Quick answer
I knew you guys couldn't stay away after the fun we had in the last video committing arsonist war crimes, weaponizing deforestation, and summoning the might of Thor. Now, another thing that people have requested for a long time in the game is a drawbridge, and I'm very happy to say we now have two draw bridges in the game. Drawbridges can now be built across your moats with the first craftable with the mountains tier loot and a second coming in the deep north. And I feel like given a drawbridge, I feel like we absolutely have to do it.
Well, we're going to keep it going with the mid-game biomes: swamp, mountains, and plains. So, there is a rustic drawbridge and you can see you need to get to the mountain biome for that with the silver and wolf trophies. Starting off with the swamp, we've got the Ignis Aeternus, which apparently means really hot fire that will burn your skin. And then there's also a timberwood drawbridge which is the late game one requiring materials from the deep north.
Anyways, when you think of the swamp, what comes to mind? And obviously, if you've shut the drawbridge, then you're going to be Oh, okay. Dark, wet, miserable, filled with muddy piles everywhere you go? Not to mention a drawbridge that had already been teased in a blog post, but was lucky enough to see in action.
Building basics
Yeah, it's basically nature's way of telling you that you shouldn't be here. So, naturally, who in their right mind would think to live in this ghastly biome? Let alone use fire to solve their issues. Luckily, he quickly discovered that the local Surtling fires make for some excellent natural defense systems.
And of course, the Surtling fire doesn't discriminate. It'll even set trees on fire. Who would think fire could do that? Ignis Aeternus has great effectiveness and is quite creative, but it does require you putting your face in the most muddy biome directly up against a blatant fire hazard.
Now, before moving on, you might want to pick up a personal space violator from your local lion turtle. This thing will come in handy for future defenses. For those not quite comfortable settling in the swamp, we have the blood bank. This neat little water moat requires several generous donations of blood before you're allowed to pass.
How to build it
Simply fill your moat with a healthy population of leeches, and they'll take care of the rest. And don't worry, they take all blood types as long as the donor has a pulse. Unfortunately, the leeches are rather fragile, so I recommend getting some starred versions from your local swamp. And even then, they may have difficulty with anything bigger than a great wolf.
You can even recruit a local danger noodle to guard your moat, but I can't promise it will fare much better. Just beware that they will make your pool quite dirty. But hey, speaking of cleaning up messes, I want to introduce you guys to the janitor. Whenever your base is under attack, simply welcome your enemies in, slam the door behind them, then open your broom closet.
The janitor will mop up any unsavory types around your base and even cleans up the blood splatter afterwards. Kevaster here is pretty reliable, but he will struggle with mobs past swamp. If you ever get raided by blobs and ooh souls though, this guy will bring the pain with high blunt damage and immunity to poison. To recruit him, just go to the bark witch's hut and whenever Kevaster sweeps near the entrance, push him out.
Best layouts
Blocking with a shield makes it easier to push him if you're having trouble. Once outside, he just chills around the area. From there, use your new personal space violator to harpoon a nearby enemy as bait to get Kevaster to follow you. Shout out to creator of bananas who actually was the one who found out how to reliably bring Kevaster around.
The janitor is fairly efficient and creative, but setup depends a lot on how far away your base is and it falls off sharply after swamp. Moving on to the mountains, we got the Paw Patrol. They say dogs are man's best friend, so why not share that love with your visitors? Unfortunately, Valheim doesn't have any dogs, but wolves are basically the same thing.
They're loyal, they're cuddly, and they only occasionally try to eat your face. With a pack of wolves roaming around your base, you'll never have to worry about being lonely again, and neither will your raiders. These fluffy little guys love nothing more than running up to strangers and giving them a big warm hug. And hell, if we're making the leap from dogs to wolves, why not do the same for boars, lox, askr, and even chickens?
Common mistakes
You can distract your enemies with a cute chick while you strike them from behind. These creatures can all help defend your base once you get your hands on them. Just keep in mind some may inevitably be more effective than others. The Paw Patrol isn't the best with wolves, but it gets pretty effective with lox and askr.
It is a decent bit of setup, but comes along with the other perks of taming animals. And luckily for us, he's pretty damn good at it. He's great for distracting those pesky drakes that plagues your base, though he can also distract other flyers like bats and deathquitos, or any ranged enemies. With high health, resistance to pierce, and immunity to frost, he is the prime candidate for the job.
To set it up, simply make a raised pedestal, guide a cold [ ] up to it, and remove the stairs. And don't forget, you can always add more cold [ ] around your base for more coverage. The cold [ ] doesn't kill anything, but it is honestly a pretty decent distraction. Finishing off the mountains, we got a personal favorite of mine, the big bonk.
Tips
You can really set these up literally anywhere, and whenever an enemy comes close, just open the drawbridge to kill them. I find these particularly good to put by my walls, so when enemies come knocking, I can knock right back. This bad boy does a whopping 200 blunt damage per hit. Using it against enemies weak to blunt is sure to bring the pain.
But that's not even the best part. I won't blame you guys for not noticing, but this isn't actually a drawbridge. Because these things get a bloody four times sneak attack multiplier. As someone who rarely uses maces, I think I found my next weapon for cruising the mountains.
The big bonk is surprisingly effective, super easy to set up, and pretty creative, but it does cost a couple wolf trophies. Simply build a platform for your favorite poison jellies to sit on, make a little slit so they can see their prey, stuff them in there, and then lure in your enemies to get gassed. Now, the sturdier the cage, the better, especially the bottom part of the viewing slit, as the mobs will be trying to break it to get at the delicious jelly inside. Also, poison isn't the best damage type, so why not upgrade to frost jellies instead?