Ashlands Guide: Resources, Enemies and How to Survive Valheim's Inferno

The moment your Drakkar crests the final wave and the Ashlands coastline fills your screen, everything changes. Ash rains from a burning sky, the water boils, and the cracked ground of scorched ruins and lava crawls with the undead Charred army.

The Ashlands is a crescent-shaped island at the southern edge of the world, cut off from every other biome by boiling ocean. It follows the Mistlands, comes before the Deep North, and requires beating The Queen. Most players hit a wall here for the first time since the Swamp, but with the right preparation it becomes one of the most rewarding biomes in the game.

Getting to the Ashlands

The sea around the Ashlands boils. Every earlier ship, including the Longship, is destroyed within minutes. Only the Drakkar survives the voyage, and it is the only boat immune to boiling water.

Building the Drakkar

The Drakkar is built at a Workbench from 100 Iron Nails (10 Iron at the Forge), 30 Ceramic Plates, 50 Finewood and 25 Yggdrasil Wood. Ceramic Plates come from the Artisan Table upgraded with the Artisan Press, which needs the Majestic Carapace that The Queen drops (5 per kill). The Drakkar has 3,000 durability, 32 storage slots and 9 seats.

Planning your route

Sail toward the center of the map rather than the far east or west. The landmass does not reach the map borders, so edge routes mean a longer trip through rock spires, Bonemaw Serpents and Volture attacks. Carry at least 10 Wood for emergency repairs, because Bonemaw attacks wear the Drakkar down faster than you expect.

Falling in

If you fall into the boiling water, heat builds for about 28 seconds while you swim, then you take 50 pure damage per second. Flametal Armor's 40% heat resistance extends this window and cuts the damage to 30 per second. The best advice: do not fall in.

Establishing Your First Base

You need three things immediately: a Shield Generator, a portal home and shelter. Bring these materials on your first voyage:

• Stonecutter: 4 Stone, 2 Iron, 10 Wood
• Portal: 10 Greydwarf Eyes, 20 Finewood, 2 Surtling Cores
• Shield Generator: 5 Iron, 5 Copper, 1 Shield Core
• Fuel: Bone Fragments for the Shield Generator

Why the Shield Generator is essential

Cinder rain constantly falls here, setting wooden structures on fire and wearing builds down. The generator creates a 30-meter dome that blocks cinder rain, Charred Marksman arrows and even lava fireballs.

It burns Bone Fragments or Charred Bone (holds 10, using 1 per 500 damage absorbed). Fire spreads between wooden structures in this biome, so build with Grausten whenever you can.

The Stone Portal

Once you find Molten Cores in Putrid Holes, build a Stone Portal at the Stonecutter. Unlike wooden portals, it lets you teleport ores, metals, Dragon Eggs and every other restricted item, so you never need to sail out again.

Stone Portals connect to wooden portals by name, but metals only travel through the Stone Portal side. Walking back through a connected wooden portal with metals in your inventory will not work.

Creatures of the Ashlands

The Ashlands has 11 hostile creature types plus a miniboss and the boss. Many enemies resist pierce and are immune to poison, so leave your Needle Arrows at home. Spirit, frost and lightning are your best damage types, but check each enemy: Morgen resist blunt and slash too.

The Charred army

The Charred make up most of what you meet. Prioritize them in this order:

1. Charred Warlock: ranged magic damage, and keeps spawning Twitchers mid-fight. Kill it first.
2. Charred Marksman: devastating arrow volleys from range.
3. Charred Warrior: a strong melee fighter, weak to spirit.
4. Charred Twitcher: the weakest, throws rocks before closing to melee.

Twitchers spawn from Monuments of Torment across the biome, so destroy those spawners on sight. Every Charred drops Charred Bone, and some drop Charred Skulls.

Morgen and Fallen Valkyries

The Morgen is the Ashlands answer to the Troll: huge, fast and devastating in melee. It springs from the ground when you approach and rolls to close distance. It resists blunt, slash, pierce and fire, but is weak to lightning. It drops 1 Morgen Sinew and a Morgen Heart 80% of the time, both key crafting materials.

The Fallen Valkyrie is arguably the most terrifying creature here: a fast flyer that alternates melee swoops with ranged fire and poison attacks. She is weak to spirit and drops 2-3 Celestial Feathers.

Friendly fire

Unlike every other biome, many Ashlands enemies damage each other:

• Morgen and Fallen Valkyries hit other creatures with all their attacks.
• Lava Blob explosions damage anything nearby.
• Fortress Skugg turrets and Bonemaw spit can hit other enemies.

Skilled players kite groups into each other and let them thin their own ranks.

Asksvin, Voltures and Lava Blobs

Asksvin are fast, wolf-like creatures that charge in groups of two or three. They are the only tameable creature in the Ashlands:

1. Tame them with Smoke Puffs, picked from the ground.
2. Breed them to get Asksvin Hatchlings.
3. Craft an Asksvin Saddle (requires Flametal) to ride them.

Tamed Asksvin have no carrying limit, which makes them invaluable for collecting Flametal from lava fields.

