Frost Caves

0:32 Frost Caves are cave dungeons of the Mountain biome in Valheim: randomly generated ice caverns behind icicle-hung entrances, sinking through several levels to the stone halls of a wolf-worshipping cult. Iron Gate added them in March 2022 with the Frost Caves Update, giving the Mountain a dungeon of its own, and their bats, Ulvs and Cultists guard the materials for the Fenris armor set. Some caves also hold a Vegvisir to the altar of Moder.

Quick facts

How to find Frost Caves

0:36 Frost Cave entrances are rocky mouths fringed with long blue icicles, set into Mountain slopes (Frost Caves, Valheim Wiki). Seen head-on they are obvious, but from above they look like any snow-covered rock, so Kysen and Metarune both search from below, looking up the slopes.

0:19 In worlds older than patch 0.207.20 of Mar 1, 2022, caves generate only in Mountain areas no player has yet loaded, as Alessio explains, and since the game loads terrain well beyond the revealed map, Kysen advises a fresh mountain range (Patch 0.207.20, Iron Gate).

Inside a Frost Cave

5:10 Kysen finds that every cave begins with a small foyer, a good place for a campfire, since the caves count as sheltered and a fire restores the Rested bonus. Beyond it, natural ice tunnels lit by cracks in the ceiling and glowing crystal wind downward, with spiral stairs and vertical shafts dropping into large caverns. The wiki's location data allows anything from 3 to 64 rooms (Point of interest, Valheim Wiki), and Metarune cites the developers' figure of up to 60 meters deep. Kysen keeps to an always-left rule and marks corners with fires or signs.

8:24 Sheets of blue ice block many passages. Any weapon or tool breaks them, though the noise alerts nearby creatures, and cracks in the ice hint at what lies behind. A heavy blow can bring down ceiling icicles onto anything below, which makes the Stagbreaker and Iron Sledge risky here. Shafts are the other hazard: a fall hurts, bats like to attack there, and a player who drops into a pit always finds another way back up.

Enemies in Frost Caves

Values from the Valheim Wiki; profiles on Mountain Creatures and Stone Golem.

2:15 Bats come in swarms, usually in the shafts; they do little damage, and Metarune prefers a quick melee weapon to arrows against them. Ulvs, four-legged cousins of the Fenring, hit hard but die fast; they often lie curled asleep and can be shot before they wake. Cultists, red-hooded werewolves, wait behind blood-smeared wooden doors in the worked-stone lairs. Their unblockable cone of flame leaves the player Burning, so Metarune kites them; they do not open the doors between their lairs and the natural caves (Aggressive creature strategies, Valheim Wiki; Status Effects).

Frost Cave loot

6:47 The cult's altar rooms hold the prizes. Wolf-headed altars carry two or four offerings of Fenris Claws or Fenris Hair, up to three Cultists stand guard, and matted hair tapestries on the walls, each with up to five knots hanging beneath, yield more hair when struck or shot down. Red jute curtains break into Red Jute and sometimes hide passages; standing braziers break into coal, or bronze one time in five; furniture gives Fine Wood, bone heaps Bone Fragments, and the wooden doors wood and occasionally iron (Frost Caves, Valheim Wiki).

9:15 Meat piles always give Entrails and half the time add coins, more Entrails or a Silver Necklace, and Kysen finds stone chests rare but worthwhile. Crystal, once only a Stone Golem drop, can be picked from glowing formations. Each chest holds two to four items:

Coins, rubies and necklaces sell to Haldor.

The frozen lake and Moder's Vegvisir

10:26 A rare cavern deep in some caves holds a frozen lake guarded by one to three Stone Golems. On its shore lie a lost traveler's remains, the ashes of his campfire, a runestone telling his story and his Fishing Rod, which drops with a little bait; later fishing patches stocked the cave lakes with fish, including the Tetra (Fishing). Some caves also contain a Vegvisir that marks Moder's altar (Runestones and Vegvisirs).

How to clear a Frost Cave safely

1:11 Metarune, following the developers' intent, enters in the gear a player has on leaving the Swamp: troll leather or iron. He packs wood for signs and fires. Poison is the key damage type, because both Ulvs and Cultists are weak to it and Ulvs shrug off fire: the Draugr Fang with poison arrows and ooze bombs are the usual tools. Barley Wine's fire resistance blunts the Cultists' flames once the Plains are open (Mead and Potions).

0:36 Standing braziers in the cult halls provide warmth and light; Alessio sits by them to refresh the Rested bonus, which the wiki gives as comfort level 2.

Fenris armor and other unlocks

1:28 Fenris Hair, Fenris Claws and Red Jute craft the Fenris set: a coat with frost resistance, which Alessio notes can replace frost resistance mead in the Mountain, leggings, and a hood that also needs the Cultist Trophy. Each piece adds movement speed, and the full set grants fire resistance. The same materials make the Flesh Rippers claws and the red jute carpet and curtain decorations (Armor and Capes; Furniture and Decoration).

History and Valheim 1.0

The caves were the surviving part of the canceled Cult of the Wolf update and arrived with patch 0.207.20 on Mar 1, 2022; patch 0.208.1 of April 2022 fixed several cave rooms (Frost Caves Update). The Hildir's Request Update of 2023 added the Howling Cavern, an elite Frost Cave ruled by the ice Cultist Geirrhafa (Hildir's Dungeons). The Valheim 1.0 Release of September 2026 made no change to the caves in its notes, but Game8's idol list names "Mountain caves" as a source of Silver Battle and Protection Idols and, rarely, Black Metal ones, for the Forge of Potential, which itself generates only in the Mountain (Game8).

Frequently asked questions

Do Frost Caves respawn? No. Bats, Ulvs and Cultists are one-time spawns, and altars, chests and meat piles do not refill once looted.

Do you need frost resistance inside a Frost Cave? No. The caves count as sheltered; frost protection matters only on the way there.

Why can't I find Frost Caves in my world? In worlds older than March 2022 they generate only in Mountain terrain never loaded before, so already explored ranges have none.

What is the best weapon for Frost Caves? Poison: Ulvs and Cultists both take extra poison damage, while Ulvs resist fire and Cultists are immune to it.

Sources

• Frost Caves, Point of interest and Aggressive creature strategies, Valheim Wiki (weirdgloop)
• Bat, Ulv, Cultist and Howling Cavern, Valheim Wiki
• Patch 0.207.20, Iron Gate Studio, Mar 1, 2022
• List of All Idols, Game8
• Valheim Frost Caves: Everything You Need to Know, Metarune (video)
• Valheim CAVE UPDATE - EVERYTHING To Know! Cave Guide, Kysen (video)
• 5 Valheim Cave Tips, Alessio (video)