Valheim sailing & wind
A sail pushes hardest with the wind coming from the side, at 70% with the wind straight behind you, and not at all when you head into the wind: within about 37° of it the sail gives nothing. Stronger wind pushes harder. Moder’s power makes the wind follow your ship.
- Side wind best 100% of the sail’s force
- Tailwind 70% straight behind you
- Under 37°: none sailing into the wind
- From the game code Valheim 1.0.21
How sails work
From the game’s ship code.
Paddle, half sail, full sailThe slow setting and reverse paddle without the sail. Half sail opens the sail halfway and full sail all the way; the sail’s push scales with how far it is open.
Wind strengthThe push grows with the wind, from 25% of full in a dead calm to all of it at full strength.
Wind angleThe push is strongest with the wind from the side and still 70% with it straight behind. Within about 37° of heading into the wind it falls to nothing; between 37° and 41° it fades in.
Moder’s power: tailwindWhile anyone on board has Moder’s Forsaken power active, the wind blows the way your ship points. That is a tailwind at 70%, not the stronger side wind.
Sail force by wind angle
Where the wind comes from, measured from your bow (0° is a headwind, 180° a tailwind), and the share of the sail’s full push.
| Wind from | Sail force | Bar |
|---|---|---|
| 0° (headwind) | 0% | |
| 30° | 0% | |
| 37° | 2% | |
| 45° | 79% | |
| 60° | 85% | |
| 90° (side) | 100% | |
| 120° | 85% | |
| 150° | 74% | |
| 180° (tailwind) | 70% |
Side wind on either side is the same. These are shares before the sail setting and wind strength.
How the wind changes
Direction and strength come from four overlapping cycles of 16 minutes 40 seconds, 8 minutes 20 seconds, 4 minutes 10 seconds and 2 minutes 5 seconds, so the wind can shift every 2 minutes 5 seconds; each change blends in over 10 seconds. Each weather sets how strong the wind can be.
| Weather | Weakest | Strongest |
|---|---|---|
| Ashlands storm | 100% | 100% |
| Snowstorm | 100% | 100% |
| Twilight snowstorm | 100% | 100% |
| Rain | 50% | 100% |
| Thunderstorm | 80% | 100% |
| Ashlands seastorm | 80% | 100% |
| Mistlands thunder | 50% | 100% |
| Heath clear | 40% | 80% |
| Ashlands cinderrain | 75% | 70% |
| Clear | 10% | 60% |
| Deep forest mist | 10% | 60% |
| Lightrain | 10% | 60% |
| Snow | 10% | 60% |
| Twilight snow | 30% | 60% |
| Twilight clear | 20% | 60% |
| Ashlands ashrain | 10% | 50% |
| Ashlands misty | 10% | 50% |
| Mistlands rain | 5% | 50% |
| Misty | 10% | 30% |
| Swamprain | 10% | 30% |
Strength is capped at 100%. Weather names are the game’s internal names; see weather by biome for where each one happens.
Ships compared
Sail force is the ship’s sail strength before wind and angle; health, storage and seats from each ship.
Dangers at sea
The Ashlands seaA ship not built for it takes 1 to 30 blunt damage every second in Ashlands waters, more the deeper into them it goes.
CapsizingAn upside-down ship takes 20 blunt damage every second.
The edge of the worldMore than 10,000 m from the centre of the world the wind turns to blow outward and grows stronger toward the edge.
Questions
What is the best wind angle for sailing in Valheim?
Wind from the side. It gives the full push, while a tailwind gives 70% and sailing within about 37° of the wind gives nothing.
Can you sail into the wind in Valheim?
Not with the sail: within about 37° of the wind it gives no push. Paddle, or sail across the wind and turn.
Does Moder’s power make you sail faster?
It makes the wind blow the way your ship points, so you always have a tailwind at 70%. A side wind is stronger when you can get one.
How often does the wind change?
It can shift every 2 minutes 5 seconds, blending over 10 seconds.
Which is the fastest ship?
Drakkar has the strongest sail. Speed also depends on the wind’s strength and angle.
Sail force, wind angle, wind cycles, Moder’s tailwind, capsizing, the Ashlands sea and the world edge come from the game code (Ship and EnvMan); weather wind ranges and ship values from the game files of build 26249040.