Voltures roost on piles of Asksvin bones and attack from the air. They are weak to frost and drop Volture Meat, plus Volture Eggs and Feathers half the time. Mine their nests for Asksvin skeleton parts used in decorative furniture.

Lava Blobs explode when you get close, dealing heavy blunt and fire damage. Bait them into exploding and dodge through the blast, or shoot them from range.

Survival Strategies That Actually Work

Walk, do not run

Running drains your stamina fast, and an empty bar when an enemy catches you means death. Walking saves stamina for the moments that matter: dodging a Morgen lunge, parrying a Warrior or sprinting from a two-star pack.

Spawnproof your routes

Any player structure blocks enemy spawns within 20 meters. Campfires are the cheapest option, needing no Workbench and only 5 Stone and 2 Wood. Place one every 25-30 meters along your routes to create safe corridors. This turns the biome from a gauntlet into manageable segments.

Weapons for exploration

Spellcasting is arguably the easiest approach. Bring two Eitr foods and one stamina food, keep a Staff of Protection bubble up at all times, and use the Staff of Frost to slow enemies while you pick them apart. The slow turns the biggest threat here, getting swarmed, into something manageable.

For melee, the Mistwalker and Frostner both work well. Voltures and Bonemaws are weak to frost, and even where frost is not a weakness, the slow is worth having.

More survival tips

• Use Bonemass's Forsaken Power against starred enemies, Morgen, or Fallen Valkyries with large packs.
• Travel along coasts: creatures only spawn on solid ground.
• Mark cleared Putrid Holes on your map as safe spots to recover health and stamina.
• When overwhelmed near a Dvergr camp, flee toward it. The Dvergr fight Charred enemies as long as you do not hit them or their structures.

Mining Flametal: The Dangerous Grind

Flametal goes into nearly every Ashlands weapon, armor piece and many building pieces. It comes from two sources: Flametal Ore veins in lava fields, and fortress chests. Veins are more plentiful but far more dangerous.

Reaching the veins

Flametal Ore veins sit on Lavaiathans, living columns in the middle of lava pools. Throw Basalt Bombs into the lava to create platforms that last about 30 seconds before sinking. Each batch of 5 bombs costs 1 Asksvin Hide, 1 Asksvin Bladder and 3 Proustite Powder at a Workbench.

Mine the ore with a Black Metal Pickaxe. The Ashlands adds no new tools, so your Black Metal tools handle everything.

The vein fights back

The detail most guides bury: Lavaiathans are living creatures, like the Leviathan in the Ocean. After you start mining, the column groans, shifts upward and sinks into the lava with the remaining ore. Your window is limited.

To make the most of it:

• Use The Queen's Forsaken Power for faster mining.
• Place a Shield Generator near the column to block lava fireballs that knock you off platforms.
• Clear or spawnproof the area so creatures do not interrupt you.
• Wear the Feather Cape for higher jumps between platforms.

Collecting and smelting

Mined ore drops onto the lava. Ride a saddled Asksvin across Basalt Bomb platforms to collect it all without worrying about weight. Smelt the ore in a Blast Furnace with Coal. Flametal cannot go through wooden portals, only Stone Portals.

The safer source

Charred Fortress chests often hold large amounts of Flametal alongside gemstones and gold. If lava mining is too punishing, fortress raiding can be your main supply. Expect to need about 234 Flametal to craft one of each base weapon and armor piece, and around 920 to upgrade everything.

Raiding Charred Fortresses

Charred Fortresses are the Ashlands' main dungeons. These huge stone structures are impenetrable by normal means, guarded by Skugg turrets on all four corners and packed with Charred Warriors, Marksmen and Warlocks. Inside you find:

• gemstones (Bloodstone, Jade and Iolite)
• Bell Fragments for summoning Fader
• Charred Cogwheels for building Catapults

Go over the wall, not through the gate

You can breach your first fortress with a Battering Ram, built from Flametal, Bronze and Ashwood and dragged into place like a cart. Experienced players recommend leaving the gate intact instead. Build stairs or a ladder over the wall, or raise a ramp with the Hoe.

The walls and gates are indestructible to enemies, so an intact fortress becomes the most secure base location in the biome once cleared.

Before entering, destroy the four corner Skugg turrets with a Staff of Embers, arrows, or the Staff of Fracturing from closer in. They hit hard and will shred you if you fight inside while they fire from the walls.

Armor, Weapons and Gear Progression

The Ashlands adds three armor sets, two capes and a large arsenal. Arrive in your best Mistlands gear: the Mistwalker and a parry-capable shield are excellent starting weapons.

Flametal Armor first

Your first crafting priority is the Flametal Armor set, the heavy option with the highest raw armor of the three. The full set gives 114 armor at quality 1 and 40% heat resistance, at the cost of 10% movement speed. That heat resistance meaningfully extends your time in boiling water and reduces lava damage.

