Armour is an essential possession in Valheim. Without it you will very quickly succumb to the numerous enemies in the various biomes, and even to the biomes themselves. Armour protects you from weapons, but can also protect you from the cold, or prevent you from being seen. There are a few tiers of armour which you will reach in turn, so you will likely develop a set of each type over time.
A ‘Set’ of Valheim Armour
Within each set of Valheim armour are the chest piece, leggings, and helmet. Some sets have a cape as well. You can mix and match the sets. Each piece of armour will give you points towards your armour rating. The armour points will increase as you upgrade each piece as well. The total armour rating reduces the damage an incoming enemy attack will do to you.
If your armour rating is less than or equal to half of the attack power, then the armour will absorb the number of attack points equal to the armour rating.
If your armour rating is greater than half of the attack power, then the damage taken is D² / (4 * A), where D is the incoming attack power, and A is your armour rating.
For example, if you have top iron armour at 60 points, and you are attacked with a power of 80 points, the damage taken will be 80² / (4 * 60) = 26.67. Without the armour it would have been 80, which could one-shot kill most players if attacked without warning.
Valheim Rag Armour
You will have a rag tunic when you are deposited into the world. You can also craft rag pants to double your armour, but these are really only suitable for fending off wild animals, not intelligent attacks. Rag armour is made from leather scraps. To make Rag armour you will need the following:
- Rag Tunic: 5x Leather Scraps
- Rag Pants: 5x Leather Scraps
Valheim Leather Armour
The next step up from rags, you will need to hunt down deer for their skins to make these. You will also need to kill some skeletons, usually found inside stone towers in the Black Forest, or sometimes in the Meadows. Your Valheim armour will be greatly enhanced by this advance, particularly as it comes with both a cape and helmet – twice the pieces as the rag set.
You should aim to get at least the basic level of each piece of this armour as soon as you can.
| Level 1 (Workbench 2) | Level 2 Upgrade (Workbench 3) | Level 3 Upgrade (Workbench 4) | Level 4 Upgrade (Workbench 5) | |
| Leather Pants Weight 5 | 6x Deer Hide Armour 2 | 6x Deer Hide 5x Bone Fragments Armour 4 | 12x Deer Hide 10x Bone Fragments Armour 6 | 18x Deer Hide 15x Bone Fragments Armour 8 |
| Leather Tunic Weight 5 | 6x Deer Hide Armour 2 | 6x Deer Hide 5x Bone Fragments Armour 4 | 12x Deer Hide 10x Bone Fragments Armour 6 | 18x Deer Hide 15x Bone Fragments Armour 8 |
| Leather Helmet Weight 1 | 6x Deer Hide Armour 2 | 6x Deer Hide 5x Bone Fragments Armour 4 | 12x Deer Hide 10x Bone Fragments Armour 6 | 18x Deer Hide 15x Bone Fragments Armour 8 |
| Deer Hide Cape Weight 4 | 4x Deer Hide 5x Bone Fragments Armour 1 | 4x Deer Hide 5x Bone Fragments Armour 2 | 8x Deer Hide 10x Bone Fragments Armour 3 | 12x Deer Hide 15x Bone Fragments Armour 4 |
| Total Set Weight 15 | 22x Deer Hide 5x Bone Fragments Armour 7 | 22x Deer Hide 20x Bone Fragments Armour 14 | 44x Deer Hide 40x Bone Fragments Armour 21 | 66x Deer Hide 60x Bone Fragments Armour 28 |
To make the entire set of Leather Valheim armour, and improve it all to Quality 4, will use a total of 154x Deer Hide and 125x Bone Fragments.
Troll Hide Armour
Trolls are a tricky enemy to overcome in the early stages of the game. Until you have a bow and a decent supply of flint arrows you should really be staying well away from them. However, their difficulty in defeating is matched by the benefit for you when crafting armour from their hide. Much more protective than leather armour, a full set of troll hide armour will also make you more difficult to detect while sneaking.
If you decide to go for this armour then make sure you are well armed with bow and flinthead arrows, and that you have decent food for stamina. Ideally you will have defeated Eikthyr by now, and you can use his skill to reduce stamina loss through running and jumping.
