A Mega Guide - Valheim

This guide will "guide" you to know about the game from start to finish, and anything in-between! This guide is also very Work in Progress, and will not ever be done, as long as they keep updating the game; but I plan to put MOSTLY everything you need to know in Valheim!

Halt in Development

Hi! This is just a short message explaining that..

I will be halting guide Development for some time

✧ | Introduction

Hi. So firstly let me just introduce Myself and the Guide. My name is MadMan. I'm 16 years old, and this is my first large scale guide. I've wanted to do one of these for a while, but just haven't gotten to it, so I just decided today "Yeah I'm going to write a guide for Valheim".

Now; most of you have probably played a TYPE of survival game. Even if it ranges from Minecraft, to Rust, to Ark, etc. They can be any game; but they all have the same concept; gather materials, make tools, a base, and just a good position for yourself. In Valheim, it's quite the same. You'll be wanting to gather resources, search the world, make Items and a Base; etc. Now some places where Valheim can differ from other games is; Valheim doesn't have a "night makes enemies worse or more dangerous" system like many other games do. You don't need to rush yourself. I would just do what you think is right, and settle down when you're ready to.

Now I will mention; yes this guide IS public, that's because I want to get it out there. No; it's nowhere near done. I don't plan on really ever finishing this, as long as the Developers continue the "progression" in the game, so keep this favorite!

✧ | Information

Do keep in mind that you could find some spoilers here so be advised.

I'll be adding more content as I discover new things in-game (I only have about 100 hours, and my friends have only about 400 each) If you are missing information or something is wrong in this guide let me know in the comments below, so I can fix that right away. We're all learning here.

So there's a "Walkthrough" part of the guide. That's for people to follow to go through the game. If you've finished the game before, or you're looking to speed run, this part is not for you. Anything marked in ✧ , is general knowledge, that anyone should use!


Also, if you could just Rate and Favorite, that'd be great, so we can get more Publicity on this.
If you enjoyed the guide, and think that it might've been helpful to you or could be helpful to others, feel free to help support me with Points. No need to feel like you should need to, but it's a way to help support future stuff

✧ | Valheim Lore

Primary Lore

Long ago, the allfather Odin united the worlds. He threw down his foes and cast them into the tenth world, then split the boughs that held their prison to the world-tree, and left it to drift unanchored, a place of exile...

For centuries, this world slumbered uneasily. But it did not die... As glacial ages passed, kingdoms rose and fell out of sight of the gods.

When Odin heard his enemies were growing once again in strength, he looked to Midgard and sent his Valkyries to scour the battlefields for the greatest of their warriors. Dead to the world, they would be born again...

In Valheim!

Character Lore

In order to prove your worth you have been sent to the 10th Norse world - Valheim. Only by surviving and fighting in a harsh environment with many mythical monsters and beasts will you prove your worth to the gods. For those who don't prove their worth though, the only place they will find is Hel - The underworld, where their soul will be tormented for centuries. Or maybe you will be one of the strong warriors who will prove their worth and earn the favor of the gods, then your place will be in Valhalla - a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, and by your side Odin.

1 | Walkthrough

Creating your Character

Starting off first, if you haven't already, you'll need to make a character. You can use the slider's on the left, as shown; to change the different attributes about your character. (Sex, Skin Tone, Hair, Beard, Hair Tone, and Blondness)
Now one thing to note.. these character attributes are fully personal preference, and they do not give you an Advantage nor a Disadvantage in game.

NOTE: Your character is cross-server-progression based. Meaning, if you for instance have an Axe from your server you played on, and then join a friend's server; you'll have that axe still. This can be good and bad. Good; because you start with an advantage, but bad because if you lose it in one, you lose it in all.

There is no limit to the number of characters you can make; however, they will always be sorted alphabetically, so be sure to remember that when making a new one.

Hugin

Once you've landed into your Valheim World, it's best to talk to Hugin First. Hugin is your game guide, your spiritual protector, your father- wait. No, not that one. He's a bird. Whenever you make progress in the game, that can be considered a "Landmark" or "Achievement" Hugin will appear and tell you all about it.

Now, if you've either already played the game, or don't want him, you can look up a tutorial to turn him off, but to be honest, I don't know why you're reading a beginners guide, if you don't need Hugin's help. Just sayin..

