Progression in Valheim takes you through eight biomes in a fixed order: Meadows, Black Forest, Swamp, Mountains, Plains, Mistlands, Ashlands and Deep North. Every biome has its own boss, and that boss’s drop is what unlocks your next step. Below you’ll find the key materials, dungeons and boss of each biome, plus what to watch out for before you head in. This applies to Valheim 1.0 after patch 1.0.20 from 15 October 2026.
Valheim biome order at a glance
Progression is tied to the bosses. You can technically skip a boss, but without materials from the earlier biomes it gets very hard. Stick to the order in the table, where your gear moves up one material tier with every biome.
| Biome | Boss | Gear material | What the boss unlocks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meadows | Eikthyr | stone and flint | Hard Antler → Antler Pickaxe |
| Black Forest | The Elder | bronze | Swamp Key → Sunken Crypts |
| Swamp | Bonemass | iron | Wishbone → finding silver |
| Mountains | Moder | silver | Dragon Tear → Artisan Table |
| Plains | Yagluth | Black Metal | Torn Spirit → Wisp Fountain |
| Mistlands | The Queen | Carapace | Majestic Carapace → Artisan Press and Drakkar |
| Ashlands | Fader | Flametal | Fader Trophy and Fader Relic |
| Deep North | Kall Fimbulbringer | Nord | Sacrificial Blood and Crown Jewel |
In every biome, a runestone (Vegvisir) in a dungeon or structure tells you where the boss lives. You summon the boss by sacrificing items at its altar, then hang its trophy on the Sacrificial Stones at spawn. That unlocks a Forsaken Power, a 300-second ability you trigger with a key. How your gear changes from biome to biome is covered in our gear progression guide.
Meadows: a calm start
The spawn shrine is always in the Meadows. It’s the most peaceful biome in the game and the ideal spot for your first base. Build a base, gather hides and hunt deer, because you need their trophies for the first boss.
Materials: Wood, Fine Wood, Resin, Stone, Flint, Dandelion, Beech Seeds, Raspberries, Mushrooms, Acorns, Honey and Queen Bee, plus Boar Meat, Neck Tail, Leather Scraps, Deer Hide and Feathers from animals.
The runestone near spawn points you to Eikthyr, and you summon him with two Deer Trophies at the altar. He drops a Hard Antler, which becomes the Antler Pickaxe, your first pickaxe that can mine ore. The full fight is in our Eikthyr guide.
Black Forest: first metals and trolls
The Black Forest is a big step up in danger. You’ll run into trolls, bears, skeletons and Greydwarfs. Since 1.0 the Bjorn bear spawns less often and has less health.
This is the bronze age. Mine copper and tin with the antler pickaxe and smelt them into bars in a Smelter. Bronze takes two copper bars and one tin bar. The Smelter needs Surtling Cores from Burial Chambers, and the biome’s second dungeon type is the Troll Cave.
Other materials: Core Wood, Fir and Pine Cones, Thistle, Blueberries, Yellow Mushroom, Bear Hide, Bear Paw and Bear Meat, Troll Hide and Bukeperries. Haldor the trader lives here too, though his location differs in every world (see our traders guide).
The Elder’s runestone sits in Burial Chambers or near stone towers. Summon him with three Ancient Seeds, dropped by Greydwarf Brutes, Greydwarf Shamans and destroyed Greydwarf nests. He’s weak to fire and drops the Swamp Key. Tactics are in our The Elder guide.
Swamp: iron and poison
You come to the Swamp for iron. It sits inside the Sunken Crypts, which only open with the Swamp Key from The Elder. Inside you’ll find Scrap Iron in Muddy Scrap Piles, plus Withered Bones. Abominations drop Roots, which you turn into Root armour.
The Swamp’s biggest problem is poison. Brew a Poison Resistance Mead, which also comes in handy against the boss. Materials: Entrails, Ooze, Guck, Bloodbag, Scrap Iron, Chain, Withered Bone, Ancient Bark, Root and Turnip Seeds. The Bog Witch trader also has her hut here.
Bonemass’s runestone is in the Sunken Crypts, and you summon him with ten Withered Bones. He resists most damage types, and blunt damage works best, so bring a mace or a sledge. He attacks up close, releases a poison cloud and summons blobs and skeletons. Your reward is the Wishbone, which finds silver and buried treasure. The step-by-step is in our Bonemass guide.
