On this page6 sections
- Ticks latch on and drain health for 5 seconds: dodge roll immediately to shake them off.
- They are fragile, so kill them mid-leap with a wide sword swing before they attach.
- Every Tick drops exactly 1
Blood Clot, at every star level. - Farm Blood Clots by keeping a
Gjall alive: it drops Ticks in threes. - Blood Clots feed
Stuffed Mushroom, the 
Staff of Protection and 
Major Healing Mead.
What Makes Ticks So Dangerous
If your health has ever plummeted for no clear reason in the Mistlands fog, you have met a Tick. These oversized parasites are not hard to kill, but their attack is unlike anything else in the game.
The latch attack
Instead of hitting and backing off, a Tick latches onto you and drains health for 5 full seconds, hitting 10 times. A full cycle from a 0-star Tick adds up to 500 Pierce damage if you do not shake it off, more than most Mistlands creatures deal in one hit.
Starred Ticks appear regularly in Infested Mines and during events, and they hit harder still (see the table). Two or three starred Ticks on you at once in a mine is one of the most common ways experienced players lose their gear.
The good news
Ticks are extremely fragile. They take 1.5x Pierce damage, and any decent Mistlands weapon one-shots a basic Tick. They are immune to Spirit, Chop and Pickaxe. The challenge is spotting them before they latch on and getting them off fast when they do.
Tick Stats by Star Level
| 0-Star Health | 50 |
| 0-Star Damage | 50 Pierce every 0.5s (500 total) |
| 1-Star Health | 100 |
| 1-Star Damage | 75 Pierce every 0.5s (750 total) |
| 2-Star Health | 150 |
| 2-Star Damage | 100 Pierce every 0.5s (1,000 total) |
| Attach Duration | 5 seconds (10 hits) |
| Attack Range | 1 meter, 40-degree arc |
| Weakness | Pierce (x1.5) |
| Immunities | Spirit, Chop, Pickaxe |
Many players try to block Ticks with a shield. While blocking does prevent latching, every successful block costs stamina, and Ticks attack rapidly. If multiple Ticks are bouncing off your shield, your stamina drains fast and you cannot regenerate it. Instead, kill incoming Ticks immediately with a melee swing and save your shield for blocking Gjall fireballs and 
Seeker attacks.
Where Ticks Spawn
Knowing where Ticks come from helps you both avoid and farm them.
- Gjall: the most common source. One of a Gjall's abilities drops three 0-star Ticks at a time, up to 8 active, so you can quickly be surrounded. This is also the main farming method.
- Infested Mines: common spawn points clear once and stay clear. Uncommon spawn points respawn every 4 in-game hours and can include starred Ticks, so a cleared mine is never fully safe.
- Giant Remains: five one-time spawn points around skull-strewn Giant Remains, always 0-star.
- Night spawns: after you defeat The Queen, up to 3 Ticks (possibly starred) can spawn anywhere in the Mistlands at night. They despawn at dawn.
- Raid: before The Queen dies, the "What's up, Gjall?!" raid sends a Gjall and up to 4 starred Ticks at your base.
How to Fight and Remove Ticks
- 1
Prevention: Kill Them Before They Latch
Ticks are small and fast but have very little health. A single swing from a
Black Metal Sword, 
Porcupine or any Mistlands weapon kills a 0-star Tick. Swords are especially good because their wide sweeps catch Ticks mid-air as they leap. If you see a Gjall dropping Ticks, switch to melee and start swinging. - 2
Removal: Dodge Roll to Shake Them Off
If a Tick latches on, dodge rolling in any direction will shake it off immediately. This is the single most reliable removal method. The moment you feel your health dropping rapidly and see the telltale blood-sucking animation, roll and then quickly kill the dislodged Tick with your weapon before it reattaches. Do not panic or try to spin around to melee it while it is attached; just roll first, then kill.
- 3
Alternative: Parry to Force Detach
Parrying a Tick's initial attack forces it to detach. This is a lesser-known mechanic that can save you stamina compared to a full dodge roll. If you time your block perfectly as a Tick leaps at you, it will bounce off and give you a window to kill it. This works best when you can see the Tick coming and have a shield ready.
- 4
AoE Weapons for Groups
Against several Ticks at once, especially in Infested Mines, use area damage. The Demolisher's slam passes through walls and objects, ideal for tight corridors. An atgeir's spin attack catches several Ticks in one swing.
