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Valheim is Iron Gate Studio's Viking survival game, which left Steam early access with its 1.0 release on Sep 9, 2026. This viki documents all of it: nine biomes, eight bosses, crafting, building, sailing, multiplayer and every major update, and every key paragraph plays the moment on YouTube that shows it.
Every page (149)
Biomes
- Ashlands
The Ashlands is Valheim's eighth biome, a lava-scarred crescent of land at the southern edge of the world, added in May 2024. It is home to the Charred, their besiegeable fortresses, the Flametal metal, gem-augmented weapons and the seventh boss, Fader.
- Black Forest
The second biome of Valheim: dark pine forests where copper and tin start the Bronze Age, Burial Chambers hold Surtling Cores, trolls and bears roam, Haldor trades, and the Elder waits at his altar.
- Deep North
The Deep North is Valheim's ninth and final biome, a frozen land beyond the Ocean added by the 1.0 release on Sep 9, 2026. Snowstorms, deep snow and cracking ice guard two dungeons, the Jotun Invasion loop and the Aesir Passage that leads to the last boss.
- Meadows
The green starting biome of Valheim, home to the Sacrificial Stones, Eikthyr's altar, wood, flint, berries, deer and boar, and since 1.0 the Rocky Birch Meadows edge variant.
- Mistlands
The sixth biome of Valheim, added in December 2022: a fog-bound land of black crags, Dvergr outposts and insectoid Seekers where the player unlocks magic, black marble and the boss fight against the Queen.
- Mountain
The fourth biome of Valheim, a snowbound highland where the Freezing effect drains health, wolves and drakes hunt the slopes, silver lies buried under the snow, Frost Caves hide a wolf cult, Moder waits at her altar, and the 1.0 Forge of Potential spawns nowhere else.
- Ocean
The Ocean is the sea that separates every other biome of Valheim. It holds Serpents, island-sized Leviathans and deep-water fish, turns boiling around the Ashlands and frozen at the Deep North, and was left unchanged by the 1.0 release.
- Plains
The fifth biome of Valheim, a wide, sunlit grassland ruled by Fuling tribes and their dead king Yagluth. Source of black metal, barley, flax and tar, home to lox, deathsquitos and Hildir's Sealed Towers.
- Swamp
The third biome of Valheim, a rain-soaked bog of ancient trees, draugr and poison. Its Sunken Crypts hold the scrap iron that carries a Viking into the Mountains, its boss is Bonemass, and since 2024 the Bog Witch trades from a hut in its depths.
Bosses
- Bonemass
The third Forsaken boss of Valheim, a 5,000-health mound of bones and slime summoned with ten Withered Bones in the Swamp. Weak to blunt and frost, immune to poison, it drops the Wishbone that finds silver and grants a Forsaken Power of physical resistance and free blocking.
- Eikthyr
The first Forsaken boss of Valheim, a lightning-wreathed stag summoned with two Deer Trophies in the Meadows. His Hard Antlers make the first pickaxe, and his trophy grants a 60 per cent stamina discount on running, jumping and, since Call to Arms, swimming.
- Fader
Fader is the seventh boss of Valheim, a charred, green-burning dragon summoned in the Ashlands with three Bells built from fortress Bell fragments. His power doubles adrenaline gain, and his relic now fuels the Deep North.
- Forsaken Powers
Forsaken Powers are the timed buffs unlocked by hanging a boss trophy at the Sacrificial Stones. One is active at a time, lasts five minutes on a shared twenty-minute cooldown, and since Call to Arms triggering one also builds adrenaline.
- Kall Fimbulbringer
Kall Fimbulbringer is the eighth and final boss of Valheim, a chained Jotun imprisoned beyond the Aesir Passage in the Deep North. Summoned with three Malicious Blood, he fights in three phases and drops the Crown Jewel and the Sacrificial Blood that ends the game.
- Moder
The fourth boss of Valheim, a black frost dragon summoned on a Mountain altar with three Dragon Eggs. She fights from the air and the ground, drops the Dragon Tears that unlock the Artisan Table, and her Forsaken Power gives sailors a permanent tailwind.
- The Elder
The second Forsaken boss of Valheim, a walking tree summoned with three Ancient Seeds at a Black Forest altar; 2,500 HP, weak to fire, and the source of the Swamp Key and a chopping-and-mining power.
- The Queen
The sixth boss of Valheim, a giant Seeker matriarch sealed inside the Infested Citadel of the Mistlands; opened with a Sealbreaker of nine fragments, she has 12,500 HP and her power doubles eitr regeneration.
- Yagluth
The fifth Forsaken boss of Valheim, a crowned Fuling skeleton in the Plains with 10,000 health, summoned with five Fuling Totems, who fights with meteors, a fire beam and a lightning nova and drops the Torn Spirit needed for the Mistlands.
Combat & Skills
- Combat
How fighting works in Valheim: stamina-based blocking, parrying and dodging, the stagger bar, weapon skills, the adrenaline and trinket system added by Call to Arms, and the slope-fighting fixes. Weapon stats live on Weapons and Shields.
