It’s been some time since Valheim got any sort of major content infusion, but thankfully, the game’s biggest update since Hearth & Home back in September has just hit public test servers. This update adds “Frost Caves” -- new icy dungeons that will pop up in the Mountain biome and challenge players to take on cultists, bats, and other creatures that like to lurk in the dark. The update also adds full controller support, Steam Deck optimization, and some handy quality-of-life improvements, like the ability to pause while playing a single-player game. You can check out the full patch notes for update 0.207.15, below.

　　New Content

　　Frost Caves added as a new dungeon (Will only appear in unexplored areas)New enemies: Ulv, Cultist, BatNew crafting materials: Red jute, Fenring hair, Fenring clawNew armour set: Fenris Coat, Fenris Leggings, Fenris Hood (equip all at once for an extra bonus!)New weapon: Flesh Rippers (Unarmed)New build pieces: Red jute carpet, Red jute curtain, Standing brazierNew event: “You stirred the cauldronFixes & Improvements

　　FPS limiter setting and option to reduce GPU usage when minimised, menu FPS capped to 60Various console command improvements and additions, see console ‘help’Fixed some dungeon parts not being fully deterministic (ends)Nomap mode improvements (vegvisr alternative, nomap is server setting, max distance for shouting, Random build/spawn rotation, ‘noportals’ command)Resolution now only shows refresh rate when forcing exclusive fullscreenVarious UI fixesRecipes for Jack-o-turnip + Yule stuff disabledQuality of Life

　　Building marker is more subtle and indicates piece rotationCorpse run gives carry weight bonus to compensate for unequipped beltCrafting stackable items while having full inventory now possible if there are are available stack slotsFixed a bug where sometimes stackable items won’t be taken when having full inventory and pressing ‘Take All’ in a chestChat can now be closed using esc, mouse or gamepad BGamepad support

　　Full controller support!Controller legend visible in pause menu and settingsController text input when running in Steam big picture mode. Chat, characters, signs, pets etc can now be named using the controller.Controller mapping of all game featuresContext menus will now always show controller buttons when using controllerAlternative controller glyph style optionSkills window scrollable with gamepadCrafting can be cancelled if pressing the button again (like with mouse)Fixed some missing/misplaced gamepad tooltipsSteam Deck

　　Steam Deck controller layout shows when playing on Steam DeckLoads default settings catered to the Steam DeckNo word on when this update will exit testing and be available to all, but it will probably take at least a few weeks. We also don’t know when Valheim’s big “Mistlands” update will arrive, but hopefully exploring Frost Caves will tide players over for a while.

　　Valheim is available now in Early Access form on PC.