Your First Steps Once In

Well perfect; you loaded into a Server. You'll notice you're being carried by a Large Bird. Well one thing to note, if you press m, you can open your map, and notice that they are opening part of your map. This can come in handy by being able to now note if you're close to Water, Meadows, Black Forest, Swamp, etc etc.

Once you've landed, you'll first want to talk to Hugin, as mentioned before; and then you'll want to head over to the Lit Up Stone and you'll want to Register the Vegvisir so that you'll know where the first boss Eikthyr is. Now do note, we're not going to explain how to kill all of the bosses until LATER in the guide, so if that's what you need, then skip ahead!

Now, before leaving the starting area, you'll want to take a look behind the boss stones, to find some Food, Wood, or Rocks. It's free things, so I don't know why you wouldn't. Now on this note; we need to start collecting resources. The ones available right away are Wood and Stone. These will be vital, and will stay with you for the entire time you play the game. As you cannot chop trees yet without tools, you'll have to pick up wood from Branches on the Ground, or hitting SMALL trees. You can find rocks laying on the ground. Once you have the resources of 3 Wood and 2 Stone, I would make a Hammer First, as it means we can then build a campfire, workbench, and buildings. Now in my personal opinion, early game, Stone Axe is the best tool. Though some creatures (mentioned in another section) do damage differently according to Blunt, Sharp, etc; the Axe allows you to chop things down, and deal damage. The Stone Axe requires 5 Wood and 4 Stone.

Once you’ve crafted your basic equipment and thrown together some shelter, your next priority should be your empty stomach. Food in Valheim is a little different from other survival games. While you can’t starve to death, food is still critical for survival. Each different item will either provide you mostly health, mostly stamina, or an even amount of both.

For now, you won’t have access to Valheim’s delicacies, but you can get some nice meats and berries. Hunt some deer, boar, and necks in the meadows, and you’ll almost certainly stumble across some raspberry bushes along the way, and maybe some Blueberries if you accidentally touch the Black Forest. If you’re having trouble finding specific animals, I find a lot of necks near water, boars near hills, and deer in thick woods, hopefully you will too.

Before moving to the next stage of Valheim, you’ll need to do a fair bit of hunting. For that, I’d recommend making a crude bow as soon as you can. This will make it easier to hunt deer and in general, plus level up your bow skill, which will be helpful later. Once you have some food, hunt deer and boar until you have your crafting bench upgrades and some leather armor. You don’t have to be excessive, but some basic defense will be helpful. Now, it’s time to gear up for the first boss fight.

One thing to mention, don't be afraid of Greylings. They're so easy to kill, I'd be comfortable almost saying they're Passive. I've never died to one, and don't plan on ever doing so.

2 | Walkthrough

Beating your First Boss

Now you have a base of operations, some decent food, and entry-level equipment. You’ve outgrown your starting area, so it’s time to look further afield. It's time to become a real man (unless you're a woman), and step up and beat your first boss.

Eikthyr is the first boss you can summon in your starting biome, the Meadows. To summon Eikthyr, you'll need to place two deer trophies (from hunting deer) on Eikthyr's altar, which you've marked at the beginning of the game.

You can check the "Bosses" Chapter of this Guide, to get information on how to beat Eikthyr!

Now, after defeating Eikthyr, hang his trophy on the sacrificial stone at your starting point in the world, which will grant you the Eikthyr power, a buff to your stamina while running and jumping. This comes in handy throughout the game. Default, press f to activate it.

A New Adventure

With the first boss defeated, you will have a basic idea of the mechanics and gameplay loop of Valheim. Essentially, you will move to a new biome, establish a base, harvest materials, then defeat what amounts to an area boss.

You’ll likely have noticed that there are very few enemies in the meadows, none of which are especially threatening. The Black Forest is a bit of a step up. The enemies won’t cause you too many problems, but the Black Forest on the other hand; can be a bit of a step up. Prepare yourself. Once you get into the Black Forest you need to look for caves that have small entrances. I specify small because there are caves with big entrances, though I’d hesitate to go in them just yet if I were you. In them are a few enemies, skeletons usually, guarding a much-needed treasure – surtling cores. These cores are the most important item in the forest for now, as they are used to build charcoal kilns, smelters, and portals. The first two allow you to make use of the remaining treasures of the forest, namely tin and copper ore.

