Eikthyr is the first of Valheim’s eight bosses, and he’s a test of whether you’ve learned to block. You summon him with two Deer Trophies at an altar in the Meadows, you can beat him in stone-age gear with a wooden shield and a bow, and he drops the Hard Antler for your first pickaxe. This guide covers Valheim 1.0 with patch 1.0.20 (15 October 2026) and describes his Forsaken Power from the official Call to Arms list, not from older guides.
Where to find Eikthyr
Every world starts in the Meadows. The spawn point, the shrine where you first appear, is always in this biome, and the Meadows are the most peaceful part of the map. Right next to the spawn is a runestone that shows you where Eikthyr’s altar is. The same rule applies to every boss: a runestone (Vegvisir) in their biome reveals the location, and the fight starts when you offer items at the altar.
Also note the large stones at the spawn, the Sacrificial Stones. That’s where you’ll hang the boss trophy later to unlock his power. The boss order follows the biome order: Eikthyr in the Meadows, The Elder in the Black Forest, Bonemass in the Swamp and so on, all the way to Kall Fimbulbringer in the far north. The whole route is laid out in our biome order guide.
How to summon Eikthyr
You need two Deer Trophies. You hunt deer in the Meadows, and a bow is just as useful here as it is in the fight itself. Besides the trophies, deer give you Deer Hide, which you’ll use well beyond the boss fight.
Not every animal drops a trophy. Since patch 1.0.20 the trophy chance rises with the number of stars a monster has, so a starred deer is a better catch than a plain one.
- Find the runestone at the spawn to locate the altar.
- Hunt deer until you have two Deer Trophies.
- Eat, and get your shield, bow and a melee weapon ready.
- Offer both trophies at the altar and Eikthyr appears.
His attacks and how to handle them
Eikthyr fights with lightning and his antlers. He has three basic attacks:
| Attack | What it does |
|---|---|
| Antler lightning | A ranged attack that reaches you at a distance. |
| Stomp | An electric area hit around the boss. |
| Antler strike | A close-range hit when you’re next to him. |
The good news: you can block his attacks even with a small wooden shield. That makes Eikthyr the place to learn something you’ll need for the rest of the game, holding the block at the right moment and hitting back between attacks.
Tactics, gear and food
The tried and tested combo is a shield and a bow, or a shield and a melee weapon. Your gear matches the biome: stone and flint. That’s all you have at this point, and it’s all you need. When the boss keeps his distance, shoot. When he closes in, raise your shield and wait for the attack to end.
Eat before the fight. You can’t starve in Valheim, but food raises your maximum health and stamina and their regeneration, and you can have three foods active at once. Roast meat on the Cooking Station and add what the Meadows offer: Raspberries, mushrooms, honey, boar meat or Neck Tail. For a fight, lean towards health foods, while stamina helps with running and dodging.
Playing with friends? One player can hold the boss’s attention behind a shield while the others shoot. How a group connects across PC and consoles is covered in our crossplay guide.
Reward: Hard Antler and the Forsaken Power
Eikthyr drops the Hard Antler and his trophy. The Hard Antler is used for the Antler Pickaxe, the first pickaxe in the game and the one you start mining ore with. It’s the key to everything that follows.
Hang the trophy on the Sacrificial Stones at the spawn to unlock Eikthyr’s Forsaken Power. You activate it with a key and it lasts 300 seconds. Since Call to Arms (9 September 2025) it does this:
- 60% less stamina used for running, jumping and swimming.
It’s handy for long trips on foot and for swimming across a river when your stamina would otherwise run out at the worst moment. If another guide describes it differently, that guide predates Call to Arms and no longer applies.
Boss achievements only count from version 1.0 onwards. If you killed Eikthyr during Early Access, that old kill won’t count. If you want to try the boss risk-free first, the console commands can help, just remember that cheats block achievements.
What Eikthyr unlocks
With the Antler Pickaxe in hand, you head for the Black Forest. It’s far more dangerous than the Meadows, with trolls, bears, skeletons and greydwarfs. In return, metals start there: copper and tin, which make bronze (two copper bars to one tin). You smelt them in the Smelter, which needs Surtling Cores from Burial Chambers. Our gear progression guide shows how equipment changes from biome to biome.
The next boss waits in the Black Forest too. How to get Ancient Seeds and why to bring fire arrows is explained in our guide to The Elder.
Join our Discord to ask players who have already beaten Eikthyr, or to find a group for your first trip into the Black Forest: Discord GamersTogether.
FAQ
Two. You offer them at the altar in the Meadows, and the runestone at the spawn shows you where it is. Since patch 1.0.20, starred deer have a higher trophy chance.
The Hard Antler and his trophy. The Hard Antler goes into the Antler Pickaxe, the first pickaxe and the one that lets you start mining ore.
Since the Call to Arms update it cuts stamina use for running, jumping and swimming by 60%. You activate it with a key after hanging the trophy on the Sacrificial Stones, and it lasts 300 seconds.
In theory yes, but without the pickaxe and the Meadows materials the rest of the game gets very hard. The recommended route follows the bosses in biome order, and Eikthyr comes first.
Information verified on 19 October 2026. More guides are waiting in the Valheim hub.