Valheim Early Progression Guide: Prerequisites and Next Checks
Early progression after the base works, organized by prerequisites, landmarks, tools, actions and next checks. Specific progression answers stay closed by stage; world-generation and settings differences are also separated.
Edition: PC Steam base game (app 892970), standard survival in a new world. Normal World Modifiers, 1× resources, building costs enabled, map enabled, and normal death and portal rules. Solo controls are used as examples, with co-op differences identified separately. No mods.
Verification scope: Compared on 2026-10-04 against official standard patch 1.0.16 (2026-09-25). Version 1.0 was released on 2026-09-09. Public Test, old Early Access versions and mods are outside scope. Some early recipes were compared using retrieved portions of the pre-migration wiki and independent guides. The destination wiki was inaccessible, and a complete runtime/game-data comparison against 1.0.16 has not been performed.
Sources checked: 2026-10-04
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Searching does not open answer tables. Choose the answer you want to reveal.
Identify your current stage before opening an answer
A missing craft can mean undiscovered materials, the wrong station, insufficient station level or insufficient personal stock. Before traveling far, read the requirements of recipes currently available.
- Open the workbench and check whether the desired item appears. If it does, read the station level and missing materials.
- Receive new materials personally even if a companion already holds them, then recheck crafting. Distinguish shared-chest stock from your own discoveries.
- Confirm the base, bed, food and repairs work before opening the answer for the relevant stage.
This is one example of the normal route. No fixed coordinates, guaranteed timetable or claim that every stage must follow exactly this order is made. Specific unlocks and summoning requirements are inside closed sections.
Answer 2 (spoilers)
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From Eikthyr to the first mining tool
Once you can live in the Meadows, connect the first boss to a mining tool. The summoning site and the starting stones where you hang the trophy afterward are separate places.
- Before combat, replenish 3 different foods, Rested and weapon/shield durability. Avoid exhausting stamina through long attack sequences; counter briefly between enemy attacks.
- Watch antler strikes and lightning attacks while leaving room to change distance. Do not use normal-difficulty advice as a blocking guarantee at higher difficulty.
- Collect the drops and confirm you can make the tool at base. Resummoning at the altar is not the next mandatory task.
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Stage landmark | Prerequisite | Tool/facility | Action and next check | Exception |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small red stone at the starting site | Map enabled | Examine the Vegvisir. | Eikthyr’s altar location is marked on the map. | The same guidance is unavailable with no map. |
| Able to hunt deer | Bow/arrows or a suitable hunting weapon | Crude bow: 10 wood, 8 leather scraps, workbench level 1 | Gather 2 deer trophies, not deer hide. | A trophy is not guaranteed on every kill. |
| At the altar | Food, rest, repairs and an escape route | Offering in the hotbar | Face the altar and use 2 deer trophies with the number key assigned to the offering. | Coordinate to avoid additional simultaneous summons. |
| Boss defeated | Free space for drops | Hard antler/trophy | Receive the hard antler in your own inventory. | In co-op, distribute materials for each player’s tool. |
| Back at base | 10 wood, 1 hard antler | Sheltered workbench level 1 | Craft and equip an antler pickaxe. | The antler pickaxe can be repaired at workbench level 1. |
| Back at the starting site | Eikthyr trophy | Corresponding sacrificial stone | Hang the trophy and check the power-selection prompt. | Selecting a power and activating it are separate actions. |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
No requirement to finish upgrading every armor piece or carry a fixed arrow count is imposed here. Preparation means being able to maintain food, durability and an escape route for your fighting style.
Answer 3 (spoilers)
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Gather cores and ore separately in the Black Forest
Making an antler pickaxe does not produce metal items by itself. Prepare for mining ore separately from collecting the materials for ore-processing facilities.
- Before exploring a Burial Chamber, identify the route back to its entrance. Do not open several unchecked doors at once; return outside when your load grows.