- Damage Types
Valheim's damage types: blunt, slash and pierce; fire, frost, poison, spirit and lightning; chop, pickaxe and pure. How creature weaknesses and resistances multiply them, how burning and poison tick, and how armor, resistances and blocking cut what a Viking takes.
- Parrying and Blocking
Blocking in Valheim raises a shield or weapon so its block armor absorbs a hit; a parry, or Perfect Block, is a block timed within a quarter second of impact that multiplies block armor, costs no stamina and staggers the attacker. Formulas, the stagger limit, shields and tips.
- Skills
Valheim's skills rise from 0 to 100 through use, with no points to spend. Twenty-four of them cover weapons, movement, gathering, magic, cooking, farming and crafting; each level adds power or trims stamina, and death drains five per cent of every one.
Crafting & Building
- Armor and Capes
Valheim's armor from rags to the 1.0 Protector, Vanguard, Caller and Lox Fur sets: how armor reduces damage, every biome's sets and bonuses, the Bear and Vilebone sets, capes and frost resistance, the Crown of Valheim, and clothing that carries no armor.
- Bows, Crossbows and Arrows
Valheim's ranged weapons: six bow tiers from the Crude bow to the Ash Fang, the Arbalest and Ripper crossbows, arrows and bolts, bombs and siege ammunition, and the 1.0 Nord, Frostfire and Thunderblood bows and crossbows with their Bloodgold ammunition.
- Building and Structural Integrity
How building works in Valheim: the hammer and its 1.0 menu, snap points, the color-coded support system, the material tiers from wood to Timberwood, roofs and rain, snow that must be shoveled and that weighs on roofs, and the drawbridges among the 80+ pieces added by 1.0.
- Crafting Stations and Upgrades
Valheim's five crafting stations (Workbench, Forge, Artisan Table, Black Forge, Galdr Table), the extensions that raise their level, how gear is upgraded from quality 1 to 4, and the Frigid Kiln, Frost Foundry, Smith's Aprons, Smoker and Standing Loom added by 1.0.
- Farming and Taming
Growing crops with the Cultivator in the right biome, the Farming skill and Scythe, beehives and tree planting, and taming and breeding boars, wolves, lox, hens, asksvin and, since 1.0, moose fed on lingonberries.
- Fishing
How fishing works in Valheim: Haldor's rod and bait, trophy baits for twelve fish across the biomes up to the Deep North's Northern salmon, fish quality and raw fish, the Fishing skill and fishing hat, and the fish dishes that 1.0 added.
- Forge of Potential
A hidden upgrade station added in Valheim 1.0 that generates only in the Mountains, where Battle and Protection Idols gamble on raising weapons, tools and armor past quality 4, at the risk of destroying the item.
- Frost Foundry
The Frost Foundry is the Deep North crafting station of Valheim 1.0 that hardens casts into Nord weapons, shields, staves, armor and the Intricate Key, fueled by Liquid Frost that a Frigid Kiln makes from Ice; both stations cost 10 Frostcores.
- Furniture and Decoration
The furnishings of a Valheim base: comfort seats, tables, beds, rugs and banners, the chests from the wooden Chest to the 1.0 Wardrobe, torches and lanterns, item and armor stands for trophies, material stacks, the Deep North furniture and the 2026 garlands.
- Magic and Staves
How magic works in Valheim: Eitr and the foods that grant it, the Sap Extractor, Eitr Refinery and Galdr Table, the Elemental and Blood Magic staves of the Mistlands and Ashlands, gem crafting, and the four Deep North staves and Caller set added in 1.0.
- Materials and Resources
The non-metal raw materials of Valheim by biome: the seven woods, stone and its variants, hides and fibers, essences and the 30-plus Deep North materials added by 1.0, with where each is gathered and what it is for. Metals have their own page.
- Metals and Smelting
How Valheim's metals are mined and refined, from copper, tin and bronze through iron, silver, black metal and Flametal to 1.0's Bloodgold; the Charcoal Kiln, Smelter, Blast Furnace and Frost Foundry; and the rule that keeps ore out of wooden portals.
- Portals
Valheim's fast travel: the wooden Portal and its name tags, the rule that ore and metal cannot pass, the Ashlands Stone Portal that lifts it, the world modifier that changes it, the common portal strategies, and how players use portals in the Deep North.
- Tools
Valheim's gathering and building tools: axes and pickaxes from stone and antler to black metal, the Hammer, Hoe, Cultivator, Scythe, Fishing Rod and Wisplight, and the Snow Shovel, Grappling Hook and Ember Charges added by the 1.0 release.
- Weapons and Shields
Valheim's melee weapons and shields: the weapon classes and damage types, every tier from the Meadows to the Deep North, the Ashlands gem weapons, the Call to Arms fist weapons, battleaxes and wooden practice weapons, and the 1.0 Nord, Frostfire and Thunderblood lines.
Creatures
- Abomination
The Abomination is a walking tangle of roots in Valheim's Swamp that hides as a mossy stump: 800 health, three slams that also wreck buildings, weak to fire and immune to frost, poison and spirit. It drops five Root for the Root armor set and the Arbalest, plus Guck and a trophy.
