Valheim Repair Guide: How to Repair Tools, the Axe, Boat, and Walls

The Valheim repair system might be one of the more simplistic repair systems in survival games. Whether you want to mend your tools, an axe, your boat, a raft, your house, or a piece of armor, doing so doesn’t require a lot of material investment.

In Valheim‘s current Early Access build, the system doesn’t make you scavenge for extra materials or pay any currency to fix things.

But figuring out how to restore tools, weapons, buildings, and boats/rafts in the first place is needlessly unclear. It’s something you’ll need to know since everything has a durability value, even the best damage-dealers. 

How to Repair Tools, Weapons, and Equipment

Almost everything in Valheim has a durability meter. Tools, weapons, and equipment have white durability meters under them in your inventory. Walls, doors, and other structures, as well as boats and rafts, have yellow durability meters. 

To fix things in Valheim, you must construct a hammer (3x wood, 2x stone). Once you make a hammer, you’ll get the recipe/blueprint for a workbench (10x wood), which is the central pillar of crafting new items and fixing broken ones. 

Build a workbench and construct a covering over it. You can either create a large structure or something simple. It doesn’t matter. The workbench just has to be covered and safe from the elements before you can use it.

Go up to the workbench and press “E.” Several menus will appear. The menu in the top left is your inventory. The menu on the right is the “workbench menu.” It has a list of items you can craft and upgrade, along with the materials you need to do so. 

To the left of that list of craftable items, to the lower left of the “craft” tab in the workbench menu, is a square box with an iron hammer inside of it. That is the repair button. Press it to restore the durability of the weapons and tools in your inventory. 

Though the system will fix all of your damaged items, it currently repairs damaged items at random. The good news is that doing so does not cost any resources.

Note: If you cannot access the workbench once a roof has been built, it is not properly aligned underneath the roof. You can remove the workstation by dismantling it using the middle mouse button. You’ll receive all of the materials used to build it, and you only have to place it again.  

Later on in the game, you’ll craft stronger weapons armor, such as the bronze cuirass and iron sword, with the forge. You will repair these items there, though the process is the same as with the workbench. 

How to Repair Walls and Other Building Parts

Whether you’ve been attacked or accidentally whacked a wall with a club, your buildings and shelters will eventually take damage. That’s not to mention regular structural decay brought on by the elements.

To restore buildings and building parts, equip the hammer. Open the building menu by pressing the right mouse button. Go to any of the tabs, and select the hammer icon. It will say “repair” when you hover over it.

Highlight the part that needs to be repaired. You will also notice that a yellow bar appears when you highlight a section. That is the current durability of a piece. Press the left mouse button to use the hammer and repair the piece. 

Just like with tools and weapons, fixing buildings and building parts is free; doing so does not cost any resources. You can use this method for chests, beds, and other buildables. 

How to Repair a Boat or Raft

You can repair a boat or raft the same way you do anything else: with the hammer. However, you will need to have a workbench near the water and land your boat on the shore within its build radius. 

Boats and rafts have yellow durability meters just like walls and other buildable base components. You can see the current durability of a craft by equipping the hammer and highlighting the boat or raft. Press the left mouse button to fix it up. 

And that’s it for this Valheim repair guide. Now you know how to keep your tools, camp, and boat/raft in tip-top shape. For more tips and tricks, consider checking out our other Valheim guides, such as our starter tips article, how to build a fire indoors, how to find a missing server, and tips for fishing.