Valheim – Beginners Guide (Biomes, Crafting, Farming and More)

Biomes

Note: Credit goes to Vekkel

You start off in the basic of biomes in the center of the map, the farther away you get from the center the more resources you will find and other biomes will become found. I will talk about each of them in the order that I believe they are available for you or you “should” explore them.

1) Meadow

The meadow is where you start off at and is the best place to build your first base to start off with, here you will find raspberries, necks, boars, deer, rocks, beech, birch, and oak. Meadows can be considered a safe area in any area of the map unless they boarder a more dangerous area.

2) Black Forest

A bit more dangerous you will find boars, deer, higher level greydwarves, skeletons, trolls, and ghost in some of the dungeons. Where you begin to find the basic ores and woods for the second level of equipment, here you will find pine, basic trees, blueberries, copper, and tin. Also dungeons that have surtling core which are used for portals.

3) Swamp

Dangerous for the main reason mobs do not seem to ever stop spawning near you and poison is huge here due to blobs, oozers, and leeches. Mobs found here are blobs, oozers, leeches, skeletons, Draugr, wraiths, and surtlings (fire people same as the cores you find in dungeons). Useful resources here are ancient wood and muddy scrap piles that have iron.

4) Mountain

Dangerous first and foremost, you will freeze as soon as you walk in the area without warm cloths or making a fire. Wolves will almost one shot you if you’re not wearing iron armor and blocking. Drakes spawn here as well and will spit frost at you that freeze you in place. You will also find Rock Golems that will do massive damage if you let them get close and slam you. Here is where you can find uncovered silver, but it is rare due to it being mostly buried underground. The best method is to kill the 3rd boss and use the wishbone to find silver. Also you will find obsidian and basic trees here for the most part.

5) Plains

I have not been too far into the plains due to how dangerous it is, what you can find here are Lox, Deathsquitos, and fulings. Almost all of these will almost one shot you if do not block and would not recommend anything under iron armor.

6) Mist

This has not been completed in the game yet.

7) Ocean

I will throw this here for now as I am pretty sure it is not done yet. you can find a serpent in the Ocean and there is what seems to be a rock formation with barncles on them which you can mine, it will begin shaking and screaming after awhile so be warned it is a monster of some sort. I left before finding out too much more. 

8) Ashlands

Still being developed, you can find surtlings here that will drop coal and surtling cores like crazy, also there is a ore here that makes flametal bars, what that is for I do not know yet.

Bosses

1) Eikthyr

First boss, I would recommend you get some leather armor and make a crude bow and 100/200 arrows. Pretty simple boss, dodge the lightening attack at range, and avoid the stomps that come plus the antlers, you know the pointy parts.

You’ll need 2 deer trophies for this, and once you’re done you will have gained access to a pickaxe which will let you finally get to smelting some gold ol’ ores.

2) The Elder

Once you have killed the first boss you are now on your way to the second. In the black forest you will find burial chambers, inside one you will find a runestone that will unlock the elders location on your map.

Burial Chambers

You will need 3 Ancient Seeds to summon the boss, they drop from Grey Dwarf Shaman, Brutes, and chest.

Once you are ready to go off to summon the boss I would recommend a bow and arrow as there are four pillars you can use to kite the boss around and dodge his cone range attack and dodge around the roots that he spawns that you can kill pretty quickly. Also bring the best armor you currently have because if you do get hit it will hurt if you’re wearing early game gear. I did this boss the first time wearing Troll Armor.

Summoning Portal

3) Bonemass

You will need the swamp key dropped by the second boss to open crypts in the Swamp where you will find the runestone to the location of the boss just as you did for the 2nd one. You will also need 10 withered bones which can be found in the crypts as well to summon him.

