A few months in the past, I gushed about Valheim’s chill attitude in terms of survival, and the way reducing out a lot of the faff made it among the best survival video games round. I nonetheless really feel that method, however generally it is a ruthless bastard that makes you surrender on rescuing all of your gear from an indignant pack of monsters in New Zealand.
For the uninitiated: Valheim allows you to take your character and something that is in your stock to no matter server tickles your fancy. If you wish to play with some Viking mates, you need not begin from scratch. It’s one other instance of the work Iron Gate has executed to make its survival sport friendlier than the typical wilderness romp. But, as I’ve found, there is a draw back to this comfort.
Many years in the past, I foolishly befriended somebody residing in distant New Zealand, which implies we’ve a really small window the place we’re each awake, free and ready to hang around in a sport. His companion lately received into Valheim, and invited us to hitch her on an journey to kill one of many resilient bosses, the situation for which she’d simply found. Emboldened by latest successes, I accepted, and jumped into her world with my greatest tools and a full stock.
It turned clear virtually instantly that this was a mistake, since you by no means go on an extended voyage with a full stock—the place the heck will you place your greyling eyeballs and grisly trophies? I crafted some chests and dumped the lot, promising to come back again to it later. I doubt I’ll ever see any of that stuff once more.
Finally unladen, we have been in a position to begin our journey. Our goal was distant, and with that space of the map fully unexplored, we had no thought what we have been going to face, or how a lot of that route could be throughout land or sea. We ventured south, with frequent breaks so I might look out on the ocean and say “We ought to undoubtedly construct a ship right here,” as a result of I used to be getting uninterested in all of the operating. When we lastly ran out of land, my companions acquiesced, and the boat-building started. I say boat, but it surely was actually only a shitty raft. We’re not made from assets.
One of us was sensible sufficient to additionally construct a small camp, so we might create a brand new respawn level ought to the worst befall us. The sensible particular person was not me. I used to be busy making one more chest, as a result of I’d stuffed my stock as soon as once more. I can’t cease myself from choosing up each single merchandise I spot. We did not want a whole lot of rocks, but when anybody modified their thoughts, my rock assortment was ready for them.
The ocean voyage was nice till we found that just one particular person can lean on the mast and stare out on the water, considering deep ideas and searching cool. Well, technically extra individuals can do it, however everybody has to face in precisely the identical spot, our bodies and pixels merging. None of us have been up for that Cronenbergian nightmare.
I had a god to kill. This eagerness, lamentably, could be my undoing.
We have been assured once we made landfall. The boss was undoubtedly on this island, and we have been greater than able to take it on. 30 seconds later we have been preventing for our lives. We’d encountered a troll, and whereas we would all killed loads of trolls in our time, this one received the drop on us. It additionally introduced a tree with it, neutering our ranged benefit. One of our trio went down virtually instantly, crushed by the weaponised trunk. I did the one wise factor I might consider: I bravely ran again to the raft whereas screaming. And that is once I was squashed. I wakened again at our camp, shortly adopted by the final of our quantity.
Unfortunately, this camp was not positioned in the friendliest space, which made getting ready for our second try a bit difficult. Collectively, we will need to have died at the very least an additional ten instances earlier than we have been in a place to attempt once more. Only an hour earlier than, we would felt like a band of whole unhealthy asses, able to tackle something; now we have been bare and ineffective, dying to falling timber and greylings. But we stuck at it and located ourselves all equipped and prepared for revenge.
During this second voyage, I received to be the one who leaned in opposition to the mast, and let me let you know, I felt extraordinarily cool. “Nothing can kill me,” I assumed to myself. The troll was gone, fortunately, however we nonetheless made positive to not linger. We received our stuff again after which shortly hopped again on the raft. This time we have been being cautious, so we took the raft additional down the coast, nearer to the boss, avoiding all the hazards ready for us in the forest.
This prolonged crusing journey solely made my lust for blood larger. There was loads of ready round, and I used to be prepared to begin stabbing and slashing. I had a god to kill. This eagerness, lamentably, could be my undoing.
We’d gotten as near the boss as we might by water, and our closing battle was solely a brisk jog away. I used to be extraordinarily excited. I jumped off the still-moving raft, swimming the previous couple of meters—a giant threat in a sport the place a brief swim may be deadly. Luckily, I used to be positive. That luck, nonetheless, wouldn’t persist. I used to be nonetheless damp from my swim when the excessive degree gray dwarves descended upon me. With my buddies nonetheless on the raft, I used to be alone and never doing very properly. Maybe I’d forgotten to fill my stomach, denying me plenty of well being, however I’d by no means admit such a giant mistake.
You know what’s coming. I by no means made it again to the raft, my mates did not get to me in time, and the gray dwarves closed in—I used to be useless, once more.
We had choices, however all of them have been time consuming. I might have constructed one other raft whereas my mates waited, however the harmful location we would picked for our camp made that arduous work even when there have been three of us. Alternatively, my mates might have made the lengthy voyage again to choose me up. Instead, we went for the third possibility: giving up. It was time to name it an evening.
Unless you get a devoted server, Valheim’s worlds fall asleep when the host is not round, and even when that wasn’t the case, doing a corpse run solo did not enchantment to me. There are players who will help you collect your belongings from your corpse if it is too tough to go it alone, however that may nonetheless require the server host to be round. So that was it. My precious gear, gone. At least till the following time our schedules collide.
I hope my cool cloak is having a pleasant time in New Zealand.
