Charred Fortresses

0:00 A Charred Fortress is a walled stronghold of the undead Charred in the Ashlands biome of Valheim, built to be besieged: its walls and gates ignore every weapon, so players break in with a Battering Ram or a Catapult, or climb over, to reach the richest loot in the biome. Each world has twenty, standing inland between the lava fields of the larger central islands, and every intact fortress sends a beam of green light into the sky from the bell altar in its central tower (Charred Fortress, Valheim Wiki). Inside wait Flametal, Molten Cores, gems and the Bell fragments needed to summon Fader. The fortresses and their siege engines arrived with the Ashlands Update on May 14, 2024 (Patch 0.218.15).

Quick facts

Where to find a Charred Fortress

2:54 Fortresses follow a predictable pattern: they generate inland on the larger Ashlands islands, and the green beam makes an intact one visible from far away. The small islands at the ends of the Ashlands crescent usually have none. Samo first sets up a checkpoint base with a portal nearby, in a sealed Putrid Hole or on a tall ruin, so that a death inside the walls does not mean a long corpse run (Death and Corpse Runs).

Layout and defenders

A fortress is a tall rectangular wall of pillars and bronze spikes with gates in two opposite sides, around a courtyard of gravestones with an Effigy of Malice in two corners and a spiked central tower. The outer wall is three layers of 1,500 health, the tower wall one, and each gate has 6,000; only the tier-5 pickaxe damage of the ram or explosive catapult shot hurts them.

The garrison spawns once: up to three Charred Warlocks, five Marksmen and a Skugg on each corner four times in five, a bone ballista with 400 health that fires a 120-pierce bolt every two seconds at anything within 40 meters (Skugg, Valheim Wiki). The Effigies of Malice are the lasting danger: each wakes when a player comes within 60 meters and tries to spawn a Warrior, Marksman or, more rarely, a Warlock every 12 seconds until its 500 durability is destroyed (Effigy of Malice, Valheim Wiki; Ashlands Creatures).

How to siege a Charred Fortress

0:42 The Battering Ram is the first siege engine anyone can build, since its recipe unlocks on picking up Flametal: 10 Flametal, 20 Ashwood and 2 Surtling Cores at a Workbench. It is pulled like a cart and fueled with up to 25 pieces of any wood, each lasting 20 seconds (Battering Ram, Valheim Wiki).

2:08 Fueled and hitched, the ram's iron fists punch on their own for 600 pickaxe damage a blow, smashing a gate in seconds. The wiki warns that breaching a wall while the courtyard is still full can trap the player between the ram and the army behind it (Carts, Mounts and Vehicles).

6:31 The Catapult costs the same Flametal and Ashwood but needs a Charred Cogwheel instead of the cores. Cogwheels come only from destroyed Skuggs and cannot pass through a wooden portal, so a first fortress is almost always taken with the ram (Charred Cogwheel, Valheim Wiki). It is aimed by the way it is set down and fires as soon as an item is loaded from the hotbar (Catapult, Valheim Wiki).

9:22 In Late Night Stream's test the Grausten Payload barely marked the wall, while four or five Explosive Payloads blew through a corner. The Catapult can also reach the effigies behind the walls. The Valheim 1.0 Release added a Bloodgold Payload, whose effect on fortresses has not yet been documented (Valheim 1.0 Has Arrived!).

Taking a fortress without breaking the walls

5:55 SnazzyGames leaves the gates alone. He destroys the Skuggs from range first, the Staff of Embers being the quickest tool, then climbs onto the wall by ladder, stair or a column of stone raised with the hoe. From the parapet he kills the Effigies of Malice first, then the Warlocks, which keep summoning green Twitchers, and the Warriors and Marksmen last.

5:08 Samo does the same from a stone pillar 15 to 20 meters outside the walls, lobbing fireballs at the spawners, the Skuggs and then the Warlocks, whose green fireballs can still reach him (Magic and Staves).

6:54 With a Trollstav, the cheapest siege is to summon its flaming troll over the wall; aimed at an effigy, the summoning animation alone can destroy it. The wiki adds two ways into the central tower without a ram: digging under its wall, or dropping through the gap between the spikes on its roof.

7:21 Kept intact, a conquered fortress is the safest base in the Ashlands, reachable only by flying Fallen Valkyries and Voltures; SnazzyGames puts a shield generator and a Stone Portal inside (Portals).

Loot inside a Charred Fortress

9:43 The reward is in the Charred chests, one inside the tower and up to three more against its outer walls. Each rolls five or six items from the table below and has 200 health (Loot chest, Valheim Wiki).

8:42 The tower also holds two Molten Cores, a 50% chance of the vegvisir to Fader's arena, and the fragile bell altar at its heart, which breaks into two to four Bell fragments and puts out the beam. Three fragments make a Bell at the Black Forge and Fader needs three Bells, so at least three fortresses must fall (Bell, Valheim Wiki). Up to eight more Molten Cores can lie in the courtyard, and the gems feed the augmented Flametal weapons (Weapons and Shields).

Charred Fortresses in 1.0

The 1.0 patch notes left the fortresses alone but lowered the chance of several Ashlands enemies spawning together and shortened the time between Charred spawns, without saying whether the Effigies of Malice are affected (Deep North Update (1.0 Patch Notes)). Iron Gate had teased the fortresses as "Fortress time!" through 2023, showing the ram that April and a fortress wall that November (Fearsome Foes!; Well Equipped).

Frequently asked questions

How do you get into a Charred Fortress without a battering ram? Build a ladder, stair or stone column up to the wall and fight from the parapet, or summon a Trollstav troll inside; dig under the tower wall to reach its loot.

How many Charred Fortresses are there? Twenty per world, inland on the larger Ashlands islands, each marked by a green beam.

Where are the Bell fragments for Fader? On the altar at the center of each fortress's tower, which drops two to four. Nine are needed for three Bells, so plan on at least three fortresses.

Do Charred Fortresses respawn? No. The starting garrison and the Skuggs spawn only once, but the Effigies of Malice keep spawning Charred until they are destroyed.

Sources

• Charred Fortress, Effigy of Malice, Skugg, Loot chest, Battering Ram, Catapult, Charred Cogwheel, Explosive Payload, Grausten Payload and Bell, Valheim Wiki
• Patch 0.218.15 – Ashlands, Iron Gate Studio on Steam, May 14, 2024
• Valheim 1.0 Has Arrived!, Iron Gate Studio on Steam, Sep 9, 2026
• Development blog: Fearsome Foes! and Development Blog: Well Equipped, Iron Gate Studio on Steam, 2023
• Easy Fortress Siege Guide, Samo (video)
• STOP Dying In Valheims Ashlands! and Ultimate Biome Guide, SnazzyGames (video)
• Valheim Ashlands Raid Guide, Late Night Stream (video)