Mistlands

The Mistlands are the first biome that changes how you play. A dark, rocky landscape blanketed in thick mist that hides everything more than a few steps away, so you fight half-blind until you carry a Wisplight to push the fog back. This is the start of the modern endgame and the start of magic. Eitr powers a whole new mage tier here, the gear is a real jump, and The Queen at the bottom of an Infested Mine is the hardest boss the classic run has prepared you for.

What lives here

Seekers are the core enemy, insectoid and fast, with Seeker Soldiers that armor up and Seeker Broods that swarm. Gjall float overhead and drop bombs. Ticks latch on and drain you. Dvergr are neutral dwarves at their outposts who turn hostile if you provoke them, and their gear and structures are worth respecting rather than raiding blind. The terrain is as dangerous as the enemies: the Mistlands are steep and broken, and a fall in the mist you cannot see is its own way to die.

You cannot navigate the Mistlands without a Wisplight. Light a Wisp Fountain to get one, then keep it equipped to clear the mist around you. Without it you fight enemies you cannot see, on cliffs you cannot judge, and the biome becomes far deadlier than it needs to be.

What you gather

Black Cores power the magic and crafting stations, pulled from Infested Mines. Soft Tissue comes from giant petrified bones and feeds the Eitr Refinery and building. Carapace from Seekers makes the armor and weapons of this tier. Add Sap, Yggdrasil Wood, the Magecap and Jotun Puffs that cook into Eitr food, and the Sealbreaker fragments that assemble the boss summon. The Mistlands also introduce three new stations: the Black Forge for gear, the Galdr Table for staffs and Eitr gear, and the Eitr Refinery for Refined Eitr.

Magic and Eitr

Eitr is the mana resource, and the Mistlands make casting viable for the first time. Eitr-weave armor and staffs let you throw Fireball and Frostbolt, summon minions, shield, and heal, all fed by an Eitr pool that comes from Eitr food rather than regular meals. A mage build is a genuine alternative to pure melee from here on. Even a melee player benefits from a staff or two and a few Eitr foods in the rotation. Build the Galdr Table and Eitr Refinery, cook the mushroom dishes, and experiment before the boss.

Beating The Queen

The Queen is summoned inside an Infested Mine, not at an open altar. You assemble the Sealbreaker from 9 Sealbreaker fragments and add Giant King’s Hair, then use it at her seal deep in the mine. The fight happens in close quarters against a fast, hard-hitting boss with adds, so the arena management matters as much as your damage. Bring your best food across all three buffs, the Rested buff, and a loadout you are confident with, melee or mage.

Hang the Queen trophy on the Sacrificial Stones for her Forsaken Power: improved Eitr and mage regeneration, which is exactly what a caster wants heading into the Ashlands.

When to move on

You are ready for the Ashlands when you have Carapace gear, a working Eitr setup if you are leaning mage, the Black Forge running, and the best Mistlands food stocked. The Ashlands are the current endgame and the toughest content in the live game, reached by a punishing sea crossing into a volcanic hellscape. Do not sail south casually.

Related: the Queen boss guide, the Plains behind you, and the full-run progression cheatsheet.