This is where the game ups the difficulty to a bit of an extreme, this boss will poison you and his minions will be summoned as well, skeletons and blobs. You will need poison resistance potions especially if you are doing this in melee. I would also take minor or medium healing potions as well as this fight will not be quick and you will take poison damage even with the resistance on. That being said the best and almost only damage you can do is from blunt weapons clubs, mace, stagbreaker, ect. Arrows will work, but it will take awhile so bring a few hundred of them or frost arrows if you have them.

Recommend: Poison Resistance, HP pots, blunt weapon, at least iron armor, and a prayer to Odin.

He has a few different attacks with big windups which can be blocked if in melee, he will also explode poison from his body from time to time so watch out. Also will spit out blobs that will chase you around along with skeletons. This boss will be pretty rough due to the poison damage, I would go in expecting to have to make a few attempts on him.

4) Modor

Ok here we go, a dragon, no problem what could go wrong here? Similar to the other bosses in order to find the summon location you will need to find half destoyed stone buildings in the mountains, if you don’t see these try a mountain range that is either bigger or taller.

Now the a difficult portion, you will need 3 dragon eggs to summon this boss, sounds easy right? Well the eggs cannot be teleport and they each weight 200 lbs. So either you’re making 3 different trips, using friends, or lugging a cart up the mountain either way this is difficult task.Dragon eggs around found in the mountains as well, the nest is large crystal structures.

Once you lug all those eggs up there you’re in for a fight, either wear warm clothing (wolf cap, wolf chest piece, or lox cape) or frost resistance potion. I would highly recommend the best food you can get plus medium healing potions.

The boss will be in the air and land time to time, while in the air she will shoot frost at you in crystal chucks, dodge these as when I was hit by 3 I went from 140 health to 12 health. You can block this attack and the breath attack she does when she lands. While on the ground she will do big wind ups in melee and attack you with breath which you can dodge or block. Recommend bringing a decent bow and arrows plus a melee weapon/shield.

Material Locations

Will use spoilers, but here is a list of where to find the materials I have mentioned in the crafting sections.

• Bone Fragments bone fragments are found off skeletons in the Black Forest near and in dungeons
• Fine/Core Wood fine wood is from birch/oak in meadows, the core is from pines in the Black Forest
• Ancient Bark ancient wood is from the swamp
• Resin resin is from grey dwarves and some trees, feathers from birds and trees
• Obsidian obsidian can be found in chest and mined in the mountains requires iron pickaxe
• Ooze ooze is from blobs in the swamp
• Freeze Glads freeze gland from drakes in the mountain
• Needles needles form deathsquito in the plains
• Chitin I found chitin on the Kraken in the Ocean (according to the wiki) looked like a barnacle
• Bronze Bar Made with 2 copper and 1 tin bar in the forge
• Iron – Iron is found in crypts which you need to kill the 2nd boss to get a swamp key that will open them. They are in the swamp you just need to look for the green lights that should lead to a locked crypt door which you can open, then mine away the muddy scrap piles/loot the chest.
• Silver – Kill the 3rd boss grab the wishbone and head off to the mountains (take frost resistance potions with you) the wishbone acts like a metal detector and will make more light as you get closer. You have to be pretty close for it to go off, to begin with so don’t stress too much, it is also buried so you will have to dig unless you get lucky and find a vein above ground.
• Guck I went so long without knowing the green blobs on the trees in the swamp were a resource you can collect, you’ll have to build up to them and cut some off.

• Linen Thread From flax in the Plains, can be grown as well you will need to have killed the 4th boss and have an artisan table to make use of this.
• Barley You will need the 4th boss killed as well because the artisan table which allows you to make the windmill to turn this into a craftable item, can be farmed as well and is found in the plains.
• Black Metal You get this from killing the furlings in the Plains and in the chest at their camps also need a blast furance which is from the artisan table so 4th boss killed required.

Ore & Wood

You will need a smelter to make ores into bars and a kiln to make charcoal.

• Smelter/Kiln – 20 stone, 5 surtling cores.
• Tin & Copper – tin is found along the shore/rivers of the Black Forest, copper is in the Black Forest itself looks like the grey/moss rocks with green veins through it.

