Mistlands

0:00 Animated trailer

0:17 The Mistlands is the sixth biome of Valheim, entered after Yagluth falls in the Plains. It lies far from the center of the map, announced from the sea by dark, jutting rock and a wall of fog; inside, visibility drops to almost nothing until the player carries a light that pushes the mist back. The biome arrived with the Mistlands Update (patch 0.212.7) on Dec 6, 2022 and brought the game's magic system, the Dvergr, the Infested Mines and the boss The Queen. Its mist remained divisive up to the Valheim 1.0 Release, which widened every mist-clearing tool.

Quick facts

Landscape and mist

2:51 The terrain is jagged and vertical: valleys, ravines and plateaus broken by gargantuan black crags, with a coast of sheer cliffs and rocky sandbars (Mistlands, Valheim Wiki). Below the peaks everything lies under a perpetual mist that thins at altitude. Yggdrasil shoots grow between the rocks, glowing ancient roots break the ground, and the black-marble skeletons of giants lie half-buried on the slopes. Because the biome only generates in unexplored areas, Iron Gate recommended starting a new world for the update (Patch 0.212.7 notes).

0:38 Dealing with the mist is the biome's first task. Yagluth drops three Torn Spirits; one of them plus ten stone builds a Wisp Fountain at a Stonecutter. At night, or in rain, the fountain attracts glowing blue Wisps, collected before dawn scatters them. One Wisp and one Silver then craft the Wisplight, an accessory that hovers over the player and clears the mist around them; it shares its slot with the Megingjord and the Wishbone (Wisplight, Valheim Wiki). Stationary Wisp Torches (one Yggdrasil wood, one Wisp) never burn out, so a patient player can clear a whole valley, and the Mistwalker sword clears a small area around its wielder. Before 1.0 the ranges were 12 m for the torch, 10 m for the Wisplight and 5 m for the sword (Wisp torch, Mistwalker).

Creatures

2:57 The biome is patrolled by insectoids. Seekers (200 HP) fly, resist all physical damage and are immune to spirit; Seeker Soldiers (1,500 HP) cannot fly but hit hard with a ground-slam that also breaks rock, and take extra damage on the abdomen. Both drop Carapace and Seeker meat, and Soldiers can drop a Mandible. Ticks (50 HP) latch onto the player and drain health with rapid pierce damage, dropping Blood clots; Hares are passive and hunted for meat and Scale hide (Seeker, Seeker soldier, Tick, Valheim Wiki). The full roster is on Mistlands Creatures.

5:26 The Gjall is the biome's flying terror: a blimp-like creature with 1,500 HP, usually heard before it is seen, that spits fire every few seconds and drops eggs that hatch into Ticks. Its underbelly is a weak spot and it is vulnerable to pierce, so bows and the Arbalest are the tools of choice. It always drops a Bilebag, which unlocks the Bile bomb and the Jotun Bane axe (Gjall, Valheim Wiki).

The Dvergr

2:21 The Dvergr are Valheim's first neutral people: short, blue-skinned, white-bearded folk who man guard towers, lighthouses, harbors and excavation sites built from black marble, copper and wood. Haldor and Hildir belong to the same race. They ignore the player and will even fight Seekers on the player's behalf, but if anything inside one of their magical Wards is damaged, every Dvergr in range turns hostile at once. Rogues fire crossbows; Mages come in frost, fire and support (healing) varieties (Dvergr, Valheim Wiki).

The reason to provoke them is the Dvergr component crate in inhabited settlements, which yields the Dvergr extractor: the one uncraftable part of the Sap Extractor, and one that cannot pass through a wooden portal. Placed on an ancient root, the Sap Extractor pulls one Sap every sixty seconds up to a store of ten until the root dries out and must recharge (Sap extractor, Dvergr extractor). Killed Dvergr drop coins, black marble, soft tissue and blue jute.

Infested Mines and the Sealbreaker

6:16 The Infested Mines are the biome's dungeons, entered from the basement of a ruined black-marble tower or a great staircase cut into a cliff. Rooms of Seekers, Soldiers, Ticks and Seeker Broods are separated by wooden barricades and hidden doors marked with blue runes. The mines hold what progression needs: Black cores in treasure rooms behind false walls, Royal jelly from floor piles and Broods, Sealbreaker fragments sealed in crystals, and the Queen's location runestone (Infested Mine, Valheim Wiki).

Nine fragments combine at the Galdr Table into the Sealbreaker, the reusable key to the Infested Citadel where the Queen lives (Sealbreaker, Valheim Wiki).

Materials and crafting

4:35 Black marble is mined from the giant remains with a Black metal pickaxe or taken from Dvergr structures with a Stonecutter. It is the biome's crafting material, a building stone in blocks, arches, columns and stairs, and the only material the Eitr Refinery's discharges cannot damage (Black marble, Valheim Wiki). Inside the giants' skulls lies Soft tissue, the second ingredient of refined eitr, and Yggdrasil wood comes from the shoots. See Materials and Resources and Building and Structural Integrity.

Recipes per the Valheim Wiki (linked under Sources); fifteen Black cores build all three. See Crafting Stations and Upgrades, Weapons and Shields, Bows, Crossbows and Arrows and Armor and Capes.

Eitr and magic

4:02 Eitr is the substance of magic, a third bar beside health and stamina. The Eitr Refinery takes Sap as fuel at the bottom and Soft tissue at the top and, after a slow animated process, drops Refined eitr from its base. While it works it emits discharges that deal lightning and poison damage to anything nearby, which is why players case it in black marble (Eitr refinery, Valheim Wiki).

