Valheim biomes, regions and what to expect explained

Valheim biomes, from the quiet Meadows to the deadly Plains, here’s everything you need to know about the land you can explore. And of course the Ocean, home to serpents and moving islands. We’ve also included the latest info on the (for now) empty biomes: the Mistlands, Deep North, and Ashlands.

Valheim biomes are the different areas you’ll come across in the game’s open world. They’ve got their own climate, landscape, enemies, and difficulty level. If you’re looking for an overview of what to expect in each biome, we’ve got you covered.

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Valheim biomes list

Here are all nine Valheim biomes, including the three under-development ones:

Meadows

Valheim biomes

(Image credit: Iron Gate AB)

Kicking things off is the Meadows, which is the friendliest of all the biomes, and the one you’re likely to spawn in. Beech, Birch, and Oak trees spawn here, as do Boars, Greylings, and Deer. You can find all the basic resources you need to get going in a Meadows biome. You’ll also find Eikthyr – the first boss marked on your map at the start of the game – in a Meadows.

Black Forest

Valheim biomes

(Image credit: Coffee Stain Publishing)

Often found adjacent to Meadows – and sometimes blending the border between the woodland parts of Meadows biomes – the Black Forest is a hostile land full of Greydwarves, Skeletons, and sometimes Trolls. Venture into a Black Forest and you can find all sorts of resources like Copper and Tin, along with Caves and Burial Chambers. The Black Forest is also the only biome the Valheim merchant spawns in. The Elder, the second boss, can be found in a Black Forest.

Swamp

Valheim Biomes

(Image credit: Coffee Stain Publishing/Valheim wiki)

Then there’s the Swamp. Expect low visibility, a lot of mud, and thick trees here, because the Swamp biome is even harder than the Black Forest. You’ll be fighting Draugrs, Skeletons, Wraiths, Surtlings…  and since the Hearth and Home update, Abominations. Sunken Crypts can be found in Swamps – which do require keys to open – along with Iron Scraps. This is where you’ll fight boss number three, Bone Mass, as well.

Mountains

Valheim biomes

(Image credit: Coffee Stain Publishing)

The Mountains are covered in snow and as you’d expect, have a lot of verticality. This is where you’ll find Fir trees, along with Wolves, Drakes,  the werewolf-like Fenrings and Stone Golems. You’ll also find Obsidian and Silver Ore veins here, along with boss four, Moder. The Mountains are expected to receive an update soon, which will add Caves.

Plains

Valheim biomes

(Image credit: Coffee Stain Publishing)

The Plains biome is essentially a desert with grass instead of sand. You can find some unique creatures here, such as Fulings, Loxes, and Deathsquitos. Since Hearth and Home, the Plains are also filled with Tar Pits, home to Growths. The goblin-like Fulings come in different types (Berserker, Shaman) and live in Fuling Villages. Unlike other Valheim creatures, they’ve got their own houses, watch towers, and farms. The fifth and final boss at the time of writing in early access – Yagluth – is also located in the Plains biome. 

Ocean

Valheim Biomes

(Image credit: Coffee Stain Publishing/Valheim wiki)

The Ocean biome speaks for itself. You’ll need a boat to cross, whether that’s the basic raft you can craft at the start, or a longship, the biggest boat in the game, and there’s not much to be found out there, besides Leviathans and Serpents. Serpents may attack you and your vessel, so don’t jump into the water if you can avoid it. Leviathans, on the other hand, are friendly giants who appear as small islands. If you start mining these islands, the Leviathan will slowly disappear under water. 

Mistlands, Deep North, and Ashlands

Valheim Biomes

(Image credit: Coffee Stain Publishing/Valheim wiki)

Now we get to the “in development” biomes. These are technically in the game already – the Mistlands can be found on the east and west borders of every map, the Deep North is at the very top, and the Ashlands on the bottom – but they’re severely lacking in content and there isn’t a lot to do there.

After Hearth and Home came out, the Valheim developer has confirmed that the team is now working on Mistlands, which is expected to arrive in 2022. The near-empty Mistlands we’ve seen before included a bunch of enormous trees with cobwebs. However, the developers warned us that the final version of the Mistlands may look very different. 

The Deep North is similar to the Mountains biome in that it’s very snowy, but is slightly flatter from screenshots.

Finally, the Ashlands is a barren wasteland. Currently, only Surtlings can be found here.

One theory as to why these biomes currently exist in the game despite not being fleshed out is that when an update comes to add content to these regions, players won’t have to start a new world to access that content; the biomes will already exist. Whether that’s true or not is yet to be discovered, but we can’t wait to find out.

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