Valheim Copper Guide - Ready Games Survive

About
Latest Posts

Emily is a gaming aficionado who has written for The Gamer, Gamerant, GamerBolt, and Valnet, but she has found a home here at Ready Game Survive. She adores writing about Ark: Survival Evolved among other great survival titles, and outside of traditional survival, she loves Legend of Zelda, League of Legends and Fable.

What is Copper in Valheim?

Crafted Items: 7 (Bronze crafts 19)
Weight: 12
Biome: Black Forest
Smelted with: Smelter

There is no metal in the Meadows, so either Copper or Tin will be the first you encounter. You will see it as large deposits that you can hover over to see that it is Copper and not just a rock.

Alone, Copper can only craft a handful of things, but once you combine it with Tin, it opens up a whole new world. I recommend mining the Copper as soon as possible because it will prove useful before you know it.

Where to Find Copper and How to Get It

Shape of Copper Vein – oblong
Copper per Deposit – around 100
Stone per Deposit – around 200

Copper nodes are in the Black Forest. They are always visible on top of the ground, but it varies how much they stick out. If on a hill, half the deposit may be exposed, but more often than not, only the top will be.

After you mine a copper deposit, it will not respawn, and the ore cannot be teleported.

Get Surtling Cores and Build a Smelter

This is a step you need to take if you haven’t yet. Go into the Black Forest and look for manmade dungeons called Burial Chambers. Inside, you will find a ton of dangers, but you need to search for Surtling Cores.

You need five of them to build a Smelter. You need a Smelter to smelt metals. You also need to get coal by either building a Charcoal Kiln or finding it in chests. Please don’t burn your precious Boar Meat for it.

Get an Antler Pickaxe

The first thing you need to do before you get Copper is make an Antler Pickaxe. To get one, you must defeat Eikthyr to get a Hard Antler. Then, you can craft the Antler Pickaxe in the Workbench.

It may be the weakest pickaxe, but to get the next pickaxe, you have to have it so you can mine metals. You never actually need the Bronze Pickaxe (sometimes I skip to Iron), but you still need Bronze to progress through the game.

Search the Black Forest

Valheim Black Forest — Image from valheim fandom

Now that you have a pickaxe, you can search the Black Forest for the copper deposits. They are usually plentiful so finding one in the nearest Black Forest is probable, but not guaranteed.

While Mining

Make a Box
Make a Workbench

While mining, I find it best to make a box to put the ore and stone in. This makes it easier to come back and get it, and it doesn’t weigh you down. I also make a workbench and cover it to repair my pickaxe.

With these tips, you can get the entire deposit in one go. For general copper mining tips, I suggest digging around the deposit until you reach the bottom. Then, you can work your way in until the entire thing collapses.

Get Enough for a Cart and Forge

Valheim Forge — Image from valheim fandom

You need one Bronze for the cart (two copper and one tin) and six copper for the Forge. If you’ve already built the Smelter, that’s perfect. Use it to start smelting your metals as soon as possible.

Then make the Forge and Bronze Nails, but do not build the Cart. You should keep the materials for a Cart in your inventory. Then go back to the workbench near the deposit, where you can build the Cart.

Take the Copper Back to Base

Now take the copper and stone and put them in the Cart. It may be a rough trip, but if you take your time, you should make it back safely. If you run into enemies, I suggest detaching from the Cart and taking them on.

It will save you so much time if you take your time whenever you have the Cart. It also helps to have at least one other player. They can take on the enemies while you focus on getting the Cart back.

What Can Copper Craft?

Copper can only craft a handful of things because it is primarily used to make Bronze. But with the addition of the Mistlands, a few more things were added to the Copper crafting list.

Bronze

Copper x2
Tin x1

Bronze is the primary item you can make with Copper. Each Bronze requires two pieces while only requiring one piece of Tin. This makes sense because Tin deposits are extremely small.

