Valheim fans encountered a common problem: someone, or something, is causing their boats to disappear. Some Vikings blamed their friends, while others thought it could be a normal bug in an early access game.
The viral tweet of March 1 seemed to explain the phenomenon.
I learned today that the players in Valheim are realizing that their boats are missing or flying.
The truth – birds (like seagulls) are landing on boats and an insect accidentally puts the boat under bird control – which means that the bird lands on a boat and flies with it, stealing it.
– Gliitch (@GliitchWiitch) March 1, 2021
This is a fantastic explanation for a bug, and players were delighted with the idea that birds flew out of nowhere and took whole boats with them.
But Polygon contacted developer Iron Gate Studio to determine whether the mystery was resolved, and it appears that players have yet to discover the truth behind the lost boats. An Iron Gate representative shared the following with Polygon via email:
Regarding the bug in the tweet you shared, it’s not real, haha! Interesting to see how much traction this tweet received.
About failures … There was a failure that saw one object get data from another, so for the example above, a bird could have obtained data from a ship, so a player could have tried a flying ship – but yes, no birds that steal ships!
In short, a bird could have looked like a Viking ship flying in the air, which seems like a trick worthy of Loki himself … but players can be sure that the birds will not take off with the results of their effort to work.
The boatbuilding Vikings will still need to keep an eye out to ensure that their friends and fellow servants are not taking off with their rafts and boats, because the humble birds have been cleared of all crimes.