Valheim: What “The Ground Is Shaking” Means (& What Triggers It)

Valheim is the hit survival game with Norse mythology and Viking lore from Iron Gate Studio. Its in-game world is full of fantasy creatures to find, mysterious monsters to slay, and plenty of strange discoveries to be made. There are also a number of events, including “The ground is shaking” message some players have noticed appearing on their screens. Here’s what Valheim‘s “the ground is shaking” means, and what actually triggers it.

There are a lot of mysteries in Valheim. There are giant branches that stretch across the sky, developing biomes with mysterious giant skulls, and a cloaked figure who disappears when players approach. There are also a number of in-game events, which can randomly trigger once players have met certain requirements.

There are currently two types of events in Valheim: story-related and enemy-related. The first depends on player progression through the main story, which involves summoning and defeating a number of bosses. The latter occurs only after a specific number of enemies have been killed. “The ground is shaking” is a warning to players that an enemy-related event is about to occur. This can be randomly triggered after Valheim‘s second boss, The Elder, is defeated and after players have killed at least one troll.

What Valheim’s “Ground Is Shaking” Event Does

Once the event is triggered, forest trolls will start assaulting the player. If the player is at their base, then they’ll have to defend their home from the attacking trolls, too. This is similar to the “forest is moving” event, although the enemies in Valheim‘s “the ground is shaking” event are much tougher. The event itself will last just over a minute, if players are lucky enough to survive.

When trolls start attacking a player’s base in Valheim, it’s no easy task to defend it. The “ground is shaking” prompt is there to warn players, so that they can get prepared before the trolls’ assault. Eventually, if players can hold off the trolls long enough, a new prompt will appear proclaiming, “The shakes start to fade.” This means the event is over and players have survived the encounter.

The in-game events in Valheim are just one of the ways it feels like a living, breathing world. In addition to keeping players on their toes, these random events in Valheim are a sure way to test players’ mettle and see if they’re worthy of Valhalla.

About The Author

Austin King
(1233 Articles Published)

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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