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Valheim features five different bosses that players must defeat in order to progress. While Valheim's first boss, Eikthyr, is fairly easy, players may have a slightly harder time with the second boss, the Elder.
Who's The Elder?
The Elder is the main boss of Valheim's Black Forest biome. This massive tree ent is big and comes with some wicked powers. Players who are inexperienced with the game may have some trouble with the fight, as the Elder is a big step up in difficulty from anything they have fought before. This boss has a stomp that can do a lot of damage, as well as a cluster of root whips that can be thrown at players at a distance. The Elder also can summon a plethora of whip-like roots all over the battle area, hitting the player from all sides.
Updated on March 15, 2023: Valheim has remained popular since its early access beginnings, and now that the Viking survival game has hit Xbox, there's a boatload of new players arriving in the world, ready to fight all the bosses that come their way. We've updated this boss fight guide for Valheim's the Elder enemy. We've spruced up some links, added more headers, and other little touches to make the post as relevant as possible.
Unlike Eikthyr, who only has 500 health, the Elder has a whopping 2,500 health, making it necessary to upgrade some weapons and armor in order to defeat it. However, players can easily solo the Elder with the right setup.
Getting Ready to Fight the Elder
In order to take on the Elder confidently, players will want to have as many bronze armor and weaponry upgrades as possible. Wearing a bronze plate cuirass, bronze plate leggings, bronze helmet, and using a bronze buckler will give the player enough defense to help them stand up to this giant tree enemy.
While Valheim's bronze pickaxe will be more useful overall to the player as the game progresses, focusing on defense for this particular fight will be a necessity.
Next, players will want to have the best possible Valheim food combinations available at the time. Most players looking to take on the Elder have not yet ventured into the Swamps, Mountains, or Plains, so the best food for the most stamina available to the player will be Cooked Fish, Carrot Soup, and Queen's Jam. If players haven't found the Valheim trader yet, the best combo is Grilled Neck Tail, Carrot Soup, and Queen's Jam.
Ferment Potions
With access to bronze, players will also be able to begin making potions. A few minor healing and stamina potions can be the difference between winning the battle against the Elder and having a corpse run to a live boss area. Minor healing potions are made by mixing these ingredients into a cauldron, then fermenting them for 2 in-game days:
- 10x Honey from Valheim honey bees
- 5x Blueberries
- 10x Raspberries
- 1x Dandelion
Minor stamina potions are made the same way but with a slightly different list of ingredients.
- 10x Honey
- 10x Raspberries
- 10x Yellow mushrooms which are found in Black Forest dungeons
Summon the Elder
Once players have a good meal, some potions on their item bars, and upgraded armor and weapons, they are ready to take on the Elder. But first, players will have to not only find the Elder's altar but also find a proper sacrifice to summon it.
In order to find the Elder, players will need to look for Burial Chambers or stone ruins in the Black Forest that have a red glowing rune stone. Interacting with this runestone will put a marker on the map where the Elder's altar is located.
Next, players will have to kill some Greydwarves, but not the basic ones that drop Greydwarf eyes. Greydwarf shamans and Greydwarf spawners only can drop the item needed to summon the Elder: Ancient Seeds. Players will need to collect three of these to offer to the fire at the altar.
Beating the Elder in Valheim
The best time to take on the Elder is early morning. The Black Forest can fill with Greydwarves at night, so players will want to start the fight as early in the day as possible. Players will also want to avoid fighting when it's raining if possible; the wet debuff causes the player's stamina to refill much more slowly than normal.
Next, players will either want to create a Valheim spawn point bed for themselves or build a portal to their spawn point somewhat close by. This will make it easy to get back items and rejoin the fight if a player dies. But it's not a good idea to build it too close to the fight, as the Elder can knock down player-built structures with its attacks.
After that, the Elder is ready to be summoned. Place the three Ancient Seeds into the item bar, then press the associated number while close to the altar. The Elder will appear, towering over the players and ready to fight.
The best way to battle this beast is to melee him. A Bronze buckler will block the damage from its stomp, so players can hit the tree boss with an axe, then block the attack before returning to swinging. Players can also use fire arrows and a Valheim fine wood bow for hefty damage.
When there are too many roots spawning around the player, or they need to let their stamina refill, they can hide behind one of the four pillars of the Elder's altar. While the Elder can knock down trees and structures, the pillars cannot be knocked down and therefore blocks all damage and prevents the root whip attack from connecting to the player.
Keep hitting the Elder and hiding when necessary, and this fight will soon be in the bag. Then players will finally get the Valheim Swamp Key and can continue to upgrade their equipment to iron.
Valheim is in Early Access for PC and Xbox.