Trolls are found in the Black Forest, but they will come out into the meadows to follow you for at least a short distance. It is tempting to try to use the trees in the forest to protect yourself from a troll, but they will simply push them over and create an extra hazard for you. Your best bet is to keep a little way ahead of the troll and keep shooting arrows at its head. Make sure you have enough stamina to run away though, otherwise the troll will stamp you flat with his fist. Each troll drops 5 troll hide, plus gold coins.
| Quality 1 (Workbench 3) | Quality 2 Upgrade (Workbench 4) | Quality 3 Upgrade (Workbench 5) | Quality 4 Upgrade (Workbench 6) | |
| Troll Leather Pants Weight 5 Sneak +25% | 5x Troll Hide Armour 6 | 2x Troll Hide Armour 8 | 4x Troll Hide Armour 10 | 6x Troll Hide Armour 12 |
| Troll Leather Tunic Weight 5 Sneak +25% | 5x Troll Hide Armour 6 | 2x Troll Hide Armour 8 | 4x Troll Hide Armour 10 | 6x Troll Hide Armour 12 |
| Troll Leather Helmet Weight 1 Sneak +25% | 5x Troll Hide 3x Bone Fragments Armour 6 | 2x Troll Hide 1x Bone Fragments Armour 8 | 4x Troll Hide 2x Bone Fragments Armour 10 | 6x Troll Hide 3x Bone Fragments Armour 12 |
| Troll Hide Cape Weight 4 Sneak +25% | 10x Troll Hide 10x Bone Fragments Armour 1 | 5x Troll Hide 5x Bone Fragments Armour 2 | 10x Troll Hide 10x Bone Fragments Armour 3 | 15x Troll Hide 15x Bone Fragments Armour 4 |
| Total Set Weight 15 Sneak +100% | 25x Troll Hide 13x Bone Fragments Armour 19 | 11x Deer Hide 6x Bone Fragments Armour 26 | 22x Deer Hide 12x Bone Fragments Armour 33 | 33x Deer Hide 18x Bone Fragments Armour 40 |
To make the entire set of troll Valheim armour, and improve it all to Quality 4, will use a total of 91x Troll Hide and 49x Bone Fragments.
Bronze Armour
For Bronze armour you must have defeated Eikthyr first. This is because he drops the hardened antlers needed for the antler pickaxe; your first rock damaging tool. With this you can find copper and tin with which to smelt bronze. It is possible to use angry trolls to destroy the copper and tin deposits for you before defeating Eikthyr, but this is not an easy task.
Bronze Valheim armour is far stronger than leather and troll hide armour. You will retain the deer hide cape, but you will gain a new chest plate, legging and helmet. To craft it you will need to use the forge to convert deer hides and bronze ingots.
| Quality 1 (Forge 1) | Quality 2 Upgrade (Forge 2) | Quality 3 Upgrade (Forge 3) | Quality 4 Upgrade (Forge 4) | |
| Bronze Plate Leggings Weight 10 Speed -5% | 5x Bronze 2x Deer Hide Armour 8 | 3x Bronze Armour 10 | 6x Bronze Armour 12 | 9x Bronze Armour 14 |
| Bronze Plate Cuirass Weight 10 Speed -5% | 5x Bronze 2x Deer Hide Armour 8 | 3x Bronze Armour 10 | 6x Bronze Armour 12 | 9x Bronze Armour 14 |
| Bronze Helmet Weight 3 | 5x Bronze 2x Deer Hide Armour 8 | 3x Bronze Armour 10 | 6x Bronze Armour 12 | 9x Bronze Armour 14 |
| Total Set Weight 23 Speed -10% | 15x Bronze 6x Deer Hide Armour 24 | 9x Bronze Armour 30 | 18x Bronze Armour 36 | 27x Bronze Armour 42 |
To make the entire set of bronze Valheim armour, and improve it all to Quality 4, will use a total of 69x Bronze and 6x Deer Hide. This does not include a cape, for which you can choose between the Deer Hide Cape or Troll Hide Cape. 69 Bronze will require 138x Copper and 69x Tin ores, which are mined in the Black Forest. The total weight of these ores is 1932kg, so a sizeable amount of ore to get to your base, particularly if you do not have the Megingjord from Haldor yet.
Root Armour
A new type of armour in Patch 0.205.5 is the Root Armour. This is crafted on the workbench from Roots, Ancient Bark and Deer Hide. If all three parts of the armour are worn then the wearer gets a +15 archery skill buff. This is a hefty buff, particularly at higher levels.
