This is the third of our guides to the various technology stages in Valheim, written with the recent Hearth and Home update changes included. The Silver Age, as we have called it, heralds the discovery of Silver in the Mountains and the creation of items crafted from Silver and Wolf Pelts. Prior to this you will be in the Iron Age.
Advancing to the Silver Age
The Silver Age is the period during which you start to craft most of your armour and weapons out of a combination of Silver and Wolf Pelts. You will likely improve your mead production and farms during this time. You will also have explored a lot more of the world by sea.
To progress to this phase you will need to be able to find Silver deposits in the Mountains. It is possible to find Silver deposits earlier as sometimes they spawn above ground and it is also possible to strike lucky while digging down and hit Silver. However, the easiest way by far is to use the Wishbone. This is the prize for defeating Bonemass in the Swamp, and can be used in a similar way to water divining to find Silver below the ground.
As well as finding Silver you will also need a steady supply of Wolf Pelts, as the two materials go hand in hand. Wolf Pelts are perfectly possible to obtain at any level of the game, although it is far easier when you have the appropriate meads.
Mountains
The biome in which you will spend most of your time during this period is the Mountains. Mountains can spawn immediately adjacent to your starting biome sometimes, or you may need to travel a little way to find them. You may not have gone very far into any Mountains until now, simply because the cold will kill the unwary traveller who does not have the correct equipment.
As well as extreme cold, Mountains are difficult to navigate due to the extreme steepness of the slopes. Frost Resistant Mead is essential in the early stages until you can start crafting Wolf Armour. You will require a large amount of stamina to climb to the top of these biomes, particularly on some of the near vertical crags. It is not uncommon to run out of stamina partway through a climb. Then you run the risk of falling to your death at the bottom of the Mountain. Beware of rain in the Mountains. This will combine with the cold to overcome a single mode of frost resistance.
Residents of the Mountain include Drakes, young dragons, who fly above and breathe ice at their enemy. They can only easily be taken down with a bow, preferably with Fire arrows as they have a weakness for fire.
Snow Golems can also be found, sleeping disguised as piles of rocks. They are incredibly tough and will take a lot of damage before being destroyed. Golems are powerful and will easily kill Vikings without strong armour. They are susceptible to pickaxes, although the difficulties and hazards of trying to use a pickaxe outweighs this advantage. Maces are the next best weapon to use on them.
Wolves are another Mountain creature, and can be found in small packs. They are easily killed for their pelts, fangs and meat, but players may prefer to capture and tame them for breeding more wolves.
The Fenring is a werewolf which appears when the moon rises. They are more powerful than standard wolves, and are weak to fire weapons. They are uncommonly seen.
You will find groups of Skeletons in Mountain Towers in this biome. They are easy to kill, particularly with a mace or fire arrows.
Acquiring Silver and Wolf Pelts
Your main resource in this period is Silver. You will realistically need to kill Bonemass to get the wishbone before you can start finding Silver. Once you’ve done this you can visit the Mountains.
You will need to take Frost Resistance Mead with you, and use it continuously while above the snowline. Without this you will likely freeze within a couple of minutes of entering the Mountains. The freezing effect can also be counteracted by wearing Wolf Armour Chest, Wolf Fur Cape or the Lox Cape, or by sheltering or huddling around a fire source. None of these methods can be used alone if you are wet, so steer clear of rainstorms around the edge of Mountains. You should also take full Iron Armour with you, a decent bow with Fire arrows, and a blunt weapon. For mining you need the wishbone and an iron pickaxe.
To find the Silver Ore you should equip the wishbone and wander the Mountain. When you get close to a vein of Silver (around 20 metres away) the wishbone will begin to make a pinging sound and you will see a pulsing effect emanating from the wishbone. You should circle around and find the point at which the sound is most rapid, as this wil be the centre of the silver ore vein. Be wary that the vein may be buried deeply below the ground, so the wishbone may not reach full intensity until you dig further down. The wishbone will cease pinging once you begin mining the vein. An iron pickaxe is necessary to take the iron ore – a bronze pickaxe or worse will not mine silver.
Silver Ore can be carried down the Mountain (not possible to teleport) and smelted in the smelter in the same manner as Copper to make Silver Bars. It may be useful to create a track up the Mountain using the hoe and then craft a cart to carry larger amounts of Silver Ore back down, or to find a Mountain close to the coast so that you can load a ship with ores. Beware that you don’t allow your cart to fall off the edge of a cliff, however, as it will be destroyed and your silver will be scattered around.
Wolves can be found roaming the Mountains. It would be advisable to tame a few in order to be able to breed more wolves for their pelts instead of depending on finding packs to kill. As well as Wolf Pelts, you also get Wolf Meat and Wolf Fangs.
Silver Age Tools and Weapons
Weapons unlocked at this period are the Silver Sword, granting a Spirit damage bonus useful for undead enemies, the Fang Spear (needing Ancient Bark, Wolf Fangs, Leather Scraps and Silver to craft), Frostner (needing Ancient Bark, Silver, Ymir Flesh, and Freeze Glands) which is excellent at damaging enemies through Frost, Spirit and Knockback damage. The Crystal Battleaxe is also unlocked, requiring Ancient Bark, Silver and Crystal to craft. The Draugr Fang is the next bow to be unlocked, needing Ancient Bark, Silver, Deer Hide and Guck to make.
There is a whole set of Wolf Armour available now, with Wolf Armour Legs, Wolf Armour Chest piece, Drake Helmet, and Wolf Fur Cape. These need various combinations of Wolf Pelts, Silver, and Wolf Fangs, Chain or Drake Trophies to craft. The Silver Shield can now be made as well
Obsidian, Poison and Frost Arrows are unlocked due to the availability of Obsidian, and Silver Arrows are also unlocked.
Resources in the Silver Age
Obsidian can now be mined due to the availability of the Iron Pickaxe, and leads to much improved arrows.
Silver is a major resource and is used to craft improved weapons and armour.
Wolf Pelts are used alongside Silver in crafting armour. They can also be used to make a comfortable Wolf Rug, and form part of the Dragon Bed.
Freeze Glands are dropped by Drakes. These are a key ingredient in the Frost Arrow, Frostner and Eyescream.
Crystals are dropped by Stone Golems, and can be used to craft te Crystal Battleaxe as well as the Crystal Wall which provides comfort.
The Tool Shelf upgrade is now possible for the Workbench, requiring Fine Wood, Iron and Obsidian to produce.
The Cauldron can be upgraded with a Butcher’s Table, needing Ancient Bark, Core Wood, Fine Wood and Silver to make. This grants access to Eyescream, Wolf Jerky and Wolf Skewer.
Silver Age Challenges
The biggest challenge you will face now is getting enough Silver down from the Mountains to craft and upgrade your armour and weapons. Stone Golems are a tough enemy, and they lie in wait disguised as a pile of rocks. Until you have your Wolf Chest plate or Wolf Cape, you will be exposed to the cold. Your mead production facilities need to be working to maintain a supply of both Frost Resistance and Poison Resistance Meads. Exploration will be well underway by now, and you will probably have found a number of plains biomes to take a look at. You should have built up a network of portals by now, and you can use these to travel from one biome to another.
Next Step: Textiles
It can take a lot of work to develop everything you want to in the Silver Age, and there is likely to be a blending of technologies with the following stage. When you feel strong enough you will need to take on the boss of the Mountains, Moder, which will provide you with the required materials to move into Textiles!
