Valheim is not only immensely popular on Steam but also among the eternally thriving mod community. While mainstays like Skyrim and Fallout: New Vegas remain the most popular titles for modders, the new Norse survival simulator is not far behind. Despite a scant few months of release, there are already 3.2 million downloads of Valheim mods all around the world. In comparison, one of the most hyped game of recent years, Cyberpunk 2077, only has 7.2 million mod downloads, despite a much higher profile and an earlier release date. This speaks incredible volumes for the game, especially since most of Valheim's mods are not the usual game-fixing changes that other titles require.

Currently, the trending mods on Valheim's Nexus Mods page all revolve around new magic, quests, and items. Among these mods is the "Epic Loot" mod from user "randyknapp." With this mod, loot drop experience becomes part of Valheim, while mechanics like this already exist in the Diablo series and other RPGs. The mod is currently in early access, but with over 72 thousand downloads, it is certainly popular.

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Nexus user randyknapp's popular mod adds a bunch of items with magic into the game. While it has more complex elements to it, that is the base conceit. When battling enemy mobs, there is a chance for different magical items to drop, with wildly varying rarities. These drops range in value, with Magic, Rare, Epic, or Legendary all as possible item rarities. Not only available as drops, there is a chance for any of these items to appear in the various chests scattered around Valheim's map. These items are a massive improvement over the magic items in vanilla Valheim, such as the enchanted Frost arrows.

These items contain some wild magic effects, but do not massively break the immersive nature of the game. A great example of some possible effects is the Legendary Wolf Fur Cape pictured above. This cape gets five new effects, each of which are incredible. The weightlessness of the cape means its place in the inventory is not as impactful. Further to that, the health increase is a major boon when it can normally only be increased by food and potions. Various resistances also come with the cape, which is normally only afforded to potions or monsters in the game. Beefing up the loot drops in Valheim radically shifts the mechanical focus of the game; killing random trolls in Valheim is no longer a chore when a powerful drop could come from it.

So, why do modders like randyknapp love the game? It boils down to a few factors. While some modders fix broken games as almost a matter of duty, modding communities around games that work well on release dive straight into passionate reimagining of the core mechanics. This is the case with here.

When a game is as good as Valheim, it serves as a massive inspiration to modders. When a modder's time and energy is not spent fixing a litany of mods, it can be devoted to inventive projects like putting spells in Valheim or adding amazing loot drops. It also helps that the game is relatively simple as an indie title, meaning that mods are less likely to break other systems within the game.

By being simpler than some other titles, the game is a brilliant starting point for modders wanting to cut their teeth on a less complex game. It also gives Valheim a new lease of life beyond its content roadmap, with a potentially infinite number of new systems being possible through mods. The best Valheim mods all revolve around this principle. Adding relatively minor mechanical or content changes can massively shift the feel of a game as simple as Valheim.

Valheim's 2021 content roadmap sets out a very update progression for the title. It lets players know what to expect, and roughly when it is coming, setting clear expectations and an idea of what the game will become. The studio's attitude to managing clear and honest content expectations is the key to its success.

Valheim is available in early access for PC.

MORE: What Valheim's Content Roadmap Tells Us About the Game's Future