Valheim guide — How to beat trolls and craft fire arrows

Honestly, if it wasn’t for the word “Valheim” in the headline, this could be an article on how to avoid annoying people on Reddit or Twitter. But, I digress. This is our guide on how to deal with Valheim‘s troll monsters.

Note: Valheim is currently an Early Access title. As such, mechanics and content may change in due course. For more information, check out our Valheim guides and features hub.

Beating down the trolls of Valheim

Valheim‘s fearsome trolls can be quite a challenge if you’re unprepared. This is especially true if you’re undergeared while exploring the Meadows and Black Forest biomes. Sure, their huge size makes them unbelievably slow, but getting hit can easily take out a chunk of your health.

If you want to go toe-to-toe with these big boys, make sure that you have a sturdy shield to absorb the brunt of their hits. Likewise, you may dodge, sidestep, or parry their attacks, before connecting with a multi-hit combo of your own.

Still, the most effective method is to use a bow (i.e., Crude Bow or Finewood Bow) to kite them. Since trolls are weak to fire damage, you can craft some fire arrows too. A bundle with 20 fire arrows requires 8x wood, 8x resin from Greyling/Greydwarf enemies, and 2x feathers.

Feathers are the toughest ones to farm since they’re dropped by birds. The problem is, Valheim‘s birds are notoriously difficult to shoot down. More often than not, by the time you spot one and start aiming, it’d have already flown away. Still, if it’s raining, birds will often stay grounded, allowing you to snipe them from afar.

If you’re really unlucky with your bird hunting exploits, then you might find several feathers inside chests in abandoned homes.

Note: All types of arrows in Valheim make use of feathers as a material. Make sure you can farm these regularly.

Be reminded that you can let trolls destroy objects around you while kiting them. If they bring down trees (i.e., birch, oak, pine, and fir), you could have a reliable supply of fine wood and core wood for crafting, as well as cones and seedlings for your garden.

Likewise, trolls drop a lot of coins (aka. gold). These are useful when you want to buy stuff from a secret vendor named Haldor. If you investigate their caves, you could find gems, treasure chests, and even more coins. Oh, and once you’ve farmed more troll hide, you can make the Troll Armor set.

Lastly, watch out for a notification saying that “the ground is shaking.” It means that trolls have spawned near your base. They’ll roam around for a minute, and you can fight them or make a run for it.

Valheim is available on Steam as part of the Early Access program. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.