We’ve seen a lot of the Valheim Ashlands and the dangers that await us there, so it’s about time developer Iron Gate furnished us with some ways to tackle these troubles. Fortunately, they’ve done just that with a look at a new Valheim weapon crafting system set to be introduced as part of the next biome for the Viking survival game. Senior developer Jonathan Smårs, lead artist Robin Eyre, and community manager Josefin Berntsson share some new information about how we’ll be defending ourselves in the team’s latest ‘walk and talk’ video.

Eyre says that gear progression in the Valheim Ashlands “will look like how Mistlands was,” so expect a similar feeling to the last new biome to land in the co-op survival game. “Hopefully you’ll find the resources you need, you’ll get it and you’ll get some starter equipment, and then as you progress through the whole biome you’ll get some much-needed special gear; weapons, mostly.”

Among of the coolest new features are special gems you’ll discover as you explore that will allow you to upgrade Flametal weapons – that’s those made from the new Ashlands resource, as you’d probably expect. There are three different colors: red, blue, and green. Each of them can be used to forge your weapon of choice into a blood weapon, a storm weapon, or a nature weapon respectively, each of which has their own unique effects.

“I think this is the biome with the most weapons so far,” Eyre says. Smårs agrees: “Especially because of the gem specialization, it’s really turning into a lot of weapons, so there’s a lot of fun things to play with. I think it’s really nice that if you have a certain weapon type that is your favorite, previously it was basically just one weapon that you were going to have and now you can actually make a choice within that weapon type as well.”

As for how things will look for spellcasters, Eyre says, “It’s not a sidegrade in my opinion, it’s more a playstyle, so we have to accommodate for that playstyle.” Smårs adds, “My favorite in that regard is definitely the – can we call it the shotgun?” He laughs. “We can affectionately call it the shotgun,” Berntsson replies.

“One of the interesting things with Ashlands has been that challenging design of, ‘Okay, we just gave everyone fire weapons, and now they’re going into fire territory,’” Eyre muses. “Is everybody immune to fire? Are fire creatures, or Ashlands creatures, immune to cold or are they susceptible to cold?”

Eyre doesn’t give a definitive answer, but says, “I think we have landed on something that works quite well now.” Smårs does suggest that you won’t be left completely out in the cold (or the heat, as it were): “It’s important that both of them [fire and ice weapons] work. It would be really weird if we gave you fire and ice magic, but the next place you go one of them is useless, so have fun.”

While we await more news on exactly when you’ll be able to explore the new-look Ashlands for yourself, Iron Gate has a few more small details on the region it calls “a hostile place, even for the creatures that live there.”

In the meantime, we’ve got even more of the best Viking games to explore, and plenty of the best co-op games if you’re looking for something new to play with friends.

Posted: Feb 26, 2024 12:40 pm
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://www.pcgamesn.com/valheim/ashlands-weapon-gems