What's New in Valheim's Hearth & Home Update

Valheim broke records when it launched, pulling millions of Vikings into its bogs and meadows during early access. A few months later, the long-promised Hearth & Home patch has finally landed, and it overhauls more of the game than most players probably expected.

Release and Pricing

Hearth & Home went live on Thursday, September 17, and it costs exactly zero crowns. Iron Gate shipped it as a free content drop, so you do not need to pay extra to enjoy the new toys, food, and questionable interior design choices.

Combat and General Polish

Every weapon got rebalanced, which means your old strategy of swinging the strongest blade you own may need adjusting. Each weapon now has a more distinct playstyle, so the spear, the sword and the axe should actually feel different. Blocking has been reworked too: your maximum HP now influences how well you absorb hits, and a stagger bar was added to the HUD.

Other quality-of-life upgrades:

• Tamed creatures can be named (sorry, Mister Boar Jr. is taken).
• Gamepad sensitivity sliders.
• Toggle for auto-pickup.
• New graphics options for active point lights and point light shadows.
• Tamed animals are protected from friendly fire by default. You can only hurt them if you flip the friendly fire setting or use the new butcher knife.
• Various smaller fixes.

Food Reworked

The food system was rebuilt from the ground up. Most dishes now grant mostly stamina or mostly health, which turns meal prep into an actual loadout decision instead of a numbers blob. The food UI was overhauled to match the new logic, and there are twelve new recipes to discover.

World Changes

• Tamed Lox finally serve a purpose.
• New slimy locations and creatures roam the Plains.
• Birch, Oak, and Onion seeds can now be planted.

New Items

• Weapons: Crystal battleaxe and silver knife.
• Shields: Bone tower shield and iron buckler.
• Butcher knife for, well, butchering your tamed animals.
• Thunder stone, available from the trader.
• A Lox accessory.

Building

The building list is where this update flexes the hardest:

• A new Darkwood set with shingle roofs, beams, and decorations.
• Furniture additions including a stone throne and a Viking hot tub.
• Crystal walls.
• New stack types to show off resources and trophies.
• Cauldron extensions: spice rack, butcher's table, and pots and pans.
• A cartography table for sharing map data with the rest of the crew.
• An oven for bread and pies.
• An obliterator that destroys unwanted items.
• An iron cooking station required for certain meats.

If you beat Valheim before Hearth & Home dropped, or you bounced off early, this is a solid excuse to restart. Iron Gate itself recommends a fresh save as the best way to experience the changes.

For the full breakdown, see the official patch notes.