Valheim, the co-op survival sandbox from developer Iron Gate, left early access on September 9 when its 1.0 update went live, according to MassivelyOP. The full release closed out an early access run of five years and brought a new biome, a large batch of new equipment and creatures, and several mechanics the game did not have before.
The centerpiece of the update is the Deep North biome. Iron Gate describes it as a cold and hostile region filled with ancient evils and lurking threats, and it introduces several new enemies for players to contend with. MassivelyOP characterized the area, based on that description, as late-game territory.
Alongside the new biome, the 1.0 update adds:
- More than 40 new weapons
- New armor sets and new tools
- More than 10 additional creatures
- More than 80 new buildable pieces, including five new crafting-related build pieces
- A lengthy list of fixes and improvements
The release also introduced new mechanics. Snow now has to be cleared from certain regions, invading jotun have been added, players can use a new grappling hook, and inventories have received upgrades.
Those additions are only part of what changed. Iron Gate's official patch notes outline many more, but a large share of the entries sit behind spoiler bars: players who want every granular detail can mouse over them, while those who would rather discover the new content without foreknowledge can leave them closed, MassivelyOP noted.