful. A few bad things, fine, but repetitive fail because of a refusal to adapt...yeah, that's not the game, that's the player. So, I laugh. /chuckle

I know the post reads like I'm some bumbling fool, but I can assure you, I was prepared and knowledgeable in every biome I was in. Its also the downward spiral of you being killed by absolute BS, and losing those precious items you need, to simply get your stuff back.

Im sry, I like the game and all, but... As someone who's completed all maps in Ark, alpha. For someone who's perfect parried Sekiro. Have played through Elden Ring over a dozen times.

This game is BS.

Well I call BS on you. You want to truck out other games to make you feel "elite" or whatever, but you fail in Valheim? Valheim is much easier than Sekiro or Elden Ring. But you're frustrated about death in Valheim because you can't figure out how to play efficiently/smartly? Yeah, that's very dubious, don't believe it for a second.

Thought for sure this was going to be a tree post. Trees are the alpha boss.

Joking aside, the first skills you level up are running and jumping. You run and jump all the time to build those skills, you learn what amount of stam you can waste and what you need to hoard, how high you can jump at the level you are at, what's around you, what the warning sounds are. You are AlWaYs aware of where you are in time and space, you always know what level you are on and where you have to go to be safe, what time of day it is, food level. It just comes with time and experience. Or not. But after 100 hours, it becomes second nature to be aware - or not.

Didn't see anything on potions, food, armor, time of game day, rested bonus, nighttime... and puddles? Really? Wolves announce themselves well ahead of being anywhere near you and then they run directly at you from a great distance. Mostly you should be plinking them with your bow - and always be aware that where there is one, he usually is with a buddy.

So now you know what your personal Achilles heel is in this game. Whatcha gonna do about it? Being inattentive and taking your safety for granted, not keeping your buffs up and/or being in a biome you are not equipped or ready for will get you killed until you figure it out.

And no, lots of us are pure vanilla solo players who play this game a lot, no mods, no dev commands, but we learn to be careful and cautious, and die occasionally to the usual silliness on our part. And we're not all kids either with those lovely fast twitch muscles and great hand/eye coordination. lol
Travel safe.