Neither ore is terribly difficult to find, though you’ll have to look in certain areas. Tin usually can be found along rivers and the shoreline, looking like a glistening stone. Copper is typically deeper in the forest, found in large deposits that take a fair bit of mining to get a good haul. Once you have at least 10 cores, some tin, and as much copper as you can carry, it’s time to head back to base.

Continuing your Game

You'll continue progressing through the game by following that Basic Mechanic of "Move to the Next Biome, Establish a New Base, Harvest Materials, make new Items, then Defeat the Boss, and move on".

But now, once back home with your stations made, it’s time to start making bronze. To do so, smelt the ores you collected, build a forge, then use it to meld your metals together. Bronze ingots are two parts copper, one part tin, so you should try to prioritize copper when taking trips out to the Black Forest. Once you have your first bronze ingot, congratulations! You have now entered the bronze age, your reward being a variety of new recipes available at the forge.

New weapons and armor can now be made, in addition to a few handy tools like the cultivator, which allows you to set up a farm. You can also make a cauldron with tin, which you need for advanced foods and mead bases.

With the means to create bronze at your fingertips, you’ll need to set off to acquire a good chunk of the stuff. Bronze is needed for a lot of equipment, upgrades, and most importantly, your first boat. That said, it can be quite a pain ferrying your ores from forest to base so often.

You may find yourself in this stage for days. Some people only defeat the first boss in two days, and some defeat the first boss in 50. It's your own pace, so don't rush. If this is your first time through, take time and enjoy it.

Establishing an Outpost

Transporting ores is one of the most frustrating parts of the game. By now, you’re probably sick of the journey to and fro your mining spots. You might have even noticed a particular attribute to ores and metals, namely the fact they can’t be teleported. While irritating, this is done to promote exploration and the creation of minor bases across the world of Valheim. So, it’s time for your first outpost.

Where you choose to build your outpost is largely up to you. You could prioritize proximity to ores, or opt for a spot near the sea or on the forest’s outskirts for ease of material transport. I prefer areas near the sea, as I do most of my transportation by boat, and generally find such areas more defensible. Once you have your outpost built, it’s time to gather that ore. Your business in the Black Forest is not over yet, like I mentioned before; so get workin!

Beating your Second Boss

You’ve forged your bronze equipment, built your new structures, maybe even explored the new foods available to you. Well done. Now it’s time for your second boss fight.

The Elder is Valheim's second boss. You can discover its location by interacting with rune stones in Burial Chambers found in the Black Forest.

Summon The Elder by using three Ancient Seeds. These can be found in drops from Greydwarf brutes and Greydwarf shamans, and by destroying Greydwarf nests. Burning three Ancient Seeds on The Elder's altar in the Black Forest will summon it.

Your fight against the first boss may have convinced you that Valheim’s bosses are no big deal, though such a misunderstanding will sting you, hard. Prepare well for this fight and craft a few fire arrows while you’re at it, they’re indispensable for the fight ahead.

Now, after defeating The Elder, hang his trophy on the sacrificial stone at your starting point in the world, which will grant you the Eikthyr power, a power that increases your Wood Cutting Speed. This comes in handy throughout the game. Default, press f to activate it.


Work in Progress. Will resume work 2023! (I have a life too you know)

✧ | Base Building

Valheim has a rich build menu, of which can be used to create impressive structures to satisfy the needs of any discerning warrior. Not only can players build Houses, Outposts, and other Buildings, but they can also be seen making Massive Bridges, Works of Art, Defenses from the Creatures of Valheim, and custom Tools for looks. (Often seen in Public Servers).

Credit to Letozeth for this Portion of the Guide. You can find the original Starter Home Guide here!

Easy Starter Home:

Foundation

First thing first, you'll need to place a foundation for your house. This is done by placing a single 1m Wood Pole in the ground, then using the 2m Wood Beam to space it out on top to the next pole location. You'll want a pole in each corner for structural integrity. This will be the floor space of your house, if you want a larger one, then extend this beyond what I've done here.

Campfire & Floor

The campfire is necessary to get the rested buff, which increases health & stamina regen greatly.
The better your shelter is (comfort level), the longer this buff will last. However, you do not need to place the campfire inside your house, and if you've tried this you've certainly noticed that it gets smoke filled rather quickly and you'll start taking damage.