Roots are dropped by the rare new enemy in the Swamps, the Abomination. Ancient Bark is found in crypts and can also be harvested by ancient trees in the Swamps.
| Quality 1 (Workbench 2) | Quality 2 Upgrade (Workbench 3) | Quality 3 Upgrade ( Workbench 4) | Quality 4 Upgrade ( Workbench 5) | |
| Root Leggings Weight 10 Speed -2% Weak VS Fire | 10x Root 10x Ancient Bark 2x Deer Hide Armour 8 | Armour 10 | Armour 12 | Armour 14 |
| Root Harnesk Weight 10 Speed -2% Resistant VS Pierce Weak VS Fire | 10x Root 10x Ancient Bark 2x Deer Hide Armour 8 | Armour 10 | Armour 12 | Armour 14 |
| Root Mask Weight 3 Resistant VS Poison Weak VS Fire | 10x Root 10x Ancient Bark 4x Leather Scraps Armour 8 | Armour 10 | Armour 12 | Armour 14 |
| Total Set Weight 33 Speed –4% +15 Bows Skill | 60x Iron 6x Deer Hide Armour 42 | Armour 30 | Armour 36 | Armour 42 |
Iron Armour
Iron armour is unlocked with the defeat of the Elder boss and entry to the swamp’s sunken crypts. Within these crypts you can find iron scraps which can be smelted into iron ingots. Technically it is possible to get iron without defeating the Elder and getting the skeleton key, but it is highly unlikely that random searches of the swamp will reveal the buried iron which can be found using the Wishbone.
Iron is a very good material to craft armour from. It is very strong, however it will slow you down quite a bit.
| Quality 1 (Forge 2) | Quality 2 Upgrade (Forge 3) | Quality 3 Upgrade (Forge 4) | Quality 4 Upgrade (Forge 5) | |
| Iron Greaves Weight 15 Speed -5% | 20x Iron 2x Deer Hide Armour 14 | 5x Iron Armour 16 | 10x Iron Armour 18 | 15x Iron Armour 20 |
| Iron Scale Mail Weight 15 Speed -5% | 20x Iron 2x Deer Hide Armour 14 | 5x Iron Armour 16 | 10x Iron Armour 18 | 15x Iron Armour 20 |
| Iron Helmet Weight 3 | 20x Iron 2x Deer Hide Armour 14 | 5x Iron Armour 16 | 10x Iron Armour 18 | 15x Iron Armour 20 |
| Total Set Weight 33 Speed -10% | 60x Iron 6x Deer Hide Armour 42 | 15x Iron Armour 48 | 30x Iron Armour 54 | 45x Iron Armour 60 |
To make the entire set of iron Valheim armour, and improve it all to Quality 4, will use a total of 190x Iron and 6x Deer Hide. This does not include a cape, for which you can choose between the Deer Hide Cape or Troll Hide Cape. The iron is found in sunken crypts in the swamps as scrap iron, and can take quite a lot of searching and transporting back to base (usually via ship – a Longship is best for this). The total weight of the scrap is 1900kg, so a sizeable amount to get to your base.
Wolf Armour
The next set of Valheim armour you should be aiming for is Wolf Armour. Forged from wolf pelts, wolf claws and silver ingots, this set of armour will boost your total armour rating, plus both the chest plate and the wolf cloak will provide you with protection from the cold. These are essential pieces of equipment for venturing into the mountains without requiring frost resistance mead.
| Quality 1 (Forge 2) | Quality 2 Upgrade (Forge 3) | Quality 3 Upgrade (Forge 4) | Quality 4 Upgrade (Forge 5) | |
| Wolf Armour Legs Weight 15 Speed -5% | 20x Silver 5x Wolf Pelt 4x Wolf Fang Armour 20 | 5x Silver 2x Wolf Pelt 1x Wolf Fang Armour 22 | 10x Silver 4x Wolf Pelt 2x Wolf Fang Armour 24 | 15x Silver 6x Wolf Pelt 3x Wolf Fang Armour 26 |
| Wolf Armour Chest Weight 15 Speed -5% Resistant vs Frost | 20x Silver 5x Wolf Pelt 1x Chain Armour 20 | 5x Silver 2x Wolf Pelt Armour 22 | 10x Silver 4x Wolf Pelt Armour 24 | 15x Silver 6x Wolf Pelt Armour 26 |
| Drake Helmet Weight 3 | 20x Silver 2x Wolf Pelt 2x Drake Trophy Armour 20 | 5x Silver Armour 22 | 10x Silver Armour 24 | 15x Silver Armour 26 |
| (Workbench 2) | (Workbench 3) | (Workbench 4) | (Workbench 5) | |
| Wolf Fur Cape Weight 4 Resistant vs Frost | 6x Wolf Pelt 4x Silver 1x Wolf Trophy Armour 1 | 4x Wolf Pelt 2x Silver Armour 2 | 8x Wolf Pelt 4x Silver Armour 3 | 12x Wolf Pelt 6x Silver Armour 4 |
| Total Set Weight 37 Speed -10% | 64x Silver 18x Wolf Pelt 4x Wolf Fang 1x Chain 2x Drake Trophy 1x Wolf Trophy Armour 61 | 17x Silver 8x Wolf Pelt 1x Wolf Fang Armour 68 | 34x Silver 16x Wolf Pelt 2x Wolf Fang Armour 75 | 51x Silver 24x Wolf Pelt 3x Wolf Fang Armour 82 |
To make the entire set of Wolf Valheim armour, and improve it all to Quality 4, will use a total of 166x Silver, 66x Wolf Pelt and 10x Wolf Fangs. You will also need 1x Chain, 2x Drake Trophies and 1x Wolf Trophy. The silver is found in the mountains using the wishbone from Bonemass, and most of the other components are also found in the mountains. It can be difficult to get the silver ore down from the mountain as it won’t go through the portal, and it will take several expeditions to move all the ingredients down to the base. The total weight of the silver ore is 2324kg, which is the largest haul required yet.
