The survival MMO Valheim has received a new update. This changes, among other things, the use of the console and admin commands that can make the game easier. MeinMMO explains what the patch notes mean for you.
What kind of update is this? Patch 0.148.6 was released today, March 23, 2021, on Steam. It primarily includes numerous bug fixes and minor adjustments for better game quality, but also changes with greater impact, such as:
- Campfires, signal fires, and fire pits now take damage when they cause damage themselves
- The harpoon can no longer impale bosses
- The console does not work by default in the game and must be activated beforehand – this also makes admin commands (‘cheats’) more difficult to use
The effects of the adjustment to the harpoon are quite obvious. You can no longer impale bosses and simply drag them into a pit to deal with them easily from above. You now have to fight them normally – use our guide for all bosses in Valheim if you have trouble in combat.
The other two changes go a bit deeper. We explain what they mean and how you can still use the features. You can find the full patch notes in the developer’s post on Steam.
Using admin commands after the update – Here’s how
What has changed: With the new version of Valheim, you can no longer use the console by default. You must first set it up with a launch command.
Additionally, the activation command for commands and cheats has now been changed, and there is a warning when you activate the commands. This indicates that the developers advise against using these commands.
How do I now use admin commands? If you still want to play with admin commands, you must activate them beforehand via start argument:
- search for the entry for Valheim in your Steam library
- right-click and select “Properties”
- there, under the “General” tab, you will find the line “Launch Options”
- enter “-console” in the text box here
With this, you can open the console as usual with F5 in the game. If you want to use admin commands, you must now activate them with “devcommands”, no longer as before with the command “imacheater”. In our guide, we explain exactly how to use admin commands in Valheim and what they are.
In survival games, such commands are often used to enter a creative mode and build freely or to look around the world. In a multiplayer environment like on a server in Valheim, they usually do not work.
Update changes fire – What does that mean?
What has changed: Another change is that fire pits now take damage themselves when they cause damage. This means: if you burn yourself at a campfire or an enemy runs through, the fire must be repaired over time.
A campfire takes about 10% of its durability as damage when it damages a player, meaning it can burn him 10 times. A signal fire can withstand double that.
Why is this important? Recently, players have been coming up with creative ideas to defeat enemies. A particularly popular one is the “Greydwarf Toaster 5000”, which allows many resources to be farmed.
In this idea, players dig a hole around the spawn of enemies and fill it with fire so that the enemies burn directly when they fall in. In other methods, players simply lure bosses through campfires and let them slowly die without really risking being attacked. Both methods do not work as efficiently with the new change anymore.
Valheim is still in full development, and the developers are currently preparing the first major update “Hearth and Home”. However, we do not yet know when that will come. Nevertheless, Valheim is already one of 5 co-op games in early access on Steam that you should test.
