Valheim Bronze Guide – How To Make Bronze Armor And Where To Find Copper And Tin

TL;DR

  • Defeat Eikthyr to obtain Hard Antler for your first pickaxe
  • Venture into Black Forest for Copper deposits and Tin along shorelines
  • Gather Surtling Cores from Burial Chambers and Fire Geysers
  • Construct Kiln, Smelter, and Forge with proper roofing
  • Craft Bronze gear prioritizing tools first for better resource gathering

Advancing to metalworking represents a crucial power spike in Valheim’s progression system, transforming your survival capabilities and exploration potential. Mastering bronze production unlocks superior protection and more efficient resource collection methods that dramatically accelerate your gameplay advancement.

While basic leather armor crafted from Deer Hide provides minimal early-game protection, transitioning to the Bronze Age becomes essential for meaningful exploration of Valheim’s challenging environments. Bronze equipment offers substantially enhanced defensive stats while enabling access to previously unavailable materials through upgraded tools. The complexity of bronze production necessitates strategic planning—this comprehensive guide delivers the essential knowledge for locating materials, establishing proper crafting infrastructure, and initiating your blacksmithing operations.

Initiating your bronze production journey requires venturing into the dangerous Black Forest biome. This represents a significant difficulty increase compared to the relatively safe Meadows, where you primarily encounter boars and Greylings. The forest introduces formidable adversaries including multiple Greydwarf variants, Skeletons, and the devastating Trolls. While occasional forest creatures may wander into Meadows territory, deliberate exploration of Black Forest areas presents substantial early-game risks that demand proper preparation.

To survive these hazardous environments, you’ll require at minimum Leather Armor—though acquiring Troll Hide Armor provides superior protection if obtainable. However, crafting the weaponry necessary for Black Forest success first requires overcoming your most challenging obstacle yet: Eikthyr, the Meadows biome boss.

Eikthyr serves as the primary barrier to bronze smithing progression—you must acquire its antler to manufacture a pickaxe capable of mining Copper and Tin deposits.

Eikthyr is the major impediment to smithing Bronze--you need its antler to make a pickaxe strong enough to mine Copper and Tin.

Eikthyr represents the gateway to metalworking—defeating this boss provides the essential Hard Antler required for crafting your first mining tool.

As Valheim’s initial boss encounter, Eikthyr presents a formidable challenge that benefits significantly from cooperative play with fellow Vikings. You can summon this massive stag boss at its designated altar (location revealed on your map after interacting with the starting area runestone) using two Deer Trophies acquired through hunting.

Optimal loadout preparation includes crafting a Wood Shield for blocking incoming attacks and selecting either a Flint Spear for close-quarters combat or a bow for ranged engagement. The ranged approach demands substantial arrow reserves but enables safer kiting tactics since Eikthyr’s attack patterns feature noticeable telegraphing that allows strategic dodging.

Eikthyr employs electricity-based offensive capabilities, projecting lightning arcs from its antlers. These attacks feature pronounced wind-up animations, permitting lateral movement to evade damage. Maintaining proximity enables blocking of melee strikes, creating openings for spear counterattacks. Critical preparation involves consuming three different food types pre-battle to maximize health pools and securing sleep beforehand to obtain the strongest possible Rested bonus for enhanced stamina regeneration.

Upon defeating Eikthyr, you’ll receive the crucial Hard Antler drop. This item enables the transition from primitive stick-and-stone implements to proper metal equipment crafting. Utilize it to construct the essential Antler Pickaxe at your workbench.

Identify Copper deposits by locating large, dome-shaped rock formations protruding from Black Forest terrain. These distinctive nodes feature prominent bronze-colored metallic veins running throughout their structure.

Look for domes of Copper sticking out of the ground in the Black Forest. You'll know it from the veins of bronze-colored metal running through it.

Copper nodes appear as substantial mineral outcroppings with visible metal seams—these deposits extend deep underground, often yielding 30-50 copper ore when fully excavated.

Tin ore manifests differently, appearing as dark, reflective deposits along Black Forest shorelines and riverbanks. These smaller, scattered nodes require careful coastal exploration but provide the essential secondary component for bronze alloy production.

Advanced mining strategy: Copper deposits extend significantly below surface level—excavate around the entire node to access submerged portions before mining downward. This technique maximizes ore yield per deposit discovered. Common mistake: attempting to mine without proper antler pickaxe results in zero resource collection.

Security protocols: Establish temporary workbenches near mining sites to prevent enemy spawns. Always approach Black Forest exploration during daylight hours with full health and stamina reserves—nocturnal activities dramatically increase encounter risks with more powerful creature variants.

The Kiln and Smelter are essential for making metals you can use for crafting, but you'll have to hunt down Surtling Cores to make the structures.

Kiln and Smelter structures form the foundation of metal production—these require Surtling Cores obtained through exploration of dangerous locations.

Surtling Core acquisition methods: These vital components can be looted from Burial Chambers (stone dungeons in Black Forest) or farmed from Fire Geysers in Swamp biomes. Burial Chambers offer safer early-game collection, while Fire Geysers provide renewable farming opportunities for advanced players.

Infrastructure placement strategy: Position Kilns and Smelters near your primary base with proper roofing protection—these structures cannot function when exposed to rainfall. Optimization tip: cluster production buildings together with chests for efficient workflow management.

Production workflow: Kilns convert wood into coal, while Smelters transform copper and tin ores into usable metal bars. Efficient operation requires maintaining both structures with continuous resource input for uninterrupted production cycles.

You'll need a Forge to craft metal gear--make sure to put a roof over it.

The Forge serves as your primary metalworking station—ensure proper shelter construction to maintain functionality during precipitation.

Bronze alloy creation requires combining two copper bars with one tin bar at the Forge. This 2:1 ratio determines your production planning and resource allocation strategies.

Strategic gear prioritization: Focus initially on bronze tools rather than armor—the Pickaxe, Axe, and Cultivator provide immediate gameplay benefits through enhanced resource gathering capabilities.

Advanced crafting insight: Bronze equipment requires significant resource investment, so prioritize based on your immediate needs. Weapons like the Bronze Sword offer substantial damage improvements, while armor provides crucial survivability for deeper biome exploration. Time investment: Expect 2-3 hours from Eikthyr defeat to full bronze gear completion for solo players.

For comprehensive gameplay strategies beyond metalworking, consult our Complete Guide covering all progression phases.

Action Checklist

  • Hunt deer for 2 trophies to summon Eikthyr
  • Defeat Eikthyr using shield and spear tactics
  • Craft Antler Pickaxe at workbench
  • Explore Black Forest for Copper nodes and coastal Tin
  • Gather Surtling Cores from Burial Chambers
  • Construct Kiln, Smelter, and Forge with roofing

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