Valheim Fader Guide: How to Summon & Beat Him (1.0)

🎯 The core idea

Fader is Valheim's seventh boss, the Ashlands dragon that guards the way to the Deep North in 1.0. He has 25,000 health, ignores fire and spirit damage and halves pierce. Collect 9 Bell fragments from Charred Fortresses, craft 3 Bells, and come in Flametal armour with Fire resistance barley wine and a Lingering healing mead. Then hit him between melee swings and run from every green fire attack.

• free costs nothing
• cheap small cost
• setup needs preparation
• grind pays off slowly
• skip the thing to stop doing

Fader weakness: blunt, slash and lightning, not frost

skip Fader has no real weakness. The Valheim wiki's damage table for him is flat, with three damage types you should stop bringing:

Players often search for a Fader weakness to frost because frost works so well on earlier bosses. It doesn't apply here: the wiki lists frost as neutral (1x). Frost arrows are still the wiki's top pick for bow users, but only because Fader resists the pierce part of every arrow and the frost part goes through at full value. The wiki also points out that he takes poison damage, unlike the Charred enemies around him, so poison arrows and the Staff of the Wild aren't wasted.

He has 25,000 health, five times Bonemass's 5,000 (see our Valheim Bonemass boss guide). Plan for a long fight. The video's run took about 14 minutes from summon to kill.

Fader location: Charred Fortresses and the Emerald Flame arena

setup On the map, Fader's arena is marked as the Emerald Flame, not "Fader". The wiki notes he is the only boss whose map marker uses his title instead of his name. The arena is a coliseum-like ruin with an altar in the middle, the one the video's creator walks up to before the fight.

To find the Fader location, look for a Fader Vegvisir. Per the wiki, it sits in the central tower of a Charred Fortress with a 50% chance, and very rarely on top of Charred Ruins. Each world has 20 Charred Fortresses, always inland between the lava fields. You can spot them from far away by the green beam of light above them.

Getting to the Ashlands at all needs the Drakkar, the only boat that survives the boiling sea, as covered in our Valheim progression guide. Patch 1.0 also reduced the chance of several Ashlands enemies spawning at once, so the walk inland is a little calmer than it was before 1.0.

Valheim bell fragments and how to summon Fader

grind To summon Fader you need 3 Bells, and each Bell takes 3 Bell fragments crafted at the Black forge. That's 9 Valheim bell fragments in total.

Fragments come from a Bell altar inside the central tower of each Charred Fortress, directly under that green beam. The wiki gives these details:

• One altar drops 2 to 4 fragments when you break it, so plan on three or four fortresses.
• The altar has only 10 health. Destroying it removes the beacon, which is how you tell a looted fortress from a fresh one.
• The fortress walls and gates only break to tool tier 5 pickaxe damage, which means a Battering ram or a Catapult with explosive payloads. The tower walls (1,500 health) are the weakest, but swing carefully so you don't destroy the loot inside.
• Expect Charred Warlocks, Charred Marksmen and Skuggs inside. Skuggs drop the Charred cogwheels you need for a Catapult.

Bell fragments and Bells both go through wooden portals, so you can carry them home to the Black forge and back. At the arena, interact with the altar ("Ring the bells") to place the Bells. The creator had already placed all three before recording, and the fight starts with the message "The Emerald Flame ignites".

Gear for the Fader fight: Flametal, a mace and a trinket

setup The creator's build is simple: full Flametal armour, a Flametal mace and a round shield, plus the Bronze Pendant trinket and the Megingjord belt. They use only the mace and shield for the whole fight.

The pendant tooltip in the video matches the wiki (50 Adrenaline, +25% stamina regeneration, 60 seconds). The creator picked it because the fight makes you run a lot. They also say they tried the iron brooch and it rarely triggered for them. The wiki has no page for that trinket, so take that as one player's experience.

The wiki's strategy page adds alternatives. Berserkir axes give the highest melee damage, the Nidhögg and Flametal mace are good if your Axes skill is low, and magic is "by far the easiest option": the Staff of the Wild roots him and the Trollstav's trolls keep him busy.

Food and meads for Fader in Valheim 1.0

cheap The creator eats the best Ashlands foods and drinks five meads before ringing the bells. The HUD in the fight confirms the full list.

The video says "pecan pie" and "lingering healing meat". The items are Piquant pie and Lingering healing mead. The wiki calls Fire resistance barley wine "basically mandatory", since most of his damage is fire. The Lingering healing mead is the creator's key item: it heals you while you run from his ground fire. Per the wiki, though, it blocks all other healing meads while it's active, so you can't stack an instant heal on top.

The creator also drinks Poison resistance mead. You can skip it. None of Fader's attacks in the wiki deal poison damage.