- Ashlands Creatures
The creatures of Valheim's Ashlands, added in May 2024: the undead Charred and their spawners, Voltures, Lava Blobs, the tameable Asksvin, the rolling Morgen, the Fallen Valkyrie, the Bonemaw Serpent and the Skugg turrets, plus what 1.0 changed about how they spawn.
- Barka
The Barka is the frozen tree-creature of Valheim's Deep North, added in 1.0: 2,200 health, dormant until a player comes within 20 meters, resistant to almost everything but fire, and the only source of the Frozen Branch.
- Charred
The Charred are the burnt undead army of Valheim's Ashlands: Warriors, Marksmen, Twitchers and Warlocks, with health by star level, every attack, their spawners, the Charred Fortresses they hold, how to beat them, and the Charred Bones and skulls they leave.
- Deathsquito
The Deathsquito, the giant mosquito of Valheim's Plains: a 10-health insect whose 90-pierce sting can kill an unarmored Viking. How it attacks, how much each armor set lets through, how to kill it with bows, shields and spears, Anti-Sting mead, walls it cannot cross, and the Needle it drops.
- Deep North Creatures
The creatures added by Valheim 1.0 for the Deep North: hostile Barka, Elaking, Eyeless One, Gammeltroll, Fallen Warrior, Jotun Krigen and Hexen and the three Pulps; tameable Moose; passive Seals and the Writhan; with their drops and trophies.
- Drake
The Drake is a small, legless frost wyrm of Valheim's Mountain that circles above 100 meters and spits three 90-frost ice balls. Weak to fire and guarding Moder's Dragon Eggs, it drops the Freeze Gland behind Frost Arrows, Frostner and Eyescream, and the trophy for the Drake Helmet.
- Draugr
The Draugr and Draugr Elite, undead Viking warriors of Valheim's Swamp, Sunken Crypts and Meadows Draugr Villages: health by star level, axe, bow and sword attacks, body piles and spawn rules, drops such as Entrails and the Elite trophy for the Iron Sledge, and how to parry and clear them.
- Elaking
The Elaking is the small white-furred pack hunter of Valheim's Deep North, added in 1.0: 350 health, out at night on the surface and swarming from Wardrobe Shafts in the Winding Tunnels, and a source of the Mould for the Intricate Key.
- Eyeless One
The Eyeless One is the brute of Valheim's Winding Tunnels, added in 1.0: 1,400 health, asleep until a player comes close, armed with a poisoned claw and a six-shot sand cloud, and the best source of the Mould for the Intricate Key.
- Fallen Warrior
The Fallen Warrior is the ghostly Viking summoned at a Memorial Site in Valheim's Deep North with three Memorial Coal: 750 health, seven weapon variants, weak to spirit, and the only source of Frostfire and Thunderblood Essence.
- Fenring
The Fenring is the night-only werewolf of Valheim's Mountain: 300 health, an 85-slash claw and a 95-slash leap, weak to fire. This page also covers its Frost Cave kin, the four-legged Ulv and the fire-casting Cultist, and the Fenris armor and Flesh Rippers made from their lairs.
- Fuling
The Fulings of Valheim's Plains, the goblin people who worship Yagluth: Fuling warriors, Shamans and Berserkers with health, weapons and drops such as Black Metal Scrap and Fuling Totems, where they live, how to raid a village, the horde raid and 1.0's Jotun invasions.
- Gammeltroll
The Gammeltroll is the giant old troll of Valheim's Deep North, the largest creature in the game. It hurls logs and stomps, has 3,000 health, and turns to stone when killed; Ember Charges then blow the statue apart for Petrified Tissue, the ore of Bloodgold.
- Gjall
The Gjall is the floating, fire-spitting tick of Valheim's Mistlands: its health by star level, the spit, egg and shake attacks, the Ticks it drops, how to shoot it down through its egg-sac weak spot, its Bilebag drop and what Bile Bombs and the Jotun Bane need from it.
- Greydwarf
The Greydwarf family of Valheim's Black Forest (Greyling, Greydwarf, Greydwarf Brute and Greydwarf Shaman): health by star level, attacks, nests and spawn rules, drops such as Greydwarf Eyes and Ancient Seeds, how to kill and farm them, and the frost-covered greydwarfs of the Deep North.
- Haldor
The Dvergr trader of the Black Forest, who sells the Megingjord, Ymir flesh, fishing gear and eggs for coins, buys valuables, and since Valheim 1.0 sells the Wider Pockets and Deeper Pockets inventory upgrades.
- Hexen
Hexen are the flying Jotun witches of Valheim 1.0: 800 health, lightning spells, weak to fire, found in Mörkhalla and Jotun Invasions, and the source of Nornathread, the Caller armor moulds and finished Intricate Keys.
- Hildir
Haldor's sister and Valheim's second trader, camped in the Meadows since Hildir's Request (August 2023). Three stolen chests, guarded by the mini-bosses Brenna, Geirrhafa and Zil & Thungr, unlock her stock of dresses, tunics, hats and fireworks.
- Krigen
Krigen are the Jotun warriors of Valheim 1.0: 1,300 health, three weapon variants, found in Mörkhalla, in Jotun Invasions and on daytime patrols, and the only source of the Protector and Vanguard armor moulds.
