Valheim Progression Guide: Biome & Boss Order

🎯 The core idea

Valheim's progression is a chain: each boss drops the one item that opens the next biome. The order is Meadows (Eikthyr), Black Forest (The Elder), Swamp (Bonemass), Mountains (Moder), Plains (Yagluth), Mistlands (The Queen), Ashlands (Fader) and, since 1.0, the Deep North (Kall Fimbulbringer). Upgrade your gear one metal tier per biome, take the boss's key drop, and never sail on to the next biome without it.

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

Valheim biome and boss order at a glance

free This is the whole progression list on one screen. Every biome has one Forsaken boss, and the item that boss drops is what lets you tackle the next biome properly. The Ocean sits between the early biomes but has no boss of its own. The summon items and key drops below are checked against the Valheim wiki on Fandom.

If you only remember one rule for the Valheim boss order, make it this one: when you're unsure what to do next, check which boss you haven't killed, then look at what its drop unlocks. The sections below go biome by biome.

Meadows: what to do before and after Eikthyr

cheap In the Meadows you build a workbench, a basic shelter and your first leather gear, then hunt deer for the two Deer trophies that summon Eikthyr. The Vegvisir next to the spawn's Sacrificial Stones marks his altar. For the full fight (attacks, food, fire arrows) see our Eikthyr boss guide.

Valheim after Eikthyr: take his Hard antler to the workbench and craft the Antler pickaxe. It's the first tool that can mine ore, and without it the Black Forest's copper and tin are just scenery. Hang his trophy on the Sacrificial Stones for his Forsaken power. The wiki also notes that killing Eikthyr starts Greydwarfs spawning at night in the Meadows, so put a fence round your base.

Black Forest: copper, tin, bronze and The Elder

setup Mine tin along the water and copper in the trees, but you can't use the ore until you've raided Burial Chambers for Surtling cores. Those cores unlock the Charcoal kiln and the Smelter (and, with Greydwarf eyes and Finewood, portals). Smelt copper and tin, combine them into bronze, and you get bronze armor, weapons, the bronze axe for oak and birch, and the first Forge upgrades.

The Elder's location usually comes from a Vegvisir in a Burial Chamber. He's summoned with 3 Ancient seeds, which drop from Greydwarf brutes and from destroyed Greydwarf nests. The wiki lists him as very weak to fire and immune to poison, spirit and stagger, so the video's pick of a Finewood bow with fire arrows is a good one. He drops the Swamp key.

Swamp: iron from the Sunken Crypts and Bonemass

grind The Swamp keeps you Wet the whole time and most of its creatures poison you, so bring poison resistance meads and a blunt weapon such as the bronze mace. The prize is in the Sunken Crypts, which open with the Swamp key: mine the muddy piles and loot the chests for Scrap iron, smelt it, and you're into the Iron Age. Wraiths drop Chain, which you need for the Forge bellows.

Bonemass needs 10 Withered bones, which also come from the crypts. The wiki puts him as weak to blunt and frost, resistant to slash and very resistant to fire and pierce, so an iron mace or sledge beats arrows here. Raise the ground around his altar first if it's flooded.

Valheim after Bonemass: equip the Wishbone he drops. It pings when you're near buried treasure, and in the Mountains that means Silver veins.

Mountains: silver, frost resistance and Moder

setup The Mountains freeze you without frost protection. Frost resistance mead works at first, and the wolf armor chest or wolf fur cape removes the need for it once you have silver. Walk around with the Wishbone until it pings fast, dig down to the Silver vein, and mine it with an iron pickaxe. Frost Caves add the Fenris armor and Red jute.

Moder's location comes from a Vegvisir in a mountain ruin. She takes 3 Dragon eggs, which you lift off Drake nests. The video says each egg weighs 200 and can't go through a portal, so plan two trips or bring a friend. The wiki lists Moder as weak to fire and immune to frost, so leave the Frostner at home and bring a strong bow.

Valheim after Moder: she drops Dragon tears (the wiki says 10). They build the Artisan table, which unlocks the Blast furnace, Windmill, Spinning wheel and Stone oven. That's the whole Plains economy.

Plains: black metal, barley, flax and Yagluth

grind Raid Fuling villages for Black metal scrap, Fuling totems and, from chests, the Sharpening stone for the last Forge upgrade. Pick up flax and barley, plant them, and run them through the Artisan table stations: black metal from the Blast furnace, barley flour from the Windmill, linen thread from the Spinning wheel. That gives you the padded armor, black metal weapons, and the bread and pie foods. Wear the Root harnesk (from the Swamp) against Deathsquito stings.

Yagluth needs 5 Fuling totems. The wiki says his Vegvisir spawns at Stonehenge structures and is very rare, so it's often faster to stumble on the altar itself. He's resistant to fire, very resistant to pierce, and immune to poison and stagger, so arrows and spears do little.

Valheim after Yagluth: his Torn spirit builds the Wisp fountain. Collect wisps at night and craft the Wisplight, or the Mistlands will be a grey wall.

