How To Build Your First Base In Valheim

Building a base is a player’s first real milestone in Valheim. Whether it simply houses a Workbench and bed or is a little more elaborate, a base is easily the top priority for the beginning of a playthrough. 

However, even though it’s incredibly important, Valheim doesn’t really offer many tips in the way of base building. You’re told to collect materials and from there you’re pretty much on your own. 

Of course, we’re here to help those still looking to build their first base in the Norse realm. Read below for tips on base building and a step-by-step list on how to build. 

Building your first base in Valheim 

A simple base structure in Valheim. (Picture: Iron Gate)

Starting off, you’re going to want to collect as many materials as possible. Any branch or stone on the ground is worth picking up and essential to your survival. Once you feel you’ve collected enough materials, start crafting tools. This can be done by going into your Inventory and crafting the items on the right hand of the screen. 

To build a base, you’re going to want a stone axe and hammer before anything. The axe allows you to cut down Beech trees to construct the actual base and the hammer allows you to build it. 

Once you have both items and a respectable amount of wood, find a nice spot for your base. It can be anywhere but a flat surface that isn’t too close to the starting area is ideal. After you’ve chosen a spot, wield your hammer and hit your “Build Menu” keybind. 

This will bring up the list of buildable items but the first item you need is a Workbench. This doesn’t take much wood at all but it needs to be placed in a central location. When you build the Workbench, you won’t actually be able to craft anything because it needs to be sheltered. 

• Read more: Valheim Workbench guide: How to upgrade and materials required

Now, you can begin the process of constructing the base. For most players, this will only be a temporary base until they gather more materials, so don’t worry about the design too much. It just needs to have four sides, a roof and a floor. Something small, but not too small, is the perfect size to house a Workbench, bed, campfire and chests. 

Beginner bases don’t need to be too extravagant. (Picture: Iron Gate)

For the actual construction, you can use the full wood walls and floor panels to start out. As for the roof, you can start placing the thatch panels on the walls and connect them as you go. The same goes for the walls and floor panels. Valheim is fairly good about snapping the items to the correct spot but you will need to rotate them yourself. 

• Read more: Valheim: How to build a campfire inside your house

Once a functional base has been constructed, you can use the Workbench, bed and other amenities inside of the structure. If you want to truly step it up a notch though, you can place fences and doors to keep out intruders sent by Valheim’s first boss, Eikthyr. 

Have just begun exploring Valheim? Why not check out our crafting and Iron guides