Greydwarf

1:05 The Greydwarf is a hostile, tree-like creature of the Black Forest in Valheim, a hunched figure of bark, moss and stone with glowing eyes, and the most common enemy of the game's second biome. It heads a family of four: the small Greyling of the Meadows, the ordinary Greydwarf, the club-armed Greydwarf Brute and the healing Greydwarf Shaman. All of them are drawn to noise, so the clink of a pickaxe on copper brings them running, and between them they drop the Wood, Resin and Greydwarf Eyes that early progression runs on, plus the Ancient Seeds that summon The Elder. The family's short entry is on Meadows and Black Forest Creatures; this page goes further.

Quick facts

Greydwarf types and stats

1:46 The Greyling is the runt of the family and the only one native to the Meadows, where up to two lurk in the woods. It scratches for 5 slash and drops one Resin; starred greylings exist only when spawned by console (Greyling, Valheim Wiki).

The ordinary Greydwarf swipes at close range and, from five to fifteen meters, throws a rock every eight seconds; one-star greydwarfs have reddish bark and two-star ones blue (Greydwarf, Valheim Wiki). The Brute slams a stone club three meters ahead of it, a blow still typed as slash because the alpha brute fought with claws. The Shaman breathes a seven-meter cone of poison that cannot be blocked and only fires at targets two to five meters away, so standing right against it disables the attack; every ten seconds it releases a pollen that heals every creature of its faction within four meters (Greydwarf Brute and Greydwarf Shaman, Valheim Wiki).

Where greydwarfs spawn

2:37 Most greydwarfs come from nests, mossy mounds of roots with 100 health. A nest wakes when a player is within 60 meters and every twelve seconds tries to spawn a new member within four meters, until three of the family stand within twenty. It produces an ordinary greydwarf 72% of the time and a brute or a shaman 14% each, with a 15% chance of one star and 2.25% of two (Greydwarf Nest, Valheim Wiki). Smashing the nest stops the flow; roofing over the ground around it also silences it, because it only spawns on open terrain.

Beyond the nests, greydwarfs spawn anywhere in the Black Forest, up to three per area by day and six at night, the extra ones despawning at dawn. After Eikthyr dies a few also walk the Meadows after dark, joined by brutes and shamans once The Elder is dead, and ruined towers and huts in the forest have fixed spawn points. Night-spawned brutes carry stars only beyond 2,000 meters from the world center (Greydwarf and Greydwarf Brute, Valheim Wiki).

How to kill greydwarfs

2:01 Fire is the answer to the whole family: every greydwarf takes double damage from it, while poison does half and spirit nothing. With Stone Age gear a torch, club or flint spear and a wooden shield handle single greydwarfs (block the swipe, then strike), and sidestepping the rocks matters more than armor. From the Bronze Age the Finewood Bow's fire arrows burn brutes down from range, and a brute can be kited indefinitely because it cannot throw. In any mixed group the shaman dies first, before it can heal the rest. With iron or better, greydwarfs fall in a blow or two (Combat).

Their habits help. Greydwarfs share the Forest faction with the Black Forest's trolls, so the two never fight, and a shaman's pollen heals a troll too. Greylings and ordinary greydwarfs keep away from fire; they run in for two quick swipes, back off, and pelt anything out of reach with rocks, including planted crops and saplings, which is why fields near a forest need a fence. Brutes and shamans do not fear fire (Aggressive creature strategies, Valheim Wiki).

Greydwarf drops

3:26 Every greydwarf drops something useful, but two drops drive progression: the Greydwarf Eye, and the Ancient Seed that only brutes and smashed nests yield.

Starred greydwarfs drop double or quadruple quantities. Every portal costs ten eyes, plus 20 Fine Wood and two Surtling Cores (Portal, Valheim Wiki), so a network of Portals eats hundreds. Five Ancient Seeds, five Bronze and a Greydwarf Shaman trophy forge the Heart of the Forest, a trinket that raises health regeneration by 25% for a minute once 50 adrenaline has built up (Heart of the Forest, Valheim Wiki). Iron Gate's 1.0 patch also changed how rare drops roll so that long unlucky streaks without a seed or trophy are less likely (Valheim 1.0 Has Arrived!, Steam).

