On this page8 sections
- Ruins of a Lost Civilization
- Abandoned Houses: Safe Shelters and Early Loot
- Abandoned Villages: Farms, Boars and Raspberries
- Draugr Villages: The Most Dangerous Meadows Encounter
- Enemy Stats: Know What You Are Fighting
- Body Piles: The Real Threat Inside
- Loot, Resources and Why Villages Are Worth Clearing
- Renovating Ruins Into Your Base
- Abandoned Houses and farm villages are safe: loot their chests, shoot down Wild Beehives for a
Queen Bee and use them as shelters. - Log wall perimeters mean a Draugr Village, which only spawns more than 2,000 meters from the world center.
Draugr can't open doors, so never open one until you are ready; hit them through walls with the 
Stagbreaker instead.- Destroy Body Piles first, ideally with Blunt or Spirit damage, or Draugr keep spawning.
- Rewards:
Finewood from furniture before the 
Bronze Axe, 
Entrails for 
Sausages, and up to 3 hidden chests under the Great Hall floor.
Ruins of a Lost Civilization
The crumbling buildings scattered across the Meadows are some of the first points of interest you'll find in Valheim. They range from peaceful, empty farmsteads to Draugr Villages full of undead that can easily kill an unprepared player. There are three kinds:
- Abandoned Houses: isolated and empty.
- Abandoned Villages: peaceful farmsteads.
- Draugr Villages: dangerous, and a goldmine if you approach them right.
Abandoned Houses: Safe Shelters and Early Loot
The most common pre-built structures in the Meadows: isolated, partly ruined wooden buildings. There are 13 variants, and they are completely uninhabited, with no enemies or traps.
What's inside
Most variants have a 50% chance of a Meadows chest and a 25% chance of a Wild Beehive. Chests hold early supplies like 
Feathers, 
Flint and 
Coins. The beehives are the real prize: destroying one drops a Queen Bee and 1 to 3 
Honey, and the Queen Bee crafts your own 
Beehive for a permanent Honey supply.
Variants worth knowing
- Variant 2: a chest with a 55% chance of a
Mysterious Axe Head. - Variant 6: always has a chest with a 55% chance of a
Curious Axe Head. One of each plus 4 
Wood crafts an early two-handed axe at the 
Workbench. - Variant 3: built from
Corewood logs, so you can deconstruct it for Corewood before reaching the Black Forest.
Instant shelters
Place a Workbench inside, repair broken walls, add a door and build a Campfire. You have a safe, warm resting place for a few pieces of Wood, ideal when exploring far from base.
Queen BeeMaterialThe best early find: shoot Wild Beehives for your own Honey farm
- Weight
- 0.2
- Stack size
- 20
Always check the roofline of Abandoned Houses before going inside. If you see a small brownish lump tucked under the eaves, that is a Wild Beehive. Walking too close triggers a 10 Poison damage pulse every 4 seconds in a 4-meter radius. Shoot it with a bow from a safe distance to collect the Queen Bee and Honey without taking damage.
Abandoned Villages: Farms, Boars and Raspberries
Clusters of 2 to 5 buildings that generate together as small farmsteads, with broken garden plots, fences and outbuildings. They are peaceful, home only to a few 
Boars. Think of them as starter kits disguised as ruins.
Farm Houses
- One variant always has a Meadows chest, plus a 20% Wild Beehive chance.
- One has a 90% chest chance and the same 20% beehive chance.
- One has no notable loot, only an unusable Bed.
Supporting structures
- Raspberry Farms: up to 6 Raspberry bushes (40% each), a renewable early food source.
- Hen Pens: up to 6
Dandelions (20% each). - Outhouses: up to 4
Mushrooms (33% each). - Roundpole Fence enclosures, wooden towers and sign posts.
The Maypole
There is a 10% chance the fenced area spawns a Maypole. Players can't build one, and it gives a comfort bonus near your bed, which makes it one of the few reasons to base around an existing structure. If you find one, seriously consider settling there.
A ready-made Boar pen
The Boars here wander near the Raspberry bushes, and the existing fences give you a head start on a pen. Drop 
Raspberries or Mushrooms, close the gaps, and your taming operation is running with minimal effort.
“Every time I find a Draugr Village for the first time, I catch myself thinking 'I wonder who lived here and what happened to them.' Then I open a door and find out exactly what happened.
Draugr Villages: The Most Dangerous Meadows Encounter
From a distance they look like Abandoned Villages: large wooden buildings behind partial log walls. But they are packed with Draugr, Swamp-tier undead that can take an early Meadows player from full health to zero in two or three hits.
