Since its release earlier this month, Valheim has become an incredibly successful and popular survival game. While the game is still in Steam Early Access, it’s getting regular updates. The latest update adds Vulkan API support, which can make a player’s experience in Valheim even better. Here’s everything fans show know about the new Vulkan support and how it makes the game different.

For now, Valheim is still in early access. Improvements and enhancements continue being added to the game, though, and the newest update has added Vulkan API support. For those unfamiliar with it, Vulkan is a 3D graphics API (Application Programming Interface). Essentially, Vulkan is an open alternative to some of the most popular gaming APIs out there – like Microsoft’s DirectX 11. Enabling Vulkan in Valheim can make the experience even better.

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When using the Vulkan API in Valheim, the game should run smoother. Graphics will look much better, and Vulkan also has full ray tracing and other features that may make noticeable differences in the way Valheim looks. As Valheim continues improving, being able to use Vulkan to improve how the game looks is a really nice new feature. Thankfully, it’s pretty easy to use now, too, because of the latest update.

How Valheim’s Vulkan API Support Works

To enable Vulkan, users will just need to select the option from the popup menu when booting up Valheim on Steam. Otherwise, users can manually set “-force-vulkan” as the launch command in the game’s launch options. Doing so will cause Valheim to start using the Vulkan API interface. Of course, how much the game is improved depends on the user’s graphics hardware. Many GPUs support Vulkan nowadays, so trying out the API in Valheim is definitely worth a shot.

The world of Valheim is lush and diverse. Using the Vulkan API can greatly increase the way Valheim‘s many biomes and other assets look. For those who’ve enjoyed the game so far, but who perhaps believe the graphics leave a bit to be desired, enabling Vulkan can make the game look a lot nicer.

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As long as Valheim is in early access, it will continue getting updates. The latest update has a lot of nice features, and Vulkan API support is a highlight. Again, the effect that Vulkan has overall will depend on the user’s own graphical hardware, but it’s been known to significantly improve graphics, so anyone interesting in trying it out should definitely do so.

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Austin King
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Austin King is a Game Features Editor at Screen Rant. He’s the author of several books and hosts the Dragon Quest FM and JRPGs & Me podcasts. You can find him on Twitter @DragonQuaustin.

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