- You need not finish core collection and ore mining in the same trip. Return when tool durability drops and establish processing a little at a time.
- Copper ore is heavy, so check the pickup quantity and free slots. Keep transport and fighting separate rather than advancing toward unknown enemies while carrying ore.
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Stage landmark | Prerequisite | Tool/facility | Action and next check | Exception |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Forest boundary | Food and repairs sufficient to return | Map biome name and surroundings | Mark deposits and entrances when found. | Terrain, distance and entrance counts vary by seed. |
| Burial Chamber entrance | Equipment/light for skeletons and other threats | Weapon, shield, torch or similar supplies | Advance gradually and bring back red-glowing Surtling cores. | Rooms do not all contain the same number of cores. |
| Large rock with metallic veins | Antler pickaxe | Copper deposit | Check the target name, mine and pick up copper ore. | It continues underground; water level and terrain limit excavation. |
| Small deposit at the Black Forest water’s edge | Antler pickaxe | Tin deposit | Mine tin ore and store it separately from copper. | Different from Meadows flint |
| Core acquired | Building materials and workbench | Kiln/smelter building list | Check 20 stone and 5 cores per facility. | Two placed simultaneously require 10 cores and 40 stone. |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Burial Chambers and Troll Caves are different places. Check the entrance name to confirm you are visiting for cores. Spawn timing and quantities obtained in a single trip are not fixed.
Answer 4 (spoilers)
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Connect smelting to a forge and bronze
Taking raw ore straight to a forge does not make bronze. The three stages are making coal, turning ore into metal, and alloying copper with tin.
- With only 5 cores, one option is to accumulate coal in a kiln, dismantle it and use the recovered stone and cores to build a smelter. Confirm every recovered item was collected before rebuilding.
- For simultaneous kiln and smelter operation, prepare each facility’s cost separately. Separating an indoor forge from a well-ventilated processing area makes displays easier to check.
- Put finished metal into your own inventory once and check crafting. Do not skip checking personal discovery merely because the item is in a chest or a companion made it.
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Stage landmark | Prerequisite | Tool/facility | Action and next check | Exception |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel needed | 20 stone, 5 cores, workbench range | Place a charcoal kiln on ground/stone. | Feed in ordinary wood and pick up the discharged coal. | Do not mix rare wood into your carried supplies. |
| Process ore | 20 stone, 5 cores, workbench range | Place a smelter on ground/stone. | Add ore and coal through separate openings and collect metal from the front. | Blocked smoke stops operation. |
| First copper produced | 4 stone, 4 coal, 10 wood, 6 copper | Build a forge. | Provide roof/cover and open crafting. | 6 smelted copper, not 6 copper ore |
| Copper and tin in inventory | 2 copper, 1 tin | Forge level 1 | Craft 1 bronze. | 3 units of raw material do not yield 3 bronze. |
| Choose the next tool | A purpose for the desired item | Crafting cost and level | Obtain materials for the one item needed first. | Do not assume every equipment item must be made. |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Reusing a dismantled kiln does not mean fuel is always refunded. Sort input and output first, and do this where dropped cores will not be lost.
Answer 5 (spoilers)
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Extend exploration with a bronze axe and a way home
Before rushing to the next boss, expand the wood you can process and prepare return travel. For both, confirm actual usability after crafting.
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Stage landmark | Prerequisite | Tool/facility | Action and next check | Exception |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| You want to cut harder trees | 4 wood, 8 bronze, 2 leather scraps | Bronze axe at forge level 1 | Fell birch/oak and collect fine wood. | Do not try to fell the same trees with a stone axe. |
| Walking back and forth takes too long | Portal materials discovered | For 1 portal: 20 fine wood, 10 eyes, 2 cores | Give the base and expedition portals the same tag. | One portal alone does not transport you to the expedition site. |
| Test whether you can return | Safe footing at both ends | Tag and connection state | Make one return trip without ore to confirm the destination. | Unavailable with portals disabled |
| Carrying ore prevents passage | Normal wooden-portal rules | Non-teleportable inventory items | Put down metals/ore and plan separate overland or boat transport. | Conditions differ when metal transport is enabled. |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Portal costs are for 1 portal. For a pair, multiply them by 2 and separately prepare placement workbenches and protective building pieces. Do not mix late-game portal types with these early conditions.
