Iron Gate Studios are cooking up something big, meaty, and witchy in its next update to Bog Witch update and when players can expect it to arrive. The overall focus of the update is on fleshing out one of the most important aspects of any survival game: cooking.

The developers behind the Norse mythology-inspired game also revealed that the Bog Witch update will add a new NPC, enrich existing biomes for replayability, and add important skills like farming and cooking to Valheim. Since the last update, the Ashlands, mostly added more enemies and a new biome, an update focusing on quality-of-life is most welcome.

Everything We Know About The Bog Witch Update

Feast With Your Viking Friends With A New Range of Recipes

First and foremost, the Bog Witch update adds the titular NPC to Valheim. This new merchant resides somewhere in the swamp inside her wooden hut, selling potions and ingredients to any Vikings brave enough to enter her home. Though it has not yet been confirmed how, the Bog Witch will teach players how to make Feasts. Not much else is confirmed about the Bog Witch, like any dangers she might pose to players, though the developers did hint towards a hostile broom around her hut. Otherwise, she seems to be a neutral NPC in the otherwise violent world of Valheim. Alongside the Bog Witch is the introduction of some major cooking updates.

The next update for Valheim is bringing a lot to the table for the early access survival game as it massively expands the cooking system. According to the official brutal open world of Valheim. Players will be able to use ingredients from all over the game’s different biomes – mountains, meadows, plains, the Deep North, the Mistlands, the Ashlands, swamps, and the Black Forest – to create their new meals.

This new type of cooking also introduces Feasts, which are larger meals with multiple portions that can be placed on tables for players to chow down together. There will be at least eight new Feasts when the Bog Witch update drops, including the Swamp Dweller’s Delight, the Plains Pie Picnic, and the Mushrooms Galore á la Mistlands, with more hinted to come out later according to Iron Gate. To utilize the new cooking skill, Vikings will need a kitchen. Thankfully, the Bog Witch update includes a new food prep table and a mead kettle to create tasty dishes and drinks with, which will move some recipes from the cauldron.

The most important skill needed to cooking is farming, and so the Bog Witch update is also adding a new Farming skill. This skill cuts down on stamina costs when using the Cultivator and increases players’ chances of getting extra from their harvests. In addition to the Farming skill, there is a new Scythe that will make farming much easier by harvesting multiple crops at once.

Why You Should Look Forward To The Update

A Fleshed Out Game Is Better For Future Expansions

The new update for Valheim is adding a lot to the game, especially considering that it’s still in early access, which means a lot for players to look forward to. Obviously, the new Cooking skill and a new NPC (the Bog Witch herself) are a cause for excitement, but what’s most exciting for veteran Vikings is that past biomes will be tweaked and updated by the developers.

Fleshing out early to mid-game content will make Valheim much more rewarding for both new and experienced players, especially since other updates have mostly focused on expanding the endgame, like all the deadly enemies in the Ashlands. Another small change that players can celebrate is that multiple items can now be crafted at once, which is a fantastic quality of life update to come alongside the Cooking skill.

When The Bog Witch Update Might Release

Hot Girl Summer Is Over, Bog Witch Fall Is Here

Valheim’s Bog Witch update does not have an official release date yet, but the official Valheim Twitter revealed on October 15 that it is now available in the PTB – the game's public test branch. No other timeframe was given, but it seems likely that the Bog Witch update will come out sometime from November to late December of this year. The PTB version will help Iron Gate slay any bugs for a full release on Valheim.

Sources: Valheim, Valheim/Twitter (1, 2)