Pickaxe sounds like something you should be able to get right away, right? Wrong. This guide will go through what it takes to get your first pickaxe in Valheim.
Valheim is currently in early access and while the wiki does list a stone pickaxe, this appears to be missing from the game. This guide will instead tell you how to get the improved antler pickaxe which should remain useful even after this issue is resolved.
How to get a Pickaxe in Valheim
When you are first dropped into the world you are told to hunt the bosses and not much else. To this end the first boss is added to your map when you interact with the glowing runestone.
We bring this up now because defeating Eikthyr is what unlocks the Antler pickaxe.
Don’t rush into this as the boss is fairly strong so continue in the Meadows region, gathering materials and building up your base - there’s no rush to get the pickaxe.
Once you have a full set of leather armour and three types of food, grab your weapons and head north. Don’t eat your food until you’re ready to summon Eikthyr though. If you feel less than confident, you can build a small base with a bed to use for respawning nearby.
To summon this first boss you need to make sacrifices. In this case it means two deer trophies. Gather these or bring them with you and get ready for the fight. Make sure your armour is equipped and eat your food. Food in Valheim gives an initial boost to health so you’re never strongest as when your health bar rises after eating.
Defeating Eikthyr Boss in Valheim
Eikthyr has a lot of health and some fairly powerful ranged attacks that look like lightning. However, his main strength comes from melee so the best strategy for defeating him is to kite and hide. The summoning circle gives you everything you need so just moving and shooting.
Once Eikthyr is dead, loot his remains to find some Hard antler and a trophy. Picking up this antler unlocks the pickaxe recipe and you can head back to base to craft it.
How to find the Antler Pickaxe in Valheim
Crafting the pickaxe costs 1 of your antlers and 10 wood. Keep the other antlers safe in storage in case you die far from home and can’t retrieve your inventory!
You can use this pickaxe to break up regular rocks for stones, or head south to the Black Forest for more valuable ores, where copper can be found in the ground, and tin along the ocean shore.
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