On this page5 sections
- Roots never spawn in the wild:
The Elder summons hostile ones, and the 
Staff of the Wild summons friendly ones. - The Elder's Roots are immobile with a 4-meter reach, so keep moving and they cannot touch you.
Fire Arrows kill an enemy Root in one hit (1.5x Fire damage on 20 HP).- Do not build towers near The Elder's altar: Roots spawn on the highest surface, right next to you.
- Root creatures drop nothing. The Root material comes from
Abominations in the Swamp.
What Are Roots in Valheim?
Roots are creatures you never go looking for, but they find you anyway. These aggressive, stationary tendrils burst from the ground and flail at anything within reach. You will meet them in only two contexts:
- Hostile minions summoned by The Elder during his boss fight in the Black Forest.
- Friendly allies summoned by players wielding the Staff of the Wild in the Ashlands.
The two versions behave very differently. The Elder's Roots are fragile distractions that overwhelm you with numbers, while Staff of the Wild Roots are beefy summons that can carry whole fights.
The Elder's Roots: How They Work
The Elder raises one arm and summons 15 hostile Roots in a 15-meter circle centered on the nearest player. He can do this every 25 seconds whenever a player is within 30 meters. There is no warning on your end, so they seem to appear from nowhere while you dodge his vine volley.
Attack and lifespan
- Immobile: a Root cannot chase you or reposition.
- Slam: a downward strike in a 90-degree arc at anyone within 4 meters, every 3 seconds.
- Lifespan: 18 to 20 seconds, or until The Elder dies.
- Cap: 30 active Roots, so at most two waves can overlap.
One Root is not much of a threat, but 15 hitting at once add up fast if you stand still.
The highest-surface quirk
Roots always spawn on the highest surface in their area. Build a structure near The Elder's altar and they appear on the roof, right next to you, instead of harmlessly below.
The Elder's minion: immobile, 4-meter reach, dies to one Fire Arrow
- Health
- 20
Enemy Root Stats (The Elder's Minion)
| Health | 20 |
| Damage | 55 Blunt, 20 Chop, 20 Pickaxe |
| Attack Interval | Every 3 seconds |
| Attack Range | 4 meters (90-degree arc) |
| Spawn Count | 15 per cast (max 30 active) |
| Lifespan | 18-20 seconds |
| Faction | Boss |
| Weak To | Fire (x1.5) |
| Resistant To | Frost (x0.5) |
| Immune To | Poison, Stagger, Chop, Pickaxe |
| Drops | None |
Do not waste time fighting The Elder's Roots. With only 20 HP each, they die quickly, but there are 15 of them and another wave spawns in 25 seconds. The best strategy is to simply keep moving. Roots cannot chase you, so jogging 5 meters away from any cluster makes them completely harmless. Save your stamina and weapon durability for The Elder himself.
How to Deal with The Elder's Roots
- 1
Keep Moving at All Times
Roots are immobile and have a 4-meter attack range. The moment you see them erupt from the ground, jog away from the cluster. You do not need to sprint, just walk out of range. Since The Elder summons them centered on your position, they will always appear around you, but they can never follow.
- 2
Use Fire to Clear Them Quickly
If Roots are blocking your path or boxing you in near a pillar, Fire Arrows are extremely effective. Roots take 1.5x Fire damage, and with only 20 HP, a single Fire Arrow will kill one outright. You should already have Fire Arrows for The Elder fight since the boss himself is very weak to fire (2x damage).
- 3
Use the Pillars at The Elder's Altar
The Elder's Forsaken Altar has stone pillars around it. These pillars block The Elder's vine Shoot attack and give you cover to reposition. When Roots spawn, circle around to the opposite side of a pillar. The Roots will be stuck behind the pillar while you have a clear line of fire on The Elder.
- 4
Wait Out the Timer
Roots despawn after 18 to 20 seconds. Since The Elder's Root Spawn has a 25-second cooldown, there is a brief 5 to 7 second window between waves where no Roots are active. Use this window to close in for melee attacks or reposition for better bow angles.
“The Roots are not the real threat. They are The Elder's way of keeping you in one spot long enough for his vine volley to finish you off. If you keep moving, the Roots become nothing more than scenery.
Staff of the Wild Roots: Your Own Summoned Allies
In the Ashlands, Roots go from early nuisance to one of your strongest summoning tools. The Staff of the Wild, crafted at the 
Galdr Table, summons friendly Roots that fight for you. Compared with The Elder's minions, they have over ten times the health, hit harder, add Poison damage and can immobilize enemies.
How a cast works
- The staff fires a green projectile that deals Blunt and Poison damage on impact.
- A thorny Root grows where it lands and attacks everything nearby.
- Up to 10 Roots can be active at once, each lasting 23 to 25 seconds.
Area denial
Summoned Roots are on the Player faction, so enemies do not target them directly, though they still take collateral damage and intercept projectiles. Plant a cluster at a chokepoint and make enemies walk through a gauntlet of Poison and Blunt damage. Against waves of 
Charred Warriors, that can turn an overwhelming assault into a manageable fight.
