Nobody likes Valheim’s Deathsquitos

Mosquitos are one of the rare touchstones that everyone can agree on: No one wants to be an ally to this dreaded bug. Unfortunately, Valheim decided to make something even worse than a mosquito. You might wonder how that’s possible. Well, what about a giant mosquito who will hunt you down and murder you? Just in case you’re not worried enough about that prospect, these creatures are called Deathsquitos, and absolutely nobody likes them.

Valheim is separated into biomes. In the Meadows, you might encounter some silly little lizards, while the more difficult Black Forest is full of Greydwarves. The Plains have Deathsquitos, and the first time you see one, you might think, “Oh! A bright orange bug. That’s kind of cute!”

The trick is that a new player doesn’t necessarily know that the Plains are dangerous, and can stumble across that biome in their procedurally generated worlds easily. You don’t even have to venture far into the Plains; if you’re near the outskirts of that biome without realizing it, even if you’re in the safety of the Meadows, you can get jumped by a furious Deathsquito.

The mountains make it immediately clear that you’re not prepared to travel there yet by freezing you to death. The plains are more innocent looking ... and then you meet a Deathsquito and promptly die. If you try to run, they will chase you — even if you jump on a boat and make for the safety of open waters.

Much like the infamous Cazador from Fallout: New Vegas, the Deathsquito strikes fast, and strikes hard. It’s also worth noting that in New Vegas, you’re decked out in metal armor with an assortment of high-powered, futuristic weapons. In Valheim, you’re a viking wearing hide or iron armor, with a bow or mace. It is not the same.

Valheim developer Iron Gate has already nerfed the Deathsquito, but when they’re this deadly, cutting their damage doesn’t seem to help much. Now they are more likely to two-shot you than one-shot you, so that’s still pretty dangerous. They have low health, but they’re so fast that they can easily dodge past an unprepared player’s attacks. (They can, however, fall prey to environmental effects like the spinning blades of a windmill … and that’s very satisfying.)

Some savvy players who are wearing endgame gear have lost all fear for Deathsquitos. In fact, they use the deadly bugs as a makeshift mount. Thanks to Valheim’s robust physics system, a player can simply hop aboard a Deahsquito and go for a ride. Sure, you can’t control the Deathsquito, but that’s OK. Sometimes, the journey is more important than the destination.

At the end of the day, players should keep an eye out for these bright-orange bugs. They definitely feel unfair when they come out of nowhere, but they’re really just a big warning sign that you’re not ready to explore that part of the world yet. Pick up your gear, go back to base, and don’t worry. Soon, you’ll be able to come back in full force and crush these terrible little bugs beneath your mighty mace.