Answer 6 (spoilers)
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From preparing for The Elder to entering the next region
This covers the second boss and the key used afterward. It does not claim to complete long-term Swamp survival or the next boss guide.
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Stage landmark | Prerequisite | Tool/facility | Action and next check | Exception |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| You cannot locate The Elder | Able to explore the Black Forest | Vegvisir in Burial Chambers/ruins | Examine it to mark the altar location. | The nearest altar may be far away. |
| Gather offerings | Prepared for fighting and bringing items home | Ancient seeds | Gather 3 from brutes or nests. | Not crop seeds for planting |
| At the altar before summoning | Repairs, food, rest and an escape route | Shield/weapon/bow and enough consumables | Clear nearby enemies and offer 3 items at the altar. | Choose a location that does not endanger a nearby base. |
| During combat | Ground where you can move safely | Altar pillars and distance | Use pillars as cover against ranged attacks and move away from emerging roots. | Watch attacks when leaving cover and enemies nearby. |
| After victory | Collect drops | Swamp key | Bring the key home and keep it in a chest where it will not be lost. | In co-op, decide who will carry it. |
| Enter the Swamp | An escape route and a return base outside the biome | Key/pickaxe/environmental preparations | Unlock a Sunken Crypt entrance and make obtaining scrap iron the next objective. | Swamps do not all contain the same number of crypts. |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Using pillars is one example, not a guarantee of taking no damage or needing a fixed arrow count. Getting the key does not make the Swamp safe. Prepare equipment and food for local enemies, wetness and terrain.
Answer 7 (spoilers)
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Where to return when early progression stalls
Check only the preceding step relevant to the symptom. Material state and station names often identify the cause more effectively than restarting the entire process.
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Progression problem | Required unlock/material | Station/location to revisit | Settings differences |
|---|---|---|---|
| The pickaxe is absent from the list | Whether you personally acquired hard antler | Boss drops/shared chest → workbench | Imported characters can have different discoveries. |
| Not enough cores | 5 cores each for kiln/smelter | Another Burial Chamber, or alternate use of the facilities | Resource multipliers do not guarantee a fixed amount per chamber. |
| You have copper but cannot build a forge | 6 smelted copper, not ore, plus stone/coal/wood | Smelter output → inventory | No-building-cost settings are separate. |
| Bronze quantity does not increase | Carry 2 copper + 1 tin. | Forge crafting list | Do not assume automatic chest-supply mods. |
| A new axe cannot be repaired | Forge type/level | Sheltered forge | Separate from tools repaired at a workbench |
| You cannot return to the expedition site | Paired tags/intact facilities/non-teleportable items | Base and expedition portals | Check Portals settings. |
| The next region’s entrance will not open | Carry the Swamp key. | Key storage chest → relevant entrance | Normal route; exploits are not used as instructions. |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Frequently asked questions
Should I defeat a boss whenever a recipe is missing?
Not necessarily. First check whether you personally acquired the materials, are using the correct station and meet its level. Specific progression unlocks are explained in this article’s closed stage-by-stage answers.
My friend’s world progresses differently after the same number of days.
Generated terrain, settings, player count and discovered materials differ. Compare tools, stations, food and return travel rather than treating elapsed days as prerequisites.
The boss altar is not where the article shows it.
Positions differ with world generation. Use guidance stones and terrain in your world instead of fixed coordinates. Open the relevant stage’s answer for specific search guidance.
My companion discovered a material, but my crafting list did not expand.
Take the material from shared storage into your own inventory, then open the relevant station. Check recipe visibility separately from having the required quantity.