Mountains: frost and silver
The cold hurts you in the Mountains unless you’re protected. A Wolf Fur Cape, wolf armour or a Frost Resistance Mead will do the job. Find silver with the Wishbone, which hums above a deposit, and mine it with an iron pickaxe.
Materials: Silver Ore, Obsidian, Wolf Fang, Wolf Meat and Wolf Pelt, Onion Seeds, Freeze Gland, Fenris Claw, Fenris Hair, Red Jute and Crystal. There are two dungeons: Frost Caves and the tougher Howling Caverns with a miniboss, added in the Hildir’s Request update.
Moder’s Vegvisir is found near stone structures in the mountains. To summon Moder you need three Dragon Eggs from drake nests. The eggs are extremely heavy, you can’t carry two at once on your own and they won’t go through a portal, so this is a perfect job for a group. Moder flies, breathes frost and fires ice projectiles, so you’ll want a ranged weapon. The boss drops the Dragon Tear for the Artisan Table. More in our Moder guide.
Plains: Fulings and Black Metal
The Plains look friendly but they aren’t. Fulings live in villages, Deathsquitos buzz through the air, Lox graze the fields and the Vile come out at night. Black Metal comes as Black Metal Scrap from Fuling villages.
Barley and Flax grow on the Plains. Take seeds from Fuling gardens and grow them at home, then spin Flax into Linen Thread at the Spinning Wheel. Other materials: Needle, Vile Ribcage, Lox Meat, Lox Pelt, Tar, Cloudberries and Rotten Meat. Lox can be tamed, saddled and ridden.
Yagluth’s altar stands among large stones, and a runestone reveals where it is. Summon him with five Fuling Totems from the villages. He attacks with a fist slam, a meteor shower and a long fire beam, but he’s slow and telegraphs his moves. His Torn Spirit opens the way to the Mistlands. The fight is covered in our Yagluth guide.
Mistlands: mist and magic
Thick mist blankets the Mistlands. A Wisplight clears it, which needs Wisps from a Wisp Fountain, and the fountain needs Yagluth’s Torn Spirit. The biome brought magic and Eitr, Seekers, friendly Dvergr and the Infested Mines dungeon. The boss is The Queen. Details in our Mistlands guide.
Ashlands: boiling seas and Flametal
The Ashlands are cut off from the other biomes and you can only reach them by ship, heading south. The surrounding sea boils, so only the Drakkar survives it, and building one needs the Queen’s Majestic Carapace. Burning cinders fall from the sky and wooden buildings catch fire. The boss is Fader. More in our Ashlands guide.
Deep North: the final biome
The Deep North sits on the northern edge of the world and took the game to version 1.0. Expect deep snow that you clear with a Snow Shovel before building, slippery ice and the Jotun giants. The biome has two dungeons, the Winding Tunnels and Mörkhalla, and the final boss Kall Fimbulbringer. More in our Deep North guide and the final boss guide.
The Ocean between the biomes didn’t change in 1.0. Alternate versions of earlier biomes can now appear on the outer edges of the world, though.
Join our Discord to find people for dragon egg runs and Swamp expeditions. Hop in via Discord GamersTogether.
FAQ
Meadows, Black Forest, Swamp, Mountains, Plains, Mistlands, Ashlands and Deep North. Each biome has its own boss, and its drop unlocks the next step.
Technically yes, but without materials from the earlier biomes it gets very hard. Without an iron pickaxe, for example, you can’t mine silver in the Mountains.
In the Swamp, inside the Sunken Crypts. Scrap Iron sits in Muddy Scrap Piles, and only the Swamp Key from The Elder opens the crypts.
In the Mountains, using the Wishbone from Bonemass, which hums above a deposit. Mine it with an iron pickaxe and protect yourself from frost with a Wolf Fur Cape, wolf armour or a Frost Resistance Mead.
The sea around the Ashlands boils and only the Drakkar can handle it. You can build one once you’ve beaten the Queen in the Mistlands, because you need her Majestic Carapace.
Information verified on 19 October 2026. More guides are waiting in the Valheim hub.