To avoid this, simply place it outside with some roof above it pointing up instead of down, with a wall on each side to protect it from stormy weather. As long as the roof is pointed up instead of down, it will direct the smoke away from the building.

Pretty much just make a shed for your campfire. This will cover the entire building because of it's smaller size. To make a shed, you can do 3 Walls (Left, Right, Back), and a 45 Degree Roof. The back should be one of your House walls. And, while you're at it, fill that foundation in with Wood Floor 2x2, you'll need 6 in total.

Begin by adding a 2m Wood Pole in each corner on top of the foundation, then fill in the empty space with Wood Wall. Put "Wood Wall Half" where you'd like windows. Also put down a set of Wood Stairs to your entrance as the building is placed on a foundation off the ground.



Finish off the walls by adding another layer of "Wood Wall Half" on top of the walls.
If you want larger windows then don't put anything above those, if you want smaller windows, do as I did.



Lastly, don't add a Wood Door, it's well worth it to go for the slightly more expensive Wood Gate.
It looks better and is more comfortable to enter your home.

Furniture & Roof

Begin by moving in your workbench. Nothing will change if you destroy it. Build yourself a bed (functions as a re-spawn point in-case you die), place a chest in-front of the bed for storage and put down a torch for some mood lighting. Optionally you can also place another chest on a shelf above the first chest, by utilizing two 1x1 Wood Floor, if you're just such a big boy (or girl) and have so much stuff.

Now, as for the roof. It finishes off the building and turns it into a shelter to gain the improved resting buff. Having a roof above your workbench also provides additional crafting options.

Whether you use the 26 degree Tatch Roof or the 45 degree Tatch Roof is entirely up to you.
Personally I went with the 45 degree to give myself a bit more headroom. For a wider building it would be wise to go with 26 degree to avoid the roof getting too tall.

✧ | Bosses

Pictures of all of these Bosses come from the Valheim Wiki[valheim.fandom.com], so thank you to them for providing them!

Eikthyr

Biome: Meadows
Rewards:

• Hard antlers, used for crafting a pickaxe
  
• Eikthyr trophy
  
• Eikthyr power

Eikthyr is the first boss you can summon in your starting biome, the Meadows. He's an enormous stag with chains wrapped around his antlers. To summon Eikthyr, you'll need to place two deer trophies (from hunting deer) on Eikthyr's altar.

Strategy:
Despite Eikthyr's size, you can effectively block its attacks with a small wooden shield, so make sure you've crafted one. You can have a bow crafted to shoot it from a distance, but focus on blocking with your shield and striking it with a melee weapon like a flint spear or axe between its attacks. No need to chase him, conserve your stamina and let him come to you.

The Elder

Biome: The Black Forest
Rewards:

• Swamp Key, which unlocks crypts in the Swamp biome
  
• Elder Trophy
  
• Elder Power

The Elder is Valheim's second boss. You can discover its location by interacting with rune stones in Burial Chambers found in the Black Forest. Summon The Elder by using three Ancient Seeds. These can be found in drops from greydwarf brutes and greydwarf shamans, and by destroying Greydwarf nests. Burning three Ancient Seeds on The Elder's altar in the Black Forest will summon it.

Strategy:
With the pickaxe available after defeating Eikthyr, you should be doing a lot of mining and smelting before taking on The Elder. You'll want to be prepared with brass armor, a quality bow, lots of flame arrows, and healing potions if you've unlocked them. Fire damage is the best way to bring down The Elder, and it's going to take a lot of flaming arrows, possibly hundreds.

You can also try placing campfires in his summoning area, because he may step on them while chasing you and take extra burn damage. Once summoned, use the pillars in his summoning area to block incoming vine projectiles, and pop out to hit him with arrows. Relocate when he summons vines from the ground, and move out of their reach. Try to avoid kiting him too far into the woods, because you may aggro additional nearby greydwarf or troll enemies. You don't need that headache, so stay close to his altar during the battle.

Bonemass

Biome: Swamp
Rewards:

• Wishbone, used to find hidden treasure chests and silver ore
  
• Bonemass trophy
  
• Bonemass power

Bonemass is Valheim's third boss, and he can be found in the Swamp. To discover his location, interact with a runestone found in swamp crypts, which you can access with the swamp key you got from The Elder.