Bile Bombs are excellent too: throw one on the ground and kite Ticks through it to wipe out a group in seconds.
“A single 0-star Tick deals 500 total Pierce damage over 5 seconds. Get two or three starred Ticks on you inside an Infested Mine and your corpse run just became the hardest challenge in the Mistlands.
Tick Drops: Blood Clots and Why They Matter
Every Tick drops exactly 1 Blood Clot regardless of star level, plus a 5% chance at a 
Tick Trophy. Blood Clots weigh 0.5, stack to 50 and are teleportable, so they are easy to stockpile. They feed three recipes that magic players need constantly.
Blood ClotMaterial · MistlandsKey ingredient for Stuffed Mushroom and the Staff of Protection
- Weight
- 0.5
- Stack size
- 50
Stuffed Mushroom
The easiest Eitr food to produce, because every ingredient is renewable: 
Magecaps and 
Turnips are farmable, and Blood Clots come from Gjall Ticks. 
Yggdrasil Porridge and 
Seeker Aspic both need 
Royal Jelly from deep inside Infested Mines. On a magic build you will eat Stuffed Mushrooms constantly.
Staff of Protection
One of the most powerful tools in the game: it creates a barrier that absorbs 200 to 700 damage depending on your Blood Magic skill. Crafting it and upgrading it to level 4 takes 16 Blood Clots in total.
Major Healing Mead
Restores 125 HP over 10 seconds. Each batch of the mead base needs 4 Blood Clots, plus Royal Jelly.
Blood Clot Recipes
Food Preparation Table
Stone Oven
Uncooked Stuffed Mushroom
Galdr Table
Yggdrasil Wood
Refined Eitr
Mead Ketill
Honey
Mead Base: Major HealingStuffed Mushroom is hands down the best Eitr food for daily use because it avoids Royal Jelly entirely. Since Blood Clots and Magecaps are both infinitely farmable, you never run out. Save your Royal Jelly for Yggdrasil Porridge and Seeker Aspic when you actually need the bigger Eitr numbers for tough fights.
How to Farm Ticks Efficiently
The best Blood Clot farm is a living Gjall. It keeps dropping Ticks in threes as long as it sees a target, up to 8 at a time, so you can kill batches and wait for more. One player reported over 100 Blood Clots from a single Gjall session.
The hard part is doing it safely. In the open Mistlands you face mist, uneven ground and wandering Seekers. Veterans use three approaches.
Three Ways to Farm a Gjall
- 1
Open ground near water
Find a flat area near water and place Wisp Torches to clear the fog. Stand between the water and the Gjall: dipping in keeps the Wet debuff on you, which reduces Fire damage from its fireballs. Block fireballs with a
Black Metal Shield and kill each batch of Ticks. Do not wade too deep, or your weapon and shield unequip. - 2
Lure it to a Swamp
Even better: drag the Gjall into a nearby Swamp. There is no mist, the rain keeps you wet, Swamp trees are hard for the Gjall to destroy, and respawning
Draugr keep it busy. Clear 
Abominations and 
Wraiths first, then pick off Ticks while the Gjall fights the locals. - 3
Build a Gjall trap
Build a roofless pen from raised ground and
Black Marble. 
Hook a Gjall with the Abyssal Harpoon, drag it in and seal it by raising the ground behind it. It cannot escape but keeps spawning Ticks. Carve out the floor so Ticks fall into a pit that funnels out one side, and kill them safely from outside. Mark Gjall spawn spots: they respawn in roughly the same area after about an in-game week.
If you build a Gjall trap, do not kill the Gjall by accident. The 
Staff of Embers and other AoE magic weapons can hit the Gjall through the walls. Use a sword or other single-target weapon to kill Ticks instead. Also, some players report that Ticks occasionally fall through the ground due to a physics glitch. If a trapped Gjall seems to stop producing Ticks, kill it and wait for a new one to respawn in the area.
Ticks in Infested Mines
Infested Mines lie beneath Black Marble buildings and crawl with Seekers, Seeker Broods, 
Seeker Soldiers and Ticks. You come for 
Black Cores, 
Sealbreaker Fragments and Royal Jelly; the Ticks add constant pressure that can turn a manageable fight into a disaster.