- Lox
The Lox of Valheim's Plains, a 1,000-health shaggy grazer that tramples buildings flat: its attacks and weaknesses, drops (Lox Meat, Lox Pelt, trophy) and what they make, taming with Barley, Cloudberries or Flax, breeding, riding with the Lox Saddle, and the Lox Fur armor of 1.0.
- Meadows and Black Forest Creatures
The animals and monsters of Valheim's first two biomes (deer, boar, necks, greylings, the greydwarf family, skeletons, ghosts, trolls, and the Call to Arms bear Bjorn with its undead twin, the Vile) with stats, drops and weaknesses.
- Mistlands Creatures
The insectoid Seekers, Seeker Soldiers and Broods, the fire-spitting Gjall, blood-sucking Ticks, hunted Hares and the neutral Dvergr of the Mistlands, with the Infested Mines they haunt.
- Moose
The Moose is the Deep North's tameable, rideable animal, added in Valheim 1.0: 1,000 health, tamed with Lingonberries, ridden with a Moose Saddle from the Black Forge, and the source of Moose Meat, Hide and Sinew.
- Morgen
The Morgen is a bloated, long-limbed brute of Valheim's Ashlands that sleeps buried in Putrid Holes and ruins. It has 1,600 health, resists all physical damage, is weak only to lightning, and drops the Morgen Heart and Morgen Sinew used in Flametal armor and Ashlands gear.
- Mountain Creatures
The bestiary of Valheim's Mountain biome: wolf packs and night-only Fenrings on the slopes, ice-spitting Drakes, boulder-disguised Stone Golems, the bats, Ulvs and fire-throwing Cultists of the Frost Caves, and Geirrhafa, the ice Cultist mini-boss of Hildir's Howling Cavern.
- Plains Creatures
The inhabitants of Valheim's Plains: the goblin-like Fulings with their shamans and berserkers, the tameable lox, the one-sting deathsquito, the tar-spitting growths, and Zil and Thungr, the twin bosses of Hildir's Sealed Tower.
- Pulp
The Pulps are the three-stage slime of Valheim's Mörkhalla dungeon, added in 1.0: a Hexahedric Pulp cube that spawns poisonous Shapeless Pulps, which break into harmless Tiny Pulps, with Dead Pulp and the Pulp Trophy as drops.
- Seal
Seals are the passive animals of the Deep North's shores in Valheim 1.0: 400 health, no attacks, hunted for the Seal Pelt that makes Ember Charges and the Moose Saddle and the Seal Blubber used in Deep North cooking.
- Seeker
The Seeker is the insect hive of Valheim's Mistlands: flying Seekers, armored Seeker Soldiers and larval Broods, with health by star level, every attack, spawn rules, drops (Carapace, Seeker Meat, Royal Jelly, Mandible), tactics and their bond to the Queen.
- Serpent
The Serpent is the sea monster of Valheim's Ocean: 400 health and a 70-slash bite, rising only at night or in storms. Weak to frost, it is hunted from a ship with bows and the Abyssal Harpoon for meat, scales and a trophy. The Ashlands' Bonemaw Serpent is its bigger kin.
- Stone Golem
The Stone Golem is the rock giant of Valheim's high Mountain peaks: 800 health, 110-damage slams that also wreck buildings, immune to fire, frost, poison and spirit but very weak to pickaxes. It drops 8 to 11 Crystal for crystal walls, the Crystal Battleaxe and the Crystal Heart.
- Surtling
The Surtling is the small fire imp of Valheim's Swamp fire geysers: its fireball, its weakness to frost and water, how to kill it, its Coal and Surtling Core drops with rates, how to build a drowning farm at a geyser, and what the cores build.
- Swamp Creatures
The undead, slimes and spirits of Valheim's Swamp (Draugr and Draugr Elites, Blobs and Oozers, Leeches, Surtlings, Wraiths and Abominations) with their stats, weaknesses and drops, and how the biome's poison damage works.
- The Bog Witch
The Swamp's Greydwarf trader, added in patch 0.219.13 on Oct 29, 2024: her hut and its dome, her sweeping broom, the potion ingredients and feast spices she sells, and the Cooking and Farming skills her update introduced.
- Tick
The Tick is the blood-sucking parasite of Valheim's Mistlands: how it latches on and drains health, how to roll, parry or knock it off, where Ticks come from (Gjall eggs, giant remains, Infested Mines), its Blood Clot drop and what the clots make.
- Troll
The Troll of Valheim's Black Forest: health by star level, log and boulder attacks that chop trees and mine ore, the weak point in its head, how to kite, trap or sneak-kill one, Troll Hide and the Troll armor set, Troll Caves, the troll raid, and its aged northern kin.
- Wolf
The Wolf is Valheim's Mountain pack hunter: 80 health, fast 70-slash bites and starred packs at night. Tamed with raw meat and bred, it becomes a guard, and its pelts, fangs and meat make Wolf Armor, the Fang Spear, the Wolf Sight trinket and Mountain foods.
- Wraith
The Wraith is the flying night specter of Valheim's Swamp: when and where it spawns, its claw attack, its resistance to physical damage and weakness to fire and spirit, how to fight it at each gear level, and the Chain it always drops and what Chains build.
