Valheim Controls Reference: PC, Xbox, and PlayStation Layouts

Iron Gate's Ashlands update brought a fresh wave of new players to Valheim, most of whom land in the tenth realm with no idea what V actually does. This guide lays out every default control on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation so you can stop fumbling the dodge roll and start clearing biomes.

Before You Touch the Settings Menu

Two things worth knowing up front:

• Mouse and keyboard binds are fully editable from the in-game settings on PC. Remap whatever you want.
• Controller binds are not editable inside Valheim. To change a gamepad mapping, configure it through Steam's controller layout editor before launching the game.

Valheim ships with official Xbox controller support, so prompts and glyphs match the buttons you see on the pad. PlayStation, Switch Pro, and generic gamepads all work, but the on-screen icons usually keep showing Xbox glyphs anyway.

Mouse and Keyboard (PC)

The default desktop layout. Anything you do not like can be swapped from the menu in under a minute.

Movement

• W: forward
• A: strafe left
• S: backward
• D: strafe right
• Left Shift: run
• C: toggle walk
• Left Ctrl: crouch
• Space: jump

Camera and map

• M: open map
• Comma: zoom out
• Period: zoom in

Combat and gear

• Left Mouse: attack
• Middle Mouse: secondary attack
• Right Mouse: block
• E: use
• R: hide or draw weapon
• F: Forsaken Power

Inventory and helpers

• Tab: inventory
• Q: previous tab, snap point, or auto-run
• E: next tab or snap point
• V: toggle auto-pickup
• X: sit

Build mode (with Hammer equipped)

• Right Mouse: open build menu
• Middle Mouse: deconstruct
• Left Shift: alternative placement

Xbox Controller, Classic Layout (PC)

Iron Gate's original gamepad scheme. Functional, but a bit unusual since the right trigger handles both placing and attacking.

• Left Analog: move
• Right Analog: look
• Press Left Analog: previous snap point, toggle auto-pickup, crouch
• Press Right Analog: next snap point, hide or draw weapon
• D-Pad Left/Right: cycle hotbar, map zoom in
• D-Pad Up: zoom in view, use hotbar item
• D-Pad Down: zoom out view, Forsaken Power
• Left Trigger: rotate, block
• Right Trigger: place, attack
• Left Bumper: alternative placement, run
• Right Bumper: deconstruct, secondary attack
• A: use, build menu
• B: dodge, jump
• X: sit
• Y: inventory
• Menu Button: toggle HUD or menu
• View Button: chat or map

PlayStation Controller, Classic Layout (PC)

Same scheme as the Xbox classic, just translated to Sony's button names.

• Left Analog: move
• Right Analog: look
• Press Left Analog: previous snap point, toggle auto-pickup, crouch
• Press Right Analog: next snap point, hide or draw weapon
• D-Pad Left/Right: cycle hotbar, map zoom in
• D-Pad Up: zoom in view, use hotbar item
• D-Pad Down: zoom out view, Forsaken Power
• L2: rotate, block
• R2: place, attack
• L1: alternative placement, run
• R1: deconstruct, secondary attack
• X: use, build menu
• Circle: dodge, jump
• Square: sit
• Triangle: inventory
• Options: toggle HUD or menu
• Share: chat or map

Console Layouts (Also Available on PC)

When Valheim launched on consoles, Iron Gate added two extra layouts that better match the conventions of other survival games. Both are selectable on PC as well, so swap to whichever feels less alien. The only real difference between Layout 1 and Layout 2 is which side handles your primary attack and which handles block.

PlayStation Console Layout 1

• Left Analog: move
• Right Analog: look
• Press Left Analog: toggle auto-pickup, previous snap point, run
• Press Right Analog: alternate placement, next snap point, crouch
• Press both sticks together: Forsaken Power
• D-Pad Left/Right: map zoom in, cycle hotbar
• D-Pad Up: zoom in view, use hotbar item
• D-Pad Down: zoom out view, sit
• L1: deconstruct, block
• L2: rotate (build mode), hide or draw weapon
• R1: place item, attack
• R2: rotate (build mode), secondary attack
• Triangle: inventory
• Circle: dodge, build menu
• Square: use
• X: jump
• Options: toggle HUD or menu
• Share: chat or map

PlayStation Console Layout 2

Identical to Layout 1, with attack and block flipped to opposite triggers.

• Left Analog: move
• Right Analog: look
• Press Left Analog: toggle auto-pickup, previous snap point, run
• Press Right Analog: alternate placement, next snap point, crouch
• Press both sticks together: Forsaken Power
• D-Pad Left/Right: map zoom in, cycle hotbar
• D-Pad Up: zoom in view, use hotbar item
• D-Pad Down: zoom out view, sit
• L1: deconstruct, hide or draw weapon
• L2: rotate (build mode), block
• R1: place item, secondary attack
• R2: rotate (build mode), attack
• Triangle: inventory
• Circle: dodge, build menu
• Square: use
• X: jump
• Options: toggle HUD or menu
• Share: chat or map

Xbox Console Layout 1

• Left Analog: move
• Right Analog: look
• Press Left Analog: toggle auto-pickup, previous snap point, run
• Press Right Analog: alternate placement, next snap point, crouch
• Press both sticks together: Forsaken Power
• D-Pad Left/Right: map zoom in, cycle hotbar
• D-Pad Up: zoom in view, use hotbar item
• D-Pad Down: zoom out view, sit
• Left Bumper: deconstruct, block
• Left Trigger: rotate (build mode), hide or draw weapon
• Right Bumper: place item, attack
• Right Trigger: rotate (build mode), secondary attack
• Y: inventory
• B: dodge, build menu
• X: use
• A: jump
• Menu Button: toggle HUD or menu
• View Button: chat or map

Xbox Console Layout 2

Mirror of Layout 1 with attack and block swapped between left and right.

• Left Analog: move
• Right Analog: look
• Press Left Analog: toggle auto-pickup, previous snap point, run
• Press Right Analog: alternate placement, next snap point, crouch
• Press both sticks together: Forsaken Power
• D-Pad Left/Right: map zoom in, cycle hotbar
• D-Pad Up: zoom in view, use hotbar item
• D-Pad Down: zoom out view, sit
• Left Bumper: deconstruct, hide or draw weapon
• Left Trigger: rotate (build mode), block
• Right Bumper: place item, secondary attack
• Right Trigger: rotate (build mode), attack
• Y: inventory
• B: dodge, build menu
• X: use
• A: jump
• Menu Button: toggle HUD or menu
• View Button: chat or map

Picking the Right Layout

If you spend most of your time building, the classic schemes keep deconstruct on the same side as your attack hand, which speeds up trimming walls. If you spend most of your time fighting, the console layouts are closer to the muscle memory you already have from other survival games. Either way, every input above is the default, so you can swap layouts and rebind anything on PC the moment a setup stops feeling right.