Cloudheim Vault of the Gods adds an Endless Vault and a New Island

Cloudheim just dropped what it is straight up calling its biggest update yet: Vault of the Gods. And for once, that does not just mean a new activity stapled onto the side. This update takes a swing at the stuff that actually defines your run-to-run feel: where you go, what you chase, how class progression works, and how combat flows when everything gets messy.

If you have been waiting for Cloudheim to add a real long-term loop that scales with you, this is the patch. If you have been enjoying the chaos but hated how some systems nudged you away from playing what you actually like, this is also the patch. And that while still in Early Access and so close after the Frostfall update.

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Vault of the Gods is Cloudheim's new replay loop

The headline feature is the Vault itself, found on Odin Shell with a related quest. The concept is simple and dangerous in the best way: save corrupted vaults, unlock an endless trial of dungeons, and let the game keep pushing back as your progress climbs.

The Vault scales its loot with your overall progression, so it is not just for veterans. Newer players can engage without it feeling like a wall, and long-time players get a reason to keep diving because the rewards do not go stale.

The clever bit is how the Vault changes. Its layout can shift through World Eggs. You get those by feeding golden fruit to Odin Shell, and the egg can modify the domain you enter inside the Vaults. There is even a small chance this system can toss you into a familiar place again, which is a nice little spice for repeat runs.

Myrkstorm adds a new island that fights back

A brand-new island is now unlockable and explorable: Myrkstorm. It is set in between progression of Greenvor and Frostvaldr, making it slightly easier to go to the latter. For those who recently started, this makes progression towards end game fairly easier, as this was the hardest and most problematic part before. It is locked in an endless thunderstorm, and the lightning is not just set dressing. The higher your difficulty setting, the deadlier those lightning strikes become.

That matters because it changes how you move and how greedy you can be. When the environment can punish you (and sometimes your enemies) on a timer, positioning and tempo stop being optional. Myrkstorm also comes with electric enemies, a boss to take down, and a rescue objective for a blacksmith some might remember from the Beta, so it is not just a biome swap. It is content.

Two new playable characters, plus more variants

Vault of the Gods ships with two new Runari you can play as: Harker and Freya. On top of that, the update adds more variants for existing characters based on player feedback.

That might sound small, but in a co-op game where your squad is staring at each other for hours, options matter. More importantly, new characters are usually the cleanest way for the devs to introduce fresh play patterns without rewriting the entire foundation.

Skill Points overhaul fixes a common progression problem

This is one of the most important changes in the update, even if it does not look flashy in a trailer.

The class mastery system has been updated so that gaining experience and hitting mastery levels now grants Skill Points. You can distribute those points to any of the four available classes.

Translation: you get more control over which class you level, and you can keep playing what you enjoy without feeling like the game is dragging your progression in a different direction.

There are a couple guardrails. Skill Points come from every hero level and every item mastered, and class levels gradually cost more Skill Points to push further, starting at level 30. That should slow down maxing everything instantly, while still giving you control over the direction.

Combat changes focus on flow, clarity, and fewer dumb moments

This update is packed with combat tweaks, but the theme is consistent: smoother transitions, better readability, and less friction when you are trying to do something cool.

You can now interrupt weapon attacks with skills, which means combos can be more reactive instead of feeling locked into animations at the worst possible time. Targeting priority has been improved to reduce those "why am I hitting a chest while a monster is eating my face" moments.

Bosses now have ablative armor that gets destroyed over time. Breaking armor reduces how much armor they have in upcoming rounds, and increases the damage they take when their armor is down. That is a major mechanical lever. It pushes fights toward rhythm: pressure early, break armor, cash in during vulnerability windows, and carry that advantage forward.

Mana recovery now begins much faster, increasing overall regen. The tradeoff is slightly increased mana costs, but the net result is intended to be positive, with more flexible skill cadence. And it is noticeable! If you like the action side of Cloudheim more than the waiting side, this is the kind of change you will feel immediately.

Loot also gets quality upgrades. Weapon drops are now visible in the world and interactable, and even if you leave them behind, they will teleport to your Bifrost Chest like other key pickups. Fast-hitting weapons are also less likely to jarringly shove enemies around, which should help the game feel less jittery when the screen turns into a blender.

Shop and crafting quality of life gets real upgrades

A lot of players live on Odin Shell between runs, so improvements here matter more than they get credit for.

Furniture can now snap to nearby items, wall-hanging placement is more intuitive, and crafted items try to merge into nearby stacks once they settle. Tossing items into stations stops when the station is full instead of dumping leftovers onto the floor like you are cleaning out a junk drawer. There is certainly still some improvements to be made here, especially with snapping and the stack merging, but these are steps in the right direction for sure.

There is also a new tech tree view on the Odin Shell reputation board that shows crafting stations and guilds you have built, plus what you still need for the others. It is the kind of feature that should exist on day one of a full release, so it is good to see it land now already in Early Access.

Trading Posts can now be built after you have built a Blin Merchant Guild. You trade items of the required type and rarity for more valuable rewards. Reality Tears can now be sold, and Summon Whistles that do not recruit a new Blin will instead give loot, which is a solid "fail forward" fix. Especially since they can also contain weapons, either new ones or upgrade those you already have. This is especially great for those who had already unlocked all Blins, but kept feeding Gnasher his food. This meant you kept getting the Blin whistles but could not use them, where with the update, feeding Gnasher keeps a purpose.

Quick tips if you are coming back for this update

If you are returning just for Vault of the Gods, do these things first.

Start with the Vault quest on Odin Shell, then commit to a few runs long enough to actually feel the scaling and the domain changes. Feed Odin Shell golden fruit early so you can start generating World Eggs and see the layout variance.

When you get Skill Points, spend them deliberately. Pick the class you actually want to be strong with now, not the one you think you "should" grind. This system is literally designed to stop you from being pushed around by progression rules.

And when you hit Myrkstorm, respect the lightning. If you crank difficulty, it is going to punish sloppy positioning. Use it to your advantage when you can, but do not pretend it is just ambiance.

This update is Cloudheim choosing a direction

Vault of the Gods is not just content. It is a statement about what Cloudheim wants its long-term play to be: repeatable dungeon pressure, scaling rewards, a more player-controlled build path, and combat that prioritizes flow over friction.

If Cloudheim keeps stacking updates like this, the game is going to stop feeling like "a fun co-op mess" and start feeling like something you can actually main.

For those who have still not showed themselve some much needed selflove by gifting the game to themselves, head over to the Cloudheim Steam Store Page and do so at once, you deserve it!

Cloudheim - Vault of the Gods Trailer