Mountain Biome Walkthrough - Valheim
The Mountains biome doesn't have much progression in it when you compare it to the previous biomes. Silver is the primary metal here and it gives you weapon and armor upgrades along with Butcher's Table, an important Cauldron upgrade. After defeating Bonemass in the Swamp and getting the Wishbone, you can easily find Silver in the Mountains.
When you first come to this biome you're going to want to bring some Frost resistance mead with you. Aside from this mead your only protection from the cold will be a fire that you build, that is until you craft one of five different items that provide frost resistance. Wolf fur cape, Wolf armor chest, Lox cape and Fenris coat are the first available to you.
I recommend you make a full set of Wolf fur gear and Drake Helmet + fully upgrade it before you go into the Plains. Frostner and Draugr Fang are excellent weapons too which I normally make and upgrade. The Scythe and Wisplight are also items you'll need to make with Silver soon, but they aren't high on the importance list for right now.
Something else that you'll find in the Mountains which is arguably just as important as Silver is Onion Seeds. These seeds will give you access to an entirely new crop which makes for some of the best Stamina food you can get for awhile. I normally eat Onions as base food and use Onion Soup while out about in the world until Mistlands.
Other Mountains Tips & Tricks
- You can sometimes find Silver without a Wishbone by looking at the cliffs and hills as you run around, occasionally a portion of a Silver node will be sticking out. Sometimes when fighting a Stone Golem you'll see them hit the ground and it will say "Too Hard", this is an indication there is Silver below too. Another way to do this is by using Stagbreaker, hit the ground and look for the "Too Hard" pop up.
- Onion Seeds can be found in the destroyed log cabins and the buildings made of stone (including the well-like structure that goes down).
- The Mountain is a great place to farm Stone, I recommend you build a base near a hub of rocks for this reason. Doing this at night will attract wolves which you can drop into a pit and tame whenever you're lucky enough to get a one or two star. Use the terrain to your advantage and bring a Bow to make dealing with wolves easier. Wood Arrows are fine to use, just having a ranged weapon will help.
Taming Wolves
One of the most important things to do in Mountains is to tame some wolves. You're going to want a one or two star wolf but in order to get one you must hang out in Mountains at night. One and two star wolves only spawn at night, along with Fenring but they're not a big issue. Also, you must start the taming process before daybreak since it will despawn if you don't.
For more information about how to capture wolves and how to begin the taming process check out my How To Tame Animals Guide. You will need a wolf trap to really do this effectively. Also, I know that farming Stone is boring--but it's probably the best way to pass time in the Mountains at night while making a ton of noise. Wolves will flock to you when you are mining and all you have to do is wait for a starred wolf to come roaming.
Mountain's Frost Caves
Frost Caves are an optional dungeon found in the Mountains which are filled with loot. There are some unique items and enemies that you can only find inside but none of it is required for progression. Some of the items inside are used for decorating (Red Jute, Crystals) and some others are used for unique weapons or armor (Fenris hair, Fenris Claw).
In addition to the items mentioned above there are tons of other things that drop here like Leather Scraps, Bone Fragments, Wood & Fine Wood, Iron, Bronze, Entrails, Coins, Silver Necklace, Coal and of course Trophies. You should have a Portal somewhere nearby because it will probably take multiple trips if you want to strip the entire cave for resources.
Keep in mind that to collect all of these resources you'll need to destroy a ton of furniture and objects in the caves. Even the braziers you find, that's where we get the Bronze and Coal! In some mountain caves you'll find a lake with some Tetra too, these are rare fish which you should grab when you see them.
Once you speak with Hildir you'll mark some unique locations on your map, one of these will be a Howling Cavern. This is a rare and difficult mountain cave which will have a unique boss and a unique chest which needs to be returned to Hildir to unlock new items. More on all of this is below.
Hildir The Second Trader
Hildir is another important trader whom you'll discover the same way you did Haldor. She spawns in a Meadows that is close to a Plains, sometimes it's close enough that you can get wondering Plains enemies which is a bit annoying. When you first discover Hildir she won't have much available to sell you, instead you will need to inspect her table nearby to mark some locations on your map.
Each of these locations will have a unique dungeon/event and a chest that you can find there. The chests need to be returned to Hildir via boat or world hopping to increase the amount of items that she sells. In total there are 3 unique locations with 3 chests, when you interact with her map table you'll get 6+ locations in total though (3 are duplicates).
Smouldering Tombs in Black Forest
Howling Caverns in Mountains (Geirrhafa is the boss and she drops Hildir's Silver Chest)
Sealed Tower in Plains (Zil & Thungr are the bosses of this tower and Zil will drop Hildir's Bronze Chest)
The Sealed Tower location stands out to be as a spot you should do as early as possible because you'll find Eggs in the chest at the bottom. You won't be able to use the meat from the chickens but you can use the feathers and start understanding the mechanics of how they all work.
Mountain Boss - Moder
Summon Items: 3 Dragon Eggs
Recommended Equipment: Draugr Fang Bow, Poison Arrows, Fire Arrows or Obsidian Arrows
Moder Weaknesses:
Moder is the Mountain boss and in my opinion she is easier than Bonemass. I strongly encourage you to use a ranged weapon for this boss because you can use the terrain to your advantage like a pro. There are two phases to this fight, during one phase she will fly around in the air and spit ice crystals at you. Out of all her attacks, this is normally the one you want to hide from the most.
The ice crystals will linger on the ground for a little bit after they hit, you can destroy them if they're in your way though. Ice crystals will cause an insane amount of terrain damage, destroying any rock that they hit. Once Moder gets bored of flying around she will land and try to reach a target on her threat list.
Once Moder is on the ground you will want to unload on her with as much damage as possible. Depending on where Moder lands, she may end up getting stuck on her path to you. Sometimes she will land in a broken rock or on a ledge with no viable path down to you. If your Moder boss summoning stone is located on a hill, she'll have a much higher chance of getting stuck for you.
If you're looking for more information about how to make Moder and other bosses easier, I recommend you check out my How To Make Bosses Easier Guide.