After the huge success on Steam, there was a long silence about Valheim and fans had to wait months for the next update. Meanwhile, two updates have been released, and the creators have already announced new content. The Ashlands are coming as a new biome. MyMMO author Benedict Grothaus has already checked it out.
What is this update about? Valheim introduces the Ashlands in a new blog post, an area “far to the south.” Unlike biomes so far, the Ashlands are not scattered islands but a connected area on the huge map.
As the name suggests, the Ashlands are a burning steppe, where, at the moment, there isn’t much to find except fire. However, there are already some hints about the biome.
The developers describe the volcanic landscape as the “Land of the Dead” and show images of creatures that could visually belong to Dark Souls: melted skeletons, the “Scorched,” or a stitched flesh sack full of bones.
This is what we already know: The Ashlands have been in the game since release and can be explored since then. During my explorations, I found several contents in the Ashlands that the devs haven’t revealed yet, including:
- Surtlings – They are currently found there as enemies
- there is “Glowing Metal” that can be mined – apparently meteorites
- from the meteorites, “Flametal ore” can be obtained, which you can smelt in the furnace
So far, there are no recipes that utilize the ore. However, there is the secret sword Dyrnwyn, which cannot be crafted yet. Since the sword burns, it’s likely that it will be introduced as a recipe with the Ashlands.
Who will be the boss? Bosses are an important element in Valheim as they signify the conclusion of a chapter in the journey. It is still unknown if there will be a boss and if so, which one will be in the Ashlands.
However, since Valheim draws heavily from Norse mythology and gods like Odin and Thor can be found in the world, we can speculate:
- the Ashlands are based on the mythological Muspelheim, the burning realm of giants. Here, the fire giant Surtr reigns, who could serve as a model for the boss
- on the other hand, the Ashlands are the “Land of the Dead,” so the mythological Helheim. Here, the goddess Hel or the ship of bones Naglfar could be possible templates
- in Norse mythology, the entrance to Helheim is guarded by the giant dog Garm, which could also be a model for the boss
- finally, it’s of course possible that the already shown “Morgen” will be the boss of the Ashlands
Keep in mind that these are speculations. The developers have promised to be more open with information this time, but currently no information has been confirmed regarding the Ashlands except for the setting.
The Ashlands, with their volcanic appearance, are a stark contrast to the Mistlands, the latest biome. It was introduced with a fancy trailer:
Valheim is still huge on Steam, soon getting new content
The status of Valheim: Although the game was released in February 2021, Valheim is still popular on Steam. Following the Mistlands update, the game peaked at 127,000 players in December 2022 (via steamcharts). Currently, there are still over 31,000 on average in the last hour and 76,000 players in the last 24 hours (as of January 17, 2:00 PM).
Despite the content drought, the game has rarely recorded less than 30,000 players. Valheim has been consistently popular, and that’s why it’s still on our list of the best survival games.
In the meantime, modders have provided fresh content. They have even filled the Mistlands and Ashlands with life before the developers.
What comes next? The developers have already announced that Valheim will be released for Xbox and in the Game Pass. It’s already available in the Game Pass, and the Xbox version is expected to come “early 2023.”
To bridge the waiting time for the Ashlands, several smaller updates are also planned to be released earlier:
- Hildir’s Quest from the new NPC Hildir, where you can get new clothing
- Difficulty levels for Valheim
- new accessibility options to enable Valheim for a wider group of players
There are currently no specific dates for the updates and also for the Ashlands. Those interested in the idea of Valheim should take a look at the new project ASKA, which is set to be released in 2023:
