When you first start out in Valheim, you'll not only create your Viking character, you'll also create a "seed" for your game world. The seed is a code that corresponds to the locations of all the elements of the world when it's generated, dictating where biomes, resources, bosses, and everything else in Valheim is located. The game will randomly create seeds for you, but if you want more control, you can put in the seed code to spawn into a specific world. We've gathered all the info you need to know about how seeds work in Valheim, how to evaluate them, and which ones you might want to use as you're planning your Viking excursions.

　　Keep in mind that this guide is for Valheim players who aren't interested in the joy of exploration--much of what makes the game interesting is exploring your game world, finding what secrets it hides, and working to survive with imperfect knowledge of what you'll face. But if you want to fast-track your way through a Valheim run, set up the perfect place to build an awesome Viking base, or just have more control over your experience, use this information to pick the right seed for you and get everything you want out of your Valheim game world.

How To Find Your World Seed

　　Your seed is determined by a code that's a combination of capital and lowercase letters and numbers. You'll find that code on the Select World screen when you first fire up Valheim. This is where the game stores your game worlds and allows you to spawn into them--it's also where you can set up single-player, local, or dedicated servers. The "New" button allows you to create a new game world, which allows you to either specify the seed you want to use or generate a random one.

Valheim Seed Map Viewer

　　When you generate a random game world, you might still want to know what's in it and how things are laid out. Normally, you wouldn't have anything to do but jump into the game and start exploring it, which is a process that can take a very long time. Alternatively, if you're willing to cheat and you're playing in a single-player game world, you can use console commands to view the entire game map (check out our console commands guide for how that works).

　　There's a better way to check out a seed now, though, thanks to Reddit user wd40bomber7, who created Unofficial Valheim World Generator. The browser-based program lets you input a seed code and see the map it creates. You can also choose to have specific elements, like bosses, camps, crypts, and resources. The generator can generate seeds randomly too, so you can check out a map ahead of time and then use that seed code in Valheim when you find one you're happy with.

What Makes A Good Seed

　　Seeds in Valheim are pretty subjective--what makes a good one depends on the experience you want to have. If you're just starting out, you likely want a seed with a lot of Meadows in your immediate spawn vicinity, which will keep the difficulty from ramping up on you too early as you explore Valheim and make your first few tiers of gear. However, if you want reliable progression with consistent pacing, you also want a starting location that's pretty close to multiple biomes--particularly the Black Forest, Swap, and Mountain biomes. Those three biomes contain metals for making Bronze, Iron, and Silver gear, and if you have to travel to other islands to get them, you'll probably wind up creating multiple outpost bases. So a good seed keeps those locations nearby to where you intend to put down a main base, minimizing the amount of boat travel you'll need to do to make higher-tier equipment.

　　It's also handy to start in seeds that have bosses relatively nearby--especially the first three. Again, you don't want to have to travel far and wide seeking out the bosses you need to kill, because that can hamper your ability to fight them effectively or heal up in an emergency. If you get into trouble seeking a boss who's several islands away and requires sailing to reach, you increase your risk of dying in inconvenient places and creating situations in which you have to recreate a lot of your gear.

　　So in a general sense, seeds with lots of biomes close to their start, but not so close you get hit by tough enemies right away, are pretty solid. But your needs will likely vary. If you're a veteran player with a high-level character, you might want something that's a bit more of a boss rush; if you're hoping for a tougher experience out of the gate, you can opt for seeds that throw you into higher-difficulty biomes earlier. And so on.

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Best World Seeds To Check Out

　　wVJCZahxX8 -- A relatively normal seed that provides useful biomes pretty close to your starting point. You'll find Black Forest to the east and west, and mountains to the south. You'll find the boss Eikthyr close to the spawn, with the Elder boss to the south on an attached island.

　　sBIkiadtIh -- This starting seed is good for getting into the Black Forest, Swamp, and Mountains pretty quickly. It also has the merchant Haldor to the west of the spawn point on the starting island, which adds a lot of convenience.

　　9934622021 -- Use this seed for maximum biome coverage on the starting island. You'll have all five in close proximity to your start, which is great if you want to centralize your metal works. Be careful of the risks of accidentally stumbling into areas with enemies that can clobber you, though.

　　maypoleplz -- If you want to add a maypole item to your own base, use this seed. You'll find the maypole, which is an item you can't construct but can occasionally find in destroyed camps throughout Valheim, to the west of the starting point. The maypole increases your Comfort rating in the area around it by 1, enhancing your Resting bonuses.

　　HHcLC5acQt -- Redditor InfernoFPS shared this seed on the r/valheim subreddit, and it's a pretty useful one. It finds all five of the game's bosses pretty close to the start, minimizing the travel you'll have to do to hunt each one down. That's good, because it also increases your chances of killing them without dying--or at least leaving your corpse in a spot where you might be able to get to it fairly easily.

　　Helloworld -- Redditor Previlein is responsible for this seed, which has four of the five bosses in close proximity to the starting island and a whole lot of resources just a close walk away, thanks to lots of biome-mixing. Check out the maps on r/valheim.

　　t9n3WG6dFk -- If you're looking for Iron, redditor livincorrupt has this seed, which puts you on a big island that stretches way to the east. At the far eastern end is a large Swamp that's full of crypts, making Iron manufacture very convenient.

　　MXNQwUDQGm -- This seed from redditor Sphagne puts the trader Haldor very close to the start, and while it puts you on a series of small islands, they have a bunch of various biomes and bosses within easy reach and short sails.