In Valheim, as in any other survival simulator, players will need resources to create tools, clothing, weapons, and to build houses and other structures. In this guide, we will tell you where to look and how to efficiently gather resources.
Where to gather wood? Of course, in the forest. At the very beginning of the game, when you don't have an axe yet, you can collect wood with your bare hands by hitting the trunk with your fists, or simply picking up wood from the ground. When you have an axe, everything becomes much easier, as you are surrounded by forests and abandoned houses. If you find an abandoned building, you have the opportunity to collect wood easily and quickly. Abandoned buildings often contain other items as well.
Attention: Do not use an axe or other tools to break down the building. Instead, place a workbench inside and only then start to demolish the walls and roof with a hammer (while holding the hammer, press the mouse wheel to demolish all elements of the building). Once you have collected everything you need, you can remove the workbench and move on. Even if you don't need wood, still look inside abandoned buildings — they often contain many useful things.
In the Black Forest, you can find more types of wood, and in the swamps, there are always many fallen trees.
While regular wood is available to you from the very beginning of the game and is used in construction, fire making, and the creation of tools and weapons, valuable wood types become available after defeating the first boss, Eikthyr. Quality wood is used for creating improved structures and tools. For example, such wood is used to make furniture and ships.
Valuable wood types can only be harvested with a bronze axe (which requires tin and copper to create). Birch trees can always be recognized by their thin white trunks with black spots, these trees grow in plains and forests. Oaks, on the other hand, are thicker and darker than other trees; when you hover the cursor over the trunk of any tree, you will see its name, making it easier to search. Mostly, oaks can be found where birches are.
Coal in the game serves both as a building material and as fuel, so you constantly need it. It can be obtained while exploring the land — coal drops from Surtlings and is often found in chests in abandoned structures. Coal can also be crafted from different materials. For example, if you overcook raw meat or a Necks' tail over a fire, they will turn into coal. The easiest way to make coal is from wood, but for this, you need to build a charcoal kiln. Its blueprint becomes available when you mine your first Surtling core. To create a charcoal kiln, you need 20 stones, 5 Surtling cores, and a workbench. Now you can place up to 25 units of wood (quality or regular) at a time in the kiln. One unit of wood will produce one unit of coal.
In the game, you can eat honey, mushrooms, berries, raw and cooked meat. If you can't get meat, collect fruits, but of different kinds, otherwise, the character won't gain enough strength. Deer will run away, so you need a weapon. But boars may attack on their own, don't be afraid to fight them — you will need both their meat and skin.
Berries can be found in any biome, they are needed for health recovery and hunger satisfaction. From blueberries, you can make jam and a potion for health recovery. Blueberry bushes are mainly located in the Black Forest, but they can also be encountered in any other place. Mushrooms are needed for health recovery or creating a health recovery potion, they grow in forests and meadows, look for them on the ground.
Unlike wood, stone can be hard to come by, but it can be found in any biome. The main tools for mining stone are a hoe or a pickaxe. The simplest way is to look for small stones on the ground. Flint is not a stone but is useful for crafting. Many stones can be found near cliffs and outcrops, as well as on meadows. Moreover, stone can be mined in the ruins of buildings and watchtowers. Be attentive: enemies often roam around such places, always ready to attack. Stones also drop after defeating Greydwarfs.
Flint is needed for crafting, but finding it can be a challenge. Flint is located in biomes such as the Meadows and Plains, and it should be searched for along the shores of bodies of water. The resource looks like a small light-gray oval stone.
Chitin is needed for crafting weapons such as the abyssal harpoon and abyssal razor. To obtain chitin, you need to set sail in the ocean and look for krakens. This creature looks like a floating island, overgrown with greenery and mollusks. It's exactly these you need to collect by jumping from the boat onto the kraken. The kraken is completely harmless, however, it doesn't stay on the surface for long, and finding it can be challenging. So as soon as you spot it, get to work immediately. The collected barnacles will give you chitin. You'll need 30 units of chitin for the abyssal harpoon and 20 for the abyssal razor.
You can mine copper and tin. To do this, head to the Black Forest — a gloomy place filled with malevolent creatures. Make sure to bring all possible tools and weapons for battle. In the forest, there are green boulders covered with moss. That's where the deposits of tin and copper are located. Hover the mouse over the veins in the stone, and you'll see inscriptions indicating which resource is located at that spot. Remember, metal is very heavy, and you won't be able to carry more than 20 units.
Iron ore needs to be mined using a bronze axe, and you should look for it in the snowy mountains, swamps, craters, and crypts that can be found in the swamps.
Silver is needed for creating advanced weapons and armor. Silver drops after defeating the third boss, named Bonemass, besides, silver deposits are located in the mountains. Obsidian unlocks new upgrades and is needed for creating arrows. It can also be found in the mountains.
Leather and leather scraps can be obtained from deer and boars, respectively. Boars might come attacking you on their own, and you can also tame a boar. However, to get deer leather, you'll have to make an effort: these animals are very skittish and alert, so you will need to hunt them.