Valheim: Hearth & Home goes live with map tables, hot tubs, and more

The Valheim Hearth and Home update is finally live, inviting Vikings to come share new recipes, battles, and even their map data.

Developer Iron Gate Studio debuted the long-awaited content update for its Norse-themed action survival game with a set of official (but not too spoilery) patch notes and a trailer showing off some of the new in-game content. There are new building pieces to get your stronghold looking just the way you like it, and a bunch of new functional items to kit it out with; sure, the cartography table sounds handy for keeping everybody on your server up to date on the latest biome news, but that Viking hot tub will be key for unwinding after troll raids.

On top of the new furniture and changes to the food and combat systems we already knew about, Iron Gate has also snuck new "slimy locations and creatures" into the plains region. Mind that these new bits will only show up in previously unexplored parts of the map - the developers recommend you start from scratch for the best Hearth & Home experience.

That said, there's even good news if you aren't ready to leave your old world behind; while it isn't part of the officially listed updates, Valheim players are reporting a big performance boost in larger bases where frame rates typically tanked before.