On this page8 sections
- What Are Skeletts?
- How to Summon Skeletts: The Dead Raiser
- Skelett Variants: Melee vs. Archer
- Blood Magic Scaling: Making Skeletts Devastating
- Protecting Your Skeletts with the Staff of Protection
- Skelett Behavior, Quirks and Hidden Mechanics
- Teleportation, Persistence and AFK Farming
- Best Uses for Skeletts in Combat
- Craft the
Dead Raiser at the 
Galdr Table; each quality level adds one Skelett, up to 4. - Skelett damage triples from Blood Magic 0 to 100, but health stays at 400.
- Shield them with the
Staff of Protection, because Skeletts cannot be healed. - Summon on Eitr food, then swap to combat food: Skeletts stay until they die.
- Keep your portal 100+ meters from your Skeletts when you teleport, or they can despawn.
What Are Skeletts?
Skeletts are your personal undead army, summoned with the Dead Raiser. Unlike the hostile 
Skeletons you have fought since the Black Forest, these purple-tinted minions fight on your side and attack any hostile creature that gets close. Once a squad of four maxed-out Skeletts marches behind you through the Mistlands, you will wonder how you ever managed without them.
An underrated playstyle
Most players reach for the elemental staffs, but the Dead Raiser plus the Staff of Protection plays like nothing else in Valheim. You become a necromancer commanding expendable soldiers from behind the line. Skeletts cannot be healed, cannot eat and will eventually die, and that is fine, because you can always summon more.
Skelett Combat Stats
| Health | 400 (does not scale with Blood Magic) |
| Slash Damage (Base) | 50 |
| Pierce Damage (Base) | 40 |
| Slash Damage (Blood Magic 100) | 150 |
| Pierce Damage (Blood Magic 100) | 120 |
| Damage Scaling | 1x at level 0, up to 3x at level 100 (linear) |
| Weak To | Blunt (x1.5), Fire (x1.5) |
| Resistant To | Pierce (x0.5), Frost (x0.5) |
| Immune To | Poison, Chop, Pickaxe |
| Stagger Limit | 50% |
How to Summon Skeletts: The Dead Raiser
The Dead Raiser is crafted at the Galdr Table in the Mistlands. The table needs a 
Workbench nearby and costs 10 
Black Metal, 20 
Yggdrasil Wood, 5 
Black Cores and 5 
Refined Eitr.
Casting costs
- Eitr: 100 per cast.
- Health: 40% of your current health. Because it is a share of current, not maximum, health, it cannot kill you.
- Blood Magic 100: both costs drop by one-third.
- Visibility: the staff's purple-pink glow makes you about 10% more visible while sneaking.
Squad size
Each quality level adds one active Skelett: one at Quality 1, up to four at Quality 4. Casting at the limit kills your oldest Skelett and replaces it with a new one.
Dead RaiserTwo-handed weapon · MistlandsSummons Skeletts: one per quality level, up to 4
- Block armor
- 48
- Skill
- Blood Magic
- Attack eitr
- 100
- Backstab
- 1x
Galdr Table: 10 Bone Fragments, 16 Refined Eitr, 4 Skeleton Trophy
Dead Raiser Crafting and Upgrade Costs
Bone FragmentsVeterans handle the Eitr cost like this: eat two or three Eitr foods, summon all your Skeletts, then let the food expire (or eat 
Bukeperries to clear it) and switch to combat food. Skeletts have no time limit and follow you until they die, so you can run a melee food loadout with your undead army at your side.
Skelett Variants: Melee vs. Archer
Each summon rolls one of two variants:
- Melee (80%): armed with a
Bronze Sword, with a 25% chance of a 
Wood Shield and a 25% chance of a 
Bronze Buckler. About half of melee Skeletts carry a shield, which makes them noticeably tougher. - Archer (20%): carries a bow.
Picking a composition
Shielded melee Skeletts last longer against swarming 
Seekers because they block. Archers are handy against 
Gjalls and other targets you would rather keep at range. To get a specific mix, dismiss unwanted Skeletts with the 
Butcher Knife and re-summon. It costs extra Eitr and durability, but four melee tanks are worth it for a tough fight.
