WTF is up with the winds?

[The Coal Man]

I just started playing again after wiping and losing all my stuff on another island, so the first thing I did was try to get everything back. I get in my backup raft and paddle into the wind across the entire length of my island. Then the leeches eat my boat and I die from poison while standing on my grave.

Attempt 2 I decide to just run the whole way and clear out the area with a bow. I make it to my longship and now get to paddle upwind for 3 minutes to get out of this tiny swamp delta I got stuck in. I make it out and the wind decides to change, but guess what now Im sailing into the wind for my entire trip back. Super fun. I make it back, do some repairs and restocking, and then sail out again back in the direction I originally died. Can you guess what is again blowing directly in my face? Yup its that stupid wind, but im just doing some mining so I dont need to go far so I figure fine. I get my mining done and head back to base but after 10 seconds of fair wind it does a 180 on me and its back to paddling.

Im 2 hours in and so far its almost been entirely paddling against the wind. Is the game designed to do this to me? I dont remember this issue before. It feels like there is a boss somewhere laughing its ass off while it blows wind in my face and if there is it must die. But if this is just bad rng I might settle for making a cart and do my gathering the dangerous way because I love the game but it is 100% ruining the experience if I'm paying more attention to my phone than the game. Especially since this game will suddenly murder me if I look away.

[Hugh G. Rection]

Yeah, it really does feel like after the patch or two before the most recent update, that we really fight against headwinds a lot more than we did before May. Almost over night, it felt like travelling in any direction for more than 60 seconds would result in a direct headwind (you could practically set your watch by it). It seems to have lightened up a bit, and I get that it's supposed to reflect RL weather systems and encourage sailors to tack into the wind, but it's a pain in the ar$e being able to (fairly accurately) predict where the next headwind is going to come from, because it's usually in the direction you want to go.

[SiEgE]

I had a feeling, that the wind is mostly blowing outwards, from the center of the map. It sometimes change the direction, but then it will change back.
Most of my trips to a spots from my base at the center of the map are usually fast, but I mostly go against the wind on my way back.
Won't be surprised it is all actually random, and that was a simple coincidence.

[Electi]

just use dragon power 3 dudes on boat can use it one after another and never struggle

[The Coal Man]

Originally posted by Electees:

just use dragon power 3 dudes on boat can use it one after another and never struggle

Couple problems with this

1. Im not playing with 2 other people
2. I dont know what dragon power is
3. I dont have whatever that is

[Liam_Monaghan]

Originally posted by Coleron:

Originally posted by Electees:

just use dragon power 3 dudes on boat can use it one after another and never struggle

Couple problems with this

1. Im not playing with 2 other people
2. I dont know what dragon power is
3. I dont have whatever that is

Moder's power (the 4th boss) gives you tailwind for 5 minutes, 20 min cool down

[Mharr]

This is Ultima Online fishing spots all over again. (Players theorycrafted huge dissertations on how and where to get the best drop rates. The game was flipping a coin and giving you a fish on heads.)

[WhamyKaBlamy]

Ultima Online was fairy broken with some of its random number generation though. The 8x8 method worked because of it, it wasn't fixed for quite a while.

I've not say down and really grabbed any numbers in Valheim, but the wind does change an awful lot. I don't mind using tacking (or beating into the wind, for those that are going to be pedantic about the use of the word tacking) but it would be nice to have a headwind that stays in the same direction for more than a minute.

[Hugh G. Rection]

Originally posted by Liam_Monaghan:

Moder's power (the 4th boss) gives you tailwind for 5 minutes, 20 min cool down

Yeah, it's much less of an issue when you have Moder's skill, but still...

[SiEgE]

Originally posted by Mharr:

This is Ultima Online fishing spots all over again. (Players theorycrafted huge dissertations on how and where to get the best drop rates. The game was flipping a coin and giving you a fish on heads.)

Certain shards actually had "zones" of increased drop chance for certain fish types, including most cities to be "♥♥♥♥-tier only".
Wasn't ever been playing the official one, tho.

Originally posted by WhamyKaBlamy:

I've not say down and really grabbed any numbers in Valheim, but the wind does change an awful lot. I don't mind using tacking (or beating into the wind, for those that are going to be pedantic about the use of the word tacking) but it would be nice to have a headwind that stays in the same direction for more than a minute.

I think, the world is split into "weather zones". Each "weather zone" has its own wind direction, so it is completely random. If I understand it correctly, if you're getting no wind - you should move sideways, into another "weather zone" and hope its wind direction is what you need.

[Intellect Inside]

Just use devcommands to change wind. If I wanted to be constantly frustrated while sailing, I'd buy a sailboat IRL. Know what I mean, Vern?

[Sangra69]

The wind for sure is inconsistent. They should learn from playing Sea of Thieves.

[Mark]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly2P6powIjw

[eternal]

I'm not a huge fan of the wind at your back ability. I love it, don't get me wrong, it's just weird I have an ability to change the entirety of nature and its ecosystem for 5 minutes at a time.

I am still hopeful they add a rowing system.

For example you have a 4 man boat and the wind is against you. Get some friends to row with each additional person adding 25% to the top speed till you have a full boat of rowers which would match full speed with sail up and wind at your back.
Bigger boats require more people so each person would represent a smaller percentage of the total speed gained. It would be a cool game mechanic and give peeps in the boat something to do and feel like they are helping out and not just going "oh cool, did you see that?"

I wanted to ask this during the ama but couldn't be online at the time.

[Wizard of Woz]

Originally posted by eternal:

I'm not a huge fan of the wind at your back ability. I love it, don't get me wrong, it's just weird I have an ability to change the entirety of nature and its ecosystem for 5 minutes at a time.

I am still hopeful they add a rowing system.

For example you have a 4 man boat and the wind is against you. Get some friends to row with each additional person adding 25% to the top speed till you have a full boat of rowers which would match full speed with sail up and wind at your back.
Bigger boats require more people so each person would represent a smaller percentage of the total speed gained. It would be a cool game mechanic and give peeps in the boat something to do and feel like they are helping out and not just going "oh cool, did you see that?"

I wanted to ask this during the ama but couldn't be online at the time.

If you think a full boat of rowers is going to go as fast a sail full of wind you are deluding yourself. Even if they could maintain that pace it wouldn't last long.

[Crystal_Pistol]

Haha, "...fan of the wind..." Very good. Very good indeed.