Eikthyr is a giant mystical stag and the first boss in Valheim. Eikthyr must be defeated to unlock your first Pickaxe — the Antler Pickaxe. His summoning altar can be found in the Meadows and you register his location at the spawn altar.
Eikthyr is drawn directly from Norse mythology which tells of a great stag that stands upon Valhalla.
Recommended Equipment
You can deafeat Eikthyr quite early in the game but it’s easiest with some leather armor and three different types of food. We recommend bringing a flint melee weapon and a bow with some arrows.
| Trophy | 3 Deer Trophy (required for summoning) |
| Weapons | Crude Bow, 40 Arrows (Flint or Fire preferred), Flint Weapon (Axe or Spear) |
| Armor | Leather Armor, Deer Hide Cape (optional) |
| Food | Cooked Meat, Grilled Neck Tail, Raspberries |
Strategy
Attacks
Eikthyr has a basic attack and two special attacks:
- Basic Attack
- Lightning Ball
- Lightning Strike
Basic Attack
Eikthyr makes a sweeping attack with his antlers that delivers high knockback and can easily send players flying. It’s best to dodge this attack because the knockback will stop you from meleeing Eikthyr. You can also take advantage of the knockback to make a tactical switch to your bow.
Lightning Ball
Eikthyr charges up before slamming back to the ground and unleashing a spherical lightning explosion. It deals lightning damage to everything inside the sphere. This AOE has a fairly short range and is only problematic for melee players. Use a bow at range if you’re having trouble with this.
Lightning Strike
Lightning starts flickering on Eikthyr’s antlers and then rears up, launching a massive cone of lightning upon landing. This attack is harder to avoid the further you are from Eikthyr because it’s a cone. Any melee players can easily sidestep this attack once Eikthyr rears up.
How to Beat Eikthyr
Eikthyr is the most forgiving boss and won’t deal too much damage with any of his attacks. Here are two strategies you can try out:
Melee Beat Down
If you have a group, it’s best to just club Eikthyr to death as fast as possible. Make sure you eat some Grilled Neck Tail, Meat, and Raspberries because this strategy you take the most damage. Dodge roll whenever the AOE is about to hit and you can avoid it completely.
Swarm of Arrows
Eikthyr is large, slow, and not resistant to arrows. This strategy is quite simple, you treat Eikthyr like any other deer and just loose a slew of arrows. If you have a friend, you can have them aggro Eikthyr in melee range to ensure Eikthyr never uses the Lightning Strike.
Forsaken Power
All bosses in Valheim drop a trophy that can be mounted at your spawn altar. Once the boss trophy is mounted it becomes activated and you can attune with it to gain access to a Forsaken Power.
Forsaken Powers are activated by pressing F . This will activate the power after a short animation and grant you the effects for 5 minutes. These powers have a 20-minute cooldown, so don’t waste them.
Eikthyr provides a Forsaken Power that grants stag-like endurance. It greatly reduces stamina usage from running and jumping. Note: This doesn’t include any other stamina-consuming activities — Fighting, Fishing, Swimming, etc. will all drain stamina normally.
