This article is part of a directory: Valheim Complete Guide for Tips, Tricks, and General Help
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Viking-themed games seem to be all the rage recently, with early access title Valheim carrying the proverbial torch. The popular survival game, which can be played alone or with friends, puts players in a hidden 10th realm of the Norse cosmos, tasked with hunting down powerful enemies.

To do so, players need to start from scratch, crafting their own tools, like a Pickaxe, and an eventual settlement. As with any survival game, those tools have to be properly maintained, and the more they are used, the more they tend to deteriorate, causing them to become less effective or, in some cases, totally unusable. Fortunately, repairing tools is quite easy and convenient.

Updated on March 15, 2023: The popular Viking survival game is now available on Xbox. Although Valheim is still in its early access period, there's still much to know, such as how to repair tools. We've updated this guide with some fresh links and headers to make it relevant for new players.

Here's the full process to repair any tool in Valheim, whether for resource gathering or fighting.

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Building a Workbench

Valheim Norse

The only resource-intensive step to repairing tools is building a Workbench, which is a necessary step for the game's progression early on. It only requires 10 Wood to make, so gathering the materials should be fairly easy. As players move through the game, they can level up and upgrade their Workbench with additional resources.

Once players have gathered 10 Wood, simply interact with the Hammer in the inventory to bring up a crafting interface. From there, the Workbench can be made. A Workbench can only be placed under a roof in an enclosed area, so it might be a good idea to build some sort of house or other room before attempting to craft the Workbench. Like in most other survival games, Workbenches will also allow a player to craft items from materials like Iron or Copper.

Repairing Tools in Valheim

repair interface workbench valheim

A Workbench opens the doors to more advanced equipment and tools, and it's also the station a player will use to repair worn-down items. Unlike other survival games, players do not need additional resources to repair an item, making it a streamlined process.

To the left of a Workbench's crafting interface is a small square with a hammer inside. Mousing over the square will bring up a prompt that says, "Repair an item." It isn't possible to repair a specific item yet, as clicking on the button will just repair a random item in a player's inventory. Again, as repairs don't consume any resources, this isn't a problem.

A player can tell if an item is fully repaired based on its status bar, which can be seen directly below the item in question. If it's completely white, then that means the item is in full working condition. Tools with a red status bar, on the other hand, are completely depleted.

Valheim is available in Early Access now on PC and Xbox.