Swamp crypts will also contain withered bones. You'll need to find 10 withered bones to summon Bonemass at his altar.

Strategy:
Even though this is the third boss of five, it may actually be the toughest fight in the game. Bonemass is highly resistant to all forms of damage except up-close blunt attacks and frost arrows at range (though even those aren't particularly effective). You'll want to use iron armor and blunt weapons like maces and hammers (like Stagbreaker (opens in new tab)) against him, staying close enough to connect while avoiding his attacks. Bonemass also heals during a fight, so you need to keep up the assault constantly. Even if the frost arrows don't do much damage, they'll interrupt his healing.

With the toxic attack doing so much damage, you'll want to have plenty of poison resistance mead with you, so you should unlock the cauldron and fermenter long before you think about tackling this boss. Frost arrows require visiting the Mountains biome to gather the obsidian and freeze glands, so you'll also need frost resistance mead to survive the cold.

After defeating Bonemass, placing his trophy on the sacrificial stone will grant you a power that increases your resistance to physical damage.

Moder

Work in Progress

Yagluth

Work in Progress

✧ | Creatures

Passive Creatures

Passive Creatures are Creatures that Provide Resources when Killed/Harvested. They never Attack Players.

Name	Primary Spawn	Base HP	Notes
Crow	Black Forest	1	Flies away when approached
Deer	Meadows, Black Forest	10	Flees when approached
Fish	Ocean	0	You can pick them up when above water
Gull	Meadows, Black Forests, Plains	1	Flies away when approached
Leviathan	Oceans	???	40 HP per Abyssal Barnacle
Hare	Mistlands	???	Flees when approached
Chicken	Eggs	???	Only spawned by Hatching an Egg
Chicken	None	???	Replaces Chicken when it grows up <3

Aggressive Creatures

Aggressive Creatures are creatures who Attack Players when Alerted. They also drop loot when killed. Aggressive creatures can have stars representing their level. One-star creatures have double the health and deal 150% damage, while two-stars have triple the health and deal double damage.

Creature List will be made SOON! There are well over 40 different Aggressive Creatures, so the list will NOT have them all, but instead the most commonly seen.

Creature Damage Buffs

There's 3 types of damage in Valheim. Blunt, Pierce and Slash. Also we've got elemental types of damage as fire etc. But now we talking about melee weapon. Grey color of damage it means low effectiveness, resistance to this type of damage. White means normal effectiveness, and Yellow means weakness of your enemy to this type of damage.
Image Credits[valheim.fandom.com]

✧ | Biomes

Meadows

• Starting Area
  
• Full of Trees, Stone, Deer, Boars, and Raspberries
  
• Not very dangerous

Black Forest

• Probably the Second Area you Explore
  
• Full of Pine Trees, Stones, Mushrooms, Greydwarfs, Trolls, and Mining Deposits
  
• Somewhat Dangerous

Mountain Ranges

• Blizzards make you freeze and damage you over time
  
• You need to be close to a firepit, or you'll need to wear warm clothing
  
• Full of Wolves. They're not nice..
  
• You can find small drakes, werewolves, and an ice giant
  
• You can find Dragon Eggs here
  
• You can find Iron, Obsidian, and Silver

Swamps

• Full of Slimes, Skeletons, Draugrs, and more
  
• Dangerous
  
• You can get like poisoned here
  
• You can find Iron Here

Ocean

• If you sail far away from the coast, you will move into it
  
• Sea "serpents" will come during Night and Storms
  
• Sea Turtles (Good to make Harpoon and Knife)

Thanks to Airbags for some of the info about the Ocean!

Plains

• Good Source of Find Wood
  
• Cloudberries found Here
  
• Fulings, Deathsquitos, Lox, Tar, Berserkers
  
• Fuling Shamans

Thanks to kickapuppy for the info about Plains!

Mistlands
Not enough Information.

✧ | Food Information

As you may notice, certain foods have different colored Forks next to them. This symbol signifies whether they give you higher amounts of Health, or Stamina (or both).