How to clear a mine safely
- Clear rooms one at a time.
- Never break wooden barricades until the current section is fully cleared.
- Always keep a clear path back to the entrance.
Power and food
The Bonemass Forsaken Power is the best choice here. Most mine enemies deal physical damage, and its 50% physical resistance helps you survive a Tick latching on while Seekers are already hitting you. The Eitr-weave set offers almost no armor, so magic users should bring at least one good Health food alongside their Eitr foods.
If you die deep in an Infested Mine, bring backup gear for the corpse run. Attempting to recover your body with nothing but basic equipment while Ticks and Seekers respawn around your corpse is one of the most punishing experiences in Valheim. Keep a spare set of Plains-tier gear in a chest near the mine entrance.
Best Weapons Against Ticks
Almost any weapon kills a Tick, but some do it far more efficiently.
Single targets
- Black Metal Sword: the gold standard. Wide sweeps catch Ticks mid-leap, and it recovers fast enough to hit the next one.
Frostner: works well and slows any survivors.- Porcupine: its Pierce damage hits the Tick's weakness, and its generous hitbox can even connect with Ticks already latched onto you.
Groups and range
Demolisher: the AoE slam passes through walls, perfect for mine corridors.- Atgeir spin: similar crowd control, though some players find it inconsistent against latched Ticks.
- Bile Bombs: underrated area denial.
Frost Arrows: pick off Ticks before they close the distance.- Staff of Embers: clears groups with splash damage, but do not kill a Gjall you are farming.
Top Tick-Killing Weapons
| Stat | Black Metal Sword | Porcupine | Frostner | Demolisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slash damage | 95 (+6 per level) | - | - | - |
| Block armor | 39 | 39 | 30 | 52 |
| Skill | Swords | Clubs | Clubs | Clubs |
| Attack stamina | 14 | 14 | 12 | 28 |
| Knockback | 40 | 100 | 100 | 210 |
| Backstab | 3x | 3x | 3x | 2x |
| Durability | 200 (+50 per level) | 150 (+50 per level) | 200 (+50 per level) | 250 (+50 per level) |
| Max quality | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Movement speed | -5% | -5% | -5% | -15% |
| Weight | 0.8 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Blunt damage | - | 50 | 35 | 145 (+6 per level) |
| Pierce damage | - | 45 (+6 per level) | - | - |
| Frost damage | - | - | 40 (+6 per level) | - |
| Spirit damage | - | - | 20 | - |
| Crafted at | Forge 4 | Forge 4 | Forge 3 | Black Forge |
Recommended Tick-Hunting Loadout
Draugr Fang
BonemassTick FAQ
Can you tame Ticks?
No. Ticks cannot be tamed. They are always hostile and will attack on sight.
Do starred Ticks drop more Blood Clots?
No. All Ticks drop exactly 1 Blood Clot regardless of star level. The Tick Trophy drop rate is also flat at 5% across all levels. Starred Ticks are simply more dangerous, not more rewarding.
Do Ticks still spawn after defeating The Queen?
Yes. After defeating The Queen, Ticks gain an additional spawn type: they can appear anywhere in the Mistlands during nighttime (up to 3 at once, can be starred). They despawn at dawn. Gjalls also continue to spawn Ticks normally. However, the "What's up, Gjall?!" raid event only occurs before 
The Queen is defeated.
Can Ticks attach but deal no damage?
Yes, this is actually a documented mechanic. The Tick's hitbox is calculated from its center, and with its incredibly small hitbox, it is possible for a Tick to attach to you but be unable to reach your hitbox to deal damage, especially if you are moving. This is rare and not something to rely on, but it explains why some attach cycles feel less damaging than others.
Tick Data
Exact values from the game files (version 1.0 (build 2026-09-17)).
Stats
| Health | 50 |
| Run speed | 8 |
Resistances & Weaknesses
- chopIgnore
- pierceWeak
- spiritImmune
- pickaxeIgnore
Attacks
| Attach | 50 pierce |
|---|
Base damage on Normal difficulty. 1-star creatures deal 1.5x and 2-star creatures 2x. Spells whose damage comes from a separate projectile are not listed.
Drops
Recent Updates
- Updated for Valheim 1.0: verified Tick stats, drops and Blood Clot recipes, and reorganised the guide for easier reading.