- Writhan
The Writhan is a rare undead creature of the Swamp added in Valheim 1.0: 400 health, a poisonous bite, an explosion when it dies, and the Writhan Roots that make the Shield of Roots, the Lox Fur Hood and the Birds' Nest and unlock the Crown of Roots.
Progression Guides
- Boss Order Guide
Valheim 1.0 has eight bosses, fought in this order: Eikthyr (Meadows), The Elder (Black Forest), Bonemass (Swamp), Moder (Mountain), Yagluth (Plains), The Queen (Mistlands), Fader (Ashlands) and Kall Fimbulbringer (Deep North). Each is found through a Vegvisir, summoned with items from its own biome, and drops what opens the next stage.
Starting Guides
- Base Building Guide
How to build a first base in Valheim 1.0: pick flat ground near the sea, place a Workbench (20-meter range) under a roof, keep the lowest pieces blue for structural integrity, vent the fire, put a bed and furniture in for Comfort and the Rested buff, and ring the base with walls, a moat and workbenches before the raids grow.
- Beginner's Guide
A new Viking's plan for Valheim 1.0: eat the berries and mushrooms at spawn, craft a Hammer, Stone Axe and Club, build a roofed Workbench, a Bed and a Campfire near Eikthyr's altar, kill Eikthyr for the Antler Pickaxe, then mine copper and tin in the Black Forest for bronze. With the order of early tasks and the mistakes that kill new players.
Items
- Black Marble
Black Marble is the Mistlands building stone of Valheim, mined from giant remains with a Black metal pickaxe or salvaged from Dvergr structures. Where to find it, fast ways to mine it, its fire-proof build pieces and every recipe that uses it.
- Bloodgold
Bloodgold is the metal of Valheim's Deep North, added in 1.0: smelted in a Blast Furnace from Petrified Tissue, which is blasted out of petrified Gammeltrolls with Ember Charges, and used in every Nord weapon, the Deep North armor and the Intricate Key.
- Crown of Valheim
The Crown of Valheim is the helmet crafted from the Crown Jewel that the final boss drops in Valheim 1.0: 50 armor, 5% movement speed, 20% less stamina use, and the Royalty effect, which stops every non-boss creature from attacking the wearer.
- Draugr Fang
The Draugr Fang is Valheim's Mountain-tier bow, made from 10 Ancient Bark, 20 Silver, 2 Deer Hide and 10 Guck at a level 2 Forge. It deals 47 to 56 pierce plus 5 to 20 poison per arrow, costs 10 stamina a second to draw and serves through the Plains.
- Dyrnwyn
Dyrnwyn is Valheim's legendary flaming sword from the Ashlands, forged at a Black Forge from three fragments hidden at the Mysterious Locations, the last taken from the miniboss Lord Reto. Only one can be made per world; it deals slash and fire damage and lights the way.
- Frostfire and Thunderblood Weapons
Frostfire and Thunderblood weapons are the elemental forms of the twelve Nord weapons in Valheim 1.0: a Nord weapon, 20 Bloodgold and one essence from a Fallen Warrior make a version with fire and frost damage, or one with lightning, chain lightning and a low-health bonus.
- Frostner
Frostner is a one-handed silver mace in Valheim that deals blunt, frost and spirit damage and slows what it hits. Made at a level 3 Forge from Silver, Ancient Bark, Ymir Flesh and Freeze Glands, it is the classic Bonemass weapon and stays useful into the Mistlands and Ashlands.
- Intricate Key
The Intricate Key opens the Gates of Mörkhalla in Valheim's Deep North and is used up by each gate. It is made from a mould found in the Winding Tunnels, 5 Bloodgold at a level 4 Black Forge and 5 Liquid Frost in a Frost Foundry, or dropped by Hexen.
- Megingjord
Megingjord is the belt sold by the trader Haldor in Valheim for 950 coins that raises carry weight by 150, from 300 to 450. Where to buy it, how it stacks with meads and Forsaken Powers, why it clashes with the Wishbone and Wisplight, and its Norse namesake.
- Obsidian
Obsidian is black volcanic glass mined with an Iron Pickaxe on Valheim's high Mountain slopes. Light and teleportable, it makes Obsidian, Poison and Frost Arrows and the Workbench's Tool Shelf, and since 1.0 a decorative Obsidian Pile.
- Porcupine
The Porcupine is a one-handed spiked mace in Valheim made from 5 Fine Wood, 20 Iron, 5 Deathsquito Needles and 10 Linen Thread at a level 4 Forge. It deals 50 blunt plus 45 to 63 pierce, is the only Plains weapon that needs no black metal and suits Fulings and lox.
- Snow Shovel
The Snow Shovel is the Valheim 1.0 tool that clears the Deep North's deep snow so that the ground can be built on: crafted at a level 3 Black Forge from 5 Fine Wood, 4 Flametal and 2 Embers, with a wide secondary sweep that also clears roofs.
- Surtling Core
The Surtling Core is Valheim's glowing fire-crafting material, found on stands in Black Forest Burial Chambers and dropped by Swamp Surtlings. It builds the Smelter, Charcoal Kiln, Portal and Blast Furnace, making it the key to the Bronze Age and to fast travel.
