There comes a point in Valheim, normally after The Elder has been defeated, when mead and potions become a necessity. In this world, mead has more utility value than setting up a fun night.
Some meads will offer resistance to frost and fire damage, which are necessary to traverse later biomes. Others can provide instant healing when the enemies ramp up in difficulty, far exceeding those found in Valheim's Meadows and the Black Forest.
Before concocting these powerful elixirs, players must first have access to a Fermenter, which can actually be built relatively early in the game. Here's how to craft the Fermenter and its various recipes.
Crafting The Fermenter
Players will not be able to craft the Fermenter without first having the ability to forge Bronze, which is an amalgamation consisting of two Copper and one Tin. It isn't possible to get a pickaxe that can mine ore until Eikthyr, the game's first boss, has been defeated.
At least 10 Copper ore and five Tin ore will need to be harvested in order to craft the Fermenter, which requires five Bronze bars. In addition, players will have to collect 30 Fine Wood, which can drop from Birch or Oak Trees, and 10 Resin, which can be found in saplings, or by killing Greylings and Greydwarves. Birch Trees can only be chopped down by a Bronze Axe.
The Fermenter can then be accessed through the Hammer's crafting interface, though it must be placed within range of an upgraded Workbench. From there, players will unlock the ability to craft mead bases.
Fermenter Recipes
The Fermenter does not make the mead itself-- it only makes the mead bases, which must then be taken to a Cauldron to convert into drinkable form. Every mead base recipe, with the exception of one, requires honey, which can be harvested from Bee Farms after players have found a Queen Bee.
Here are all the bases that can be made at the Fermenter, and what they do once they are converted to a consumable.
- Mead base: Tasty- 10 Honey, 10 Raspberries, 5 Blueberries. (-50% Health regen, 300% Stamina regen; 10 second duration)
- Mead base: Poison resistance- 10 Honey, 5 Thistle, 1 Neck Tail, 10 Coal. (Take less damage from poison; 600 second duration)
- Mead base: Frost resistance- 10 Honey, 5 Thistle, 2 Bloodbag, 1 Greydwarf Eye. (Resistant against Frost damage, 600 second duration)
- Mead base: Minor healing- 10 Honey, 5 Blueberries, 10 Raspberries, 1 Dandelion. (Regenerates 50 health)
- Mead base: Medium healing- 10 Honey, 4 Bloodbag, 10 Raspberries, 1 Dandelion. (Regenerates 75 health)
- Mead base: Minor stamina- 10 Honey, 10 Raspberries, 10 Yellow Mushroom. (Regenerates 80 stamina)
- Mead base: Medium stamina- 10 Honey, 10 Cloudberries, 10 Yellow Mushroom. (Regenerates 160 stamina, increases rate of stamina regen over 120 seconds)
- Barley wine base: Fire resistance- 10 Barley, 10 Cloudberries. (Resistance against Fire damage; 600 second duration)
Each mead base will in turn create 6 drinkable items when put in a Cauldron. The conversion is a lengthy process, that varies based on the desired item.
Valheim is available now on PC.