Blood Magic Scaling: Making Skeletts Devastating
The most important Skelett mechanic: damage scales with your Blood Magic skill. It rises by 2% per level, from base damage at level 0 to 3x at level 100. Four max-level Skeletts swinging at a Seeker shred it in seconds.
Health does not scale
Your Skeletts always have exactly 400 HP, whatever your skill level. Even at high Blood Magic they are glass cannons without extra protection, which is where the Staff of Protection comes in.
“Four Skeletts at Blood Magic level 100 deal three times their base damage each. That is twelve times the base skeleton power walking behind you. Most Mistlands enemies simply do not survive that kind of onslaught.
Protecting Your Skeletts with the Staff of Protection
Skeletts cannot heal, so keeping them alive is your biggest challenge. The Staff of Protection wraps a barrier around you and nearby players and tamed creatures, including Skeletts, that absorbs damage before it reaches their health.
Barrier numbers
- Absorption: 200 damage at Blood Magic 0, plus 5 per level, up to 700 at level 100.
- Duration: 60 seconds at Quality 1, 120 at Quality 2, 180 at Quality 3 and 240 at Quality 4.
- Cost: 60 Eitr and 40% of your current health per cast.
Recasting does not refill
Recasting on a Skelett that still has a barrier resets the timer but not the absorption. A barrier that has taken 500 of its 700 damage just gets more time. Shield Skeletts whose barriers have fully broken before refreshing damaged ones.
Staff of ProtectionTwo-handed weapon · MistlandsThe essential partner staff: barriers keep Skeletts alive
- Block armor
- 48
- Skill
- Blood Magic
- Attack eitr
- 60
- Backstab
- 1x
Galdr Table: 20 Yggdrasil Wood, 4 Blood Clot, 16 Refined Eitr
Staff of Protection Crafting and Upgrade Costs
Blood ClotThe fastest way to level Blood Magic is the double-cast method. Summon your Skeletts, then keep casting the Staff of Protection on them while they fight. Every Skelett hit and every barrier you apply gives Blood Magic XP, so two Blood Magic spells together level it roughly twice as fast. A 
Greydwarf spawner farm or the constant fights in the Ashlands are ideal for this.
Skelett Behavior, Quirks and Hidden Mechanics
Coded as tamed creatures
Internally, Skeletts are tamed creatures, so they sometimes show "hungry" or "frightened". Both are cosmetic leftovers from the taming system: they cannot eat, and neither state changes how they fight.
Because they are tamed, you can only damage your own Skelett with the Butcher Knife or with friendly fire on. That is useful: kill a nearly dead Skelett with the knife and resummon a fresh one.
Other quirks
- Water: Skeletts cannot swim but do not drown. If they fall off your boat, they walk along the seafloor and find their way back.
- Immunities: they cannot be picked up by Valkyries or knocked back by water.
- Names: each spawns with one of 99 Norse names, from Agda to Yrsa. Ake and Halfdan are twice as likely as the rest, and "Your best pal" is a hidden option. You can rename and pet them.
- Base defenses: stake walls and sharp stakes damage anything that touches them, including Skeletts. Keep your minions away from your own defenses.
Teleportation, Persistence and AFK Farming
Skeletts do not despawn when you leave an area, but they can despawn if they are near a portal when you teleport. Keep your portal at least 100 meters from them before using it, and they will be waiting when you return.
AFK spawner farm
Put your Skeletts in a pit beside a Greydwarf spawner, with your portal well away. Every visit, they are still fighting, which levels Blood Magic and gathers resources without resummoning.
They walk home
Skeletts slowly pathfind toward you, even across huge distances. Players have left them at a main base, teleported far away and had one turn up days later, so do not be surprised when a Skelett you abandoned appears at your door.
Getting Started with Skeletts: Step by Step
- 1
Build a Galdr Table
With a Workbench nearby, craft the Galdr Table from 10 Black Metal, 20 Yggdrasil Wood, 5 Black Cores and 5 Refined Eitr. Place it under a roof with at least 70% cover.