How to recognise one
- They only spawn more than 2,000 meters from the world center, so never near your starting Sacrificial Stones.
- Abandoned Villages have broken garden fences; Draugr Villages have thick log walls. If you see log walls, assume the worst.
Closed doors are your friend
Each building type holds different numbers of Draugr and different loot. Draugr inside buildings can't open doors, so they stay locked in until you open one. You control when the fight starts, as long as you don't break a wall or swing too close to a door.
Draugr Village Buildings
| Stat | Great Hall | Long House | House | Tower |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Draugr | 5 + 1 Elite | 4 + 1 Elite | 1 ranged + 2 melee | 2 ranged + 2 melee |
| Body Pile | Yes (1) | Yes (1) | No | No |
| Chests | Up to 3 (hidden under floor) | 1 (75% chance) | 1 (50% chance) | None |
| Wild Beehive | No | No | 20% chance | 33% (top floor) |
| Furniture | 6 Chairs, Raven Throne (50%) | 3 Chairs, Table (50%) | 2 Wood Beds | None |
Enemy Stats: Know What You Are Fighting
These are Swamp-tier enemies in a Meadows biome, hitting far harder than anything else early on. Both Draugr and 
Draugr Elites resist Fire (half damage) and are immune to Poison, but take normal damage from Blunt, Slash, Pierce, Frost, Lightning and Spirit.
Who carries what
- About 75% of regular Draugr carry axes and fight in melee.
- About 25% carry bows and shoot from up to 20 meters. They are arguably more dangerous, hitting you from across the village while you fight in melee.
- Draugr Elites always carry swords and only fight in melee.
Draugr vs Draugr Elite
| Stat | Draugr | Draugr Elite |
|---|---|---|
| Health | 100 | 200 |
| Run speed | 5 | 6 |
Draugr Attacks (0-Star)
| Draugr Axe Damage | 48 Slash + 15 Chop |
| Draugr Bow Damage | 48 Pierce |
| Draugr Axe Cooldown | 3 seconds |
| Draugr Bow Range | 20 meters |
| Draugr Elite Sword Damage | 58 Slash |
| Draugr Elite Cooldown | 4 seconds |
| Drops | Entrails: 1 per Draugr, 2 per Elite |
| Trophy Drop Rate | 10% (both) |
The single biggest mistake new players make is opening doors in a Draugr Village. Draugr cannot open doors on their own. If you open a Great Hall door, you could release up to 5 Draugr and a Draugr Elite all at once. Instead, use ranged attacks or the Stagbreaker's AoE to deal with them through walls. Never open a door unless you are ready for a fight.
Body Piles: The Real Threat Inside
Body Piles are spawners inside the Great Hall, Long House and their ruined variants. Destroy them first: they keep spawning Draugr as long as they stand.
How they spawn
- Activates when a player comes within 20 meters.
- Tries to spawn a Draugr within 3 meters every 6 seconds, up to 2 active within 20 meters.
- Each spawn: 43% melee Draugr, 43% ranged Draugr, 14% Draugr Elite.
- 15% chance of 1-star and 2.25% chance of 2-star.
That means a 2-star Draugr Elite with 600 HP and 116 Slash damage can appear in the Meadows. Not a fight you want in Leather armor.
How to destroy them
Body Piles have 100 durability. They are weak to Spirit (1.5x), take normal Blunt, Slash, Lightning and Frost, resist Pierce and Fire (0.5x) and are immune to Chop, Pickaxe and Poison. A Blunt weapon is your best bet. Killing Draugr without destroying the pile just brings more.
How to Clear a Draugr Village Safely
- 1
Scout from a distance
Approach slowly and look for log wall perimeters. Identify the building types from outside. Count the structures and note which ones are ruins (open roofs) versus intact buildings. Ruins already have Draugr exposed, so handle those first.
- 2
Kill any outdoor Draugr first
Draugr in ruined buildings and on tower rooftops are already active. Use a Bow to pick them off from range before getting close. Circle the village perimeter and eliminate every exposed enemy before you approach any intact buildings.
- 3
Use the Stagbreaker through walls
The Stagbreaker's AoE attack hits in a 4-meter sphere that passes through walls. Stand outside a building and slam the ground to damage Body Piles and Draugr inside without opening the door. This is the safest clearing method, but be careful: the impact can also break weakened walls, potentially releasing Draugr.
