The Mistlands go live in Valheim

The Mistlands biome has gone live for everybody in Valheim.

The Mistlands at last

Since Valheim launched back in February of 2021 to immediate and almost overwhelming success, we have kind of been waiting for more biomes.  I mean, it took our group some time to get through the initial set that came with the launch, but eventually we hit the plains, which was the end of the road for advancement in the game.

Which is not to say that the game hasn’t improved since launch.  There have been a ton of updates, enough that another play through by our group earlier this year felt fresh, as opposed to being a repeat of what we had done already.  But we still ended up in the plains without next destination.

And you can’t satisfy Odin’s bloodlust and earn your way into Valhalla without some more of his forsaken to vanquish.  The wait for the Mistlands continued.

Then, late last month, we go news that the new Mistlands biome was available for testing.  And that gave people hope, but how long would testing last?  What is the timeline for a content beta for an early access game?

Two weeks I guess, because on Tuesday the developers announced that theMistlands were generally available.

Gather your friends and gear up, for it’s time to embark on the voyage to the Mistlands! We have worked hard on this update for the past nine months now, and we’re so happy to finally be able to share it with all of you.

We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has participated in the Public Test period for this update, as your feedback has been very helpful. Given that Valheim is in Early Access some things are still subject to change, of course, but right now we feel assured that the Mistlands update is stable and ready for all of you.

An important thing to note is that the Mistlands biome will only generate in areas you have not yet discovered. Therefore, if you have explored a lot of your world, you might be better off starting a new one in order to actually be able to travel to the Mistlands. As per usual, mods will also most likely cause the game not to launch, as they are only compatible with the latest Live version of the game. If you have mods, you will either need to remove them or wait for the mod to be updated before you can play.

The Mistlands have arrived!

Of course, the big caveat it that announcement is the whole map generation thing.  If you went and explored your current world thoroughly, as we did with our first world, you might be out of luck.  But starting a new world isn’t a horrible penalty, unless you’ve invested as heavily in building as you did in exploration.

There is a full set of patch notes available, split into spoilers and no spoilers sections.  The spoiler free patch notes give the high level sketch of what the update adds.

• New biome – Mistlands:
• New mechanics
  • 9 new creatures + Mistlands boss
  • More than 20 new crafting materials
  • new crafting stations
  • 3 crafting station extensions
  • 3 other resource/crafting constructions
  • 15 new food items
  • 3 new potions
  • More than 25 new craftable items (weapons, armours & tools)
  • More than 35 new building/furniture pieces for building, decorating and defending your base
  • New type of dungeon
  • New lore stones
  • New dreams
  • New music
• Misc:
  • Fishing update
  • 12 new emotes
  • 9 new hairstyles and 7 new beard styles
  • Enabled Yule seasonal items (Yule tree, Yuleklapp, Yule wreath, Yule garland and Mistletoe
• Fixes & Improvements:
  • Various console command improvements
  • Multiple animations have been updated and improved
  • Multiple VFX have been updated and improved
  • Various other tweaks

The full patch notes go into the gritty details, though I am not sure all of it really counts as spoilers.  The drop from killing the plains boss, Yagluth, for example, is now something else.

As for our world… we made an effort to not explore too far and wide.  At one point, while sailing, I was alerted that I was approaching the Mistlands, so I probably ruined that location, but otherwise we might be able to return without a restart.  We will have to see when the mood strikes the group.

And, of course, somebody will burn through the Mistlands this weekend I am sure and then will be waiting for the next two biomes, the Deep North and the Ashlands.  The waiting will continue and we had better be careful about not exploring too widely all the same.