- 2
Gather Dead Raiser materials
Collect 10 Bone Fragments (from Skeletons or Burial Chambers), 16 Refined Eitr (from the
Eitr Refinery) and 4 Skeleton Trophies. Skeletons in the Black Forest, Swamp and Mountain drop the trophy only 10% of the time, so farm them ahead. - 3
Craft the Dead Raiser and eat Eitr food
Craft the staff, then eat at least two Eitr foods to reach the 100 Eitr a cast needs. At Blood Magic 47 or higher,
Seeker Aspic alone is enough. Below that, pair foods like 
Yggdrasil Porridge with 
Magecap, or use 
Marinated Greens once you reach the Ashlands. - 4
Summon and protect
Cast the Dead Raiser, then switch to the Staff of Protection and shield yourself and your Skeletts. Refresh the barrier on any Skelett whose shield breaks completely, and upgrade the Dead Raiser to Quality 4 as soon as you can for a full squad of four.
Eitr Foods for Summoning
| Stat | Seeker Aspic | Yggdrasil Porridge | Marinated Greens | Magecap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health | 28 | 27 | 32 | 25 |
| Stamina | 14 | 13 | 16 | 25 |
| Eitr | 85 | 80 | 95 | 25 |
| Healing | 3 hp/tick | 3 hp/tick | 4 hp/tick | 1 hp/tick |
| Duration | 30 min | 25 min | 30 min | 15 min |
| Weight | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.1 |
| Stack size | 10 | 10 | 10 | 50 |
| Crafted at | Cauldron 5 | Cauldron 5 | Cauldron 6 | - |
New summoners often try to heal their Skeletts: they see "hungry" and drop food, or build a campfire hoping it works like resting. None of it does anything. The only way to get a healthy Skelett is to kill the damaged one with a Butcher Knife and summon a replacement. Accept that Skeletts are disposable and necromancy gets much less stressful.
Best Uses for Skeletts in Combat
Distraction and bodyguards
Skeletts are expendable distractions. They draw aggro while you recover stamina, line up attacks or stay safe, and four of them soaking hits makes a huge difference when Seekers and Gjalls threaten to overwhelm a solo player. They also guard you while you chop trees, mine or build.
Serious damage at high skill
With 3x damage scaling, four Skeletts put out real DPS, and veterans report killing 
Seeker Soldiers with just two well-shielded Skeletts. A typical Mistlands Blood Magic loadout:
- two Eitr foods and one stamina food
- the Dead Raiser for summons
- the Staff of Protection for shields
- an
Arbalest for Gjalls at range
Watch their weaknesses
Skeletts share regular Skeletons' resistances, so Blunt and Fire tear through them. In the fire-soaked Ashlands they need constant shielding and more frequent replacement.
Skelett Squad DPS at Blood Magic 100
| Base Slash Damage (per Skelett) | 50 | |
| x | Blood Magic 100 Multiplier | 3.0 |
| x | Number of Skeletts (Quality 4) | 4 |
| = | Total Squad Slash Damage Per Swing | 600 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Skeletts be fed or healed?
No. The "hungry" status is cosmetic, inherited from the taming system code. There is no way to restore Skelett HP. Your only option is to kill the damaged Skelett with a Butcher Knife and summon a fresh one.
How many Skeletts can I have at once?
The maximum depends on your Dead Raiser quality level: 1 Skelett at quality 1, 2 at quality 2, 3 at quality 3, and 4 at quality 4. Summoning beyond the limit kills the oldest Skelett and replaces it.
Do Skeletts despawn when I teleport?
They can despawn if they are close to the portal. Keep them at least 100 meters away from the portal before teleporting, and they will persist between visits. They will also slowly pathfind toward you over time, even across very long distances.
Does Blood Magic skill affect Skelett health?
No. Blood Magic only scales their damage (1x to 3x, linearly from level 0 to 100). Health is always fixed at 400 regardless of your skill level. Use the Staff of Protection to extend their effective survivability.
Can I choose whether I get a melee or archer Skelett?
Not directly. It is an 80% chance for melee and 20% for archer. If you want a specific variant, dismiss the unwanted Skelett with a Butcher Knife and resummon until you get what you want.
Recent Updates
- Updated for Valheim 1.0: verified Dead Raiser and Staff of Protection recipes, upgrade costs and Eitr costs, and reorganised the guide for easier reading.