Resources & Materials

Introduction

The Resources & Materials category is the logistics brain of Valheim: where every important material comes from, how to harvest it efficiently and how to move it across the map. Ore is the backbone of progression — copper and tin in the Black Forest, scrap iron in the Swamp's Sunken Crypts, silver in the Mountain, blackmetal scrap from Plains Fulings and flametal spikes in the Ashlands. But resources are more than metals: wood types, surtling cores for portals, tar for the building palette, chains, guck, crystal, eitr sap and the farmable crops fuel every recipe in the game. This category also answers the most-asked question in the community: can you teleport ore? The answer shapes your entire logistics plan, from boats and carts to smelting outposts at the mine.

Key Materials Quick Reference

Material Spotlights

Core Mechanics

Resource gathering follows a predictable loop that becomes a planning puzzle later in the game. Each biome introduces a new metal and the tool tier to mine it: copper needs a bronze pickaxe, iron needs an iron pickaxe, silver needs the Wishbone from Bonemass to find veins, and the Ashlands pushes the pickaxe to its final tier. Some materials are dungeon-locked (surtling cores, ancient bark, guck), others require progression items (Wishbone, Eitr), and the core rule — ore and ingots cannot pass through portals — forces you to decide where to smelt. Farming adds a second layer: carrots, turnips, barley, flax and later the special crops create renewable food and material income that turns a nomadic Viking into a settled industrialist.

Advantages

Understanding resource economics saves hours and prevents the most frustrating tombstone loss in the game. Knowing that you should build a smelter at the mine and sail ingots home, or that surtling cores respawn near the fire geysers in the Swamp, turns a grind into a routine. This category gives the exact location, tool requirement and best farming route for every material, plus the teleport rule applied to each one so you never waste a portal trip with a bag full of copper ore. It also covers the farm system — where to place each crop, when to harvest, and how much food and material income a well-structured farm produces.

Challenges

The resource grind is real: iron in particular demands repeated Sunken Crypt runs, and silver veins can be infuriatingly small until you learn the Wishbone's beeping. Some materials are only available in limited quantities per world (certain boss trophies, some deep deposits), which makes planning essential. The portal ban on ore forces extra travel time and encourages boat smuggling, which is dangerous in hostile waters with a cargo hold full of iron. Finally, temporary events like raids can disrupt farming and mining if your base defenses are weak, so resource guides must be paired with base-defense knowledge to be fully effective.

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick Tips