Copper Knife

Wood x2
Copper x8

This is the only weapon you can make with Copper. It’s the weakest metal weapon in the game, but if you don’t have any Tin yet, you can still make this knife, which does six times more damage to enemies who haven’t seen you.

Forge

Stone x4
Coal x4
Wood x10
Copper x6

The Forge is a necessary crafting station used to raft around fifty items. It only takes six Copper, so you can easily make it with Copper you bring back on your person when you come to make a Cart.

Forge Cooler

Fine Wood x25
Copper x10

The Forge Cooler is the natural first upgrade for the Forge. However, you can’t make it until you get a Bronze Axe as you need the Bronze Axe to get Fine Wood from Birch or Oak trees.

Obliterator

Iron x8
Copper x4
Thunder Stone x1

You can’t make this until you get Iron and find Haldor, offering him 50 coins for the Thunder Stone. But once you do, this station can give you coal in return for unwanted items, which declutters your inventory and base.

Pots and Pans

Iron x5
Copper x5
Black metal x5
Fine wood x10

Pots and Pans is a Cauldron upgrade. Once you can make it (with Black Metal) your Cauldron should be level 4, which lets it build Blood Pudding, Fish Wraps, Uncooked Lox Pie, and Bread Dough.

Sconce

Wood x2
Copper x2
Resin x2

While you never need to make a Sconce, it is great for players who want to make their bases look nice. It’s cheap to make after you’ve stacked up Copper.

Black Marble Bench

Black Marble x6
Copper x3

A simple mlack marble bench. I love the look of this set so much. If you don’t have any other chairs, this bench will increase comfort in the area by one.

Black Marble Table

Black Marble x6
Copper x3

A simple black marble table. If you don’t have any other tables, it will increase comfort by one.

Black Marble Throne

Black Marble x20
Scale Hide 4
Deer Hide x2
Copper x5

You may wonder why this simple throne would cost so much to make. But it’s because it increases comfort by three.

Black Forge Cooler

Iron x5
Copper x5
Black Marble x4

The Black Forge Cooler is the only upgrade (so far) for the Black Forge. Without it, you can’t make half of the new stuff added for the Black Forge.

What Can Bronze Craft?

Bronze is more valuable than Copper in Valheim. It is used to craft a variety of weapons and upgrades. While Copper is a pain to mine, the harder part of the combo is Tin, which is rarer.

Bronze Atgeir

Wood x10
Bronze x8
Leather scraps x2

The Bronze Atgeir is the first polearm in the game. While it’s a good combat weapon, it can easily harvest Flax and Barley with one spin, which beats hand-harvesting by a longshot.

Bronze Axe

Wood x 4
Bronze x 8
Leather Scraps x 2

The Bronze Axe is an extremely useful axe because it is necessary to get Fine Wood early game. There have even been times when it was my primary melee weapon.

Bronze Buckler

Bronze x10
Wood x4

I never use tower shields in games when there is a parry shield available. I don’t wait long before I upgrade my round shield to a parry shield. However, I usually switch it back to a round shield once I can get the silver or black metal round shield, as they are more well-rounded than bucklers.

Bronze Helmet

Bronze x5
Deer hide x2

The Bronze Helmet is the only bronze armor piece that does not deduce your movement speed. So while your hair may disappear, at least you can move freely.

Bronze Mace

Wood x4
Bronze x8
Leather Scraps x3

I’ve never been a fan of mace aesthetics, but in Valheim, they have pretty good combos. That last hit knockback, stagger, double damage is insane early game.

Bronze Nails x20

Bronze x1

You need Bronze Nails to craft a Cart, item stands, Karve (medium boat), and Wood Shutters (the closest thing to a window.) They can also be brought through a portal, unlike base metals or smelted metals.

Bronze Pickaxe

Core Wood x3
Bronze x10

The Bronze Pickaxe can technically be skipped because you only need an Antler Pickaxe to mine Iron. So I do skip it sometimes but if I have the Bronze, I go ahead and make it.