• Iron – Iron is found in crypts which you need to kill the 2nd boss to get a swamp key that will open them. They are in the swamp you just need to look for the green lights that should lead to a locked crypt door which you can open, then mine away the muddy scrap piles/loot the chest.
• Silver – Kill the 3rd boss grab the wishbone and head off to the mountains (take frost resistance potions with you) the wishbone acts like a metal detector and will make more light as you get closer. You have to be pretty close for it to go off to begin with so don’t stress too much, it is also buried so you will have to dig unless you get lucky and find a vein above ground.
• Wood – Almost any tree honestly.
• Core Wood – pine trees in the Black Forest will drop these, only way I have found stone and flint work on this tree.
• Fine Wood – can be found in oak trees and birch trees (white ones) in the meadow, will need bronze or better axe.
• Ancient Bark – comes from ancient trees in the Swamp you will need a bronze or better axe.

Workbench / Recipes

This is all the recipes that I have currently unlocked.

You find new recipes by picking up the required materials to make the item and having the correct level of bench needed.

Workbench

Tools

• Flint Axe – 6 Flint, 4 Wood
• Hoe – 2 Stone, 5 Wood
• Antler Pickaxe – 1 Hard Antler, 10 Wood

Armor

Almost all armor has three pieces other than Rag Armor and they are tunic, pants, and helmet.

• Rag Armor – 5 Leather Scraps (10 total)
• Leather Armor – 6 Deer Hides (18 total)
• Deer Hide Cape – 4 Deer Hides, 5 Bone Fragments
• Wolf Fur Cape – 6 Wolf Pelts, 4 Silver, 1 Wolf Trophy
• Linen Cape – 20 Linen Threat, 1 Silver Bar
• Lox Cape – 6 Lox Pelts, 2 Silver Bars
• Troll Hide Armor – 5 Troll Hide, 3 Bone Fragments (15 total hides)
• Troll Hide Cape – 5 Troll Hide, 3 Bone Fragments

Bows/Arrows

• Crude Bow – 10 Wood, 8 Leather Scraps
• Fine Wood Bow – 10, Fine Wood, 10 Core Wood, 2 Deer Hides
• Wood Arrows – 8 Wood
• Flint Head Arrows – 8 Wood, 2 Flint, 2 Feathers
• Fire Arrows – 8 Wood, 8 Resin, 2 Feathers
• Poison Arrows – 8 Wood, 4 Obsidian, 2 Feathers, 2 Ooze
• Obsidian Arrows – 8 Wood, 4 Obsidian, 2 Feathers, 1 Freeze Gland
• Needle Arrows – 4 Needles, 2 Feathers

Weapons

• Ooze Bomb x 5 – 5 Leather Scraps, 10 Oozes, 3 Resin
• Flint Knife – 2 Wood, 4 Flint, 2 Leather Scraps
• Flint Spear – 5 Wood, 10 Flint, 2 Leather Scraps
• Abyssal Razor – – 4 Fine Wood, 20 Chitin, 3 Leather Scraps
• Abyssal Harpoon – 8 Fine Wood, 30 Chitin, 3 Leather Scraps
• Stag Breaker – 20 Core Wood, 5 Deer Trophies, 2 Leather Scraps

Forge / Recipes

To build the forge you need 4 stone, 4 coal, 10 wood, and 6 copper. Also, you will need a smelter and most likely a kiln to burn wood into charcoal.

Smelter/Kiln – 20 stone, 5 surtling cores for each. Surtling Cores cores are found in dungeons in the Black Forest and dropped by surtlings in the swamp.

