Valheim Boss Order: All 7 Bosses & How to Summon Them

The Valheim boss order is the spine of the whole game. Each of the 7 Forsaken bosses gates the biome, gear, and tools you need for the next one, so knowing the sequence and the exact summon items saves you hours of wandering. This Valheim boss order guide lists every boss in progression order, what you need to summon each, where to farm those items, and the single weakness that decides each fight.

I've run this ladder start to finish more than once, and the mistakes are always the same: sailing into the Swamp with a slashing weapon, or reaching a Mountain peak with only two Dragon Eggs. The point of a boss-order guide is to stop you making them.

TL;DR: The Valheim boss order is Eikthyr → The Elder → Bonemass → Moder → Yagluth → The Queen → Fader. Summon items in order: 2 Deer Trophies, 3 Ancient Seeds, 10 Withered Bones, 3 Dragon Eggs, 5 Fuling Totems, the Sealbreaker, then 3 Bells. Bring a blunt weapon for Bonemass and fire resistance for Fader. An 8th boss lands with the Deep North 1.0 update on September 9, 2026.

Valheim boss order at a glance (quick answer)

The order never changes, and every boss lives one biome deeper than the last:

1. Eikthyr, Meadows
2. The Elder, Black Forest
3. Bonemass, Swamp
4. Moder, Mountain
5. Yagluth, Plains
6. The Queen, Mistlands
7. Fader, Ashlands

Kill one and you unlock the Forsaken power from its trophy plus the material or key that opens the next tier. You do not have to fight them strictly in order, but the game is built so that each boss's reward is what makes the following biome survivable.

Key Takeaways

• There are 7 Forsaken bosses in Valheim as of 2026, ending with Fader in the Ashlands
• Summon items, in order: 2 Deer Trophies, 3 Ancient Seeds, 10 Withered Bones, 3 Dragon Eggs, 5 Fuling Totems, the Sealbreaker, 3 Bells
• The Elder's Swamp Key opens Sunken Crypts, which hold the Withered Bones for Bonemass: the clearest example of boss-gated progression
• Bonemass is immune to slash and pierce: bring a blunt weapon (Iron Mace)
• Mount each boss trophy at the sacrificial stones to activate its Forsaken power (5-minute buff, 20-minute cooldown)
• An 8th boss arrives in the Deep North with the 1.0 release on September 9, 2026 (name not yet confirmed)

The Valheim boss order: how to summon and beat every boss

1. Eikthyr (Meadows)

Summon: 2 Deer Trophies at the sacrificial stones (your spawn runestone). How to get them: kill deer in the Meadows; trophies are a random drop, so hunt a few. The fight: a lightning stag. Melee it between its stomp and ranged shots. Any starter weapon works. Reward: the Hard Antler (crafts the Antler Pickaxe, your first way to mine copper and tin) and a Forsaken power that reduces stamina drain while running and jumping.

2. The Elder (Black Forest)

Summon: 3 Ancient Seeds at The Elder's rune altar in the Black Forest. How to get them: Ancient Seeds drop from Greydwarf nests (the pulsing spawners) and appear in Burial Chambers. The fight: a giant tree. Use fire arrows: it takes bonus fire damage. Keep moving out of its root stomps. Reward: the Swamp Key, which opens Sunken Crypts, plus a power that boosts tree-chopping damage. The key is what actually unlocks iron farming: see the Valheim iron farming guide for the full Sunken Crypt route once you have it.

A Black Forest Troll dwarfs a fully-armored Viking. Enemies like this are why you clear the biome before summoning The Elder.

GODEEPER: Before you drop into the Swamp, sort your food. The difference between a two-food and a three-food loadout is the difference between surviving Bonemass and getting one-shot. Valheim Food Buff Guide: Best Foods →

3. Bonemass (Swamp)

Summon: 10 Withered Bones at the skull altar in the Swamp. How to get them: Withered Bones come from Sunken Crypts (opened with the Swamp Key) and from Muddy Scrap Piles inside them. The fight: this is the wall that stops unprepared players. Bonemass is immune to slash and pierce and only takes real damage from blunt attacks, so bring the Iron Mace. Poison resistance mead is close to mandatory. Reward: a Forsaken power granting physical damage resistance, ideal for tanking tough melee fights.

4. Moder (Mountain)

Summon: 3 Dragon Eggs at Moder's rune altar on a Mountain peak. How to get them: Dragon Eggs sit in stone nests across the Mountains. Each weighs 200 and cannot be teleported, so plan a cart or boat haul back to the altar. The fight: an airborne dragon that alternates ground slams with frost breath. Fight near cover and shoot when it lands. Reward: Dragon Tears (crafts the Artisan Table and spinning wheel) and a power that gives you a constant favorable sailing wind: a genuine quality-of-life upgrade for the rest of the game.

5. Yagluth (Plains)

Summon: 5 Fuling Totems at Yagluth's altar in the Plains. How to get them: Fuling Totems are looted from Fuling villages and camps: the Plains' fortified goblin settlements. The fight: a giant skeletal hand that hurls fire and calls meteor strikes. Root armor helps: it resists fire. Reward: a power granting lightning resistance, a farming skill boost, and increased damage output, useful heading into the Mistlands and beyond.