Mistlands: black cores, eitr and The Queen

grind The Mistlands rest on three things the video calls pillars: Soft tissue from the skulls of Giant remains, Black cores from Infested Mines (15 build the Black forge, Galdr table and Eitr refinery), and Sap from an extractor placed on Ancient roots. Sap plus soft tissue gives refined eitr for magic gear. You also get Yggdrasil wood, Black marble, copper and iron scrap from Ancient armor and swords, and Seeker drops for the carapace set.

The Queen lives in the Infested Citadel. You find it through a Vegvisir in an Infested Mine and open it with the Sealbreaker, crafted at the Galdr table from 9 Sealbreaker fragments. The first fight needs no offering. To fight her again, the wiki says to offer 3 Seeker soldier trophies at the hive seat; the video only says "Seeker trophies", but they must be soldier trophies. She's resistant to pierce and immune to spirit, so bows are weak against her.

Valheim after The Queen: this is where the video is out of date. It calls her drop a placeholder with no use, but since the Ashlands update she drops 5 Majestic carapace. That builds the Artisan press, which lets the Artisan table make Ceramic plates from black marble. Those plates go into the Drakkar (100 iron nails, 30 ceramic plates, 50 finewood, 25 Yggdrasil wood, per the wiki), the only boat that survives the Ashlands' boiling water.

Ashlands: flametal, Charred Fortresses and Fader

setup The source video stops at the Queen, so this stage comes from the wiki. The Ashlands is a crescent-shaped island at the far south of the world, and its sea boils every boat except the Drakkar. Cinder rain sets bases on fire, so build a Shield generator (fuelled by bones) over anything you care about. Mine Flametal ore with at least a black metal pickaxe and smelt it in the Blast furnace. Regular portals won't take it, but Stone portals will.

Fader's altar is in a coliseum-like structure, and the Vegvisir sits in the central tower of a Charred Fortress. The same towers hold an altar with 2 to 4 Bell fragments. Three fragments make one Bell, and three Bells around the coliseum summon him. The wiki lists Fader as immune to fire and spirit and resistant to pierce. His ground-fire attack can kill you through full Flametal armor and barley wine, so keep moving.

Valheim after Fader: he drops Kindled Ribs. The wiki notes this item was called Fader relic until the Deep North update renamed it and gave it a use. That use is the Eternal Pyre, and it's the start of the Deep North order.

Deep North order: Eternal Pyre, base and Winding Tunnels

setup Everything here follows Deltia's Gaming's 1.0 Deep North video. The wiki's Deep North page is still marked unfinished, and most Deep North items have no wiki page yet, so the costs below are as the video shows them.

1. Build the Eternal Pyre at home from Kindled Ribs and 10 stone. When the wind blows it produces Embers, which almost every Deep North recipe uses.
2. Gear up and pack: your best Ashlands gear (Flametal is the target), frost resistance mead, Finewood and Flametal, plus Mistlands materials for later (Yggdrasil wood, Refined eitr, Mandibles and a Hook).
3. Tag a portal at home, sail north and set up a base on flat coast or in an abandoned village. A Snow shovel (5 Finewood, 4 Flametal, 2 Embers) clears the deep snow, which you can't build on.
4. Drop into the Winding Tunnels through the hole in the floor of the village's biggest building. Collect Frost cores (you need 20), kill Elakings and Eyeless Ones, and smash every rubble pile, since rubble drops the moulds for Deep North weapons and armor.
5. Collect Ice by mining ice sheets or breaking frozen Greydwarfs. The wiki confirms icebergs and ice sheets drop ice when hit with a pickaxe.

Bloodgold and the Frost Foundry crafting loop

grind Deep North gear takes more steps than any earlier tier. First build the two new stations shown in the video:

The new metal is Bloodgold. Kill a Gammeltroll (the wiki lists its punch at 220 blunt damage, so don't trade hits). When its health runs out, its body turns to stone. Break it with Ember Charges (2 Seal pelts and 1 Ember make 10) to get Petrified Tissue. Empty your bags first, because it's very heavy. Smelt the tissue in the Blast furnace and you have Bloodgold.

Every Deep North item then follows the same loop: Ice into the Frigid Kiln for Liquid Frost, a mould to a level 4 Black forge to make a cast (the video's Nord Axe cast costs the mould, 20 Bloodgold and 10 Timberwood), then the cast and Liquid Frost into the Frost Foundry. A level 4 Black forge needs the Metal cutter from the Ashlands, so don't skip it.

Mörkhalla, Malicious Blood and Kall Fimbulbringer

setup The last stretch of the Deep North order runs through the Gates of Mörkhalla, the dark gothic dungeons. You need two things to get in:

• A Grappling hook: 10 Yggdrasil wood, 10 Refined eitr, 4 Mandibles and a Hook. Primary attack fires it, secondary pulls you in.
• An Intricate key: its mould drops in the Winding Tunnels. Cast it with 5 Bloodgold and finish it in the Frost Foundry. Make three, because you'll clear three Mörkhalla dungeons.