Tools

• Cultivator – 5 Core Wood, 5 Bronze Bars
• Bronze Nails x 20 – 1 Bronze Bar
• Iron Nails x 10 – 1 Iron Bar
• Bronze Pickaxe – 3 Core Wood, 10 Bronze Bars
• Bronze Axe – 4 Wood, 8 Bronze Bars, 2 Leather Scraps
• Iron Pickaxe – 3 Core Wood, 20 Iron Bars
• Iron Axe – 4 Wood, 20 Iron Bars, 2 Leather Scraps

Bows/Arrows

• Huntsman’s Bow – 10 Fine Wood, 20 Iron Bars, 10 Feathers, 2 Deer Hides
• Bronze Arrows – 8 Wood, 1 Bronze Bar, 2 Feathers
• Draugr Fang – 10 Ancient Bark, 20 Silver Bars, 2 Deer Hides, 10 Guck
• Iron Arrows – 8 Wood, 1 Iron Bar, 2 Feathers
• Silver Arrows – 8 Wood, 1 Silver Bar, 2 Feathers

Armor

• Bronze Armor Set – 5 Bronze Bars, 2 Deer Hides, (15 Bars/6 Hides)
• Drake Helmet – 20 Silver Bars, 2 Wolf Pelts, 2 Drake Trophies
• Iron Armor Set – 20 Iron Bars, 2 Deer Hides (60 Bars/6 Hides)
• Wolf Armor (Two Pieces) – 20 Silver Bars, 1 Chain, 4 Wolf Fangs (40 Bars, 1 Chain, 4 Fangs)
• Padded Armor Set – 30 Iron Bars, 55 Linen Thread

Weapons/Shields

• Bronze Sword – 2 Wood, 8 Bronze Bars, 2 Leather Scraps
• Bronze Mace – 4 Wood, 8 Bronze Bars, 3 Leather Scraps
• Bronze Spear – 5 Wood, 6 Bronze Bars, 2 Deer Hides
• Bronze Atgeir – 10 Wood, 10 Iron Bars, 2 Leather Scraps
• Bronze Buckler – 10 Bronze Bars, 4 Wood
• Iron Sword – 2 Wood, 20 Iron Bars, 3 Leather Scrap
• Iron Mace – 4 Wood, 20 Iron Bars, 3 Leather Scraps
• Iron Atgeir – 10 Wood, 10 Iron Bars, 2 Leather Scraps
• Battleaxe – 30 Ancient Bark, 35 Iron Bars, 4 Leather Scraps
• Iron Sledge – 10 Ancient Bark, 10 Iron Bars, 4 Ymir Flesh, 1 Draugr Elite Trophy
• Banded Shield – 10 Fine Wood, 8 Iron Bars
• Iron Tower Shield – 15 Fine Wood, 10 Iron Bars
• Silver Sword – 2 Wood, 40 Silver Bars, 3 Leather Scraps, 5 Iron Bars
• Fang Spear – 10 Ancient Bark, 4 Wolf Fangs, 2 Leather Scraps, 2 Silver Bars
• Ancient Bark Spear – 4 Troll Hide, 10 Iron Bars, 10 Ancient Bark
• Silver Shield – 10 Fine Wood, 8 Silver Bars
• Frostner – 10 Ancient Bark, 30 Silver Bars, 5 Ymir Flesh, 5 Freeze Glands
• Black Metal Shield – 10 Fine Wood, 8 Black Metal Bars, 5 Chain
• Black Metal Tower Shield – 15 Fine Wood, 10 Black Metal Bars, 7 Chain
• Serpent Scale Shield – 10 Fine Wood, 4 Iron Bars, 8 Serpent Scales
• Blackmetal Sword – 2 Fine Wood, 20 Black Metal Bars, 5 Linen Thread
• Porcupine – 5 Fine Wood, 20 Iron Bars, 5 Needles, 10 Linen Thread
• Blackmetal Axe – 6 Fine Wood, 20 Black Metal Bars, 5 Linen Thread
• Blackmetal Atgeir – 10 Fine Wood, 30 Black Metal Bars, 5 Linen Thread
• Blackmetal Knife – 4 Fine Wood, 10 Black Metal Bars, 5 Linen Thread

Farming, Fermenting, and Food

Farming

Generally I find it easier to use a hoe and flatten out a patch of land before using the cultivator to add cultivated land for farming.