6. The Queen (Mistlands)

Summon: assemble the Sealbreaker from fragments found in the Mistlands' Infested Mines, then use it to enter the Infested Citadel where she waits. How to get them: Sealbreaker Fragments drop inside Infested Mines, the Dvergr-built dungeons scattered through the Mistlands. The fight: a fully indoor arena boss with adds. Eitr-based magic or a strong melee build both work, but you need Feather Cape mobility and good lighting from a Dvergr lantern. Reward: a power that reduces sneaking stamina cost and boosts Eitr regeneration, tuned for the magic playstyle the Mistlands introduces.

GODEEPER: The Ashlands is where most veterans hit a real gear wall. Know the terrain, the new enemies, and the Flametal path before you sail in. Valheim Deep North & Endgame Biome Guide →

7. Fader (Ashlands)

Summon: 3 Bells, placed around the coliseum-like summoning altar. How to get them: Bells are crafted from Bell fragments, which drop inside Charred Fortresses scattered across the Ashlands. It takes three fragments to craft one Bell. The fight: the current endgame boss. Fader demands Flametal-tier gear and fire resistance, so clear the Ashlands' Flametal ore and brew Fire Resistance Barley Wine before you summon. Reward: the Ashlands Forsaken power, which grants fire resistance and lets you use trinkets more often: a strong pick for the hardest content in the game right now.

Tips for climbing the boss ladder faster

• Mount every trophy. Boss trophies do nothing in a chest. Hang them at the sacrificial stones to unlock the Forsaken power, then swap powers to suit the task: The Elder for logging, Moder for sailing, Bonemass for a hard melee fight.
• Farm summon items on the way, not in a special trip. You pass Greydwarf nests, Sunken Crypts, and Fuling camps during normal progression. Grab Ancient Seeds, Withered Bones, and Fuling Totems as you go.
• Respect the teleport rules. Dragon Eggs and ores cannot be teleported. Build a small outpost with a portal near each boss altar so you only haul the heavy items a short distance.
• Match the weapon to the boss. Fire arrows for The Elder, the Iron Mace for Bonemass, elemental resistance for Yagluth and Fader. Bringing the wrong damage type is the most common reason a fight feels impossible.

A Mountain Stone Golem fight in co-op. The Mountains are where teleport rules and the right weapon start to really matter.

What's next: the 8th Valheim boss

The Ashlands closed out the current roster with Fader, but the ladder is not finished. The Deep North biome, the frozen region north of the Mountains, is set to arrive with Valheim's 1.0 release on September 9, 2026, and it is expected to add the eighth Forsaken boss. Iron Gate has not confirmed the boss's name or summon items yet, so treat any specific claims you see elsewhere as speculation until the update ships.

If you want to be ready the day it launches, the smart move is to finish Fader now and stockpile Flametal gear, since Deep North content will almost certainly build on the Ashlands tier rather than reset it.

Related Reading

• Valheim Ashlands Guide: Fader Boss and Charred Enemies: the full summon ritual and attack pattern for the 7th boss.
• Valheim Mistlands Guide: Magic, Eitr, and The Queen: the hidden-dungeon summon method for the 5th boss.
• Valheim Food Buff Guide: Best Foods: the three-food loadouts that keep you alive through each boss tier.
• Valheim Deep North & Endgame Biome Guide: what to expect from the frozen biome that houses the next boss.
• Valheim 1.0 Release Date: Deep North, September 2026: the launch timing and what the full release adds.
• Valheim Complete Guide: Bosses, Biomes and Base Building: the full hub tying boss progression into biomes and base building in one reference.

References

• Valheim Bosses on the official wiki: full boss stats, summon items, and drop tables.
• Valheim on Steam: official store page, current version, and roadmap news.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the boss order in Valheim? The Valheim boss order is Eikthyr, The Elder, Bonemass, Moder, Yagluth, The Queen, then Fader. Each boss lives in a tougher biome than the last, and killing one unlocks the tools or keys you need to reach the next.

How many bosses are in Valheim? There are 7 Forsaken bosses as of 2026, ending with Fader in the Ashlands. An eighth boss is planned for the Deep North biome, arriving with the 1.0 release on September 9, 2026. Its name has not been confirmed yet.

Which Valheim boss is the hardest? For most players Fader, the Ashlands boss, is the hardest because it demands Flametal-tier gear and fire resistance. Earlier on, Bonemass filters people who bring the wrong weapon: it is immune to slash and pierce and only takes real damage from blunt hits like the Iron Mace.

Do you have to kill bosses in order in Valheim? Roughly, yes. You can technically skip a boss if you gather its summon items early, but the progression is gated by tools: The Elder drops the Swamp Key for Sunken Crypts, and each biome's gear is what keeps you alive in the next. Fighting out of order usually means dying fast.

What do Valheim bosses drop? Each boss drops a trophy you mount at the sacrificial stones to unlock a Forsaken power, plus a crafting material or key. Eikthyr gives the Hard Antler for the Antler Pickaxe; The Elder gives the Swamp Key; Moder gives Dragon Tears for the Artisan Table.

How do you summon Moder in Valheim? Place 3 Dragon Eggs at Moder's rune altar on a Mountain peak. Dragon Eggs sit in stone nests scattered across the Mountains and weigh 200 each, so you cannot teleport with them: plan a cart or boat run back to the altar.