- Wishbone
The Wishbone, dropped by Bonemass in Valheim, is an accessory that chimes and glows green near buried silver veins in the Mountain, muddy scrap piles in the Swamp and graveyard treasure in the Meadows. How it works, what it finds and how to dig it up.
- Yggdrasil Wood
Yggdrasil wood is the Mistlands' wood in Valheim, chopped from Yggdrasil shoots with a Black Metal Axe. It builds the Black Forge, Galdr Table and Eitr Refinery, many Mistlands weapons, three staves, Dvergr build pieces, the Drakkar and, since 1.0, the Grappling Hook.
Locations & Dungeons
- Abandoned Villages
Abandoned Villages are the ghost-haunted timber settlements of Valheim's Deep North, added in 1.0: clusters of houses, granaries and towers around a Great Hall, with chests and barrels of moulds and the seeds for Oats, Kale and Poteitr.
- Burial Chambers
Burial Chambers are the stone crypt dungeons of Valheim's Black Forest: dark mazes of skeletons, ghosts and Rancid Remains that hold the Surtling Cores for the smelter, kiln and portals, and sometimes the Vegvisir to the Elder's altar.
- Charred Fortresses
Charred Fortresses are the walled strongholds of Valheim's Ashlands, twenty per world, each marked by a green beam and held by Charred Warlocks, Marksmen, Warriors and Skugg turrets. Players breach them with a Battering Ram or Catapult for Flametal, gems, Molten Cores and Fader's Bell fragments.
- Deep North Locations
The dungeons and landmarks of Valheim's Deep North, added in 1.0: the Winding Tunnels and Gates of Mörkhalla, the Abandoned Villages with their pantries and stave halls, Memorial Sites, Ice Ponds and the Aesir Passage, plus shipwrecks, timber ruins and petrified Gammeltrolls.
- Dvergr Outposts
The black-marble towers, lighthouses, harbors and excavation camps of the neutral Dvergr in Valheim's Mistlands: who guards them, the Ward rules that turn them hostile, the crate holding the Dvergr extractor, the loot, and how to claim one without a fight.
- Frost Caves
Frost Caves are the icicle-mouthed dungeons of Valheim's Mountain biome, deep ice caverns and wolf-cult lairs where bats, Ulvs and fire-breathing Cultists guard the Fenris hair, claws and red jute for the Fenris armor, plus coins, obsidian, crystal and a Vegvisir to Moder.
- Fuling Villages
Fuling Villages are the fortified goblin camps of Valheim's Plains, with watchtowers, bonfires, huts and fields of barley and flax, guarded by Fulings, shamans and berserkers. Raiding them yields black metal scrap, Fuling totems for Yagluth and the only barley and flax seed.
- Hildir's Dungeons
The three mini-boss locations of Valheim's Hildir's Request update, the Smouldering Tomb (Brenna), the Howling Cavern (Geirrhafa) and the Sealed Tower (Zil and Thungr): how to find them, how to beat them, their loot, and what Hildir's chests unlock.
- Infested Mines
Infested Mines are the dungeons of Valheim's Mistlands, abandoned Dvergr mines under black-marble ruins, overrun by Seekers, Seeker Soldiers, Broods and Ticks. They hold the Black Cores for Mistlands crafting stations, the Sealbreaker fragments that open the Queen's citadel, and Royal Jelly.
- Jotun Invasion
A Jotun Invasion is the permanent world event of Valheim 1.0 that begins when the Malicious Ice in a Mörkhalla is destroyed: a zone of snow, meteors, Krigen, Hexen and Elaking that lasts until its own Malicious Ice is broken for Malicious Blood.
- Mörkhalla
Mörkhalla is the main dungeon of Valheim's Deep North, added in 1.0: a ruined tower about 14 floors deep, opened with an Intricate Key, garrisoned by Krigen, Hexen and Pulps, with the Malicious Ice at the bottom that starts a Jotun Invasion.
- Runestones and Vegvisirs
Valheim's red-carved runestones, which hold the game's lore, creature hints and settlers' tales, and the glowing Vegvisirs that mark the nearest Forsaken altar on the map: where each boss's Vegvisir is found, how they work, and who wrote the stones.
- Sunken Crypts
Sunken Crypts are the stone dungeons of Valheim's Swamp, locked until the Elder's Swamp Key opens their iron gates. Inside, Draugr, Blobs and Body Piles guard muddy scrap piles and chests of scrap iron, the game's first iron, plus the Withered Bones and Vegvisir for Bonemass.
- Troll Caves
Troll Caves are small instanced caves in Valheim's Black Forest, a wide rock mouth with bone piles outside and one open cavern within, where a single troll may sleep beside stone chests, coins, gems and Yellow Mushrooms. Since 1.0 a look-alike Bear Cave hides a bear.
- Winding Tunnels
The Winding Tunnels are the first dungeon of Valheim's Deep North, added in 1.0: a root-choked maze under each village's Great Hall, home to Elaking and Eyeless Ones, and the source of Frostcores, weapon moulds and the Intricate Key mould.
Multiplayer
- Console Commands, Cheats and Mods
Valheim's developer console: enabling it, devcommands and debug mode, the commands people actually use, the ones added in 1.0, how cheating flags a save against achievements and the hotfix that undoes it, plus BepInEx, Thunderstore and Iron Gate's stance on mods.
