Meadows

The Meadows is where every Valheim run begins, and it is the only biome that forgives mistakes. Gentle green grassland, mild enemies, and the materials for your first tier of gear. The job here is simple to state and easy to underrate: build a real base, learn to fight, and beat Eikthyr so you can mine copper. Most early deaths come from leaving the Meadows before you are ready, not from the Meadows itself.

What lives here

The threats are mild by design. Greylings and the occasional edge-wandering Greydwarf, Necks down by the water, Boars, and Deer. Boars give leather scraps and meat and are your first taming target. Deer give hide and, importantly, the two Deer Trophies you need to summon Eikthyr. None of this will kill a careful player, which is exactly why the Meadows is the place to practice blocking and parrying before the Black Forest introduces Trolls.

What you gather

Everything you need for the first tier is on the surface. Wood from Beech and Birch, Stone off the ground, and Flint along the shoreline, which is the key one: Flint makes the first real axe, spear, knife, and arrows, all a clear step above wood. Round it out with Raspberries, Mushrooms, and Dandelions for early food, Boar meat and leather, and Deer hide. Fine Wood comes from Birch and Oak, but those need a bronze axe, so they are a reason to come back after the Black Forest.

Your first base

Build before nightfall on day one. The essentials are a Workbench (sheltered under a roof, with a campfire nearby for comfort), a bed to set your spawn and skip the night, a fire with a smoke hole so it does not choke you, and a few chests. Site it near water for fishing and boat access later, and on flat or easily flattened ground.

Never fight Eikthyr, or anything, without three fresh foods and the Rested buff. Stand near a fire with a little furniture to earn Rested, eat your three best foods, then go. This single habit prevents most boss-fight corpse runs.

Once you have iron later, raised earth walls from the Hoe are the cheapest and strongest defense against raids, but in the Meadows a simple wood perimeter is plenty.

Beating Eikthyr

Eikthyr is a lightning stag and the first Forsaken boss. Summon it at a red Mystical Altar by offering 2 Deer Trophies. The fight is a melee tutorial: it charges, does a ranged lightning attack, and a stomp. Keep moving, punish after its attacks, and use the terrain. A Flint spear or a Stagbreaker works well, and learning to parry here pays off for the entire game.

Killing Eikthyr drops the Hard Antler, which you use to craft the Antler Pickaxe. That pickaxe is the gate to the next tier: it is the only way to mine the copper waiting in the Black Forest. Hang the Eikthyr trophy on the Sacrificial Stones at the world spawn to unlock its Forsaken Power: a 60 percent reduction in stamina drain from running and jumping, the best traversal power in the early game.

When to leave

You are ready for the Black Forest when you have a flint weapon, a bow with flint arrows, a stocked base with a bed, and the Antler Pickaxe in hand. Do not rush it. The Black Forest is close to spawn and much more dangerous, and a Troll will end an under-equipped Viking fast. The Meadows gave you the tools and the habits; the next biome is where they get tested.

Next: the Black Forest deep guide (copper, Trolls, and the Swamp Key) is coming as the section fills out. For the whole run on one page, see the full-run progression cheatsheet.