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There are plenty of ways for players to defend themselves in Valheim, between their equipment, defensive structures, playstyles, and knockback.
The two major ways to prevent damage in Valheim, however, are through the use of shields and armor. Late game armor can achieve armor values over 60, while later shields can easily surpass 90 block power. But, how do the two compare?
Taking damage in Valheim
Valheim, like many games, operates on the tried and true system of giving players a numbered health bar. Keeping the number greater than zero allows the player to continue playing, while letting the number drop to zero results in the character's death, dropping items, and respawning back at their set location.
Because of this dynamic, players have a vested interest in preventing this number from dropping to zero. To this end, armor and shields achieve this goal using different means. Armor provides a passive damage reduction to the player, often at the cost of movement speed. Shields give players the option to actively reduce damage, also often at the cost of movement speed.
When choosing between the two in Valheim, heavy armor will allow players to reduce incoming damage while still attacking. Shields will reduce more damage at the cost of preventing the player from attacking at the time. One notable feature of shields in Valheim is that they can parry, which can stun enemies when done successfully.
How armor reduces damage in Valheim
All armor gives players an armor stat. The higher the player’s armor stat, the less damage they will receive. While the exact formula for armor’s damage calculation isn’t known at this time, it looks like armor cannot reduce incoming damage to zero. In Valheim, even the lightest attack against the most heavily armored player will still do some amount of damage.
As a result, armor is best for players who don’t mind taking some damage. While it will never be perfect, armor can make some of the more difficult and chaotic fights manageable.
But it is important to remember that no amount of armor in Valheim will help a player who gets hit too much. Players looking for ways to avoid damage altogether will have to find alternatives.
How blocking reduces damage in Valheim
While armor uses a complex formula for determining damage received, shields are much more straightforward. Each shield has a block power, and it will reduce incoming damage by that fixed amount. If a player receives more damage than the shield can block, they’ll be pushed back and take the rest as damage.
A shield’s block power is increased by a small amount for each level in the blocking skill. This growth can lead to shields blocking incredibly high amounts of damage. Another benefit to shields is that they can prevent all damage. So long as an attack does less than the amount of damage blocked, after accounting for the shield, blocking skill, and parry modifier, then all of that damage will be absorbed.
Valheim also calculates a shield’s damage absorption before accounting for armor’s damage reduction. This means that if a shield can’t fully block an incoming attack, the armor won’t be able to make up the difference. It will still reduce the incoming damage, but it won’t negate it.
Because of this, skilled players can play with little armor and rely on their shield to protect them from major attacks. This requires the player to bring a well-made shield to their fights and that they spend some time leveling their blocking skill. Once this is done, the shield alone can do all the work required.
