How to Get Bronze in Valheim (& What It's For)

As players progress in Valheim and explore more of the expansive open world, they are likely to need stronger and more durable tools made of metal rather than stone or wood. Valheim is a Viking-themed survival game. In it, players take the role of a Viking who has been slain in battle but, rather than being taken to Valhalla, instead finds themselves in Valheim, the Norse version of purgatory. While here, they must establish a settlement and fight monsters, ancient enemies of Odin, to prove themselves. Finding resources and crafting tools and weapons will be extremely important if players want to stay alive. As they begin to explore deeper into the wilderness and find new resources, players can begin to craft weapons and tools from Bronze.

Bronze is not a metal that can be found in the natural world. Instead, it must be crafted by smelting Copper and Tin and combining it in a Forge. Players will need to gather Copper Ore and Tin Ore from the Black Forest biomes around the map. They will also need to collect enough resources to build a Smelter, a Forge, and a Charcoal Kiln. Though there are a few steps involved, Bronze is extremely useful and versatile and will greatly improve the player's survival prospects, both while exploring and in combat. Here's how to get Bronze in Valheim.

How to Get Bronze in Valheim

A player finds a Copper Deposit in Valheim

The first thing players are going to need to do to get Bronze in Valheim is craft the pickaxe. To do this, they will need to upgrade their Workbench to at least Level 2 and summon and kill the first boss of the game, Eikthyr, the giant stag. After this fight, they will have Hard Antlers, which can be used to craft the Antler Pickaxe. When they have a pickaxe in hand, players can head into the Black Forest.

Every player's map in Valheim will be different, so it's not possible to tell exactly where someone's Black Forest will be located. Players should simply keep walking away from the starting zone or their base until the location name changes on the map. It's good to come to the forest prepared, as there are Greydwarfs, Skeletons, and the occasional Troll patrolling the region.

Players will need to gather Copper Ore from large, moss-covered boulders with shining veins. They will then need to search near sources of water in the Black Forest to find Tin Ore. Both ores are heavy, and players will only be able to carry about 20 at a time before they become over-encumbered. It might be a good idea to build a small base near the Black Forest that includes some storage to place the Ores mined here. This way, players don't need to head all the way back to base every time they reach 20 Ores.

A player enters the Black Forest and stands on a rock in Valheim

The next steps involve building new crafting stations. Players will need the following items, which cost resources:

Charcoal Kiln: 20 Stone, 5 Surtling Core
Smelter: 20 Stone, 5 Surtling Core; requires Coal to use
Forge: 4 Stone, 4 Coal, 10 Wood, 6 Copper; requires Coal to use

Players will want to get the Charcoal Kiln first, then the Smelter, and finally the Forge. This is because they will need to use the Smelter to turn Copper Ore into pure Copper Bars to build the Forge.

Players will need to smelt the Copper and Tin Ores first. Then, they will need to combine the Bars in the Forge to craft Bronze. The recipe for Bronze is a ratio of 2 Copper to 1 Tin Bar. Once players have Bronze, they can make Bronze tools and weapons in the Forge.