Black Forest Biome Guide: Copper, Crypts, and Trolls

The Black Forest is Valheim’s first real biome — the dark wall of pines that borders every Meadows start. It’s where mining begins, where you first meet creatures that can actually kill you, and where the boss order truly starts.

What lives in the Black Forest?

Greydwarves in packs, trolls, skeletons, and ghosts at night. Greydwarf shamans heal, brutes tank — focus the shamans first or fights snowball. Trolls are the headline threat: slow, massive, and they hit hard enough to one-shot leather armor, but they’re also the biome’s best early loot pinata if you kite them through trees. Skeletons guard the Burial Chambers, and after Eikthyr falls, raids start targeting your Meadows base.

What can you gather in the Black Forest?

Copper, tin, and the biome’s signature loot — Surtling Cores. Copper deposits dig into the ground (bring the Antler Pickaxe from Eikthyr), tin spawns along the riverbanks and coast as small shiny nodes, and Burial Chambers — the biome’s dungeon — hide Surtling Cores that power your smelter and charcoal kiln. Blueberries regrow on bushes, thistle glows in the dark, and mushroom foraging here feeds the cooking tier.

What dungeons and structures are here?

Burial Chambers — the game’s first real dungeon. These stone barrows are dark, claustrophobic, and full of skeletons, but they’re the only early source of Surtling Cores. Inside you’ll also find bone fragments, loot chests, and the vegvisir runestone that marks The Elder’s altar on your map. Bring a torch and a blunt or pierce weapon.

Where is the trader?

Haldor’s camp spawns somewhere in the Black Forest — find him before you need him. His cart marks on the map when you get close; he sells the Megingjord belt, bait and fishing rod, and (in 1.0) the new pocket upgrades. Full stock details are in the traders guide.

When do you leave the Black Forest?

After The Elder drops the Swamp Key. Bronze weapons and armor are the entry ticket to the Swamp, where iron waits behind his lock. The weapon tier list has the bronze-era picks worth crafting, and the beginner guide covers the transition if you’re still early.