Acquiring Raw Materials
The mountains will freeze unsuspecting miners, so make sure you have your Frost-Resistance Mead prepared, and you should consider crafting either your chestplate or cape first as this will negate the need for the mead for later expeditions.
The Drakes are the small dragons on the mountains. These are best taken out with arrows – wood arrows in the finewood bow will work; obsidian arrows would be ideal. You will need to take out several of these to find a single Drake Trophy, but you would need to kill them anyway to stop them harrassing you while mining and hunting wolves.
Wolves will respawn on the mountain, and although individually they are not too dangerous to a well-prepared traveller, they can hunt of packs of four. An alternative to hunting wild wolves is to tame a breeding pair and then breed them at your base in safety to build up the pelts and fangs.
Padded Armour
Padded armour is currently the highest level armour in Valheim. It is made up of Iron and Linen Thread. The latter is the only new ingredient to your sets of armour and is crafted from Flax (found / farmed in the Plains) at a spinning wheel.
| Quality 1 (Forge 2) | Quality 2 Upgrade (Forge 3) | Quality 3 Upgrade (Forge 4) | Quality 4 Upgrade (Forge 5) | |
| Padded Greaves Weight 10 Speed -5% | 10x Iron 20x Linen Thread Armour 26 | 3x Iron Armour 28 | 6x Iron Armour 30 | 9x Iron Armour 32 |
| Padded Cuirass Weight 10 Speed -5% | 10x Iron 20x Linen Thread Armour 26 | 3x Iron Armour 28 | 6x Iron Armour 30 | 9x Iron Armour 32 |
| (Forge 1) | (Forge 2) | (Forge 3) | (Forge 4) | |
| Padded Helmet Weight 3 | 10x Iron 15x Linen Thread Armour 26 | 5x Iron Armour 28 | 10x Iron Armour 30 | 15x Iron Armour 32 |
| (Workbench 2) | (Workbench 3) | (Workbench 4) | (Workbench 5) | |
| Linen Cape Weight 4 | 20x Linen Thread 1x Silver Armour 1 | 4x Linen Thread Armour 2 | 8x Linen Thread Armour 3 | 12x Linen Thread Armour 4 |
| Total Set Weight 27 Speed -10% | 30x Iron 55x Linen Thread 1x Silver Armour 79 | 11x Iron 4x Linen Thread Armour 86 | 22x Iron 8x Linen Thread Armour 93 | 33x Iron 12x Linen Thread Armour 100 |
To craft a full set of quality 4 padded armour, including a cape, will require a total of 96x Iron, 79x Linen Thread and 1x Silver. By this stage finding that amount of iron should not be an issue. The linen thread is a new resource spun from Flax, which will need to be found initially at a Fuling Village in the Plains. The Plains are a dangerous biome, so you will need to be strong and well-prepared to plan an attack on a Fuling Village. If you are successful then you may find some Flax growing there which can be harvested by hand. Flax can only be grown in the Plains, so a base will be required near a portal back to your main base (or possibly move your base!) in which it can be planted and grown.
Lox Cape
An item on its own, the Lox Cape is crafted from the feathered hides of the Plains Lox. These mammoth beasts will take a bit of shooting, and they can pack a punch if you get in the way of their feet when they are stampeding, but the meat and hide are well worth it.
| Quality 1 (Workbench 2) | Quality 2 Upgrade (Workbench 3) | Quality 3 Upgrade (Workbench 4) | Quality 4 Upgrade (Workbench 5) | |
| Lox Cape Resistant vs Frost Weight 4 | 6x Lox Pelt 2x Silver Armour 1 | 2x Lox Pelt Armour 2 | 4x Lox Pelt Armour 3 | 6x Lox Pelt Armour 4 |
There is no advantage at present to using a Lox Cape over a Wolf Fur Cape. They both provide the same armour, and the same freeze resistance. One potential positive is that it is possible to get a Lox Cape without requiring frost resistant mead to visit the mountains. However, the difficulty of the creatures in the plains makes this a theoretical advantage at best.