Everything you need to know about Valheim update 0.148.6

Valheim may be all about an adventure-filled Viking afterlife, but the game itself is still in the infancy of early access. That means players can expect plenty of updates on a rolling basis, with the latest arriving early on March 23, 2021.

Here’s everything you need to know about Valheim update 0.148.6, from patch notes to some common errors that might pop up for you — and how to fix them.

Valheim developer Iron Gate Studios publishes all patch notes and updates directly to the game’s Steam news hub. That included a Friday update confirming six million units in sales, but also patch notes Tuesday for the 0.148.6 update. (The version number is below 1 because the game is still technically in early access.)

Valheim version 0.148.6 patch notes

The developers suggest that players update Steam to the “Mar 22 2021” version. This will typically happen automatically, but it could lead to different issues if it doesn’t. Devs also offer a reminder to update your server as well (but more on that later).

Here are the patch notes:

• Campfire, Bonfire, and Hearth take damage when dealing damage
• Reinforced chest inventory space increased to 6x4
• All boss drops can now float on water
• Sunken Crypt entrance tweaked (to stop tombstones from getting stuck)
• Fixed rotation of Wood tower shield on item stands
• Deathsquito & Drake trophy drop rate increased
• 1 & 2 Star creature HP fix
• Night-spawning wolves should be easier to tame now (should stop trying to run away & despawn after starting to tame)
• Harpoon does not work on bosses anymore
• Ingame console disabled by default (add launch argument "-console" to enable)
• The console command for enabling developer/debug commands has been changed to “devcommands” from “imacheater” and a warning message has been added.
• Improved enemy projectile reaction system
• Battle axe tweaks (hits multiple enemies easier)
• Player knockback force is affected by equipment speed modifiers (IE heavy gear will reduce the knockback from enemies)
• Blackforest stone tower tweaks
• Ward system fixes (You can no longer place a new ward where an enemy ward overlaps)
• Comfort calculation fixed*
• “Failed to connect" error message fixed
• Serpent trophy stack fix
• Missing Moder spawn location in some worlds fixed (NOTE: For existing worlds "genloc" command needs to be run manually in a local game with dev commands enabled to generate new locations, this is only needed if your specific world has this issue, this is not very common)
• Megingjord item-collider fix
• Added a slight use-delay on Hammer, Hoe, and Cultivator
• Hammer remove auto-repeat added
• Better network bandwidth handling (should work better on low bandwidth connections & also use higher data rate if possible)
• Dolmen location fixes (Stop top stone from falling for no reason)
• Fixed removing item from item-stand not always syncing item stats
• Server list refresh button can be pressed before the entire list has been downloaded
• Better bad connection detection
• Fixed issue causing server to send more data the longer a client was connected
• Localization updates

By and large, most of these tweaks feel like quality-of-life improvements. Nothing is too groundbreaking

How to update Valheim server to fix “incompatible version error”

One of the game’s more common problems calls out an “incompatible version error,” which essentially means that your game might be updated but your server is not. Literally, the versions are not compatible, so the game cannot run. The game should update automatically, but it takes a bit of doing to make sure the server is updated.

The process is a bit complicated, and first, you need to back up your save data:

1. Save the entire "/Valheim/savedata" folder in a different path
2. Update your server
3. Copy the "/savedata" folder back to the Valheim folder

As for Step 2, here’s how to actually update your server:

1. Download and install SteamCMD
2. Create a folder for your dedicated server
3. Create "update.bat" file inside this folder
4. Open "update.bat" file in the Notepad
5. Copy and paste the following text into the file:

C:\SteamCMD\steamcmd +login anonymous +force_install_dir C:\Valheim +app_update 896660 validate +exit

Then, simply save the “update.bat” file and execute it. Assuming each step was done properly, running the game should proceed smoothly. In theory, this disconnect should be fixed in subsequence patches, but if you’re running into this issue with version 0.148.6, now you know why.

Valheim is currently available on PC via Steam.