A player's eitr bar only exists while they have eaten eitr food: Yggdrasil porridge, Stuffed mushrooms, raw Magecaps or the Minor eitr mead (Food and Cooking, Mead and Potions). Magecaps and Jotun puffs, the biome's two mushrooms, can be farmed at home, and the Eitr-weave robe, trousers and hood raise eitr regeneration.

8:03 The four launch staves split across two new skills: Elemental Magic for the Staff of Embers (fireballs) and Staff of Frost (ice shards), Blood Magic for the Staff of Protection, whose shield bubble costs health, and the Dead Raiser, which summons a skeleton. See Magic and Staves and Skills.

The Queen

2:41 The Queen is the only boss who does not have to be summoned. Once the Sealbreaker opens the Infested Citadel she is already alive and roaming its four floors; only the covered entrance is safe from her, and the citadel's height makes the Feather cape all but mandatory (Infested Citadel, Valheim Wiki).

6:26 She has 12,500 HP, takes half damage from pierce and is immune to spirit. Her attacks are sweeps and bites, a poisonous spew that spawns Seeker Broods where it lands, a call that summons more Seekers and, from about 60 percent health, a charging slash. Later fights are started with three Seeker Soldier trophies at the Hive seat; she drops her trophy and five Majestic carapace (The Queen, Valheim Wiki). Her Forsaken Power doubles eitr regeneration (Forsaken Powers); the fight is detailed on The Queen.

Changes at 1.0

2:50 The 1.0 patch notes of Sep 9, 2026 increased the mist-removal range of the Wisplight, Wisp Torch and Mistwalker, gave mist removal to every Mistlands weapon, and raised the durability of Mistlands and Ashlands gear (Valheim 1.0 Has Arrived!, Steam; KeenGamer). A Hook found in Mistlands chests now unlocks the Grappling Hook (Yggdrasil wood, Refined eitr, Mandible), the intended way up the biome's cliffs and later into the Deep North; the second of Haldor's pocket upgrades unlocks once the Queen is dead; and Black Marble Battle and Protection Idols from Mistlands chests are the biome's tier at the Forge of Potential (Game8). The full list is on Deep North Update (1.0 Patch Notes).

Reception

9:04 The mist was the update's most contested feature. In Iron Gate's 2024 "Making the Ashlands" video the developers said they had heard "a lot of feedback" about it and promised the next biome would not "lock you in visibility". Reviews of 1.0 still single the biome out: PCGamesN's 8/10 review called it the game's most frustrating stretch, since even with the Wisplight "you only get a tiny radius" (PCGamesN), and IGN's 10/10 review named the "bug-infested" Mistlands its least favorite biome (4:18 IGN, 4:18). See Reception and Sales.

Frequently asked questions

How do you get rid of the mist in the Mistlands? With wisps. Yagluth drops three Torn Spirits; one of them and ten stone build a Wisp Fountain, which attracts wisps at night or in rain, and one wisp with one silver makes the Wisplight. Stationary Wisp Torches clear a valley permanently, the Mistwalker sword clears a small area, and the 1.0 patch widened all three ranges and gave mist removal to every Mistlands weapon.

When should you go to the Mistlands? After Yagluth dies in the Plains. Because the biome only generates in unexplored areas, Iron Gate recommended starting a new world for the update.

How do you reach the Queen? Nine Sealbreaker fragments, sealed in crystals in the Infested Mines, combine at the Galdr Table into the Sealbreaker, the reusable key to the Infested Citadel. She is the only boss who does not have to be summoned: once the citadel is open she is already alive and roaming its four floors.

Are the Dvergr hostile? No. They ignore the player and will even fight Seekers on the player's behalf, but if anything inside one of their magical Wards is damaged, every Dvergr in range turns hostile at once.

What is eitr? The substance of magic, a third bar beside health and stamina. The Eitr Refinery makes Refined eitr from Sap and Soft tissue, and a player's eitr bar only exists while they have eaten eitr food such as Yggdrasil porridge or raw Magecaps.

Sources

• Mistlands, Wisplight, Wisp torch, Wisp fountain, Torn spirit, Mistwalker, Seeker, Seeker soldier, Gjall, Tick, Hare, Dvergr, Dvergr extractor, Sap extractor, Infested Mine, Infested Citadel, Sealbreaker, Black marble, Black forge, Galdr table, Eitr refinery, Eitr, The Queen – Valheim Wiki (weirdgloop)
• Patch 0.212.7 – Mistlands! – Iron Gate Studio, Steam news, Dec 6, 2022
• Valheim 1.0 Has Arrived! – Iron Gate Studio, Steam news, Sep 9, 2026
• Valheim's Mistlands update is live with new magic, weapons, allies, and enemies – Massively Overpowered, Dec 6, 2022
• Valheim Mistlands Patch 0.212.7 – All Details Listed – Prima Games
• Valheim 1.0 Patch Notes: Deep North, Weapons, Armor & More – KeenGamer, September 2026
• Valheim Battle Idols and Protection Idols – Game8, September 2026
• Valheim 1.0 review – PCGamesN, September 2026
• Valheim Review – IGN, Sep 8, 2026
• Valheim Boss Checklist – Physgun
• Valheim – Wikipedia
• Valheim press page – Iron Gate Studio (Mistlands screenshots)