- 4
Use elevated positions for bow attacks
Climb onto a roof or build a small platform above a building. You can often shoot down through gaps in ruined roofs to hit Body Piles and Draugr below. Be aware that Draugr deal significant damage to wooden structures and can collapse your platform. Draugr archers can also shoot back at you from below.
- 5
Lure other creatures for distractions
If things go wrong, Draugr will disengage from you to fight other hostile creatures. Kiting a group of
Greydwarfs or even a 
Troll into the village creates chaos that gives you time to destroy Body Piles or escape. This is not a reliable primary strategy, but it can save your life in an emergency. - 6
Collect the loot
Once all Body Piles are destroyed and Draugr are cleared, loot the Meadows Chests (check under the floor in the Great Hall, there can be up to 3 hidden beneath the body pile location). Smash furniture inside for Finewood, destroy any Wild Beehives for Queen Bees, and collect all dropped Entrails for crafting Sausages later.
StagbreakerTwo-handed weapon · Black ForestIts ground slam hits Body Piles and Draugr through walls
- Blunt damage
- 20 (+6 per level)
- Pierce damage
- 5
- Block armor
- 4
- Skill
- Clubs
Workbench (level 2): 20 Corewood, 5 Deer Trophy, 2 Leather Scraps, 0 Bone Fragments
Key Weapon for Village Clearing
Deer Trophy
Leather Scraps
Bone FragmentsLoot, Resources and Why Villages Are Worth Clearing
Queen Bees
The most valuable find. A Beehive at your base produces Honey passively, used in several mead recipes and eaten on its own (8 Health and 35 Stamina for 900 seconds). Starting Honey production early is a real advantage.
Finewood before Bronze
Chairs, tables and the Raven Throne in Draugr Village buildings break down into Finewood. Normally Finewood needs a Bronze Axe on Birch and Oak, so smashing furniture lets you craft a 
Finewood Bow and other Finewood items ahead of schedule.
Entrails
Draugr drop Entrails, a Swamp-tier material for Sausages at the 
Cauldron (4 Entrails, 1 
Boar Meat and 1 
Thistle make 4), one of the best mid-game foods. Each Draugr drops 1 and each Elite 2, so a fully cleared Great Hall alone yields 7 or more before you ever set foot in the Swamp.
Renovating Ruins Into Your Base
Renovating ruins is optional, but it saves resources. Place a Workbench, repair the structure, patch holes, add a door, and you have a shelter for a fraction of the cost of building from scratch. 
Stone ruins in other biomes are even better, since Stone doesn't decay in rain.
Cleared Draugr Villages
- The Great Hall is large enough for a central crafting hub.
- Towers make natural lookout points.
- The log wall perimeter is a defensive ring you can reinforce.
- A village near a biome border gives easy access to several biomes' resources.
Fix the roof first
Wooden pieces exposed to rain slowly lose durability and need regular repairs. Many ruins have damaged or missing roofs, so rebuild a complete roof over any building you plan to use long-term.
Copper
Tin
Iron oreFrequently Asked Questions
How can I tell the difference between an Abandoned Village and a Draugr Village?
Draugr Villages have partial log wall perimeters surrounding the buildings and are found more than 2,000 meters from the world center. Abandoned Villages have broken garden fences and smaller farm structures. Draugr Villages also tend to have larger buildings like Great Halls and Towers, while Abandoned Villages feature smaller farmhouses and outbuildings like Raspberry farms and hen pens. If you see thick log walls, approach with caution.
Can Draugr break out of buildings on their own?
No. Draugr inside intact buildings cannot open doors and will not break out on their own. They will only emerge if you open the door, if a wall is destroyed by combat damage or weather decay, or if you use an AoE attack like the Stagbreaker that accidentally breaks a weakened wall. As long as you leave the doors closed, they stay contained indefinitely.
What level should I be before attempting a Draugr Village?
Ideally, you want at least Leather Armor (or Troll Leather Armor), a Finewood Bow with plenty of arrows, and a Shield for melee encounters. Having the Stagbreaker is highly recommended for clearing through walls. You should be comfortable with parrying and dodging, as Draugr hit hard enough to kill under-geared players in 2-3 hits. Being post-Eikthyr is a minimum; post-Elder is much safer.
Where are the hidden chests in the Great Hall?
The Great Hall can contain up to 3 Meadows Chests hidden under the wooden floor directly beneath the Body Pile location. You need to destroy the floor planks above them to access the chests. This is easy to miss if you do not know to look for it, so always check under the floor after clearing a Great Hall.
Recent Updates
- Updated for Valheim 1.0: verified Draugr Entrails drops, clarified what the axe heads craft, and reorganised the guide for easier reading.