What’s the fastest way to unlock the longship for faster travel?

Unlocking the longship in Valheim is a critical milestone for speedrunning, as it allows for faster and more efficient travel across the game''s vast oceans. The longship is the fastest and most durable ship in the game, making it essential for exploring distant biomes like the Plains or Mistlands. To unlock it, you must first progress through the early game efficiently, focusing on gathering resources and defeating key bosses.\n\nStart by gathering basic resources like wood, stone, and leather scraps in the Meadows biome. These are essential for crafting tools and building a workbench, which is required for most crafting recipes. Prioritize crafting a pickaxe to mine tin and copper in the Black Forest biome. These metals are crucial for crafting bronze, which is needed for the forge and other advanced tools.\n\nOnce you have a forge, focus on crafting bronze nails, which are required for the karve, a smaller ship that will help you explore the ocean. The karve is faster than the raft and allows you to reach the Swamp biome, where you can find iron. Iron is a key resource for unlocking the longship, as it is required to craft the artisan table, which is necessary for building the longship.\n\nTo find iron, explore Sunken Crypts in the Swamp biome. These crypts are filled with muddy scrap piles, which can be mined with a bronze or iron pickaxe to yield iron scrap. Smelt the iron scrap in a smelter to create iron bars. With iron bars, you can craft the stonecutter, which allows you to build the artisan table. The artisan table is required to craft the longship.\n\nOnce you have the artisan table, gather the necessary materials for the longship: 40 fine wood, 10 deer hide, 100 iron nails, and 40 ancient bark. Fine wood can be obtained by chopping down birch or oak trees in the Meadows or Black Forest biomes. Deer hide is dropped by deer, which are common in the Meadows. Ancient bark is found in the Swamp biome by chopping down ancient trees.\n\nA common challenge is finding enough iron to craft the longship. To maximize efficiency, focus on clearing multiple Sunken Crypts in the Swamp biome. Bring a portal with you to quickly transport iron back to your base. Additionally, consider building a small outpost near the Swamp biome to store resources and repair tools.\n\nFinally, once you have all the materials, craft the longship at the artisan table. The longship has a large storage capacity and is significantly faster than the karve, making it ideal for long-distance travel. Use it to explore distant biomes and gather rare resources like black metal or tar.\n\nFor speedrunning, prioritize efficiency in gathering resources and defeating bosses. Defeating Eikthyr early will grant you the antler pickaxe, which is essential for mining. Defeating The Elder will unlock the Swamp Key, allowing you to access Sunken Crypts. By focusing on these objectives and optimizing your resource gathering, you can unlock the longship quickly and gain a significant advantage in your Valheim playthrough.