Ask, Embla and the capes

• Ask set: the mobility option with no movement penalty, ideal for ranged and dodge-heavy builds.
• Embla set: for magic users. The Robes of Embla boost Eitr regeneration by 50%, like the Mistlands Eitr-weave set but with more armor.
• Ashen Cape: 12 armor at quality 1 plus frost resistance, crafted at the Black Forge.
• Asksvin Cloak: a lighter-armor cape with frost resistance, crafted at the Galdr Table.

Gemstone weapons

Base Flametal-tier weapons can be upgraded with one of three gemstones from Charred Fortresses (the Riktig Fuling also drops 2-3 of each):

• Bloodstone: more damage as your health drops. High risk, high reward.
• Jade: a 15% chance to immobilize enemies on hit.
• Iolite: adds lightning damage for area potential.

Community consensus: Jade and Iolite are the strongest choices, while Bloodstone is the riskiest and generally weakest.

Recommended weapons

• Thundering Berserkir Axes: the community favorite for melee, fast and strong against groups and single targets.
• Root Ripper: the Jade crossbow, to immobilize dangerous enemies before closing in.
• Staff of Fracturing: widely considered the best all-round damage staff.
• Staff of the Wild: excellent sustained damage.

Before crafting Ashlands weapons, upgrade your Cauldron with Rolling Pins and your Black Forge with the Metal Cutter. That unlocks quality 4 for your Mistlands gear, an immediate boost while you collect gemstones.

Resources, Food and Points of Interest

Building and crafting materials

• Ashwood: from Scorched Trees, cut with any axe. Used for building and furniture.
• Grausten: mined from rock formations and ruins with a Black Metal Pickaxe. The main fireproof building material.
• Charcoal Resin: drops alongside Ashwood.
• Proustite Powder: from Lava Blobs (1) and Unstable Lava Rocks. Shoot the rocks with arrows to avoid the blast.
• Sulfur: mined from Sulfur Arches, and dropped by Lava Blobs.

Plants and food

Three pickable plants grow here:

• Fiddleheads: sheltered near ruins.
• Smoke Puffs: on the ground and rock peaks, also used to tame Asksvin.
• Vineberry Clusters: on the sides of ruins. The only new plantable crop; grow the seeds on cultivated soil near build pieces in any biome.

The Ashlands adds 15 foods and the Lingering Healing Mead and Lingering Eitr Mead, each boosting regeneration by 25% for 5 minutes. Upgrade your Cauldron with Rolling Pins and Cutting Boards (Flametal and Ashwood) to unlock the recipes.

Putrid Holes

These small cave dungeons are marked by Asksvin bones at the entrance. Inside are loot chests, Molten Cores, ancient pots and Vegvisir runestones that mark Lord Reto and the Dyrnwyn fragment altars. Explore them thoroughly and mark them on your map: cleared ones make excellent recovery spots.

Dvergr camps

Camps of red-bearded Dvergr Rogues appear throughout the biome. They are neutral unless provoked and fight Charred alongside you. Their crates sometimes hold Flametal, but breaking their gear turns them hostile. Use the camps as emergency rally points, and avoid stray hits.

Lord Reto, Fader and the Dyrnwyn

Lord Reto and the Dyrnwyn fragments

Lord Reto is the Ashlands miniboss, and he is brutally tough. Find him through special Vegvisir runestones in Putrid Holes that mark "mysterious locations". You need all three:

1. Two rock structures with altars holding the Dyrnwyn Tip Fragment and Dyrnwyn Blade Fragment.
2. The Tomb of Lord Reto, where killing him gives the Dyrnwyn Hilt Fragment.

Expect two-star Charred at these locations.

Reto is weak to spirit and resists pierce, fire and frost, so bring a spirit weapon. Combine the three fragments with 20 Flametal and 1 Bloodstone at a level 4 Black Forge to craft the Dyrnwyn, a slash and fire sword and one of the most powerful one-handed weapons in the game.

Fader

Fader is the Ashlands boss, a massive dragon-like creature with devastating melee and ranged attacks. His Vegvisir runestones sit at the tops of large ruins and inside Charred Fortresses.

To summon him:

1. Collect 9 Bell Fragments from fortress inner towers.
2. Craft 3 Bells at a Black Forge (3 fragments each).
3. Place the Bells on the thrones in his arena.

Fader spins, stomps and calls fireballs from the sky. He is immune to fire and spirit and resists pierce, so leave fire weapons and Fire Arrows at home. His Fissure and Wall of Fire attacks cause friendly fire, so positioning near other enemies can help.

He drops the Fader Trophy and 5 Kindled Ribs. His Forsaken Power grants +300 carry weight and 10% movement speed, a superb utility power for everything that follows.

Raid Events and Final Tips

The Ashlands adds two raids:

• "The undead army marches": waves of Charred Marksmen, Warriors and Twitchers.
• "The dead have been summoned": a Twitcher-only assault.

A Shield Generator and Grausten walls handle both, but defend your base before pushing deep into the biome.

Closing tips

• Mine Flametal veins near solid land when you can. If a deposit is deep in a lava field, mark it and come back with more Basalt Bombs.
• Carry materials for a Workbench and portal so you can set up forward camps as you push inland.
• Do not try to conquer the biome in one session. Build infrastructure and chip away at it methodically.