Valheim progression guide: biome by biome

Valheim's world is built as a ladder of biomes, and each one comes with a boss, new creatures, new materials and a fresh set of craftable gear. This guide follows that order from Step 1 to Step 8. Each section covers what lives there, which boss waits, what to gather, where to go and what you can make.

Step 1: Meadows

The Meadows is where you start, and its creatures are the weakest in the game. The Neck has only 5 health, and the Boar and the Deer have 10 each.

Boss: Eikthyr, with 500 health. He drops the Eikthyr Trophy and Hard Antler, and his altar is in the biome.

Creature	Health
Neck	5
Boar	10
Deer	10
Greyling	20
Skeleton (meadows)	30
Greydwarf	40

Gather:

Places to visit:

Spawn temple
Eikthyr's altar
Meadows village
Wood farm
Ship setting
Runestone boars
Runestone meadows
Hildir the trader

Gear you can craft:

Weapons and shields (10): Bone Tower Shield, Club, Crude Bow, Early Axes, Flint Axe, Flint Knife
Armor (6): Deer Hide Cape, Leather Helmet, Leather Trousers, Leather Tunic, Rag Trousers, Rag Tunic
Tools (3): Antler Pickaxe, Hammer, Hoe

Step 2: Black Forest

The Black Forest raises the stakes. The Bear has 500 health and the Troll has 600, which is as much as the Meadows boss has in total. The Greydwarf Brute and the Greydwarf Shaman join the plain Greydwarf here.

Boss: The Elder, with 2500 health. He drops The Elder Trophy and the Swamp Key.

Creature	Health
Deer	10
Skeleton (meadows)	30
Greydwarf	40
Skeleton	40
Greydwarf Shaman	60
Greydwarf Brute	150
Bear	500
Troll	600

Gather:

Places to visit:

Burial chambers
Greydwarf camp
Rock clearing
Ship wreck
Hildir's crypt
Haldor the trader
Runestone black forest
Runestone greydwarfs

Gear you can craft:

Weapons and shields (9): Bronze Atgeir, Bronze Axe, Bronze Buckler, Bronze Mace, Bronze Spear, Bronze Sword
Armor (11): Bronze Helmet, Bronze Plate Leggings, Bronze Plate Tunic, Celebratory Cap, Headdress of the Bear, Loincloth of the Bear
Food and meads (1): Queen's Jam

Copper Ore and Tin Ore are on this biome's gathering list, and Bronze gear is the weaponry that becomes craftable here.

Step 3: Swamp

The Swamp is full of the undead and the oozing. The Abomination has 800 health, and the Draugr family and the Oozer sit in the middle of the range.

Boss: Bonemass, with 5000 health. He drops the Bonemass Trophy and the Wishbone.

Creature	Health
Blob	50
Leech	60
Skeleton (swamps)	60
Draugr	100
Draugr (ranged)	100
Oozer	150
Draugr Elite	200
Abomination	800

Gather:

Places to visit:

Bonemass' altar
Fire hole
Infested tree
Ship wreck
Sunken crypt
Swamp hut
Runestone draugr
Runestone swamps

Gear you can craft:

Weapons and shields (13): Ancient Bark Spear, Banded Shield, Battleaxe, Huntsman Bow, Iron Atgeir, Iron Axe
Armor (6): Iron Greaves, Iron Helmet, Iron Scale Mail, Root Harnesk, Root Leggings, Root Mask
Food and meads (2): Muckshake, Sausages

This step has 13 weapons and shields, more than either earlier biome.

Step 4: Mountains

The Mountains have the shortest creature list so far, but the Stone Golem has 800 health and the Fenring has 300. The Wolf has 80 and the Drake only 100.

Boss: Moder, with 7500 health. She drops the Moder Trophy and the Dragon Tear.

Creature	Health
Skeleton (mountains)	75
Wolf	80
Drake	100
Fenring	300
Stone Golem	800

Gather:

Places to visit:

Drake lorestone
Drake nest
Frost cave
Mountain cave
Hildir's cave
Moder's altar
Runestone mountains

Gear you can craft:

Weapons and shields (6): Crystal Battleaxe, Draugr Fang, Fang Spear, Silver Knife, Silver Shield, Silver Sword
Armor (4): Drake Helmet, Wolf Fur Cape, Wolf Hide Chestpiece, Wolf Hide Trousers
Food and meads (1): Eyescream

Silver Ore is one of only two things to gather here, and the Silver weapons and shield are craftable at this step.

Step 5: Plains

The Plains are home to the Fulings and some of the toughest regular creatures yet. The Lox has 1000 health and the Vile has 1200. The Deathsquito has only 10.

