Valheim Mountain guide: Wolves, Drakes, and more
The Mountains are dangerous and cold, so dress for the occasion
After traveling through Valheim's peaceful Meadows, resource-rich Black Forest, and the treacherous Swamp, one might think that they might be prepared for everything the Viking survival game has to offer. Well, you might rethink the notion the moment you discover the Mountain biome, a place full of deadly enemies and deadly weather.
Players will have to use all they've learned thus far to conquer the snowcapped mountains and claim the head of the dreaded Moder. Here's a detailed guide on everything you need to know about the Mountain, including how to find it, how you should prepare for it, and what kinds of treasure you'll find there.
Valheim Mountain guide: How to find the Mountains
Valheim's world is vast and procedurally generated, so everyone's map is different. You may find the Mountains close to the land you start on, or a couple of islands away. Head towards any tall mountains on the horizon, and you might just come across the frigid mountain base.
Valheim Mountain guide: How to prepare for the Mountain
Now that you've found the Mountains, it might be a good idea to establish a base camp nearby. Preparations must be made unless the elements will make a fool of you.
- Attempting to explore the Mountains will trigger the Freezing effect and you'll take a slow but steady stream of damage. To counteract this, players can drink a Frost Resistance Mead, build a shelter for the Shelter effect, stand near a campfire, or equip a Wolf set of armor. If you are wet while entering the Mountains, however, these won't take effect.
- Frost Resistance Mead lasts ten minutes and can be crafted by combining 10x Honey, 5x Thistle, 2x Bloodbag, and 1x Greydwarf Eye.
- At this point, you should have access to the Iron set of armor, which will aid you in your fight against the foes of the Mountain. This combined with the Frost Resistance Mead should keep you warm until you are able to harvest Wolf Pelts and Silver.
- Wolf armor is ideal for traversing the Mountain, but you'll need to find a good amount of resources before you can craft them. You only need to craft the chest piece and or the cape will be enough to ward off the cold.
- Drakes are a common enemy you'll encounter on the Mountain, so come equipped with a good bow and plenty of arrows, Fire Arrows in particular.
- The Mountain is rich with Silver Ore, a necessary resource to crafting some high-level gear, as well as the Wolf Armor set. To find silver veins in the mountains, you'll need the Wishbone which you get after defeating Bonemass.
- Visibility can sometimes get bad while exploring the mountains. You can use torches to light your path, but I recommend the Dverger Circlet that can be purchased from Haldor the Merchant in the Black Forest.
Valheim Mountain guide: Mountain Enemy List
The Mountains are dangerous and it's easy to lose your way in its arctic chill. Here's how to handle the monsters that call the biome home.
- Wolves – Wolves run wild in the mountains, and are quick and deadly. If you hear their howl, be prepared to fight. They also travel in packs, so try not to get swarmed by an angry wolf pack. Block their attacks and get the high ground, whenever you can.
- Drakes – Drakes are the children of Moder and fly around the biome, shooting down at you as you travel through. They're annoying, but not too difficult to take down. A Fire Arrow between the eyes will bring it down quickly. They're usually found near a nest full of Dragon Eggs.
- Fenrings – Fenrings are wolves cranked up to 11. They're essentially werewolves, appearing at night time when the moon is up. They are dangerous and recover almost instantly from a parry. Listen for their howl, which sounds different than the normal wolf howl.
- Stone Golems – Don't mistake the Stone Golem as just a pile of rocks. The Stone Golems are slow, but powerful magical beast. However, they are just as vulnerable to the Pickaxe as any normal rock.
Valheim Mountain guide: Taming wolves
While fighting (or running) from wolves, you might notice that they have a wild status, similar to boars. That means that wolves can be tamed, just like boars can. Many of the same principles apply to taming wolves as they do to taming boars, so take a look at our animal taming guide to learn more about how to capture a wolf of their own.
The great thing about taming a wolf is that you can bring them into battle with you. Build your own wolf pack!
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Valheim Mountain guide: Moder
Moder is the boss of the Mountain and the fourth boss you'll encounter in Valheim. Moder is a huge dragon that rules the mountain, but while he may be big, you can bring him down to size with these tips.
- To find Moder's location, look for the Rune hidden in one of the stone forts found on the mountain.
- To spawn Moder, you'll need to bring three Dragon Eggs to his alter. The Dragon Eggs are incredibly heavy, so you'll have to make multiple trips to the alter or divide them among your party.
- Use the Megingjord to increase your strength to prevent being over-encumbered when carrying the Dragon Eggs. You can buy one from Haldor the Merchant in the Black Forest.
- Moder spends most of its time in the air but comes swooping in occasionally. When Moder hits the ground, activate Bonemass' power to gain resistance against physical attacks.
- Poison Arrows work best against Moder, but Moder is also weak to fire.
- Moder has trouble navigating rough terrain, and they are very vulnerable on the ground.
Climb the tallest mountain
Defeating Moder and placing its trophy at the sacrificial altar will give players the power to control tailwinds, which is immensely useful when sailing in Valheim. Remember to gather as many resources as you can before heading out to the next biome, the Plains. Valheim may be in Early Access on Steam, but the sheer amount of content has hooked millions of players, and it's already become one of the best survival games on the PC.
Onward to Valhalla
A Viking life is a life for me
Valheim is a challenging yet entertaining survival game set in a world heavily inspired by Norse mythology. Build, craft, scavenge, and hunt your way to success.
Zackery Cuevas is a writer for Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore. I like playing video games, talking about video games, writing about video games, and most importantly, complaining about video games. If you're cool, you can follow me on Twitter @Zackzackzackery.