• Yellow - Stamina
  
• White - Equal
  
• Red - Health

Starvation is not possible, but food provides valuable buffs to both the maximum and regeneration rates for health and stamina. As a player can only three types of food active simultaneously, it is important to carefully select the three types of foods consumed based on the activities the player is planning to undertake. For example, consume foods with higher stamina buffs during exploration or resource gathering, and eat foods that give higher health and health regeneration for dungeons and boss fights.

Ranked Foods | Per Biome

This will show the top 3 ranked foods of each biome.

Meadows

• Cooked Deer Meat
  
• Boar Meat
  
• Honey

Black Forest

• Carrot Soup
  
• Cooked Fish/Deer Stew
  
• Minced Meat Sauce

Swamp

• Serpent Stew & Cooked Serpent Meat
  
• Black Soup (If Serpent Meat isn't available, this should be your first pick!)
  
• Sausages
  
• Turnip Stew

Mountain

• Serpent Stew & Cooked Serpent Meat
  
• Sausages (If Serpent Meat isn't available, this should be your first pick!)
  
• Eyescream
  
• Wolf Skewer

Plains

• Serpent Stew
  
• Black Soup (If Serpent Meat isn't available, this should be your first pick!)
  
• Blood Pudding
  
• Lox Meat Pie

Mistlands
Not enough Information!

Best Combos

Health

• Honey glazed chicken
  
• Meat Platter
  
• Serpent Stew

This provides an initial bonus of 245 health and 80 stamina, decaying over 25 minutes.

Stamina

• Fish n' Bread
  
• Mushroom Omelette
  
• Salad

This provides an initial bonus of 84 health and 255 stamina, decaying over 25 minutes.

Balanced

• Misthare Supreme
  
• Honey Glazed Chicken/Meat Platter/Serpent Stew
  
• Fish n' Bread

This provides an initial bonus of 195 health and 144 stamina, decaying over 25 minutes.

Effect Decay

Over time the buffs applied by food will fade away, gradually at first, but rapidly speeding up just as the buff is about to end.

In practice this means that when the food is 30% through its duration, its effects are only 90% what they were at the start, and by 60% through they are only 76% effective, finally by 90% of the way through the duration, the food is only giving 50% of its effects.

Also, whilst deciding what you're going to eat; note that HP Regenerated Per Tick can differ.

Information gathered about some food topics from Valheim Wiki[valheim.fandom.com]

✧ | Common Resources Needed

• Wood - Obtained by Chopping Trees in the Meadows, Black Forest, and Swamps
  
• Core Wood - Gotten by Chopping Pine Trees in the Black Forest
  
• Fine Wood - Obtained by Chopping Birch Trees in the Meadows
  
• Stone - Collected from The Ground, Stone Rocks, or dropped from Greydwarfs; everywhere
  
• Coal - Get it by Burning Food in the Cooking Station, or from the Charcoal Kiln
  
• Copper - Mining it from Copper Nodes in the Black Forest
  
• Feather - Killing Birds or getting from Chests in the Meadows and Black Forest
  
• Flint - Collect it from the ground near rivers or sea in the Meadows
  
• Hard Antler - Get it by Killing the First Boss (Eikthyr Boss) in the Meadows
  
• Deer Hide - Get it by Killing Deer in the Meadows or Black Forest
  
• Leather Scraps - Obtained by Killing Boars in the Meadows
  
• Wolf Pelt - Obtained by Killing Wolves in the Mountain Ranges
  
• Troll Hide - Obtained by Killing Trolls in the Black Forest
  
• Lox Pelt - Gotten by killing Loxs in the Plains
  
• Mushroom - Collected from the Ground in the Meadows and Black Forest
  
• Raw Meat - Collected by Killing Deer or Boars in the Meadows and Black Forest
  
• Resin - Gotten by killing Greydwarfs or breaking small trees in the Meadows, Black Forest, or Swamp

✧ | Guide Changelog

Information about the Updates to the Guide.

Updates:
1/2/23
+ Added Bonemass Guide ( Happy New Years! )

12/31/22
+ Small Updates to Food Information Category

12/25/22
+ Small Updates to Food Information Category

12/23/22
+ Updated Food Guide (Completed)

12/22/22
+ Made Starter Base Guide
+ Made Creature Damage Buffs
+ Made "Passive" Creatures
+ Made Boss Guide
+ Improved Guide's Depth

12/21/22
+ Made Public / Comments Open
+ Created Guide

To Do:
- Finish Guide