The Elder is the boss of the Black Forest and the second of the guardians you work through in Valheim. Before you can face him you need to find his runestone, collect three Ancient Seeds from greydwarfs and stock up on fire arrows, because fire is his weakness. The reward is the Swamp Key, without which you can’t reach the iron in the Swamp. This guide covers Valheim 1.0 with patch 1.0.20 (15 October 2026), and the Forsaken Power is described from the current Call to Arms list.
The Black Forest: The Elder’s home
You reach the Black Forest after Eikthyr, carrying your first pickaxe. The biome is far more dangerous than the Meadows: trolls, bears, skeletons and above all greydwarfs, which you’ll want anyway for their seeds. On the plus side, this is where metals begin. You mine copper and tin and smelt them into bronze, two copper bars to one tin.
The forest has two kinds of dungeon, Troll Caves and Burial Chambers. Burial Chambers are worth a visit for two reasons: they hold Surtling Cores, which you need for both the Smelter and portals, and often the runestone that reveals The Elder’s altar. The other place to look for it is the stone towers in the forest.
Version 1.0 made the Black Forest a little calmer: the bear Bjorn spawns less often and has less health. Where the forest fits into the overall progression is covered in our biome order guide.
How to summon The Elder: three Ancient Seeds
You offer three Ancient Seeds at the altar. The seeds come from three sources:
- Greydwarf Brute,
- Greydwarf Shaman,
- greydwarf nests, once you destroy them.
So while you explore the forest, go looking for Brutes, Shamans and nests on purpose. Store the seeds in a chest near the altar so they’re at hand when you’re ready for the fight.
How The Elder fights
| Attack | What it does | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Stomp | An area hit around the boss. | It catches players beside him too, not just in front. |
| Vine spikes | Fires spikes at range. | Hide behind the pillars around the altar. |
| Roots | Roots burst out of the ground. | Move off the spot and keep shooting. |
Stone pillars surround the altar, and they’re your best friends here. They block his projectiles, so you can duck behind one, wait, and then shoot again.
Fire as his weakness, and your gear
The Elder is weak to fire. The simplest approach is a bow with fire arrows, and plenty of them: plan on a hundred or more. Shoot from behind the pillars and keep your distance so the stomp doesn’t reach you.
Your gear matches the biome, which means bronze. You craft bronze tools and weapons once you’ve smelted copper and tin in the Smelter. The Smelter needs Surtling Cores from Burial Chambers, so clear a dungeon before taking on the boss. How equipment changes biome by biome is laid out in our gear progression guide.
Eat before the fight, just like for Eikthyr. Three active foods raise your maximum health and stamina, and stamina drains fast when you’re shooting and running between pillars.
Reward: the Swamp Key and the Forsaken Power
The Elder drops the Swamp Key and his trophy. The Swamp Key opens the Sunken Crypts in the Swamp, where you get Scrap Iron, in other words iron. Without the key your progression stalls.
Hang the trophy on the Sacrificial Stones at the spawn to unlock the Forsaken Power. You activate it with a key and it lasts 300 seconds. According to the official Call to Arms list (9 September 2025) it gives:
- +60% chopping and mining damage,
- +30% health regeneration.
Use it when you head out to chop wood or mine ore. Older guides describe the power differently, and those descriptions no longer apply after Call to Arms.
What comes after The Elder
With the Swamp Key you head into the Swamp. It poisons you, so pack a poison resistance mead, and in the Sunken Crypts you collect Withered Bones for the next boss alongside the iron. How to use them and why to bring a mace or a sledge is explained in our Bonemass guide. If you skipped ahead, go back to the first boss, Eikthyr, because his pickaxe is what you start mining ore with in the Black Forest.
Join our Discord to ask where other players found their Burial Chambers, or to find company for a run at the greydwarf nests: Discord GamersTogether.
FAQ
They drop from Greydwarf Brutes, Greydwarf Shamans and destroyed greydwarf nests in the Black Forest. You need three to summon The Elder.
In the Black Forest. A runestone in Burial Chambers or at the stone towers in the forest shows you where it is.
Fire. A bow with fire arrows works best, so bring a hundred or more, and use the stone pillars around the altar as cover.
It opens the Sunken Crypts in the Swamp. Inside you’ll find Scrap Iron for iron and the Withered Bones you need for Bonemass.
Since Call to Arms it adds 60% chopping and mining damage and 30% health regeneration. It lasts 300 seconds once activated.
Information verified on 19 October 2026. All our guides for this game are in the Valheim hub.