How to Defeat Fader: Ashlands Boss Strategy, Gear & Preparation

What Makes Fader So Brutal

Fader, the Emerald Flame, is Valheim's seventh boss and the final challenge of the Ashlands: a massive charred skeletal dragon with green fire glowing from every crack. His name is a formal Danish and Swedish word for "father", making him the counterpart to Moder ("mother"), the Mountain boss.

In 1.0 he is no longer the last boss in the game: Kall Fimbulbringer comes after him. He is still a huge step up from The Queen.

Health scaling

At 25,000 base HP solo, Fader is one of the tankiest creatures in the game. Each extra player adds 7,500 HP:

• 1 player: 25,000
• 2 players: 32,500
• 3 players: 40,000
• 4 players: 47,500

His damage also rises 8% per extra player. This is not a fight you rush.

An escalating fight

Fader has eight attacks, several of which intensify as his health drops. Below 55% HP he summons waves of Charred minions, and below 35% nearly every attack hits harder and comes faster. Stamina management, positioning and knowing when to disengage decide this fight.

How to Summon Fader

Find the arena

Fader's altar sits inside a coliseum-like arena in the Ashlands. To locate it, find a Vegvisir in the central tower of a Charred Fortress (50% spawn chance per fortress), or very rarely on top of Charred Ruins. It marks the nearest Emerald Flame arena on your map.

Collect the Bells

You place three Bells on stands around the coliseum. Each Bell takes 3 Bell Fragments at a Black Forge, so you need 9 fragments in total.

1. Find Charred Fortresses: there are 20 per world, all inland, marked by a tall beam of green light.
2. Breach the central tower and destroy the Bell Altar inside. Each drops 2 to 4 fragments.
3. Clear at least 3 fortresses to guarantee 9 fragments, then craft the Bells.

Careful: Bell Altars have only 10 HP and no resistances. Explosives or area attacks can destroy the altar and scatter the fragments before you even see them.

Fader's Attack Patterns

Every attack is telegraphed if you know what to look for, and his abilities unlock as his health drops. Damage numbers are in the reference table below.

Meteors (25-100% HP)

He rears up on his hind legs and stomps, calling down 10 meteors. They leave green flames in a 5m radius that burn for 20 seconds. Keep moving sideways when he rises: the meteors fall from behind him, so standing to his side buys reaction time. Cooldown is 25 seconds, dropping to 18 below 25% HP.

Wall of Fire (15-90% HP)

He draws a line with his right paw and summons 12 fire circles (4m radius each) in a ring 8m from you. They appear clockwise, starting furthest from Fader, 0.25s apart, and last 20 seconds. Cooldown is 60 seconds.

The trick: keep moving while it spawns. The circles generate relative to your current position, so continuous movement opens gaps to escape through. With good Jump skill or a Feather Cape you can leap over the flames.

Flamebreath (5-85% HP)

A 17m line of fire that leaves 4m flames burning for 14 seconds. It cannot be blocked. Fader often chains it right after a Wall of Fire to trap you in the ring, so be ready to dodge sideways after jumping out. Cooldown is 25 seconds.

Fissure (35-85% HP)

The attack that kills experienced players. He slams down his left paw and 12-16 circles of green flame chase you. After 4 seconds, spikes erupt followed by fire pools. It can kill through full Flametal armor with Fire Resistance Barley Wine active, and it cannot be dodged or blocked.

Your only option is to run. Sprint in a curving path that loops back on itself so the fire zones overlap instead of covering the whole arena. Cooldown is 30 seconds, dropping to 20 below 35% HP.

Roar (35-55% HP)

He launches eight orbs that land and summon Charred Warriors or Charred Marksmen (50% each), up to 7 of each at once. They have only 50 HP and deal half normal damage, but Marksmen are a real nuisance while you dodge Fissures.

The minions take friendly fire from Fader, so run through them during a Fissure and let the flames clear them. Cooldown is 45 seconds, dropping to 26 below 35% HP.

Melee: Bite, Claw and Spin

• Bite within 9 meters, 3s cooldown
• Claw swipes left and right, each on its own 3s cooldown
• Spin when you are within 8 meters, hitting an 8.5m radius, 20s cooldown

All of these can be blocked with Ashlands-tier shields. Melee is the most manageable part of the fight if you are geared for it, but staying close exposes you to his fire attacks.

