Valheim Elder Boss Guide: Location, How To Summon & Defeat

With Valheim still being in Early Access on Steam, there's only a total of five bosses to defeat. These bosses are called The Forsaken, enemies of Odin and the player's main goal. We've already shown you how to defeat the first boss, Eikthyr, and now, we have a boss guide to the Elder. Maybe, just maybe, Odin could even appear if you defeat this daunting Valheim boss.

Valheim Elder boss location & how to summon

First of all, you need to be able to survive in the Black Forest biome, where the Elder boss is located. This also means you will need a craft boat to travel across the water.

Once there, the location of the Elder boss will be revealed by interacting with Rune Stones in the Burial Chambers located in the Black Forest.

(Picture: Iron Gate AB)

Once you've gathered three Ancient Seeds. These items can be found by destroying Greydwarf nests, or by defeating Greydwarf Shamans and Brutes.

• Read more: Valheim: What Graydwarf Eyes are for

Now, head towards the Elder boss' summoning altar, and burn three Ancient Seeds to summon the boss. It is important to note this boss does not despawn, so you need to be prepared to defeat it.

How to defeat Elder (2nd boss) in Valheim

First up, you will need much better gear than the pieces you've defeated Eikthyr with. Through a lot of farming and creating tools, you should be able to get a full set of Bronze Armour and better weapons which includes:

• Bronze Helmet
• Bronze Plate Cuirass,
• Bronze Plate Leggings
• A Bronze Shield
• A Bronze Axe
• A Fine Bow
• At least 100 arrows

It is also recommended you pick up either a Deer or Troll cape, as the Elder boss is quite difficult to defeat. You should also stock up on some meads to use during the fight, and our full guide on meads has you covered in this regard.

(Picture: Iron Gate AB)

The Elder boss in Valheim has three main attacks. The first one is a melee stomp with AOE damage, followed by a ranged tentacle-like attack, and it can also summon roots to attack the player.

While you can defeat the Elder boss in Valheim with melee weapons, we highly recommend using the bow and peppering it with arrows from range. You can use the pillars of the Summoning Alter to negate its attacks. 

We recommend building a base where you can respawn close to the Elder boss' location in Valheim.

Digging a hole in the ground can help you avoid the Elder boss' attacks completely. While this is a bit of a cheesy tactic, if you are struggling to defeat the boss, this might be your best bet. Check out the video below from ESO showcasing the tactic in action.

Another trick is to build campfires around the altar before summoning the Elder boss, and kite the boss into these fires to set it ablaze, which should help deal more damage.

• Read more: Viral Valheim clip shows how dangerous it can be to invite friends round

Once defeated, the Elder boss will drop the Swamp Key (your next location) as well as the Elder Trophy, which increases your woodcutting speed.

Happy hunting to everyone who is trying to defeat the Elder boss in Valheim. Hopefully, this guide will give you a better chance of surviving this difficult encounter.