Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. Guides

How to unlock the pickaxe in Valheim

Mike Colucci
By

If you haven’t heard of Valheim, you should probably check the strength of your Wi-Fi connection. This Minecraft-like hybrid of open-world survival meets Viking RPG has taken Steam by storm. The kicker? Valheim is only in its beta phase and plans to release the full game in the coming year.

Like Minecraft, players need to gather resources to build tools. They’ll then use those tools to construct stable structures and weapons. The only tool that will give players trouble in the early stages of Valheim is the pickax. Everything else is straightforward to craft with the resources you have at your disposal in the Meadows Biome. However, you will need the pickax to progress any further in your Viking adventure. Here’s how to unlock the pickax in Valheim.

Recommended Videos

See more

Valheim: Pickax materials

Valheim Pickaxe
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The pickax is the only tool you can’t easily craft as you’re beginning your journey in Valheim. The first version you’ll be able to craft is the Antler Pickaxe, which will require you to gather Hard Antlers. But where the heck are you supposed to find those?

Related

You will have to find and defeat Eikthyr, the first boss in Valheim, to obtain Hard Antlers. To find Eikthyr, head back to where you first started the game and summon him from the altar after offering two deer trophies. However, do not go into this boss fight without the proper gear.

Challenging and defeating Eikthyr

Valheim how to defeat Eikthyr
Image used with permission by copyright holder

You will only be able to craft wooden gear and leather armor in the early stages of the game. That’s why the pickax should be your top goal. It will allow for the mining of copper and tin. For the best results, head into the Eikthyr boss fight with:

  • Full leather armor and the Deer Hide Cape.
  • Range weapons, either a bow and arrow or a spear.
  • A Wooden Shield for added protection.

Valheim‘s survival mechanics are in-depth. You’ll have to find food and cook meals to give yourself the needed boost to survive in the Viking wilderness. Before you even think about challenging Eikthyr, make sure to eat three good meals to maximize your health and stamina buffs.

You should be able to ward off Eikthyr’s AoE and ranged lighting attacks with decent dodges and your shield. The deer god will charge with a melee attack every so often, so dodge out of the way and counter with a melee attack of your own. This melee attack is Eikthyr’s most powerful, so avoid it at all costs. This first boss fight isn’t painstaking. It will just require patience, proper equipment, and stamina management.

Crafting your pickax

Now that you’ve defeated Eikthyr, you’re able to gather Hard Antlers and craft the Antler Pickaxe. Head over to your workbench and put everything together. Now, with the Antler Pickaxe, you’ll be able to mine tin and copper, which will further upgrade your weapons, tools, and armor. Of course, the Antler Pickaxe will not be the end of your pickax quest.

Crafting a Bronze Pickaxe

Now that you’ve progressed into the next area of the game, you’ll be gathering the materials necessary to craft bronze and bronze-related items. For the Bronze Pickaxe, you’ll need:

  • 3x Core Wood
  • 5x Surtling Cores
  • 6x copper to craft a Forge
  • 10x bronze

To craft bronze, you must combine 20 copper and 10 tin in the forge. This will give you 10 bronze. Finally, combine bronze and Core Wood at a workbench to craft a Bronze Pickaxe and other bronze weapons, tools, and armor.

Crafting an Iron Pickaxe

First, you’ll need to craft a Bronze Axe to obtain 25 Fine Wood and make a Forge Cooler. Then, upgrade your Forge to level 2. From here, use your Bronze Pickaxe to grind Scrap Iron from Muddy Scrap Piles. Use the scrap to forge iron. Combine the iron with 3x Core Wood to craft an Iron Pickaxe.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Mike Colucci
Mike Colucci
Michael Colucci is a lifelong video game fan based out of the greater Boston area. He's the one insistent on searching every…
How to level up fast in Baldur’s Gate 3: best ways to farm XP
A wizard charges a spell to hit a minataur.

Leveling up is important in almost every RPG, but for a CRPG as deep and ruthless as Baldur's Gate 3 can be, being underleveled can make many aspects of the game essentially impossible. Each level provides you with valuable points within your skills, but also the opportunity to learn new abilities for in and out of combat. If you're too focused on simply trying to complete the main story, sooner or later you will hit a wall and need to level up before you can progress. Or, if you're more interested in making sure you can crush any battle and pass any skill check without needing to use Inspiration Points to reroll, then knowing the best way to earn XP will get you there. Here's how you can level up fast in Baldur's Gate 3.
Fight, fight, fight!

Let's get the most obvious source of XP out of the way first. Every enemy you slay will deposit a nice, little chunk of XP toward your next level, with the amounts varying depending on the level of your enemies. There are a ton of optional fights in Baldur's Gate 3, such as some you can just happen to come across in your travels, but also others that you can choose to avoid by talking your way out of a confrontation. With the latter option, you will want to consider whether or not you're OK with potentially killing the specific person or group you will be fighting. Killing certain characters can have unforeseen consequences later on, but on the other hand, so can letting them live.

Read more
How to get Soul Coins in Baldur’s Gate 3
Karlach holding a soul coin.

One of the more rare items you can find in Baldur's Gate 3 is the mysterious Soul Coins. If you're lucky enough to happen upon one, knowing what it even does is one thing, but trying to find more will most likely leave you stumped. While they are quite valuable to sell, they have a far more important use and are limited in number. These rare treasures are tied to a specific companion you can get later on in the game, so finding each one is critical to making the most of their abilities. Being so small, many Soul Coins are easily missed, so here's how to get them all in Baldur's Gate 3.
What do Soul Coins do?

If you were lucky enough to find a Soul Coin on your own, even reading the description wouldn't give you much clue as to what it is or how you're supposed to use it. All it says is "Strange, incomprehensible whispers emanate from the coin, pervading your mind with rage and despair. These coins can power Infernal Engines." Not very helpful, save for that final extra line.

Read more
How to beat the Faith-Leap Trial in Baldur’s Gate 3
A Baldur's Gate 3 character lights the way.

The Gauntlet of Shar is, well, quite a gauntlet in Baldur’s Gate 3. This dungeon changes things up a bit by giving you three unique trails to challenge you in different ways. The Faith-Leap Trail is perhaps the most puzzling of them all, and may even appear impossible when you first see it. The thing is, you can't trust your eyes in this trial. There's just too large of a gap between you and the goal for you to cross unless you do as the name suggests and take a leap of faith. But don't just put your faith in Shar and hope for the best -- instead let us show you the path.
How to beat the Faith-Leap Trial

Once you enter this trail after making the blood sacrifice, you will see the Umbral Gem way across a massive death pit. But there actually is a path forward, just an invisible one. The path is the same every time, so as long as you memorize it, you'll be fine, but you should still make a safety save just in case. You only get three tries before anyone you're controlling who falls will die.

Read more