Valheim
A survival sandbox where you kill the forsaken bosses biome by biome. Eight tiers, one clean progression spine, and a brutal sea crossing or two.
Boss order
Eikthyr -> The Elder -> Bonemass -> Moder -> Yagluth -> The Queen -> Fader -> Final boss (1.0)
Full 1.0 and the Deep North biome land September 9, 2026.
Progression at a glance
| # | Biome | Metal / material | Boss | Unlocks next tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meadows | Wood, Flint, Leather | Eikthyr | Hard Antler to Antler Pickaxe (mine copper) |
| 2 | Black Forest | Bronze (Copper + Tin) | The Elder | Swamp Key (opens Sunken Crypts) |
| 3 | Swamp | Iron | Bonemass | Wishbone (finds silver and buried treasure) |
| 4 | Mountains | Silver | Moder | Dragon Tear (builds the Artisan Table) |
| 5 | Plains | Black Metal, Flax, Barley | Yagluth | Elemental resist power, late crafting |
| 6 | Mistlands | Black Cores, Eitr (magic) | The Queen | Magic tier, the Black Forge |
| 7 | Ashlands | Flametal | Fader | Highest current armor and weapons |
| 8 | Deep North | Coming in 1.0 | Final boss (1.0) | Game completion |
Top tips
- Never fight a boss without three fresh foods and the Rested buff. It is the difference between a win and a corpse run.
- Learn to parry early. A timed block staggers the enemy and trivializes Trolls and most bosses.
- You cannot portal metal or ore. Sail it home and smelt at base; portal everything else.
- Raise earth walls with the Hoe. It is the cheapest, strongest base defense against raids.
- Do not enter the Swamp without poison resist mead and a mace, the Mountains without frost resist, or the Plains until you can survive a Deathsquito hit.
- Find Haldor the trader in the Black Forest early for the Megingjord belt and other staples.
- Food is your only stat lever. There is no base HP or stamina to level; everything comes from what you eat.
- Keep a stocked portal hub at base, one tagged portal per biome outpost.
Guides
builds
- Mage Build (Eitr) quick
The caster build. Comes online in the Mistlands once you have Eitr. Staffs for damage and support, Eitr-weave gear, and mushroom food for mana.
- Melee Build (Block and Tank) quick
The default Valheim frontline: timed parry, heavy armor, mace for skeletons and Bonemass, swords and axes otherwise, high-HP food.
- Ranged Build (Bow) quick
The kite-and-shoot build: match the arrow to the enemy, keep distance, run lighter armor with high stamina food for mobility.
progression
- Full-Run Progression Cheatsheet quick
The whole game on one page. Per biome: what to mine, what to craft, what to summon. Boss order, summon items, and the drop that unlocks the next tier.
biomes
- Meadows deep
The starting biome and the safest one. Where you build your first base, learn the core loop, and beat Eikthyr to unlock copper.
- Black Forest deep
The first real difficulty step. Copper and tin make bronze, Trolls test your parry, and The Elder hands you the key to the Swamp.
- Swamp deep
The classic difficulty wall. Iron from the crypts, poison from every direction, and Bonemass waiting at the end with a mace fight built just for you.
- Mountains deep
Snowy peaks that freeze you without frost resistance. Silver, wolves, and Dragon Eggs, with Moder the ice dragon at the summit.
- Plains deep
Golden grassland that kills the unprepared. Black metal, flax and barley, one-shot Deathsquitos, and Yagluth to close out the classic run.
- Mistlands deep
A dark biome drowned in mist where magic begins. Black cores, Eitr, Seekers in the fog, and The Queen at the end of an Infested Mine.
- Ashlands deep
The current endgame. A volcanic hellscape across a lava sea, flametal gear, Charred legions, and Fader as the toughest fight in the live game.
- Deep North deep
The eighth and final biome, an icy landscape arriving with the 1.0 launch on September 9, 2026. A preview of what is announced so far.
bosses
- Eikthyr deep
The first Forsaken boss, a lightning stag in the Meadows whose antler unlocks copper mining.
- The Elder deep
The Black Forest boss, an ancient treant whose Swamp Key opens the Sunken Crypts where iron is found.
- Bonemass deep
The Swamp boss, a hulking mass of bone and ooze that resists everything except blunt damage and drops the Wishbone.
- Moder deep
The Mountains boss, an ice dragon summoned with Dragon Eggs whose tear builds the Artisan Table.
- Yagluth deep
The Plains boss, a giant undead summoned with Fuling Totems whose power grants elemental resistance.
- The Queen deep
The Mistlands boss, summoned deep in an Infested Mine with the Sealbreaker and the Giant King's Hair.
- Fader deep
The Ashlands boss, a skeletal ash dragon summoned with Ashen Stones and the toughest fight in the live game.
systems
- Combat deep
How damage types, stamina, parrying, and weapon classes fit together, and why food and the parry decide most fights.
- Food and Stamina deep
Food is the single biggest power lever in Valheim, granting all of your health, stamina, and eitr through three stacked buffs.
- Building deep
Building runs on real structural physics: pieces need support, wood decays in the rain, and metal cannot pass through portals.
- Crafting and the Tech Tree deep
Every craft needs the right station nearby, and each station is gated behind a biome material, so the tech tree is the progression spine.
- Materials and Metals deep
A tour of the wood tiers, the metal ladder from bronze to flametal, and the support materials like coal, surtling cores, flax, and barley.
- Survival deep
The exposure, weight, swimming, day/night, and death-penalty rules that quietly decide most runs.
- Taming and Farming deep
How to tame and breed animals, grow crops in the right biomes, keep bees for honey, and fish for food.
- Sailing and Exploration deep
Boats, wind and tacking, Moder's tailwind, sharing the map, and finding the traders who sell the staples.
- Multiplayer and Servers deep
Co-op for up to ten, crossplay with 1.0, dedicated servers, how world and character files split, and raids.
- Skills deep
How skills level by use, the full list, what death costs you, and the one skill worth practicing on purpose.