Valheim building guide — Creating your first base

Structural integrity

One of the more unique aspects of Valheim‘s base-building system is structural integrity.

Color-coding scheme

For one thing, you might notice that objects you select in the build tab have distinct colors (blue, green, light green, orange, and red):

• Blue – These are considered “foundation” pieces. They’re more stable since they’re placed directly on the ground.
• Green and light green – These are attached to foundation pieces and would have a greenish hue since the structural integrity is somewhat intact.
• Orange – Although you can attach these to light green pieces (i.e., floor tiles for balconies or awnings), they might be a little flimsy.
• Red – If there’s no structural support, an object will have a red highlight. It’ll crumble the moment you place it on the map.

The idea is to ensure that objects have structural support. Since Valheim‘s early-game building system consists mostly of using wood, you can have wooden beams and poles as foundation pieces on the ground.

You may also use beams to support tiles on the second floor, but that’s not a good idea now since we’re just building your basic Valheim base.

Wear and tear (decay)

The reason why you want to have a thatched roof is due to the weather. Strong winds can extinguish fires or mess with your fixtures. Rain, meanwhile, will cause wooden pieces to decay over time. And, we haven’t even considered attacks from enemy mobs yet. Still, if an object’s “health” is low enough, you can left-click with the hammer equipped to repair it.

Anyway, let’s talk about some of the early-game fixtures you want to have in your Valheim base.