Inside, the video says Krigen can drop moulds for the Protector set (the heaviest armor) plus Leather straps, and the flying Hexen drop Caller mage-set moulds and Nornathreads. The 18 September 2026 patch notes add that both Jotun warrior types now drop medium and heavy armor moulds, so expect more moulds than the video suggests. At the bottom, break the Malicious Ice to start a Jotun invasion. Read the red glowing slab, which reveals the Aesir Passage, and take the Memorial core. The invasion shows as a red circle on your map (zoom out if you can't see it). Fight through to the giant Malicious Ice there and break it for Malicious Blood.

Do that three times, then offer 3 Malicious Blood at the Aesir Passage altar to open the Prison, where Kall Fimbulbringer waits. The video calls him the hardest boss in Valheim and says dying the first few times is normal. The wiki has no page on him yet. One optional extra: a Memorial core offered at the North Memorial Palace summons Fallen Soldiers, whose Frostfire or Thunderblood essence (plus 20 Bloodgold at a level 4 Black forge) enhances a Deep North weapon.

Valheim ore progression and gear progression by tier

free Valheim's gear progression is really an ore progression: each biome adds one metal, and each metal is a full tier of armor, weapons and tools. Ore and metal can't go through regular portals, so mine near a base or bring a ship.

The wiki totals 920 Flametal to craft and fully upgrade one of every Ashlands-tier item, so the Ashlands is the longest metal grind before the Deep North.

Valheim forge upgrades and crafting stations

cheap Upgrade levels on your gear are capped by station level, so the Valheim tech tree is really a list of station upgrades. The Forge goes up to level 7 with six add-ons, per the wiki:

The Black forge (Mistlands, built with Black cores) has its own chain: Black forge cooler and Vice from Mistlands materials, then the Metal cutter and Gem cutter, which both need Flametal from the Ashlands. Valheim 1.0 added Smith's Aprons, which take the Black forge to level 6. The other stations come with their bosses: Artisan table from Moder, Galdr table and Eitr refinery from Black cores, Artisan press from the Queen, and the Frigid Kiln and Frost Foundry in the Deep North.

Forsaken powers in 1.0: what each boss gives you now

skip Don't plan around the power numbers in the 2024 source video. The Call to Arms patch (0.221.4, 9 September 2025) rebalanced every Forsaken power, and the video's numbers for Elder, Bonemass, Yagluth and the Queen are now wrong. All powers last 5 minutes, share a 20-minute cooldown, and reach players within 10 meters. Current values from the wiki:

Moder's power is now the best for hauling ore and eggs; Bonemass is a blocking power rather than the big damage cut the video describes.

How this guide was fact-checked

• Main source: SnazzyGames' Valheims Ultimate Biome Progression Guide (7 Biomes in 2025), uploaded 20 February 2024. Despite the title, it covers Meadows through Mistlands plus the Ocean and ends at the Queen, before the Ashlands update and Valheim 1.0.
• Deep North source: Deltia's Gaming's Valheim Deep North Progression Guide, uploaded 6 October 2026. All Deep North costs (Eternal Pyre, Snow shovel, Frigid Kiln, Frost Foundry, Ember Charges, Nord Axe cast, Grappling hook, Intricate key) come from this video and its on-screen frames, because the wiki's Deep North page is marked unfinished and has no pages for those items or for Kall Fimbulbringer.
• Wiki (valheim.fandom.com, checked 20 October 2026): every boss's summon item, resistances and drop, Majestic carapace, the Drakkar recipe, Kindled Ribs (formerly Fader relic), Bell fragments, Flametal, the Forge and Black forge upgrade tables, the Forsaken power values and the Valheim 1.0 version history (live patch 1.0.20).
• Corrections to the 2024 video: the Queen's drop is no longer a placeholder (it's 5 Majestic carapace, which leads to the Drakkar); she is resummoned with Seeker soldier trophies; and the Elder, Bonemass, Yagluth and Queen powers were all changed in patch 0.221.4, as shown in the table above. The Ashlands section is written from the wiki because neither video covers it in detail.
• Correction from patch notes to the Deep North video: since 18 September 2026, both Jotun warrior types drop medium and heavy armor moulds.

What this guide doesn't answer

• Full boss fight walkthroughs beyond the first boss: each boss deserves its own page with attack tables. Start with the Eikthyr guide.
• Kall Fimbulbringer's attacks and phases: the 1.0 source video leaves them for a separate video, and the wiki has no page yet, so we won't guess.
• Best food per biome: food tables change with every biome and need their own guide.
• Every armor set's stats: this guide names the tier that matters for progression, not every piece.
• The Forge of Potential and alternate biomes added in 1.0: neither source covers them well enough to explain yet.
• Mods and world modifiers: this is the order for a standard Valheim progression 2026 world on the live 1.0.20 patch.