This Valheim mod lets you build some really big boats

Have you ever felt like going on a big cruise ship around the mythical world of Valheim? Thanks to the power of modding, now you can, so get ready for some very large vessels.

ValheimRAFT is a mod by Sarcen that allows players to construct their own ships rather than simply use the pre-made ones available in vanilla Valheim. (If the name didn't give it away, it's inspired by the game Raft, a survival game in which you construct a boat from bits of debris.) I had a quick tinker with it and made a basic ghost ship, although in retrospect I would have made it a little larger - the deck is somewhat crowded.

The mod lets you place a modified version of a raft, which comes with a platform to let you build on top. It also provides a number of accessories, such as sails and a big old helm for steering. If you fancy building a more modern look for your boat, it turns out the mod will let you achieve full speed without sails, so you're free to go ahead and create an aircraft carrier made of wood. I'm serious - the raft doesn't appear to follow Valheim's normal rules of building stability, so you can make something truly massive.

If you're hoping to play this in Valheim without the help of creative mode, you may struggle with construction: it's generally quite difficult to build over water due to the way items snap, while placing pieces accurately is challenging when everything is moving up and down. So I wouldn't blame you for turning on the game's debug mode to fly around and construct your ship. It's also worth noting that the bigger the ship you build, the harder it is to dock. I found that even my small boat frequently crashed into rocks when I brought it close to shore. So just like real life, you might also need a smaller boat to get out to your big boat.

The mod also has a number of requisites that you'll need to install, including BepInEx, Jotunn and MMHookGen. Make sure you download Jotunn rather than JotunnLib, and place all these files inside the BepInEx plugins folder.

The boats themselves may look a little Lego, sure, but I can imagine that constructing a giant ship with friends would be highly entertaining for exploring the world of Valheim. While you can't place campfires or items like smelters and kilns, you can still place hearths and crafting tables on your boat, making it a useful mobile base. Who needs portals when you can just take your home with you?

Will you support Eurogamer?

We want to make Eurogamer better, and that means better for our readers - not for algorithms. You can help! Become a supporter of Eurogamer and you can view the site completely ad-free, as well as gaining exclusive access to articles, podcasts and conversations that will bring you closer to the team, the stories, and the games we all love. Subscriptions start at £3.99 / $4.99 per month.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7psHRqJ6apZWne6%2Bx02iroaGjYsOiuMeeoKZlnaSxbrjErapmsZ%2BqeqPByKWbZrGfqr9uu9anZJunkak%3D