Staff of the WildTwo-handed weapon · AshlandsAshlands Elemental Magic staff: 55 Eitr per cast, summons up to 10 Roots
- Blunt damage
- 20 (+20 per level)
- Poison damage
- 20 (+20 per level)
- Block armor
- 48
- Skill
- Elemental Magic
Galdr Table (level 2): 15 Ashwood, 10 Fiddlehead, 3 Celestial Feather, 1 Jade
Summoned Root Stats (Staff of the Wild)
| Health | 250 |
| Damage | 70 Blunt, 40 Poison, 20 Chop, 20 Pickaxe |
| Knockback | 40 |
| Backstab Multiplier | 4x |
| Special | 10% chance to immobilize for 10 seconds |
| Max Active | 10 |
| Lifespan | 23-25 seconds |
| Faction | Player (friendly) |
| Resistant To | Fire (x0.5) |
| Immune To | Poison, Chop, Pickaxe |
Staff of the Wild Crafting and Upgrades
Ashwood
Fiddlehead
Celestial Feather
JadeThe staff's own projectile scales hard with quality: 20 Blunt and 20 Poison at Quality 1, rising by 20 of each per level to 80 Blunt and 80 Poison at Quality 4. Most Ashlands enemies are not immune to Poison, so an upgraded staff plus a field of Roots is one of the strongest sustained damage setups for a summoner. Pair it with the Trollstav's summoned 
Troll for a one-person army.
Enemy Roots vs. Summoned Roots
| Stat | The Elder's Roots | Staff of the Wild Roots |
|---|---|---|
| Health | 20 | 250 |
| Damage | 55 Blunt | 70 Blunt + 40 Poison |
| Faction | Boss (hostile) | Player (friendly) |
| Max Active | 30 | 10 |
| Lifespan | 18-20 seconds | 23-25 seconds |
| Fire Weakness | Weak (x1.5) | Resistant (x0.5) |
| Special | None | 10% immobilize (10s) |
| Spawn Count | 15 per cast | 1 per cast |
Root Resistances and Weaknesses
The two variants have very different resistance profiles.
The Elder's Roots
- Weak to Fire (1.5x): one Fire Arrow destroys a 20 HP Root.
- Resistant to Frost (0.5x).
- Immune to Poison, Chop, Pickaxe and Stagger. You cannot stun-lock them with heavy hits.
Staff of the Wild Roots
- Resistant to Fire (0.5x), which keeps them alive in the fire-soaked Ashlands.
- Immune to Poison, Chop and Pickaxe, but not listed as Stagger immune, and without the Frost resistance.
- Normal damage from Blunt, Slash, Pierce, Lightning and Spirit, softened by their 250 HP pool.
Roots in The Elder Boss Fight
The Elder is the second boss, found in the Black Forest. He has 2,500 HP and is very weak to Fire (2x damage), so Fire Arrows are the go-to weapon. He has three abilities:
- Root Spawn: every 25 seconds.
- Shoot: 25 vine projectiles of 35 Pierce each (6-second cooldown, used at 15 to 50 meters).
- Stomp: 60 Blunt plus 1,000 Chop and 1,000 Pickaxe damage (5-second cooldown, within 3 meters).
What the Roots are for
Roots punish players who plant their feet and trade bow shots. Stand still and they surround you, hitting from several directions while the vine volley homes in on your position. They are not the main threat; they force you into the boss's more dangerous attacks.
Winning approach
Circle the stone pillars at the altar to block the vine Shoot, fire a few arrows, then reposition when Roots appear. Melee players should attack in the gaps between waves, closing in as Roots despawn and backing off when new ones arrive.
A common mistake is building elevated platforms near The Elder's altar thinking you will be safe from Roots. Roots always spawn on the highest surface in their area, so if you build a three-story tower, the Roots will appear on the roof right next to you instead of on the ground below. Stick to using the existing stone pillars for cover rather than building custom structures.
Do not confuse Root the creature with Root the crafting material. The material is dropped by Abominations in the Swamp (5 per kill) and is used for the Root armor set (
Root Mask, 
Root Harnesk and 
Root Leggings). Root creatures drop no loot at all, so see the Abomination guide if you are farming for Root armor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Roots drop any loot when killed?
Can The Elder's Roots damage structures?
Roots deal Chop and Pickaxe damage alongside their Blunt damage, but the Chop and Pickaxe components are Tier 0, meaning they are very weak against structures. The Elder's Stomp attack is the real structure destroyer with 1000 Chop and 1000 Pickaxe damage.
Can you parry or stagger The Elder's Roots?
No. The Elder's Roots are immune to Stagger, so parrying has no special effect. You can block their attacks to reduce damage, but you will not get a stagger window. Since they only have 20 HP, it is faster to just hit them once or move out of range.
Do Staff of the Wild Roots attack other players in PvP?
Staff of the Wild Roots are on the Player faction and attack enemy creatures. Their behavior in PvP scenarios is similar to other player-summoned minions. They primarily target hostile creatures rather than other players.
Recent Updates
- Updated for Valheim 1.0: verified Staff of the Wild recipe, upgrade costs and damage scaling, corrected the summoner damage tip, and reorganised the guide for easier reading.