Fader attacks and how to avoid each one

free Fader has eight abilities. All numbers below are from the Valheim wiki, and several only unlock as his health drops.

The fissure is the attack that kills people. The creator calls the spikes the most dangerous move, and the wiki agrees: the flame pool can kill a player in full Flametal armour with barley wine active "in mere seconds". It spawns 12 to 16 rings around you over about 5 to 7 seconds, and each one erupts 4 seconds later. Walking in a straight line with short sprints keeps you ahead of it.

For the melee attacks, the creator's tell is his eyes: when his eyes glow, he's about to swipe, so raise your shield. The one time they didn't block in the video, they took a big hit.

Fader meteors and fire breath

free The meteors come down around you after he rears up and stomps. The creator says you can't block them, so they run and sometimes hold block while running just in case. The wiki doesn't call the meteors unblockable, but blocking won't help with the green fire left on the ground, which burns for 20 seconds. The wiki's tip is to look up while they fall, because they land with a lot of random spread.

The creator says the flamebreath almost never hit them. Don't count on that. The wiki says it can't be blocked and does heavy damage if it catches you. He raises his head first and then breathes in a straight 17 m line, so step to the side. The wiki also notes that standing right under his chin avoids it completely and gives you time for a full combo. Don't push too far in, though: you can get stuck between his chest and chin, and the creator got stuck in place a couple of times during the run.

Fader fire ring: the wall of fire

free Between 90% and 15% health, Fader draws a line with his paw and a ring of fire forms around you, 12 circles placed 8 m from where you're standing. The video's advice is simply to jump over the circles. The wiki agrees it can be jumped, and adds a second option: the circles are placed relative to your current position, so if you keep moving in one direction you stay ahead of the ring and walk out of it.

Lightfoot mead makes the jump easier, which is exactly why the creator drinks it. The wiki also mentions the Feather cape for jumping over fire pools.

Fader minions: Summoned Charred Warriors and Marksmen

free Below 55% health, Fader tilts his head down and roars, shooting eight green orbs into the air. Each orb that lands spawns a Summoned Charred Warrior or Summoned Charred Marksman (50/50). Per the wiki:

• They have only 50 health and do half the damage of normal Charred. The creator kills them in one mace hit.
• He can have up to seven of each type alive, and keeps roaring even at the cap.
• They take friendly fire from his fissure, meteors and other fire attacks.

That last point is the creator's main trick. When minions spawn, run towards them, so his next fissure or fire wave lands on them. In the video this wiped most of a wave without a single swing. Archers that stay at range are the annoying ones. Close the distance and one-hit them.

The creator saves the Bonemass Forsaken power for this phase and activates it when the first minions spawn. The wiki rates the Bonemass power as very useful against his melee and meteors, but of limited use against his fire.

Fader arena tips: walls, kiting and leaving the fight

setup Before summoning, the creator built a few walls just outside the arena to hide behind. Late in the fight, with low health and a pack of minions, they retreated behind those walls and waited for their health to regenerate before going back in.

The wiki explains why the walls go outside: the arena itself is build protected, so you can't build or raise terrain inside it. You can raise earth walls around the outside to keep Ashlands creatures from wandering in. The wiki also suggests a walled-off portal near the arena, plus a backup portal further away, because the fight usually destroys everything close to the altar.

The video shows that you can leave the arena mid-fight: Fader didn't despawn while the creator ran outside to wait out a potion cooldown. If your health gets low, back off and heal. He'll still be there.

How to beat Fader solo: the fight plan

free Here's the video's Fader solo plan, matched to the health thresholds in the wiki:

• 100% to 85%: before the fissure and flamebreath unlock, he only has his melee attacks, meteors and (from 90%) the fire ring. This is the best window to burst damage. Stand close, block when his eyes glow, and swing.
• 85% to 55%: the fissure starts. Run in a line every time it starts, and let the Lingering healing mead heal you while you run. Go back in for two or three hits after each melee attack.
• Under 55%: the minions arrive. Pop the Bonemass power, run to the minions so his fire kills them, and keep hitting him between waves.
• Under 35%: fissure and roar cooldowns drop to 20 and 26 seconds, and below 25% the meteors come every 18 seconds. You'll spend more time running than attacking. Retreat behind your walls whenever your health gets low.

The creator also refreshes every buff together. When the Lingering healing mead ran out mid-fight, they walked out of the arena, waited for the cooldown, then drank everything again before returning. They also believe the mace's hits keep Fader in place. The wiki doesn't document this, so treat it as their impression, not a rule.

Expect to die a few times while you learn the patterns. The creator says they died "quite a few times" before this clean run.

