The Elder is the second Valheim boss to defeat. He is significantly more dangerous and difficult to beat than Eikthyr, the first boss. You should read this article to be as prepared as possible, and probably bring some friends along to help out if you can.
Finding the Elder
The Elder is a Black Forest boss, and his location can be found in many of the Burial Chambers throughout the Black Forests. If you find a rune stone in a Burial Chamber you should be able to activate it to register the Elder’s location and then it will show on your map.
Once you have registered it’s location you may want to take a trip over to see how the land lies and make sure it isn’t swarming with trolls and spawners. You will find four large stone pillars at the corners of an arena with a firepit in the centre. The rune stone nearby cryptically tells you to ‘burn their young’.
The Elder is a forest-based boss, and is, in fact, a tree. The ‘young’ it is talking about are seeds. The top of the stone pillars gives a clue to the identity, with a carved icon similar to the shape of the seeds in question – Ancient Seeds. You will need to find 3 of the ancient seeds in order to summon the Elder.
Preparing for the Elder
First of all you need the three Ancient Seeds. These can be most easily found at Greydwarf nests – tree-shaped objects wrapped in swirling purple smoke – which are located in the Black Forest. They can also be dropped rarely from Shamans or Brutes, although this is quite rare.
The nests are easy to destroy, either using melee weapons or shooting from a distance. Take care if approaching at night as the number of Greydwarves, shamans and brutes around can increase dramatically. Each nest will drop at least one Ancient Seed.
Next you need to be prepared for battle. The Elder is very powerful and you will need the best armour and weapons you can get.
A full set of Troll Armour or Bronze Armour is recommended, levelled up as far as you can get it.
You will want a powerful bow, and a lot of arrows. Bronzeheads can do some damage to the Elder, but Fire Arrows set it on fire for a short time and do a little damage every second throughout that time. Take at least 100 of each if you can.
You will want a powerful melee weapon, but mainly for fending off any other enemies as quickly as you can if they approach. A sword is handy for this. The Atgeir’s sweeping special attack is useful as well, but the high loss of stamina may make this unproductive.
If you have access to Mead potions, then a few stamina potions would be useful. You can also use the Eikthyr Forsaken power for this. You will be doing a lot of running around to avoid the attacks of the Elder.
As a little insurance, you may want to build a small base and bed close to the Elder summoning location.
Summoning the Elder
When you’re fully prepared, go back to the Arena. You will need to throw the three Ancient Seeds into the fire in order to summon the Elder.
Fighting the Elder
The Elder has a number of attacks – each of them very powerful. He is slow and you will be able to tell what is coming next in time to move out of the way. Learn how he tells you this as quickly as you can.
The Elder can stomp on you if you are near his feet. You can swipe at his legs to attack, but it is very dangerous down there.
The Elder will summon roots from the ground to come up and attack you. These are relatively weak and you can simply move to a different location when they attach as they will eventually disappear.
The Elder can shoot thorny vines at you, causing huge amounts of damage to anything in their way. The best way to avoid this attack is to hide behind one of the four indestructible pillars at the arena.
To attack the Elder you should keep your distance and pepper him with a combination of Bronzehead arrows and Fire Arrows – aim to keep him on fire, then hit him hard with the Bronzeheads for a few shots, switching back to Fire Arrows as he goes out again.
The Elder will come after you – he can travel a long way from the summoning altar, so take care you don’t lead him to your emergency base!
As the Elder comes towards you, and summons the roots from the ground, move on to a different column – keep moving around the arena as he follows you.
Halfway through the battle a Shaman will appear and will attempt to heal the Elder. Kill it as soon as you can. Be wary of other Greydwarves, Brutes and Shamans turning up too – particularly if it is night-time.
After Defeating the Elder
If you are successful in defeating the Elder you will be rewarded with a Swamp Key, needed to enter the Sunken Crypts in the Swamps, an Elder Trophy, and various other bits and pieces. You should take the Trophy back to your spawn location and mount it on the stone to claim you Elder Forsaken Power. This power reduces the time it takes for you to chop trees and wood up while the effect lasts.