- Cross-Play
How players on different platforms share a Valheim world: the crossplay patch of September 2022, join codes and the PlayFab backend, the platform line-up after 1.0, why characters and saves stay on their own system, and the settings that block it.
- Dedicated Servers
How a Valheim dedicated server works: the free Steam server tool and SteamCMD, the start_headless_server script and its arguments, ports and the crossplay relay, join codes, admin and ban lists, moving a world across, renting a host, and what 1.0 changed.
- World Modifiers
Valheim's difficulty sliders: the Casual, Easy, Hard, Hardcore, Immersive and Hammer presets, what combat, death penalty, resource rate, raids and portals actually change, the toggles, the hidden global keys, setting them on a dedicated server, and how they touch 1.0 achievements.
Overview
- Coffee Stain Publishing
Valheim's publisher: the label of Coffee Stain, the Skövde company behind Goat Simulator and Satisfactory, which owns 30% of Iron Gate, spent seven years inside Embracer and has traded on its own as Coffee Stain Group since December 2025.
- Development History
How Valheim went from Richard Svensson's 2017 side project "Fejd" through a record-breaking 2021 early-access launch, a torn-up roadmap, seven major updates and three console ports to its 1.0 release on Sep 9, 2026.
- Iron Gate Studio
Iron Gate Studio (Iron Gate AB) is the small Swedish developer of Valheim, founded in Skövde by Richard Svensson and Henrik Törnqvist. It grew from a solo prototype called Fejd into a sixteen-person studio, part-owned by Coffee Stain, that says there will be no Valheim 2.
- Lore and Setting
Valheim is the tenth world, cut loose from Yggdrasil by Odin as a prison for his deathless foes. Slain Vikings are carried there by Valkyries to slay the eight Forsaken, guided by the raven Hugin, and with 1.0 the story finally has an ending.
- Platforms and System Requirements
Where Valheim is sold and what it runs on: Steam, Microsoft Store, Mac App Store, Humble, Xbox, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2, with release dates, porting partners, PC/Mac/Linux requirements, download sizes, Steam Deck status and the 1.0 draw-distance setting.
- Reception and Sales
How critics and players received Valheim from its 2021 early-access debut to the 1.0 release of September 2026 and the month after: review scores, awards and nominations, sales milestones and Steam player-count records.
- Soundtrack
Patrik Jarlestam's score for Valheim: the 2021 soundtrack release, the biome, location and boss themes, and the music added with Mistlands, Ashlands and the 1.0 Deep North release.
- Valheim
Valheim is an open-world survival game for one to ten players, developed by Iron Gate Studio and published by Coffee Stain Publishing. It entered Steam early access in February 2021 and reached its full 1.0 release on Sep 9, 2026.
- Valheim 1.0 Release
Valheim left early access on Sep 9, 2026 with the Deep North biome, a final boss, an ending, a price rise to $29.99 and simultaneous PS5 and Switch 2 launches with full cross-play, drawing more than 300,000 concurrent Steam players on its first weekend and a Metacritic score of 89.
Progression & Survival
- Achievements
Valheim has 53 achievements, added with the 1.0 release on Sep 9, 2026: one per boss, challenge runs on hard difficulty, sixteen ways to die, and completion goals for cooking, crafting, building and hunting. Progress counts only from 1.0, and cheats lock it.
- Carry Weight
Carry weight is how much a Viking can hold in Valheim: 300 by default, +150 from the Megingjord belt, +250 from the Mead of Troll Endurance, +300 from Moder's power and +150 from Corpse Run, up to 1,150. Past the limit a player is Encumbered; carts, mounts and ships carry the rest.
- Death and Corpse Runs
Dying in Valheim drops everything into a tombstone and costs 5% of every skill. This page covers tombstones, respawning, No Skill Drain, the Corpse Run buff, the death-penalty world modifier and Casual preset, and how to get a body back from the Ashlands and Deep North.
- Eitr
Eitr is Valheim's purple magic resource, spent by every staff. A Viking has none until they eat an Eitr food; it refills at 2 to 4 points a second, faster with mage armor, Rested and The Queen's power, and is distinct from the Refined Eitr used to craft magic gear.
- Food and Cooking
How eating works in Valheim: three food slots that raise health, stamina and Eitr, the cooking station, cauldron, oven, food preparation table and Smoker, the Cooking skill, the Bog Witch's feasts and serving tray, and the twenty-plus foods the Deep North added at 1.0.
- Getting Started
A new Viking's first hours in Valheim 1.0: character and world creation, the Valkyrie flight to the Sacrificial Stones, Hugin's hints, the first tools, food and shelter, the corpse-run chest, and the settings worth changing on day one.
- Health
Health is Valheim's red bar: 25 points at base, raised only by food, restored every ten seconds by each food's healing value and faster when Rested, and worn down by damage that armor, resistances and blocking reduce. It also sizes the stagger bar.
- Mead and Potions
Valheim's 21 brewed drinks: the Mead Ketill and Fermenter that make them, the healing, stamina and eitr meads, the frost, poison and fire resistance meads each biome demands, and the eight Bog Witch potions added in 2024.