Fader drops: Kindled Ribs and the Fader trophy

free When his health bar empties, the game shows "The Emerald Flame is extinguished". Per the wiki's drop table, Fader drops:

• 5 Kindled Ribs (the drop table still uses the old name, Fader relic)
• 1 Fader trophy (100%)

Kindled Ribs used to be a placeholder item called Fader relic. Valheim 1.0's patch notes list "updated functionality for Fader Relic", and the wiki confirms it was renamed in the Deep North update. As our Valheim progression guide covers, Kindled Ribs build the Eternal Pyre, which makes the Embers that almost every Deep North recipe needs. The wiki's Kindled Ribs page still marks the item as unfinished, so check it again if the recipe changes.

Killing Fader also changes your world. The wiki says Charred Warriors and Charred Marksmen start spawning at night (0 stars only) in the Meadows, Black Forest, Swamp, Mountains and Plains. It also disables two raids, "The undead army marches" and "The dead have been summoned", and the Bog Witch starts selling Fiery Spice Powder for 200 coins.

Fader power: Adrenaline, stagger and fire resistance

free Take the Fader trophy to the Sacrificial Stones and hang it on his stone to unlock the Fader power. Per the wiki, for 300 seconds it gives you and nearby allies:

• +100% Adrenaline from all sources, so trinkets like the Bronze Pendant trigger twice as often
• 50% slower stagger buildup, so blocks and hits knock you off balance less
• Resistant vs fire (50% less fire damage)

These are the values from the 0.221.4 power rebalance, and 1.0 didn't change them. Like every Forsaken power, it shares a 20-minute cooldown that doesn't reset when you sleep, log out or switch powers. Fire resistance makes it a natural pick for Ashlands trips and for a second Fader kill. For the Deep North, compare it with Moder's power, which gives frost resistance.

How this guide was fact-checked

The source is MrCoreRPG's Valheim 1.0 Fader Boss Combat Guide! Easy to Beat Once You Know This, uploaded on 3 October 2026, after Valheim 1.0 and the Deep North launched on 9 September 2026. The live patch is 1.0.20 at the time of writing. The wiki's version history shows no change to Fader's attacks, health or power between 1.0.00 and 1.0.20. The 1.0 changes that matter here are the reduced Ashlands spawn chances and the new function for the Fader relic. Patch 1.0.20's trophy change ties drop chance to a creature's star level, which doesn't affect a guaranteed boss trophy.

From the community Valheim wiki (Fandom), which wins wherever it and the video disagree:

• Health (25,000), the full damage multiplier table and the attack table: damage, ranges, cooldowns and health thresholds
• How the Vegvisir and arena are found, and the 20 Charred Fortresses per world
• Bell fragments (2 to 4 per altar), Bells (3 fragments each, Black forge) and fortress siege requirements
• Flametal mace and Bronze Pendant recipes and stats
• Food, mead and barley wine effects
• The drop table, Kindled Ribs' rename, post-kill spawns, events and the Bog Witch item
• The Fader power's effects and the shared Forsaken power cooldown
• Strategy tips from the Boss strategies page (last edited 3 October 2026)

The Fader page was last edited on 20 October 2026. The wiki.gg mirror refused automated access, so every wiki fact here comes from Fandom.

From the video's own footage:

• The loadout: Flametal armour, Flametal mace, shield, Bronze Pendant and Megingjord, plus the food and mead list shown on the HUD
• Glowing eyes as the tell for a swipe
• Running into the minions so his fire kills them
• Walls outside the arena to hide and heal behind
• Leaving the arena mid-fight without the boss despawning
• Saving the Bonemass power for the minion phase

Corrections and clarifications to the video:

• Item names: "pecan pie" is Piquant pie, and the "lingering healing meat" is Lingering healing mead.
• Flamebreath: the video says it usually misses. The wiki says it's unblockable and deals heavy damage when it lands, so step aside every time.
• Meteors: the video says they can't be blocked. The wiki doesn't say so, but the fire pools they leave hurt either way, so running is still right.
• Poison resistance mead: the creator drinks it, but none of Fader's attacks deal poison damage per the wiki.
• Mace holding him still: the creator's impression only. The wiki doesn't document it.

What this guide doesn't answer

• Farming Flametal and building Flametal armour: the gear is listed here only as far as the fight needs it. Mining and upgrade costs are a separate Ashlands gear topic.
• Sieging a Charred Fortress in detail: Battering ram and Catapult builds deserve their own guide.
• Where the arena is in your seed: world generation decides it. Use a fortress Vegvisir, not someone else's map.
• Magic and bow builds in depth: the video is a melee run. The wiki's alternatives are summarised, not tested.
• Group fights: this guide follows a solo run.
• The Deep North and Kall Fimbulbringer: that's the next stage, covered in our progression guide.
• Mods and world modifiers: everything here assumes default 1.0 combat difficulty.