How to beat Eikthyr in Valheim

Eikthyr is the first boss: a lightning stag with 500 health who guards the Meadows. He is the gentlest of the bosses, but he hits hard enough to punish a player still wearing rags. Beating him gives you the Hard Antler, and with it the pickaxe that opens the bronze age.

Where is Eikthyr's altar?

Eikthyr's altar always sits in the Meadows, within 1,000 metres of the world centre, so it is never far from where you spawn. If you have not stumbled on it yet, look for a Vegvisir runestone in the Meadows: reading it marks the altar on your map.

You can also skip the search. Enter your world seed on the seed map and it shows where the altar was placed. The seed map guide explains how to find your seed and read the pins.

What do you need to summon Eikthyr?

Place 2 Deer Trophies on the altar. Trophies drop from Deer, which roam forest edges in the Meadows and the Black Forest. Each deer has a 50% chance to drop its trophy, so plan on hunting four or so. Deer run at the first sound, so approach while crouching and open with a bow shot.

Before you summon, clear the space around the altar of anything you want to keep. Eikthyr's antler swing breaks trees and rocks, and a falling tree can hurt you as badly as he does.

What gear should you bring?

Eikthyr has no resistances and no weaknesses. Every damage type does its full amount, so bring whatever you already use well. Useful choices at this stage:

• A bow. A Crude Bow with a stack of Wood Arrows or Flinthead Arrows lets you damage him from outside his reach. Fire Arrows add fire damage on top and set him burning for a few seconds.
• A melee weapon for the close-range phase. A Club, a Flint Spear or a Flint Axe all work.
• A shield. A Wood Shield is enough. Eikthyr is one of the few bosses you can stagger with a parry, which opens him up for bonus damage.
• Armour. Leather Helmet, Leather Tunic and Leather Trousers, plus a Deer Hide Cape if you have one.

Eat three foods before the fight to raise your health and stamina pool. Cooked Deer Meat, Cooked Boar Meat, Honey, Raspberries and Mushrooms are all easy to gather in the Meadows. Pair one meat with one berry or honey dish so you are not short on stamina for dodging.

How does Eikthyr attack?

He uses three attacks. All of them can be blocked or dodged.

Attack	Damage	Reach	How to handle it
Antler swing	20 pierce	4 m	His most frequent attack. Block or parry it, then counter-hit.
Lightning charge	15 lightning	15 m	A beam of lightning thrown from his antlers across a wedge in front of him. Get out of that wedge: roll to the side, or close in and stand beside him.
Stomp	15 lightning	6 m around him	He uses it when you are close, and the shockwave spreads out on all sides. Back off when he rears up, or keep your shield raised.

A few points make the fight much easier:

• Parry the antler swing. Raise your shield just as the swing lands. A successful parry staggers him, and a staggered target takes extra damage. Ordinary hits never stagger him, so parrying is your only way to do it.
• The lightning charge is his long-range tool. If you stay back with a bow, this is the attack you will see most. When he turns to face you from a distance, get ready to roll to the side.
• Don't stand in his face after the stomp. Step out of the 6 m ring, wait for the shockwave, then move back in.
• Keep stamina for rolls. Most deaths here come from being caught with an empty stamina bar. Stop attacking when you drop below a third.

With a bow, keep circling at medium range and shoot between charges. In melee, stay close enough to bait the antler swing, parry it, and hit him two or three times before he recovers.

What does Eikthyr drop?

• Eikthyr Trophy, always.
• 3 Hard Antlers, always.

The Hard Antler is the reason to fight him. One of them crafts an Antler Pickaxe at the Workbench. That pickaxe lets you mine the copper and tin deposits in the Black Forest. Smelt the ore, then combine two copper with one tin at the Forge to make Bronze.

What does Eikthyr's power do?

Hang the trophy on the Sacrificial Stones where you first arrived to unlock Eikthyr's Forsaken power. While active, running, jumping and swimming each cost 60% less stamina. It lasts 5 minutes, has a 20-minute cooldown, and players within 10 metres of you get it too.

It is a travel power. Trigger it before a long run across the map, a swim to another island or a chase after deer.

What changes after you beat him?

• The raid Eikthyr rallies the creatures of the forest stops coming to your base.
• The forest is moving can now arrive instead, bringing Greydwarfs, Greydwarf Shamans and Greydwarf Brutes. Build a wall or a trench around your base before you settle in.

What should you do next?

Head into the Black Forest with your new pickaxe. Mine copper and tin, build a smelter and forge, and make bronze tools and armour. While you are there, kill Greydwarf Brutes and break Greydwarf Nests for Ancient Seeds, the offering for the next boss. The next step is how to beat The Elder.