Boss: Yagluth, with 10000 health. He drops the Yagluth Trophy and the Torn Spirit.

Creature	Health
Deathsquito	10
Fuling Shaman	100
Growth	100
Fuling	175
Fuling (archer)	175
Fuling Berserker	800
Lox	1000
Vile	1200

Gather:

Cloudberries

Places to visit:

Fuling village
Goblin camp
Goblin hut
Tar pit
Ship wreck
Hildir's fortress
Runestone plains
Yagluth's altar

Gear you can craft:

Weapons and shields (3): Black Metal Shield, Black Metal Tower Shield, Blob Bomb: Tar
Armor (5): Lox Cape, Lox Fur Hood, Lox Fur Jacket, Lox Fur Trousers, Vilebone Visage
Food and meads (1): Cooked Egg

Step 6: Mistlands

In the Mistlands the Gjall and the Seeker Soldier each have 1500 health. The Dvergr Mage and the Dvergr Rogue have 350 each. The Hare has 10, the lowest here.

Boss: The Queen, with 12500 health. She drops The Queen Trophy and the Majestic Carapace.

Creature	Health
Hare	10
Tick	50
Seeker	200
Dvergr Mage	350
Dvergr Rogue	350
Gjall	1500
Seeker Soldier	1500

Gather:

Places to visit:

Infested mine
Runestone mistlands
The Queen's altar

Gear you can craft:

Weapons and shields (4): Arbalest, Carapace Spear, Krom, Skoll and Hati
Tools (1): Black Metal Pickaxe
Food and meads (1): Mushroom Omelette

Step 7: Ashlands

The Ashlands has the most craftable weapons and shields of any biome: 33, including Ash Fang, Berserkir Axes, Bleeding Berserkir Axes, Blood Fang, Bloodgeon and Brutal Slayer. The Fallen Valkyrie has 1500 health, and the Bonemaw has 1100.

Boss: Fader, with 25000 health. He drops the Fader Trophy and the Kindled Ribs.

Creature	Health
Charred Marksman	200
Charred Twitcher	220
Charred Warlock	600
Charred Warrior	600
Asksvin	800
Dvergr Rogue (ashlands)	1000
Bonemaw	1100
Fallen Valkyrie	1500

Gather:

Places to visit:

Charred fortress
Charred stone spawner
Lava leviathan
Morgen hole
Sulfur arch
Volture nest
Runestone ashlands
Fader's altar

Gear you can craft:

Weapons and shields (33)
Armor (4): Ashen Cape, Asksvin Cloak, Flametal Breastplate, Flametal Greaves

Step 8: Deep North

The Deep North closes the list. Its creatures range from the Baby Seal at 200 health up to the Barka at 2200, and the Moose and the Seal sit in between at 1000 and 400.

Boss: Kall Fimbulbringer, with 10000 health. This is less than Fader's 25000, even though it comes later in the order.

Creature	Health
Greydwarf (frozen)	100
Greydwarf Shaman (frozen)	120
Baby Seal	200
Elaking	350
Elaking (lantern)	350
Seal	400
Moose	1000
Barka	2200

Gather:

Places to visit:

Deep North boss room
Deep North village
Dn hut
Frozen ship
Ice pond
Lumber camp
Ship setting
Runestone deep north

Gear you can craft:

Weapons and shields (1): Snowball
Food and meads (4): Lingonberry Juice, Onion Soup, Salad, Wolf Skewer

How the steps connect

Each biome has its own boss, and each boss has more health than the one before. From Step 1 to Step 7 the figures run 500, 2500, 5000, 7500, 10000, 12500 and 25000. Kall Fimbulbringer at Step 8 breaks the pattern at 10000.

Some things carry over from step to step. Mushroom turns up in the Meadows, the Black Forest and the Swamp, and Thistle in the Black Forest and the Swamp. Scrap Iron is on the lists for both the Swamp and the Mistlands. Skeleton (meadows) and the Deer appear in both of the first two biomes, and the Greydwarf is found there too.

Several places repeat as well. Hildir has a presence in four biomes: Hildir the trader in the Meadows, Hildir's crypt in the Black Forest, Hildir's cave in the Mountains and Hildir's fortress in the Plains. A Ship wreck can be visited in the Black Forest, the Swamp and the Plains, and a Ship setting in the Meadows and the Deep North. Every biome also has a runestone and an altar or boss room.

Your gear moves along the same ladder: Leather and Rag armor and flint tools in the Meadows, Bronze in the Black Forest, Iron and Root pieces in the Swamp, Silver and Wolf Hide in the Mountains, Black Metal and Lox Fur in the Plains, then Flametal and a large weapon list in the Ashlands.

Written from the game data of Valheim 1.0.17, last updated October 10, 2026.

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