Valheim Patch 0.156.2 Explained
By Jack O'Dwyer
Valheim Patch 0.156.2 focused on shifting the way enemy AI makes decisions.
Iron Gate Studios released the latest patch for Valheim, 0.156.2 Thursday, July 1. It officially went live at 7:47 a.m. EDT and is available for download at the time of writing. This patch directly affects the way AI enemies determine what to attack while pathing and how they prioritize the world during combat.
Here's our breakdown of exactly what players will see in-game after implementation.
The AI tweaks in the last patch made #Valheim enemies focus more on attacking buildings than players, perhaps a bit too much. We’ve listened to your feedback, and hopefully this patch should make them behave a bit better! ?https://t.co/8DppiyBHJp
— Valheim (@Valheimgame) July 1, 2021
Valheim Patch 0.156.2 Explained
This patch was a small one—though it very well may be the most impactful "tiny AI tweak" the team has published to date.
The development team described the patch as "some tweaks to the monster AI to make them behave better when attacking structures." Essentially, it affects the way enemies classify what to attack while hostile.
"Monsters should always target creatures [including players] first if they have a clear path to them & monsters should only attack low priority structures [walls etc.] if they are trying to get to a player," the short note reads.
Simply put: enemies—which includes trolls, thankfully—won't go straight for player-made structures existing on the map unless they're blocking the AI's pathing toward the player. So, as long as you keep yourself away from that impressive longhouse you made last week during a troll hunt, your settlement should be just fine.
The official patch post is available on Valheim's new hub on Steam.