Valheim's Hildir's Request update introduces hard mode, additional customizations, and a new vendor

Iron Gate Studio has released an update to its Viking survival game Valheim for an initial public testing period.

Titled Hildir's Request, the update welcomes Hildir, a merchant who will provide you with a sizable wardrobe of cosmetics. The character will also send you on a quest to recover her store inventory.

Sister of the mysterious cloaked dwarf trader Haldor, Hildir peddles a variety of aesthetic offerings, including dresses, tunics, hats, and even fireworks to decorate the night sky.

You can also purchase the components necessary to build a barbershop, where you can undergo a makeover to update your look. But these features won't just appear, as you will need to gather the necessary parts for Hildir's Request across multiple biomes to reap the rewards.

New difficulty levels and game options also land in Valheim to improve and spice up general gameplay.

The game's unforgiving nature will reach even greater heights with the introduction of difficulty levels. Now, you can choose to turn on easy, normal, or hard mode at any time during your playthrough.

While normal mode will maintain Valheim's current difficulty, hard mode will increase enemy HP and damage output. Easy mode will offer you the option to play a lighter, more accommodating adventure, especially if you play as a pacifist or builder.

Valheim hit PC Early Access in February 2021 to widespread critical praise, and the game quickly gained an avid fan base of millions. Since then, it has seen two major content updates - Hearth and Home and Mistlands - with launches on the Microsoft Store, PC Game Pass, and more recently, Xbox consoles and Xbox Game Pass.