Currently I am working with two crops I am not sure if there are more at this time. Carrots and turnips are what I am using. You can find carrot seeds in the Black Forest and Turnips in the swamp.

You can turn one carrot into a carrot seed by right-clicking with the cultivator equipped and plating a carrot seed. Same thing with turnips, you will get 3 seeds per seed plant you collect once it has grown. Which then can be planted into carrots or turnips. Currently these items are great to turn into soups which you can eat and they work better than just eating berries alone.

Fermenting

You will need to learn how to make a decent mead if you want to have an easier time.

• Fermenter – 30 fine wood, 5 bronze bars, 10 resin.
• Beehive – 10 wood, 1 queen bee (I found a lot in abandon buildings just knock the walls or trees down around them and pick up the queen bee.
• Cauldron – 10 tin, use this over a fire to ferment, then place in the fermenter.

Step-by-Step Make a fire, add a caudron, collect the items required, make the mead base, add the mead base to the fermenter which has to be covered like any other workbench and wait 45 minutes.

Mead Based Items

How long they last is 10 minutes per flask you drink.

• Frost Resistance x 6 – 10 honey, 5 thistle, 2 bloodbags, 1 greydwarf eye
• Medium Healing x 6 – 10 honey, 4 bloodbags, 10 raspberries, 1 dandelion (75 hp over time)
• Minor Healing x 6 – 10 honey, 5 blueberries, 10 raspberries, 1 dandelion (50 hp over time)
• Poison Resistance x 6 – 10 honey, 5 thistle, 1 neck tail, 10 coal
• Medium Stamina x 6- 10 honey, 10 cloudberries, 10 yellow mushrooms
• Minor Stamina x 6- 10 honey, 10 raspberries, 10 yellow mushrooms
• Tasty x 6- 10 honey, 10 raspberries, 5 blueberries (lowers health and stamina regeneration -50% health regen, 300% stamina regen)

how to find ingredients thistles are found in the Black Forest they have a white head and glow at night, bloodbags are from leeches in the swamp that in the water, cloudberries I found while running across the plains for my life, yellow mushrooms come form dungeons that are in Black Forest and crypts in the Swamp.

Food

Currently I will go over food that is not a berry or base meat, if you are not familiar with health and stamina each food you eat has a set amount it will boost your stat by, duration, and healing amount per tick I will add that information to this items.

• Carrot Soup – 1 mushroom, 3 carrots (HP 20, ST 60, Dur 1500s, 2 hp/tick)
• Queens Jam x 4 – 8 raspberries, 8 blueberries (HP 30, ST 40, Dur 1200s, 2hp/tick)
• Sausages x 4 – 2 entrails, 1 raw meat, 4 thistles (HP 60, ST 40, Dur 1600s, 3hp/tick)
• Turnip Stew – 1 raw meat, 3 turnips (HP 50, ST 50, Dur 1600s, 2hp/tick)

How to find ingredients entrails drop from draugr in the swamp.

Hints and Tips

Tips

• As you upgrade your gear remember that it will take a higher level of bench to repair your new gear.
• Smelters seem to use almost a 2 to 1 ratio to make ore into bars, for example 2 coal to make one iron bar. Haven’t thoroughly tested this, but seems to be pretty accurate.
• Swimming with no stamania will start draining your health so if you fall out of a boat you’re in a bad way, stay in the boat!
• The more furnicature you have in your home the higher your rested bonus will be, rugs help a lot with this.
• If something falls into the water and you can’t grab it, try jumping off of something into the water you will dip down a bit or raise the ground using a hoe and stone.
• Make a cart to carry massive amounts of wood and stone, trust me you will save yourself many trips. 20 wood, 10 bronze nails.