'Valheim' Guide: How To Use Stealth And Backstab Mechanics Effectively

Sneaking is a skill in “Valheim” that’s a bit more obscure compared to others. Players who want to crouch in-game may instinctively hit the Ctrl key and enter Sneak mode, forcing their characters down into a low stance that continuously drains stamina.

Sneaking is very helpful when it comes to hunting animals in “Valheim,” but it also has some nice applications in combat scenarios. It can be used to evade large patrols, take down enemies one by one or deal large bursts of damage to big targets when used properly.

Stealth mechanics

Veterans of “The Elder Scrolls” or “Fallout” will already be familiar with how sneaking in “Valheim” works. Players can toggle Sneak mode by pressing the Left Ctrl button by default. This will change the cursor to an eye icon with a small bar at the bottom.

The eye icon indicates whether or not the player has been spotted. Meanwhile, the small bar indicates the current level of light that the player is receiving and how easily they can be detected.

Sneaking causes players to move slowly and drains stamina constantly. Higher sneak levels will decrease this consumption rate, meaning players will be able to sneak for longer.

The Troll Armor Set will make players stealthier by granting a 25% bonus to the Sneak skill.

Backstab damage

Weapons in “Valheim” have a Backstab multiplier in their stat sheets. Players can hit enemies for massive damage if they successfully sneak behind their enemies.

Most weapons have a 3.0x backstab multiplier, while knives have 10.0x multipliers.

There are two requirements to scoring a Backstab: the target must be unaware of the player and must have full health. Perfect stealth is needed for maximum damage but bows can make this a little bit easier.

Charging up a bow shot automatically takes players off of Sneak mode. However, this does not mean that enemies will automatically become aware of them.

Hitting enemies from a long distance can still result in a Backstab. Most of the time, a critical hit from a bow will immediately kill small enemies like Greydwarves or Fulings and a critical hit on a Troll can often shave half of its health in one hit.