In Valheim there are many ores that you unlock throughout your adventure. In the MeinMMO guide, you’ll learn where to find each ore, how to mine them, and what you need them for.
You progress in Valheim by defeating individual bosses. You’ll venture into new biomes and need increasingly better equipment to survive in those areas and mine the resources available there.
You can obtain better equipment by smelting ores into bars. By crafting bars, you unlock new recipes throughout the game that allow you to craft better tools, weapons, and armor.
What ores are there in Valheim? Currently, Valheim features copper, tin, iron, silver, black metal, and the fire core ore, which is implemented in the game but not yet usable.
Where to find ores in Valheim
At the beginning of your journey, you cannot craft tools to mine ores or stones. You will receive your first pickaxe from Eikthyr, the first boss in Valheim. From this boss, you will obtain antlers, with which you can craft the antler pickaxe.
Copper and Tin in Valheim
How to find copper: Copper is located in the “Black Forest” biome (formerly known as the Dark Forest), which typically borders the Meadows biome (formerly known as Grassland). Copper deposits look like large rock formations and are found on the surface.
The enemies in the Black Forest can be quite strong at the beginning, so be cautious and do not venture too deep into the biome at first. You can often find the first copper deposits right at the border with the Meadows biome.
How to find tin: Tin can also be found in the Black Forest. The deposits are located near water, so keep an eye out for a lake or a river. Visually, they resemble boulders but differ by having black streaks.
Tin deposits are significantly smaller than copper deposits and can be mined with the antler pickaxe.
Crafting Bronze in Valheim
You cannot find bronze in Valheim. To create it, you must combine copper and tin.
How to craft copper and tin bars: Bars are made in the smelter. To build one, you need 20 stones and 5 surtling cores. The valuable surtling cores can be found in the burial chambers of the Black Forest.
The smelter requires coal to smelt the ores. You can either create coal by burning food over the fire or more easily with a charcoal kiln.
To build a kiln, you also need 20 stones and 5 surtling cores. When filled with wood, the kiln automatically converts it into coal.
You can then deposit copper and tin ores in the smelter. From each ore and 2 pieces of coal, you will receive one bar.
How to craft bronze: To craft bronze, a forge is required. To build one, you need:
- 6 x copper bars
- 4 x stones
- 4 x coal
- 10 x wood
From two copper and one tin bar at the forge, you can then craft bronze.
Iron in Valheim – What comes after Bronze?
After successfully crafting gear, weapons, and shields from bronze, it’s time to move on. The Ancient One in the Black Forest is a massive, living tree that will really put you to the test in combat. If you defeat him, you’ll receive the “Swamp Key”, which grants you access to the crypts in the swamp.
The Swamp biome is a very dangerous area and you should only enter it with bronze equipment. Your courage will be rewarded here, as you will find high-quality loot and the next ore. In our guide, you’ll learn how to survive in the swamp:
How to find iron: In the crypts of the swamp biome, you will find iron scrap. To unlock crypts, you need the swamp key in your inventory. Equipped with a bronze pickaxe, you can destroy the muddy scrap piles that contain iron scrap.
The piles in the crypts can be fully mined. In many cases, there are further rooms behind them where draugr and other enemies await you.
How to also find iron in the swamp biome: During our research for iron, we explored the swamp biome looking for corresponding deposits. Indeed, there are buried iron deposits that you can uncover and mine.
However, we did not find success without a dowsing rod. Therefore, we recommend that you mine iron in the crypts at the beginning. You must first defeat the swamp boss Bone Mass to obtain the dowsing rod.
Finding Silver in Valheim
Bone Mass, the third boss in Valheim, gives you a dowsing rod. This is equipped like clothing and enables you to detect valuable resources nearby. To find silver, you need to venture into the coldest biome in Valheim so far: the Mountains.
Only enter this area if you have frost resistance potions or plenty of materials for campfires. From personal experience, we recommend using frost resistance potions, which you can brew in the form of mead. In our guide on fermentation in Valheim, we explain how to create it and what advantages you gain.
How to find silver: Underground silver veins run throughout the mountains. While you can find the veins by chance, it’s more efficient to use the dowsing rod. The closer you are to the target, the stronger it signals.
To find silver in the mountains, you need to dig with a pickaxe into the ground. To mine the found metal, you require an iron pickaxe.
Black Metal in Valheim
Black metal is obtained in the endgame in the plains. This biome is full of dangers, and the enemies are extremely strong. You should only explore this biome with at least iron armor and weapons. A shield is better than good armor.
In this biome, not only goblins lurk, but also death mosquitoes, who are among the most annoying and smallest enemies in Valheim that you should fear the most.
How to find black metal: In the plains, there are goblin outposts. These are very strong and tend to attack you in larger groups. If you kill them, they drop black metal scrap. More black metal can be found in chests, which are numerous in their camps.
How to make bars from black metal: Black metal scrap cannot be processed in the smelter. To process it, you need a blast furnace. To build one, you need:
- 20 x stones
- 5 x surtling core
- 10 x iron bars
- 20 x fine wood
The blast furnace is unlocked after defeating Moder, the fourth boss. Their dragon tears unlock the workbench, which you will need for the blast furnace.
At this time, black metal is the last metal you need in Valheim to craft items.
What is fire core ore?
How to find fire core ore: You can find the ore in the Ashlands biome, which is already implemented in the game but is still in development. The burning steppes are at the very southern tip of the map, and there you can find fire core ore. The ore can be melted into fire cores in a blast furnace.
The fire cores currently do not unlock any new recipes – or at least none have been found yet. It is suspected that the bars will be needed for a new sword that you cannot currently obtain legally in Valheim.
What you need to know about ores and bars: In Valheim, you can quickly travel from one place to another. However, quick travel is not possible with ores or bars in your inventory. Build small bases to smelt and process ores directly before heading back home to your main base.
As a solo player, farming ores can be a very lengthy endeavor. It is best to play together with friends. We explain how to do this in the co-op guide to Valheim.