Bronze Plate Cuirass

Bronze x5
Deer Hide x2

Bronze armor is the worst armor in its tier. I usually opt for Troll armor instead but to each their own.

Bronze Plate Leggings

Bronze x5
Deer Hide x2

Bronze Plate Leggings complete the Bronze set of armor. But again, feel free to skip this tier.

Bronze Spear

Wood x5
Bronze x6
Deer Hide x2

The spears are another weapon I don’t use often, but they still do good knockback damage and they can be thrown for extra damage.

Bronze Sword

Wood x2
Bronze x8
Leather Scraps x2

I usually skip this sword and head straight for iron. But if you want extra one-handed melee damage early on, then it’s a good idea to make this sword when you can.

Bronzehead Arrow

Wood x8
Bronze x1
Feathers x2

I find these arrows futile compared to flinthead, wood, or elemental arrows. They use too many resources early game and late game, Obsidian or Needle arrows are way better and easier to make.

Cultivator

Core Wood x5
Bronze x5

The Cultivator is necessary for planting seeds, growing grass, and more. There isn’t an upgraded version yet, so even for Mistlands stuff, you need this bronze Cultivator.

Adze

Fine Wood x10
Bronze x3

The Adze is used to upgrade your Workbench. It should be the third upgrade you make to the Workbench.

Anvils

Wood x5
Bronze x2

Anvils are the second upgrade you will make for the Forge unless you skip to doing Iron upgrades first.

Cartography Table

Fine Wood x10
Bone Fragments x10
Bronze x2
Leather Scraps x5
Raspberries x4

The Cartography Table is the only vanilla way to share your map exploration with others. When you interact with it, you can share what you’ve explored and add what others have explored to your map. I love this.

Fermenter

Fine Wood x30
Bronze x5
Resin x10

Fermenters make the base for meads, which is Valheim’s version of potions. With it, you can make element resistance potions, healing potions, and stamina potions.

Hanging Brazier

Bronze x5
Coal x2
Chain x1

The Hanging Brazier is a light source. It works as a campfire, so it removes the cold effect and wet effects. But it does produce smoke, so be careful hanging it indoors.

Standing Brazier

Bronze x5
Coal x2
Fenris Claw x2

The Standing Brazier works exactly like the hanging one. It’s better for areas that don’t have anywhere to hang lights.

Krom

Iron x30
Bronze x20
Scale Hide x5

The Krom is one of Mistlands most unique weapons. It is the first two-handed sword in the game. This weapon has the greatest base damage in the game.

Dvergr Lantern

Bronze x 2
Surtling Core x 1
Crystal x 1

The Dvergr Lantern can be found hanging in Mistlands dungeons and villages. It can also be crafted with the Black Forge and carried like a weapon, working as a torch.

FAQs

Question: Can You Get Copper Without a Pickaxe?

Answer: Yes. A common way around mining Copper is to get a Troll to throw something at you and break it. You have to find a Troll first and lure them to it before dodging right as they would hit you.

Question: What Does Copper Look Like in Valheim?

Answer: Copper is a reddish rock with green moss growing on it. It looks just like the larger rocks in the Black Forest, but it has a shimmer. To make sure the rock isn’t Copper, hover over it, and if nothing pops up, it’s a rock.

Question: Do You Need Copper in Valheim?

Answer: Yes. While you don’t need the Bronze gear, you need both Bronze and Copper to fully upgrade your workbench, forge, and cauldron. If you don’t have it, you won’t be able to make end-game gear.

Skipping Bronze (Copper and Tin) in Valheim

While you can easily skip bronze armor, you can’t skip bronze entirely. You need it to upgrade your base and work your way to later metals like Black Metal. There are no exclusive metals in the Mistlands, so Black Metal is still the highest tier of usable metal.

Remember, whenever you go to gather Copper, get Tin too. You can find it along the water in the Black Forest in tiny nodes. Gather each one you see to make sure you keep up with the huge Copper nodes you will find.