Best Gear Loadouts for Fighting Fader

There are three viable paths: melee tank, mage and archer. Magic is the most accessible solo strategy, while melee offers the fastest kills for skilled players willing to take risks.

Melee Tank Build

Armor

Rotate armor around your Bonemass cooldown:

• Bonemass active: full Flametal heavy armor plus Fire Resistance Barley Wine. The wine covers the Root Harnesk's fire weakness, and Bonemass makes its Pierce advantage unnecessary.
• Bonemass on cooldown: swap to the Root Harnesk chest with heavy legs and helm for better Pierce resistance against his melee.

Weapons

• Primal Berserkir Axes: the best melee option, because their freezing effect works on Fader and gives you safe damage windows.
• Thundering Berserkir Axes: the highest raw DPS.
• Nidhögg the Bleeding: excellent for its Bleed effect.

The high-risk Nidhögg combo: eat three health foods, let Fader hit you down to about 150 HP, then activate Bonemass. The low health boosts Nidhögg's bonus damage. Veterans report kills in under 4 minutes this way, but it demands perfect execution.

Mage Build (Recommended for Solo)

Armor

The full Embla set (Hood of Embla, Robes of Embla, Trousers of Embla) at max upgrade gives +130% eitr regeneration, which you need for this marathon. Pair it with the Feather Cape for jumping fire walls, but read the warning below first.

Staffs

• Staff of the Wild: your main offense. Its root vines deal Poison damage, which Fader takes in full, and they physically impede him.
• Trollstav: your secret weapon. Summoned Trolls draw his attention and deal steady damage while you keep your distance. Keep two up at all times.
• Staff of Protection: the bubble shield is your lifeline, but it breaks quickly. Recast it often.
• Dundr: solid damage, since its spread does not matter against such a large target.
• Staff of Frost: a decent secondary offense.

Skip the Staff of Embers entirely: Fader is immune to Fire.

Mage food

Prioritise eitr so you can keep summons and shields running for the whole fight. Sizzling Berry Broth and Marinated Greens are the eitr foods; Scorching Medley covers stamina for dodging.

Archer Build

Fader resists Pierce (0.5x), so archers deal less per hit than melee or magic. If you go ranged anyway:

• Storm Fang is the clear winner. Its Lightning proc can chain across Fader's large hitbox.
• Root Fang is a useful support bow, since its freeze chance can immobilise him.
• Frost Arrows give consistent damage, because Frost is neutral against him.

Avoid crossbows here. The slower fire rate and lack of elemental bolts make bows strictly better for this fight.

Essential Meads and Potions

Fire Resistance Barley Wine

Non-negotiable. Without fire resistance you melt in seconds. It lasts 10 minutes with a 10-minute cooldown, so you get one use per fight. Brew Barley Wine Base: Fire Resistance at a Mead Ketill, then ferment it for 6 wines. Start brewing well before the fight.

The rest of your mead belt

Bring at least 5 of each:

• Lingering Stamina Mead and Lingering Eitr Mead for sustained regeneration
• Berserkir Mead from The Bog Witch: 80% cheaper attacks, blocks and dodges, great for melee (pair with Bonemass to offset the extra damage taken)
• Lightfoot Mead and Tonic of Ratatosk for extra mobility against Fissures
• Major Healing Mead rather than Lingering Healing Mead, since burst healing matters when single attacks nearly one-shot you

Rested and pacing

Keep your Rested bonus maxed; its regeneration adds up over a 30-minute fight. Do not sleep through the night mid-battle, as Fader can recover if left alone too long.

Rewards and Aftermath

Fader always drops 5 Kindled Ribs and the Fader Trophy.

Forsaken Power

Mount the Fader Trophy at the Sacrificial Stones for a 300-second (5-minute) power:

• Fire Resistance (Resistant vs Fire)
• +100% Adrenaline gain
• 50% reduced Stagger meter build-up

It is an excellent utility power for exploring the Ashlands.

World changes

• Charred Marksmen and Charred Warriors start spawning at night in the Meadows, Black Forest, Swamp, Mountain and Plains (0 stars only).
• The "The undead army marches" and "The dead have been summoned" raids are disabled.
• The Bog Witch sells Fiery Spice Powder for 200 Coins, used in Ashlands-tier feasts.