Metal is the main progression material in Valheim, reaching the next tier of metal is challenging and very rewarding. You will need to defeat the Bosses in Valheim to get the items needed to gather the next tier of metal.
The technological leap from one metal to the next is huge and gives you access to more powerful and unique equipment, vehicles, and structures. It’s common to spend many hours within one tier as you improve your equipment and rise to the new environmental challenges.
Types of Metal
| Ore Icon | Type of Metal | Comes From | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Copper | Black Forest (in huge deposits) | Antler Pickaxe |
 | Tin | Black Forest (small deposits near water) | Antler Pickaxe |
| n/a | Bronze | Crafted at the Forge with 2 Copper + 1 Tin | Smelter, Forge |
 | Iron (iron scrap) | Crypts in the Swamp | Antler Pickaxe, Swamp Key |
 | Silver | Mountains | Iron Pickaxe, Wishbone |
 | Black Metal (black metal scrap) | Fulings | Blast Furnace |
Smelting & Refining Metal
Smelting is the process of melting down ores and forming them into generic useable bars. You will need to smelt all ores that you collect in Valheim before you can craft items with them. A standard setup will have some Charcoal Kilns, Smelters, and a Forge with some upgrades.
You can enter the Silver Age with the same smelting setup as the Bronze Age, but going further you’ll need a new structure.
After you’ve defeated Bonemass, you want to head into the mountains and start mining silver. Look for the biggest mountain you can find because it’s rare and you will want to avoid lots of sailing. Silver is extremely dense and will weigh you down very quickly.
We tried throwing it down the mountain while encumbered and do not recommend that strategy 😅; the ore will sort of bounce when it hits the bottom of the cliff and can travel further than you’d expect. We were lucky it didn’t end up in the ocean.
Once you have crafted some iron gear you will be able to manage the plains even though it’s after the mountain biome in terms of progression. There you will encounter dangerous little goblins. Fulings will drop black scrap metal which requires a Blast Furnace to smelt.
| Ingot Icon | Type of Metal | Requirements | Recipe |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Copper | Smelter | 1 Copper Ore |
 | Tin | Smelter | 1 Tin Ore |
 | Bronze | Forge | 2 Copper, 1 Tin |
 | Iron | Smelter | 1 Iron Scrap |
 | Silver | Smelter | 1 Silver Ore |
 | Black Metal | Blast Furnace | 1 Black Metal Scrap |
Smelting Setups
It’s glorious when you sail home with your first shipful of ore until you realize your smelting setup is inadequate. You’re going to want to have a good smelting setup as your village strides into the Bronze Age and certainly once you’re entering the Iron Age.
Depending on the size of your village, you are going to want to adjust the numbers in this setup. We play with a party of 4ish and here are our battle-tested suggestions:
- 3 Smelters
- 3 Charcoal Kilns
- Forge (upgraded)
- Lots of Chests
We recommend going with 3 Smelters (or multiples of 3) because bronze is made with a 2:1 ratio. This can make things a little simpler as you can fill one smelter with tin and the others with copper.
Our party does huge mining missions together and we come home with many stacks that will need to be smelted. We always forget to stock up on charcoal before these missions and are usually stuck shoveling charcoal into the furnaces as fast as it’s made. We recommend a minimum of 3 Charcoal Kilns or a 1:1 ratio to your smelters. If your party is more organized than us, you will be fine with less 😉
