Hail, brave Viking warrior. You’ve arrived bearing the trophy of Eikthyr, the first Valheim boss, after defeating him in a glorious battle – and now you’re looking to face the second boss, the notorious Elder.
To find out where The Elder spawns, you must first venture into burial chambers and structures around the Black Forest - eventually coming across a rune stone that points the way to The Elder’s altar.
To summon The Elder, place three ancient seeds in the burning bowl in the middle of the sacrificial altar. The forest stirs, and The Elder emerges, seeking revenge on you and your fellow Vikings for his untimely awakening.
The Elder has three attacks; a stomp attack that deals massive AoE damage, a vine attack directed towards a single player, and a root summoning attack that causes vines to sprout from the ground.
He targets the closest player with his attacks, so if you split up, most of you can focus on attacking from a safe distance while the closest player dodges his vines. The Elder is weak to fire damage, so fire arrows are very useful.
The Elder’s ranged vine attack destroys trees and rocks in its path, but it doesn’t destroy the pillars that surround its altar. Using these pillars as cover is therefore highly recommended, especially if you’re attempting to defeat The Elder solo.
Once vanquished, The Elder drops a trophy that can be mounted upon its stone at the Sacrificial Stones to unlock a new forsaken power, allowing you to chop down trees faster.
The Elder also drops swamp keys, which are used to unlock sunken crypts, containing scrap piles that you can mine to acquire iron. For more information, see our Valheim iron guide.