4Game

Imagine a modded server in Valheim where the map was either a lot smaller or was able to host dozens if not hundreds of players split into teams or "clans". This is just an idea I'm throwing out there so aside from the obvious development effort it would take from modders, there are probably balance issues that would need addressing.

What I think would be cool is to have one player at a time on each team be able to have a top down view of the map and be able to place buildings as one would in a strategy game. The rest of the players on the team would play in the normal third person perspective, and gather resources.

Servers could operate on scheduled "wipes," like Rust. This removes all built structures from the map and resets the world so that the map doesn't get bogged down with instances and so that newly arriving players would get a fresh start and not be at a huge disadvantage to established bases and groups.

Another game that uses the hybrid RTS gameplay is Natural Selection (1 & 2) where there is a command chair that only one player can be sitting in at a time. For Valheim, this could be a throne in a starting structure for each player or clan. When you sit in the throne, your view converts to top down and you get access to a menu to place buildings and a list of total resources available. Buildings can only be placed in the radius of your initial structure (let's say it's a Longhouse with the throne inside). Other areas can be built in by the Throne player (let's call it the Chieftain for brevity) only after someone has placed a workbench, but this would be more limited than the main base to prevent too much expansion.

What I think would be really cool is to make use of community created structures like taverns, blacksmiths, docks, hunting lodges, etc… these could be implemented as prebuilt structure that is simply placed by the Chieftain once the resources are available. Let's say your team is trying to get upgrades going and are gathering for a Blacksmith. You need 150 stone and 500 wood to place it. Players on the team could deposit those resources into designated chests in the main longhouse (and other structures as expansion occurs) which will automatically add to the total that can be used by the Chieftan to build.

There would have to be a balance between what the Chieftan can place versus what the players on the ground can place. Maybe the chieftan just places the bare structure, and Vikings can place items and decorations inside as they see fit. Maybe the Vikings could also build walls and fortifications manually, rather than the chieftan placing "wall sections" or something like that. There's a lot of nuance to think about there.

Anyway, the main purpose of a server like this would be to encourage larger servers with more players, and more organized PvP and raids. Maybe the boss alters, merchant, etc would be important locations that groups would want to fight for control over.

While this is unlikely to happen the way I'm imagining it, it's fun to think about. I hope Valheim at least gets more emphasis placed on encouraging PvP in the future…