Summary
Valheimrecently got a new big biome update with the addition of Ashlands. The fiery, volcanic landscape is one of the most harrowing environmental changes to the game yet, butValheimstill has plenty in store.Valheimhas been building its biomes since its launch, and reworking the Deep North is next on the list.
As of now, an official release date for the Deep North update is unknown, but many players have expected its arrival to fittingly be sometime this winter. If the name didn’t give it away already, the Deep North is the iciest region ofValheim, making it a completely different threatcompared to the Ashlands. Every corner of the Ashlands is filled with danger, which puts the Deep North in a tricky situation. On the one hand, the Deep North will want to present another challenge to players, but on the other hand, it can’t just feel like Ashlands got a frosty remix.
Valheim Could Have Trouble Making the Deep North Stand On Its Own
The Ashlands Presents the Game’s Most Challenging Terrain to Date
Lava-covered floors, intimidating fortresses, and skeletons who are ready to attack at any given moment make the Ashlands a truly difficult location to navigate. If getting there wasn’t hard enough,simply surviving in the Ashlandsis just as trying. There is cinder rain that falls from the sky. to make it through the Ashlands, players need to have the best equipment possible to succeed. Otherwise, it’s quite easy to burn to a crisp.
This is the biggest problem facing the Deep North when it finally arrives.The Deep North and Ashlandsare ultimately two sides of the same coin. Both boast two extreme climates that are nearly impossible to successfully survive in, but how the Deep North demonstrates this treachery will be a little trickier than the Ashlands. It’s easy to show the destructive nature of fire. A lava-ridden hellscape lends itself to far more destruction and danger, but icy terrains like the Deep North show their danger in more subtle ways.
Frostbite, falling icicles, the Yeti, and Frost Giants are likely to be some of the most probable additions to the biome. The lethal landscape of the Ashlands could have plenty of icy counterparts in the Deep North, but that also raises the question if that is ultimately even necessary.Valheimcan be a difficult game to survive in, and although the Deep North can take this difficulty further, it may benefit best from doing so in a completely different way.
Valheim’s Deep North Presenting a New Challenge
The Deep North update could throw in obstacles like the Yeti and Frost Giants, but there is also the possibility of the game simply letting the biome speak for itself as the true threat. There is a lot going on inValheim’s Ashlands, and the Deep North could offer a break from that. Instead of having to worry about aggressive skeletons charging at one’s character on a volcanic landscape, the Deep North may be just as effective at being harrowing by embracing the horrors of the cold. However, this could also prove to be disappointing, as many players have been awaiting what lies ahead for the Deep North.
Although it’s possible that the Deep North may end up feeling like a frozen version of the Ashlands, that’s okay. The Ashlands are a great addition to the game, and adding a biome that is just as dangerous while remixing the formula is exciting.Valheim’s world is easy to spend hours in, and the Deep North is only going to make it more diverse and deadly. Even if it doesn’t feel as new as the Ashlands, it will make the landscape ofValheimmore diverse.