Greydwarf farms

2:52 Because a nest never runs dry, players build farms around one: dig out a wide pit beneath it, floor over everything except a four-by-four square under the nest, and set standing braziers in the pit so that each new greydwarf lands in the flames. The wiki estimates an hourly haul of about 475 Wood, 350 Stone, 300 Resin, 260 Greydwarf Eyes and 22 Ancient Seeds from an unattended nest (Greydwarf Nest, Valheim Wiki; see Materials and Resources).

"The forest is moving..." raid

6:27 The family also raids bases. From Eikthyr's death until The Elder falls, "The forest is moving..." can start whenever a player stands within 40 meters of three base structures in the Meadows, Black Forest, Swamp or Plains. For two minutes greydwarfs, greylings, a shaman and a brute come in waves; Embr counts four greylings, six greydwarfs, one shaman and one brute at a time, respawning every five seconds (Events, Valheim Wiki; Raids and Events).

Greydwarfs in the Deep North

4:27 The Valheim 1.0 Release of Sep 9, 2026 carried the family to the end of the world. Frost-covered Greydwarfs and Greydwarf Shamans roam the snow of the Deep North, and its greydwarfs and skeletons drop Ice, the raw material of the Frigid Kiln (Game8; Game Rant). Iron Gate's first hotfix, 1.0.10 on Sep 11, 2026, corrected the damage and healing of the northern shamans (Hotfix 1.0.10 & 1.0.12, Steam). The biome also holds the Barka, a lanky frozen tree-giant that PC Gamer, after its visit to Iron Gate, describes as what a greydwarf becomes just before it turns into an Elder (PC Gamer; Deep North Creatures).

Greydwarf lore

A runestone describes greydwarfs as empty creatures that grow like mushrooms out of decay and wet earth: when a murderer or great sinner decays underground, its soul forms a cavity that gathers stone, wood and moss into a body that walks by night and fears fire. The name echoes the grådvärgar, gray dwarves, of Astrid Lindgren's Ronja, the Robber's Daughter (Greydwarf, Valheim Wiki; Lore and Setting).

Frequently asked questions

Can you tame a Greydwarf? No. No member of the greydwarf family can be tamed; Valheim's tameable animals are boars, wolves, lox, asksvin and, since 1.0, moose (Farming and Taming).

Where do I get Greydwarf Eyes? From greydwarfs and shamans, which drop one half of the time at zero stars, and from brutes, which can drop two. Starred greydwarfs drop more, and a nest farm produces them without end.

How do I get Ancient Seeds for The Elder? Kill Greydwarf Brutes, which drop one a third of the time, or smash greydwarf nests, which drop seeds when destroyed. Three are placed on The Elder's altar.

Why do greydwarfs throw rocks at my base? A greydwarf that cannot reach its target throws stones at whatever is nearest, including crops, saplings and walls. A fence, a ditch or building away from the forest's edge keeps them off.

Do greydwarfs respawn? Yes. They spawn continuously across the Black Forest, twice as many at night, and a nest keeps refilling itself every twelve seconds until it is destroyed.

Sources

• Greydwarf, Greydwarf Brute, Greydwarf Shaman and Greyling, Valheim Wiki (weirdgloop)
• Greydwarf Nest, Aggressive creature strategies and Events, Valheim Wiki
• Greydwarf Eye, Ancient Seed, Portal and Heart of the Forest, Valheim Wiki
• Greydwarf, Valheim Wiki (Fandom)
• Valheim 1.0 Has Arrived! and Hotfix 1.0.10 & 1.0.12, Iron Gate Studio on Steam
• Development Blog: Venturing Forth, Iron Gate Studio on Steam, Mar 27, 2025
• Deep North creatures, Game8
• How to get Ice and Liquid Frost in Valheim, Game Rant
• Everything I saw on my trip to Valheim's final biome, PC Gamer
• Press, Iron Gate Studio (Black Forest press image)
• Everything YOU Need to Know About Valheims Black Forest! and Ultimate Guide to Creatures Strengths and Weaknesses in Valheim, SnazzyGames (video)
• 20+ Need to Know Valheim Tips for the Black Forest, Samo (video)
• Everything About RAIDS in Valheim!, Embr (video)
• Ultimate Deep North Guide - EVERYTHING NEW!, EmmaTpotato (video)