How do you craft and place a chest for storage in Valheim?

Crafting and placing a chest for storage in Valheim is one of the first essential tasks you’ll need to master as a new Viking. Storage chests allow you to organize your resources, tools, and crafted items, making your survival journey much more manageable. To craft a chest, you’ll need to gather specific materials and unlock the crafting recipe, which is tied to early-game progression.\n\nTo begin, you’ll need to collect wood, which is the primary resource for crafting a chest. Wood can be obtained by chopping down trees using a stone axe, which is one of the first tools you’ll craft. Simply equip the axe, target a tree, and swing until it falls. Once the tree is down, continue chopping the logs to collect wood. You’ll need 10 wood to craft a single chest, so gather a bit extra to account for other early-game crafting needs.\n\nNext, you’ll need to unlock the chest recipe. This is done by crafting a workbench, which is a foundational crafting station in Valheim. To build a workbench, you’ll need 10 wood and a hammer, which is crafted from 3 wood and 2 stone. Once you have the hammer, open the crafting menu (default key: TAB) and select the workbench. Place it in a suitable location, as it will serve as your primary crafting hub. With the workbench built, the chest recipe will automatically unlock.\n\nTo craft the chest, interact with the workbench and navigate to the crafting menu. Look for the chest icon, which requires 10 wood to craft. Once crafted, the chest will appear in your inventory. To place it, equip the chest from your inventory and find a suitable location. Chests can be placed indoors or outdoors, but placing them inside a shelter will protect them from weather damage and potential enemy attacks.\n\nWhen placing the chest, ensure it’s on a flat surface and has enough space around it for easy access. You can rotate the chest using the right mouse button to align it with your shelter’s layout. Once placed, interact with the chest to open its storage interface. Each chest has 10 slots, which can hold a variety of items, including resources, tools, and food. To maximize storage efficiency, consider organizing items by category, such as keeping all wood in one chest and food in another.\n\nA common challenge new players face is running out of storage space quickly. To address this, craft multiple chests and label them using signs. Signs can be crafted using 2 wood and 1 coal, and they allow you to write custom labels for your chests. This is especially useful in larger bases where you might have dozens of chests. Additionally, consider upgrading to larger storage options later in the game, such as the reinforced chest, which offers more slots but requires advanced materials.\n\nIn terms of biome considerations, chests can be placed in any biome, but be cautious in hostile areas like the Black Forest or Swamp. Enemies in these biomes can destroy your chests if they’re left unprotected. To mitigate this, build a secure shelter with walls and a roof to keep your chests safe. If you’re exploring far from your base, consider building small outposts with chests to store resources you gather on your travels.\n\nFinally, here are some practical tips for managing storage in Valheim. First, always keep a chest near your workbench for easy access to crafting materials. Second, use the quick-stack feature (middle mouse button) to transfer items from your inventory to nearby chests quickly. Third, avoid overloading your inventory by depositing items into chests regularly. By following these steps and tips, you’ll have a well-organized storage system that supports your survival and crafting needs in Valheim.