Valheim update Hildir’s Request has arrived. Valheim patch notes 0.217.4 mark the release of the much-anticipated major update on the public test branch for the co-op Viking survival game ahead of its full launch. Previously known as Hildir’s Quest, this overhaul is the biggest set of additions the game has seen since we entered the Valheim Mistlands, and promises a lot to keep us busy until the Ashlands are finally ready.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably already well-acquainted with Valheim merchant Haldor, but now it’s time to meet his sister. However, on Hildir’s trek here she’s lost most of her stock, so she’ll need your help to get her store back up and running. Along with her arrival as a new Valheim NPC, Hildir’s Request also includes multiple new locations and dungeons, with new mini-bosses to uncover, and a ton of crafting and quality-of-life improvements.
Because developer Iron Gate is always wary of spoilers given the discovery-driven nature of Valheim, we’ve actually got two sets of patch notes below. The first set is nice and simple, giving you a broad overview of what to expect without giving too much away, while the second goes into more detail for those of you who might be found under the tree on Christmas Eve, shaking your presents to guess what’s inside.
Among the quality-of-life improvements, the addition of manual snapping should make precise Valheim building a lot easier, while a new quick-stack button makes dropping loot into storage an easy and painless process. There’s also some new hair and beard styles for your Viking, and you’ll actually be able to see them when wearing helmets thanks to a visual tweak.
The final big change in Hildir’s Request is server difficulty modifiers. You’ll be able to turn the challenge level down if you want a more relaxing Valheim experience, or crank it up with hardcore settings for those of you who feel like things have gotten a bit too comfortable by now. You can even mix and match settings to your liking to get the perfect Valheim feel for you and your friends.
Valheim Hildir’s Request patch notes 0.217.4 (public test) – Friday June 15, 2023
Here are the Valheim patch notes 0.217.4 for the Hildir’s Request update. Note that these are for the public test version – you can access this on Steam by right-clicking Valheim in your library and selecting ‘properties,’ then ‘betas,’ and typing in the code “yesimadebackups” to select it. On Microsoft store and PC Game Pass, you’ll need to launch the Xbox Insider Hub app, where you can join the Valheim public test under the previews section.
Abbreviated patch notes (spoiler-free)
New content
- New NPC: Hildir the merchant.
- New locations.
- World modifiers added.
- 2 new crafting extensions.
- New hair and beard styles.
- New items.
Updates and features
- Hair and beards are now visible when equipping helmets.
- Various visual improvements.
- Quick-stack button added.
- Manual snapping for building added.
Full patch notes (spoiler warning!)
New content
- New NPC: Hildir the merchant.
- New location: Hildir’s camp.
- New location: Smouldering tomb (classic dungeon).
- New location: Howling cavern (classic dungeon).
- New location: Sealed tower (open dungeon).
- 3 new mini bosses.
- World modifiers button added to start game screen with many customization/difficulty options (select a preset or design your own).
- 8 different Fireworks added (Including Thunderstone and Black Core thrown in the fire).
- New item: Sparkler.
- New clothing: 10 hats & headscarves.
- New clothing: 14 dresses and tunics.
- Black forge extension: Vice Grip.
- Magetable extension: Unfading Candle.
- New material: Barber kit.
- New furniture: Barber station.
- New material: Iron pit.
- New furniture: Firepit.
- 8 new hairstyles.
- 5 new beard styles.
- 4 new music tracks.
Fixes and improvements
- Hair and beards are now visible when equipping helmets.
- Haldor animations updated.
- All fire effects have been overhauled.
- Smoke balls created by fires now have random rotation and no longer pop in when spawned.
- Added Hugin hints informing the player that traders can be found in the game.
- Spawn command can now specify fields.
- Fixed a bug which caused level up algorithm to be a bit off depending on when you die.
- Reduced lag spike when selecting worlds in the Select World menu by reusing existing world list elements, rather than destroying all and instancing all new ones.
- Widened the Manage Saves Menu and show the time of the timestamp.
- Retrieve timestamp from file name rather than file metadata if present in the file name. This means moving a file to/from cloud no longer affects the sorting order of files with timestamps in their names.
- Fixed oversight that saved unnecessary characters (such as spaces) in an IP address to the server list if the IP address could be parsed successfully.
- Chat doesn’t open on Ping anymore.
- Resolved chat blocking input for other UI (such as map).
- Fixed issue where minimap pin input field for PC version was getting invisible.
- Join code is now hidden when HUD’s visibility is toggled off.
- Fixed a bug that had water in caves be affected by wind.
- Fixed a bug that could cause the server list to stop working.
- Fixed a bug on Xbox where ticks wouldn’t attach correctly.
- Opening console now blocks hotbar navigation.
- Offline players can now send map pings on Xbox and MS store version.
- Fixed missing special characters on signs.
- Fixed Xbox bug which could cause the player to jump while selecting a building piece.
- Menu usage is now blocked when HUD is hidden.
Quality of life
- Quick stack button and Shift-E to quickly place all items already in a container from your inventory.
- You can now manually choose snapping point with Q & E for precision building.
- Intro sequence can now be skipped from the pause menu and the game can be paused while in the intro.
- Workbench and Forge now get slightly increased build range when upgraded.
- Crafting benches’ build range is now cylindrical instead of spherical.
- Added another controller scheme, and the ability to hide HUD when using a controller and on Xbox.
Miscellaneous
- God mode will now allow damage down to 1 health rather than taking no damage.
- New console command “tombstone” which create tombstones.
- New itemset ‘base’ and command can specify a number to override all items with that level (i.e. “itemset meadows 4” will give level 4 meadows items).
- New console commands:
- tombstone – Creates tombstones.
- resetworldkeys – Resets all world modifiers to default.
- setworldpreset – Sets world modifiers to a named preset
- setworldmodifier – Sets a world modifier value.
While we await the Valheim Ashlands, we’ve got all the best Valheim mods to help smooth out and enhance your experience, as well as all Valheim console commands and cheats for plenty of ways to spice up your server.