A towering ancient treant in the Black Forest. Burn it down and it hands you the key to the Swamp — and your first iron.
| Offering | 3× Ancient seed |
| Where to find it | Ancient seeds drop from Greydwarf Brutes and Greydwarf Shamans, and from smashing the Greydwarf nests (the spawner mounds) that litter the Black Forest. The altar riddle even tells you: burn their young. |
| Altar location | The Elder's altar sits in the Black Forest. Its Vegvisir is usually found inside Burial Chambers — explore a crypt or two and you'll uncover the location. |
| Boss HP | 2,500 |
| Recommended gear | Full Bronze armour and weapons, your best food, and crucially a Finewood bow with Fire arrows. |
| Weak to | 🔥 Fire — and very much so. Fire arrows are the whole strategy. |
| Resists | — |
| Immune to | Poison, Spirit, Stagger. |
Attacks to watch
Step-by-step strategy
Clear the area first — Greydwarfs and a wandering Troll can ruin this fight. Don't start it at night.
Summon, then plant yourself behind one of the four stone pillars around the altar — they're indestructible and block his vine volley.
Lean out and pour Fire arrows into him; duck back behind the pillar when he winds up the volley. Solo, budget around 200 fire arrows.
If he spawns roots on you, step out of the ring and keep firing — they can't follow.
Prefer melee? A fire-imbued or bronze weapon works, but you'll trade hits — fire arrows from cover is far safer.
📷 Screenshots coming for these spots:
| Trophy | The Elder trophy |
| What it unlocks | The Swamp Key — it opens the Sunken Crypts in the Swamp, which is your only source of Iron. Every player who needs to enter gets their own key. |
The Elder is boss 2 of 7 — the Black Forest Forsaken. The Swamp and the Iron Age — without the Swamp Key you can't open a Sunken Crypt, and Iron lives nowhere else.
See the full kill order, every summon item, and a tick-off tracker on the Valheim bosses hub.
One Forsaken down — here's the rest of the run.