The Valheim Ashlands aren’t ready for a while yet, but they’re already giving me nightmares. When I think back to the early days of the co-op Viking survival game, the stories that stick in my mind are always terrifying tales of its most troublesome inhabitants. The moment a troll shows up to smash its way through your beautiful base. Losing everything to the horrifying Deathsquitos of the Plains. Now, our latest look at Ashlands creatures already has me worried.
With the Valheim team at Iron Gate Studios now pushing towards the upcoming Ashlands overhaul following the release of the Valheim Hilidr’s Request update, we’re starting to get ever more glimpses as to what we can expect. The newest biome for the Viking survival game is, as the name suggests, an ashen wasteland haunted by molten skeletons and ravenous vultures.
Before we go any further, I know some players are wary of seeing any potential Valheim Ashlands spoilers before playing the game – if so you probably wouldn’t have made it this far anyway, but just in case, consider this a formal warning.
We’ve already seen a hint of the seaborne guardian of the Ashlands previously, but it now has a new, even more nightmarish look. The Bonemaw Serpent lives up to its name even more now, giant bony spikes protruding from the waters seeming to be your only warning of the impending creature and its gaping mouth filled with teeth. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…
Iron Gate also introduces us to a new subcategory of the Charred, which it says “currently makes up for quite a large portion of the Ashlands population.” These blackened skeletons are inspired by the Black Forest’s hostile Greydwarfs, it says, and quite frankly I’m going to take those glowing red eyes as an invitation to stay well clear.
The latest Valheim developer blog also gives us a glimpse at a design for the Ashlands structures we can expect, with a model of one crumbling ruin shown directly from 3D modeling software Blender. There’s not too much of a giveaway here, other than to note that these look even more worn-down and broken than many of Valheim’s other ruins.
The team has also continued to show off some of the new armor styles we can expect to be rocking in the Ashlands – and has maintained its newfound trend of matching the warmer climes with “hot summer” variants of its new Ashlands armor fashion. If we’re going to have to contend with so many terrifying beasties, at least we’ll look good doing it.
If you need more to tide you over to Ashlands, have a browse of the best Valheim mods to keep you plenty busy. You’ll probably want to grab the best Valheim weapons ahead of your journey to the Ashlands, too, so get started right away.