Valheim Silver Guide

Valheim Silver Guide – Where It Is and When You Need It

A Valheim silver guide will prove useful before you reach the Mountains biome. At the beginning of the game, learning about Silver can be confusing, and if you’ve made it to the Plains, you have skipped the silver phase and should probably go back.

I’ve played Valheim since early access launch, and I have learned a lot. Including the fact that the milestones in the game are marked by two things: biomes and metal. Silver is an important step in progressing through the game so learning all you can about it is highly beneficial.

What is Silver in Valheim?

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  • Crafted Items: 17+
  • Weight: 14lbs each
  • Biome: Mountains
  • Smelted with: Smelter

Silver is a metal you can mine in Valheim and then melt down to make Silver that can be used to craft various items. There is only one metal in the game that is considered better than Silver – black metal. Any other metal pre-mistlands is inferior when it comes to crafting items.

Where to Find Silver? And How to Get It

Silver spawns in the Mountains – and it is very heavy – so you’ll have to do a few things before you venture to get it. If you want to make the most of your adventure to get Silver, be prepared.

Get a Wishbone

It is possible to find Silver without a wishbone, but it is also very difficult. You can get a wishbone by defeating the Swamp boss – Bonemass. Once you defeat him, he will drop wishbones.

A wishbone is an item that works as a metal detector. When you’re near Silver in the Mountains, the wishbone will beep and send out an aura. For full instructions, check out this wishbone guide.

Get an Iron Pickaxe

You need an iron pickaxe to mine Silver. You can’t use your old bronze pickaxe or antler pickaxe. You need two other tools if you want to get an iron pickaxe. First, you need to get core wood with a stone axe. That’s the easy part. The second tool you need is a pickaxe of any kind. The tricky part is first defeating The Elder in the Black Forest as he will drop Swamp Keys. The Swamp Keys will open Sunken Crypts.

Once you have a key and a pickaxe, you can visit the Swamp and search for Sunken Crypts. When you find one, you can enter and mine the Muddy Scrap Piles which will give you iron.

Wear a Cape – or Get Mead

I highly recommend getting a warm cape as soon as you can. You can make a wolf cape or a lox cape. Either works. The wolf cape requires a visit to the Mountains, and the Lox Cape requires a visit to the Plains. However, they both require Silver, so you actually have to mine Silver before you get a cape unless you find other means.

If you don’t have a cape, you can still visit the Mountains safely by making Frost Resistance Mead. To do this, you need a mead base that you make in the Cauldron. The mead can be made in the Fermenter afterward. The base is easy to make if you can visit the first three biomes. You need honey, thistle, bloodbags, and a greydwarf eye.

Ready a Cart

You should always bring cart materials with you to a silver vein. Thankfully, nails can be taken through portals, so you can take the materials for a cart through a portal that connects directly to the silver vein. Taking a cart down the Mountains isn’t easy.

I recommend getting a hoe and paving the way – even if just leveling the land – in front of you. The cart should be placed just above the vein, facing the direction you are going to travel. Every time you have a full inventory, take it to the cart. Keep doing this until you have gotten the entire vein.

Start Mining – Shape of Silver Veins

  • Shape of Silver Vein – wishbone
  • Height – at least 120 meters
  • Depth – around 4 meters
  • Silver – 80-90 average

In Valheim, everything is procedurally-generated. This means that things can be glitchy and that the spawning of nodes, like the silver vein, is random. The AI follows rules to spawn silver veins, so knowing these rules can help you find Silver. There are angles that are taken into account, but those are more difficult to calculate manually.

So, what I do is take a look at obsidian and Drakes. These have to spawn at least 100 meters high. How does this help us? Well, Silver has to spawn at least 120 meters high. So if you find Drakes and obsidian, you know that you haven’t quite reached the spawn point for Silver.

Did You Get It All?

