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Valheim workbench upgrade and how to repair tools

One of the most important items to keep upgraded in each of your bases is the humble Valheim workbench as it has a number of essential uses

One of the first things you need to build in Valheim is a workbench. Without this, you can’t upgrade or craft new gear, or repair any of your broken tools. Although building a workbench initially is fairly simple, you’ll soon discover that a bunch of upgrades and new gear are locked behind a higher tier of workbench, and your measly Level 1 workbench is only good for rags and basic tools. Not a good look if you want to take on the Valheim bosses and progress in the game.

When you start out in Valheim, you can pick up a few basic materials to craft a hammer, which is imperative to building structures. You need to house your Valheim workbench by building a roof so you can use it – we recommend building a full structure – using our Valheim building guide – so you can continue to add items such as chests, beds, and a cosy indoor campfire (properly ventilated, of course).

As you use your tools, whether that’s a Valheim weapon in combat or an axe to chop down trees, you need to repair the damage they take – they will gradually accumulate wear and tear and eventually break. Here’s how to upgrade your workbench in Valheim and how to repair tools using it.

Valheim workbench upgrade

To upgrade your workbench in Valheim, you need to craft skilled items and place them in the vicinity of your workbench. These items have a gold star in the corner on the crafting menu, and for each one you build, your workbench will upgrade by one.

  • Chopping block
  • Tanning Rack
  • Adze
  • Tool Shelf

Annoyingly, to craft these items you need a lot of resources, which can be a pain to track down. Here’s some of the items you may need and where to find them.

  • Flint – can be found by the water’s edge
  • Bronze – crafted at a forge using copper and tin
  • Fine Wood – obtained from chopping down Birch and Oak trees
  • Deer Hide – obtained from killing deer
  • Leather Scraps – obtained from boar
  • Iron – made from smelting scrap iron
  • Obsidian – mined from an iron pickaxe in the Mountains

How to repair tools in Valheim

Over time as you use your tools, they’ll gradually wear down and in some cases, break completely. You can see the remainder of your tool’s life in the top left hand corner, it’s the thin bar underneath each item. When the bar flashes red, you won’t be able to use it anymore and you need to take it to a workbench to repair it.

Interact with the workbench and simply click the hammer icon to the left of the right workbench box, highlighted above. You also don’t need any resources to repair an item in Valheim, it’s completely free. It’s also important to note that if you spawn a workbench, you can work in complete safety as monster spawning is suspended within player’s bases.

Looking for more Valheim guides? We’ve got all the info on Valheim armour, Valheim console commands, setting up a Valheim dedicated server, and taming Valheim animals. There’s enough guides content there to ensure you have a safe journey back to Valhalla where you belong.

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