Intro
Valheim has taken the world by storm. Millions of players have descended across vast Viking landscapes to survive and battle the Forsaken Gods. The first real challenge in Valheim is the Elder, the game’s second boss fight. Defeating Valheim’s creepy wicker man can be a serious challenge and require players to learn a few tricks and make preparations before the battle.
Preparation
While you may take out the first Forsaken god, Eikthyr, with simple equipment and light armor, the Elder presents a much more significant challenge and thus requires some preparation. You will need a considerable amount of food, armor, and arrows to take on the Elder successfully.
Food
In Valheim, you can have three food buffs at a time, but each must come from a different food item. With each unique piece of food, you will gain a set amount of stamina and health. Cooked meat from deer and neck tails should be your priority because they provide the best stat increases available early on. For your third food buff, you can use either blueberries, raspberries, or mushrooms. These items can be easily found in the Meadow and Black Forrest biomes. It is recommended to have an ample supply of each so you can keep your health up throughout the boss fight.
Armor
The best thing you can do to survive the Elder besides eating is crafting armor. Equipping armor grants a passive damage reduction that allows you to survive attacks from stronger foes. The rag or leather sets provide some base protections but are insufficient to survive the Elder’s attacks. To protect yourself from being one-shot, you will need your three food buffs and, minimum, the Troll armor set. The bronze armor set is recommended but can take significantly more time to craft, so keep that in mind when preparing for the fight.
Weapons
Fighting the Elder is exponentially easier at range. Using a bow will allow you to stay mobile and avoid attacks while chipping away at the boss’s health. Melee combat is viable, but the Elder’s close-range attacks and additional enemy spawns can be incredibly dangerous. The arrows you use are more important than the bow you bring and should be prioritized when crafting. Fire arrows are the best against the Elder and can be easily crafted with early game items. Flinthead arrows are a close second; they do similar damage but are a bit tougher to craft. Wood arrows are do little damage and should only be used if absolutely necessary. Taking the time to craft the Finewood Bow can provide a significant damage boost to your range attacks but is not required to beat the Elder.
Finding the Elder
Once you are prepared to take on the Elder, the next step is finding the Forsaken God. There are red etched tablets scattered across the Black Forrest biome, and by reading them, you will unlock a marker for the Elder on your map. Like the first boss, there will be an altar at the marker location that requires specific items to summon the Forsaken god.
Summoning the Elder
To summon the Elder, you will need two Ancient Seeds. These items drop from Grey Dwarf Brutes and the Purple Greydwarf nests you will find around the Black Forrest. To summon the boss, you must then burn two of these seeds at the Elder’s altar.
You Might Need a Boat
One of the biggest hurdles you can run into when fighting the Elder is getting to him. Because Valheim is procedurally generated. The Elder’s altar can be across a large body of water from where you start your Viking adventure. If this is the case, you will need to craft a boat to get to him. The Raft is the first boat you can make in the game but is tremendously slow and treacherous. If you are farming ore for bronze armor, then making the Karve much easier. The Karve is the second ship you can create and is much larger and faster.
Tips and Tricks for Fighting the Elder
Even with all the proper preparations in place, the fight with the Elder can still be a challenge. There are, however, some additional tips and tricks you can use to get the edge on the Forsaken God in combat. To start, you should make sure to start the fight during the day as it will decrease the spawns of additional enemies.
Use Bonfire Traps
Before summoning the Elder, strategically build Campfires around his alter to set fire traps. When the Elder walks across the fires, he will be set ablaze and start taking damage over time. This will allow you to focus on movement and survival without making the fight take forever. Be warned, though, if you add too many Campfires, it could slow down local servers or computers with less powerful hardware.
Clear the Area
Besides the Elder’s hard-hitting attacks, the additional enemies that appear will be your greatest challenge. The fight will be loud, and enemies in the area will be attracted to the noise. Before you summon the boss, try and take some time to clear the area. Removing Greydwarf spawners and Trolls will give you valuable breathing room during the fight.
Set a Close Spawn
Death is inevitable in Valheim, but it’s not the end of the fight. You can die while battling the Elder, and the boss will not de-spawn. If you make a small outpost with a bed and some food nearby, you can quickly get back into the action. Be careful not to make your spawn too close because if you get the boss’s attention, he can destroy structures or even your bed.
Use Your Eikthyr Power
After you defeat the first boss Eikthyr, you will gain his Forsaken Power, which reduces the amount of stamina used while running. This is massive when fighting the Elder, and thus, you should make sure to save your Forsaken ability to be active during the fight.
