Morgen

5:59 The Morgen is a hulking, rolling brute of the Ashlands biome in Valheim, a bloated body on long, bony limbs that most players first meet asleep, buried in the floor of a Putrid Hole, until it tears itself out of the ground to attack. It fills the role the Troll plays in the Black Forest: slow to turn but quick across open ground, with 1,600 health, resistance to every physical damage type and one weakness, lightning (Morgen, Valheim Wiki). Killing one is the only source of the Morgen Heart that the Flametal Breastplate needs, and of the Morgen Sinew that goes into much of the Ashlands' gear. It arrived with the Ashlands Update on May 14, 2024; the rest of the biome's bestiary is on Ashlands Creatures.

Quick facts

Where Morgen sleep

6:08 Most Morgen never wander. Every Putrid Hole, one of the small cave mouths ringed with bones along the Ashlands coast, holds exactly one, lying buried like a Swamp Abomination; it breaks out of its disguise only after a player has walked in, and it does not come back once killed (Putrid Hole, Valheim Wiki). The same one-time sleeper waits in the middle of some Ashlands ruins, and these buried Morgen can carry one or two stars. An awake Morgen can also roam the open biome by day or night, but only one at a time, never starred and very rarely; valheim.tools calls it the same fight without the courtesy of a sleeping start (valheim.tools). The 1.0 patch notes gave more creatures wake-up and sleep animations without naming which (Valheim 1.0 Has Arrived!).

3:34 A Putrid Hole is worth clearing for more than its guardian: it holds three or four Molten Cores on average and up to three stone chests, and one in four has the vegvisir that begins the hunt for Dyrnwyn. Once the Morgen is dead, Samo walls up the mouth, leaving a gap to jump through, and puts a portal inside as a checkpoint for sieging nearby Charred Fortresses.

Morgen attacks

0:12 The Morgen fights with its whole body. It lunges to bite for 160 pierce damage from up to seven meters away and swipes with its long arms in four patterns across a six-meter arc. Its signature move is the roll: it jumps, lands and tumbles to one side for 50 blunt damage in a three-meter circle, little threat in the open but punishing in the narrow passages of a Putrid Hole. Every attack also carries 100 chop and 100 pickaxe damage, so a Morgen fells trees and wrecks any building it rolls into. A fifth attack, a two-armed body slam for 160 blunt, is defined in the game's data but never lands; a missing animator transition means the Morgen only pauses as if about to use it (Valheim Wiki).

8:48 Its attacks are also friendly fire: Nilaus watched a Morgen's swings and rolls hit a Charred Twitcher that had joined the fight, and the wiki confirms that its blows damage allied creatures.

How to kill a Morgen

9:29 Every attack is clearly telegraphed, which makes the Morgen a parrying fight. Nilaus parries, strikes twice and stops, because a third swing leaves him short of stamina when the next attack comes, and he uses the rolls, when the Morgen tumbles out of reach, to recover. The wiki adds that a strong enough parry of a jump attack cancels the dash that follows, and heavy blows stagger it once it has taken 30% of its health.

0:50 Back To Basics Gaming recommends heavy armor, with the pierce-resistant Root Harnesk inside a Putrid Hole. On arrival from the Mistlands the best weapons are the Himminn Afl, the one earlier weapon with lightning damage, and the frost weapons Mistwalker and Frostner, whose slow helps; later the Iolite-infused versions of the Flametal weapons take over (Weapons and Shields).

2:15 Position matters as much as gear. The Morgen seems vulnerable while climbing out of the ground and turns slowly, so a player who stays behind or beside it is rarely hit. For archers the Spinesnap is the early choice and the lightning Storm Fang the later one, with frost arrows to slow it (Bows, Crossbows and Arrows). The wiki warns that a two-star Morgen, with 4,800 health and double damage, breaks through even a maxed block unless the player's Blocking skill is very high; see Parrying and Blocking.

Morgen Heart and Morgen Sinew

2:55 A dead Morgen always drops sinew (one at no star, two at one star, four at two stars; Physgun's reading of the 1.0 files gives one or two) and has an 80% chance of a Morgen Heart at no star, rising to two and four hearts for starred Morgen, plus a 5% chance of its trophy (Physgun). Both materials weigh 0.5, stack to 50 and can go through portals (Portals).

Recipes are from the Valheim Wiki. One heart covers the breastplate for good, since its upgrades need none, but sinew runs short: taking the Slayer to quality 4 costs 21. Because the buried Morgen never respawn, Game8 treats their drops as limited, and a two-star sleeper is the richest kill (Game8). The Gem Cutter is the Black Forge extension that gem-infused weapons require (Crafting Stations and Upgrades; Armor and Capes).

History

Iron Gate first showed the Morgen as concept art in January 2023, when it described the future Ashlands as "a land of the dead" with a volcanic nature (Development Blog: Quests and Concepts). It entered the public-test branch with patch 0.218.9 on Apr 22, 2024, alongside Morgen Heart, Morgen Sinew and the Putrid Hole, and went live with 0.218.15 on May 14. The Valheim 1.0 Release of Sep 9, 2026 reduced the chance of several Ashlands enemies spawning together but listed no change to the Morgen itself (Deep North Update (1.0 Patch Notes)).

Frequently asked questions

Where do you find a Morgen in Valheim? In the Ashlands, mostly asleep inside Putrid Holes, the bone-ringed cave mouths near the coast, and buried in the middle of some ruins. An awake Morgen can roam the open biome, but it is very rare.

What is the Morgen weak to? Lightning, which deals 1.5 times damage. It takes half damage from blunt, slash, pierce and fire, so lightning weapons are best, and frost weapons help by slowing it.

Do Morgen respawn? The buried Morgen in Putrid Holes and ruins spawn once and never return. The rare awake Morgen of the open Ashlands can spawn again, one at a time.

What is the Morgen Heart used for? Only the Flametal Breastplate, the chest piece of the heavy Ashlands armor. Morgen Sinew has more uses, including the Gem Cutter and the Asksvin Saddle.

Can you parry a Morgen? Yes. Its bite, swipes and jump impacts can all be parried, then answered with two strikes, though a two-star Morgen can break a block.

Sources

• Morgen, Putrid Hole, Morgen Heart, Morgen Sinew, Flametal Armor, Gem Cutter, Slayer and Ripper, Valheim Wiki
• Morgen: health, drops and weaknesses, Physgun
• Morgen: location, drops and how to fight it, Valheim.tools
• How to Farm Morgen Heart, Game8
• Development Blog: Quests and Concepts, Iron Gate Studio on Steam, Jan 16, 2023
• 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
• Morgen Valheim Ashlands Complete Breakdown, Back To Basics Gaming (video)
• BEST Weapon For Each Ashlands Creature - Ultimate Creature Guide, SnazzyGames (video)
• How To SOLO All Enemies in ASHLANDS, Nilaus (video)
• Easy Fortress Siege Guide, Samo (video)