Moder is the fourth boss needed to progress along the Valheim storyline. Moder is very powerful, but is found in a less hostile environment than Bonemass, and is relatively simple to kill with the right equipment.
What is Moder?
The boss of the Mountain biome, Moder is a large dragon; much larger than the Drakes which you should have already encountered in the Mountains. Hints left by long deceased Vikings on runestones include:
Few of us found our way to these mountains. We were twenty and now we are two. Agda is dying, a Draugr arrow lies near her heart. I will bid her farewell beside this stone and give her ashes to the wind. Then I will turn my face to the highest peak and seek out the Winged One. May Odin give me death or glory.
Mountain Runestone
Where this stands I once saw the great drake flying above me and I hid in a bush until she passed. Ulf the Brave carved this stone.
Mountain Runestone
Let you who read me be aware of the Frost wyrms, one of the most ancient kins sprung from Ymir’s body. The most common form of the wyrm are the Drakes, the small males that cares for the offspring. Most often they can be seen poised by rocky nests guarding the eggs. In contrast, the females are much larger and a rare sight to behold, but once angered they provide a vicious foe.
Mountain Runestone
If these messages are to be believed then the large female (Moder is mother in most Nordic languages) dragon you are summoning has been alive for many centuries. She inhabits the highest peak, she is large enough to make brave Vikings tremble, and is a vicious and deadly foe. Her eggs are scattered throughout the Mountains, guarded by the much smaller male Drakes.
The Mountain biomes in which Moder lives can be deadly to unprepared Vikings. The cold will kill very rapidly, unless you have either Frost Mead or certain parts of the Wolf Armour. It is also inhabited by wolves, Drakes and ice golems, all of whom are deadly in their own right.
To pinpoint Moder’s location you will need to search for a Vegvisir within a stone mountain tower. These are relatively uncommon, and are guarded by skeletons. Not all mountain towers have a Vegvisir, so you may need to search for quite a time.
Moder’s summoning point is a large circular platform high in the Mountains.
Moder’s Attacks
Moder will alternate between air-based attacks and ground-based attacks during the battle.
- While airborne Moder will breathe a hail of ice crystals towards the player. These crystals will land on the ground and stay there for up to 30 seconds unless destroyed. They are the height of the player and will deal 30 Pierce, 200 Frost, 200 Chop and 200 Pickaxe damage.
- Moder can choose to land and will use the following attacks:
- A swipe attack with her claw or a bite with her mouth. This is very powerful and deals 110 Slash, 1000 Chop and 1000 Pickaxe damage
- A frost breath attack reaching to a medium range. This deals 200 Frost, 200 Chop and 200 Pickaxe damage.
As well as the physical attacks above, Moder has an affect on the environment so that the Freezing effect is applied no matter which biome you happen to be in.
Preparation for Fighting Moder
1. Armour and Weapons
You will need to be armoured accordingly to the environment. Wolf Armour is ideal due to its protection from the cold. In particular, the Wolf Chest armour or Wolf Cape is needed. It is perfectly possible to fight Moder without taking any damage from her, although the biggest threat in that case comes from other creatures. For this reason it is advised that fully upgraded Wolf armour is taken.
As Moder will fight aloft for a large proportion of the battle you would be well to take a powerful bow. You should be able to craft a Draugr’ Fang at this stage, and upgrade it fully. If not then a Hunter’s Bow would be essential. If you plan to fight entirely with a bow then around 300 arrows would not be too many. Obsidian arrows (pierce 52) should be easy to make by now, and perhaps some Fire arrows (pierce 11 + fire 22 x 1.5 = 44) would be useful, particularly as the fire effect will continue to drain health from Moder as she burns.
A decent weapon for dealing some damage quickly when Moder is on the ground would be useful. An iron or silver sword (although the spirit portion of the silver sword is negated) would be the basic requirement. If you are used to using spears then a fang spear would be useful with its longer reach.
2. Mead
If you are planning to go in close to Moder then you will definitely take some heavy damage. Health Mead would be very useful to bring yourself back up to scratch as quickly as possible.
Moder has a lot of health and you will be fighting for some time, so Stamina Mead would also be useful.
3. Food
For this battle you will need to have a fairly balanced build. You need the stamina for shooting and dodging, and you need to have enough health to fend off attacks from other creatures. You could use Wolf Skewers or Sausages for health, and Eye Scream or Onion Soup for stamina. Make sure that you eat just before the battle, and not 10 minutes earlier.
4. Battleground
You should be careful of Moder’s attacks destroying the landscape and should find a well-defended area to place a portal (as an escape route or a route back up to the battle) and you may be able to use the landscape to find positions to shoot from shelter. You will also find that Moder cannot always move on the ground due to her large size; if she can’t see a clear route to you then she will remain stationary until taking to flight again.
5. Eggs
You need 3 x Dragon Eggs to summon Moder. These are easily found on the Mountains, and there may be some fairly close to Moder’s summoning point. Otherwise you will need to fetch them from elsewhere. These eggs weigh 200kg each, so are very heavy. You will only be able to carry one at a time (two if you drop your armour and weapons off, but this isn’t advisable!) up to Moder, so you should prepare for this as well.
Battle with Moder
Make your way up to the Mountain Peak where Moder is slumbering. Take your chosen food and wait for full health. You can place the three eggs into the three depressions while waiting, but don’t offer the sacrifice until you are ready.
Moder will appear in the skies above you and you will be notified that she is angry! Watch out for the ice shard attacks while shooting constantly with full power. Don’t waste shots while she is moving at a distance, as you will need that stamina to dodge and run. Arrows will take a little while to take down her health, but keep going. Alternate obsidian arrows with fire arrows every now and again to maintain the fire damage she will constantly take.
When Moder decides to land you have a choice – you can run in (preferably from behind) and attack with a melee weapon to take down a chunk of health, or you can continue to attack with a bow. This may take longer, but is far safer as it will only take a few swipes to take down the most heavily armoured Viking.
Watch out for ice shards building up on the ground. Move to a different part of the battlefield if it gets difficult to move around. Keep an eye open for other creatures as well, and take these out as soon as they appear.
If you get hit then either keep somewhere safe for a little while or take a health mead.
Keep on plugging away with your arrows until Moder is defeated. You will be rewarded with her dragon tears and a Valheim Moder trophy. The trophy should be hung on the forsaken altar and you will be able to use the next Forsaken Power. This gives you a perpetual tailwind while sailing, which is very useful for more extensive ocean voyaging. The tears will open up the Artisan Table back at your home, which gives you access to more complex machinery.