- Raids and Events
Raids are timed attacks on a player's base, drawn from a pool that grows and changes as bosses fall. This page covers how the 46-minute roll works, every raid from Eikthyr's boars to the Charred, the Bog Witch ghosts, the raid-frequency modifier and the permanent Jotun Invasions of 1.0.
- Rested, Comfort and Sleeping
How Valheim's Rested buff works, how fire, shelter and furniture build the Comfort level that sets its length, and how beds, spawn points and sleeping through the 30-minute day and night cycle fit together.
- Stamina
Stamina is the yellow bar in Valheim that sprinting, jumping, swimming, attacking, blocking and dodging spend. It starts at 50, rises only with food, refills at 6 to 12 points a second, and is stretched by Rested, meads, skills, gear and Forsaken Powers.
- Status Effects
Valheim's status effects are the timed buffs and debuffs shown at the top right of the screen: Rested, Resting, Shelter and Fire; Wet, Cold and Freezing; Burning, Poison, Frost and Smoked; Encumbered, Corpse Run and No Skill Drain; plus set bonuses, meads and 1.0's Royalty.
- Weather, Cold and Wet
How Valheim's weather attacks the player: rain and the Wet effect, Cold nights, the Freezing of the Mountain and Deep North, storms at sea, snowstorms that pile snow on roofs, slippery ice, and the boiling heat of the Ashlands, with every source of frost resistance.
- Wider and Deeper Pockets
Wider Pockets and Deeper Pockets are the two permanent inventory upgrades added in Valheim 1.0, sold by Haldor for 1,000 and 2,000 coins after Moder and The Queen are defeated; each adds a row of eight slots, taking the inventory from 32 to 48.
Travel
- Carts, Mounts and Vehicles
Moving goods and Vikings over land in Valheim: the Cart, riding tamed lox, asksvin and the 1.0 moose with saddles, the Ashlands battering ram and catapult, and the grappling hook added at 1.0 for cliffs and dungeon towers.
- Sailing and Ships
Valheim's four ships (Raft, Karve, Longship and Drakkar) with their recipes and stats, plus steering, wind and tacking, storms, rocks and Serpents, hauling ore, the boiling Ashlands sea and the ice of the Deep North.
- World Map, Generation and Seeds
How Valheim builds its worlds: a flat disc about 20 km across grown from a seed, biomes in rings around the center with the Ashlands in the south and the Deep North in the north, the map, markers and Vegvisirs, 1.0's alternate edge biomes, and why old worlds change only where no one has been.
Updates
- Ashlands Update
Patch 0.218.15, released on May 14, 2024 after three weeks of public testing, added the Ashlands biome, the boss Fader, besiegeable Charred fortresses, gem-infused Flametal weapons, the Drakkar ship and more than 70 build pieces.
- Call to Arms Update
Patch 0.221.4, live on Sep 9, 2025 after a Gamescom public test, reworked Valheim's combat with adrenaline, 13 trinkets, free perfect blocks, a Perfect Dodge Roll and rebalanced Forsaken Powers, and added the bear, the Vile, two armor sets and 18 weapons.
- Deep North Update (1.0 Patch Notes)
The patch that took Valheim to version 1.0 on Sep 9, 2026: the Deep North biome and final boss, 40+ weapons, four armor sets, 80+ build pieces, bigger pockets, achievements, the Forge of Potential, alternate biomes and chunked saves, plus the 2026 patches before it.
- Frost Caves Update
Patch 0.207.20 of Mar 1, 2022 added Frost Cave dungeons to the Mountains, with Ulvs, Cultists, bats and Fenris armor, plus full controller support, a single-player pause and Steam Deck optimization. It was what survived of the canceled Cult of the Wolf update.
- Hearth and Home Update
Valheim's first major update, patch 0.202.14 of Sep 16, 2021, split food into health and stamina meals, reworked blocking and weapons, and added Darkwood building, new cooking stations, Lox riding and tar pits, trailed by a Gamescom cinematic.
- Hildir's Request Update
Patch 0.217.14 of Aug 22, 2023 brought the trader Hildir and three mini-boss dungeons, world modifiers for difficulty, death penalty and portals, the barber station, two crafting extensions, quick-stack and manual snapping, and launched with the Trial of Tyr hard-mode contest.
- Mistlands Update
Patch 0.212.7 of Dec 6, 2022 filled in the Mistlands, Valheim's sixth biome, with magic powered by Eitr, the friendly Dvergr, Seekers and Gjall, the Infested Mines and the boss The Queen, plus a fishing overhaul, chickens and black marble, after nine months of work.
- Patches Since 1.0
Every Valheim patch since the 1.0 release of Sep 9, 2026, from hotfixes 1.0.10 and 1.0.12 to Patch 1.0.20 of Oct 15: what each one fixed or changed, how patches reach each platform, and what Iron Gate has said about the content still to come.
- The Bog Witch Update
Patch 0.219.13 of Oct 29, 2024 added the Bog Witch trader, eight shareable feasts, eight potions, the Cooking, Farming and Crafting skills, the Scythe and Serving Tray, two kitchen workstations, a ghost raid and crafting five items at once.