On average, each silver vein has around 85 silver and 165 stone. So if you have anywhere near this much, then you probably have it all. After you get one vein, it can be beneficial to find another. Take the cart with you, and then make sure you get it all. Silver stacks in stacks of 30 and stone in 50.

If there is more than one vein, then you can put the stone in a chest and come back for it. If you fill up the cart, you can carry 240 silver – which is around three veins. Fill up the extra space with stone, but always prioritize Silver – even if you have to throw away stone.

What Silver is Used to Craft

Silver can be used primarily for weapons, but there are a few other things you will need it for. This is a complete list of everything you can make with Silver in Valheim.

Building/Crafting

There are only two random items you can make with Silver, but they are both valuable.

Butcher’s Table

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  • 2x Ancient bark
  • 4x Core wood
  • 4x Fine wood
  • 2x Silver

The Butcher’s Table is an upgrade for the Cauldron. Although it can be first or last, it is generally the second upgrade, boosting your Cauldron to level 3. At a level 3 Cauldron, you can make amazing food such as Eyescream (amazing stamina boost), Wolf Jerky (balanced boost), and Wolf Skewers (amazing health boost).

Treasure Chest

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  • 99x Coins
  • 5x Ruby
  • 2x Silver Necklace
  • 8x Fine wood
  • 2x Silver

The Treasure Chest is only for aesthetics as it does not allow you to store items. This may be disappointing to some, but I still love making it when I find the necklaces and rubies needed because it looks awesome in any treasury.

Weapons

You can make some of the best weapons in the game with Silver.

Crystal Battleaxe

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  • 40x Ancient bark
  • 30x Silver
  • 10x Crystal

Something that mystifies me is that the materials for this axe weigh over 500lbs and yet the axe only weighs two and a half pounds. The axe is relatively strong. It does 90 slashing damage and 30 spirit damage for the primary attack at level 1.

Draugr Fang

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  • 10x Ancient bark
  • 20x Silver
  • 2x Deer hide
  • 10x Guck

The Draugr Fang is the best bow in the game. Before it is upgraded, it does 47 piercing damage and five poison damage as it adds poison to all arrows. However, the effect stacks with poison arrows, dealing even more poison damage. At max level, the bow does 56 piercing damage and a whopping 20 poison damage. Add the 26 piercing and 52 poison from the poison arrows, and you have an extremely potent attack.

Fang Spear

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  • 10x Ancient bark
  • 4x Wolf fang
  • 2x Leather scraps
  • 2x Silver

The Fang Spear does good damage with both its primary and secondary attack. The first attack is quick, and the second has good stagger. This is currently the strongest spear in the game.

Flesh Rippers

  • 10x Fenris hair
  • 6x Fenris claw
  • 10x Silver

Flesh Rippers are the only fist weapons in the game. So if you want to be Wolverine, then these are for you. They aren’t as strong as other weapons, and you do have to kill Fenrir to get them, but they are cool enough that it’s worth it.

Frostner

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  • 10x Ancient bark
  • 30x Silver
  • 5x Ymir flesh
  • 5x Freeze gland

Frostner is one of the best weapons in the game. It is considered a one-handed club, but it’s actually a hammer. But unlike Thor’s hammer, this one does frost damage. It also slows and has the best knockback in the game. At max level, the secondary attack does 87 blunt damage, 145 frost damage, and 50 spirit damage. Yes, that is strong, but the only way to get it is to buy Ymir Flesh from the trader Haldor.

Silver Arrow

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  • 8x Wood 
  • 1x Silver 
  • 2x Feathers 

Silver Arrows aren’t hard to make, but you do need a lot in order for them to be effective. It’s not a great idea to use all of your Silver and feathers to make them for small enemies. Save one of the strongest arrows in the game for the big guys.

Silver Knife

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  • 2x Wood 
  • 10x Silver 
  • 3x Leather scraps 
  • 2x Iron 

Knives aren’t exactly strong, but they are fast. The Silver Knife is a great knife that does spirit damage just like the other Silver weapons. At max level, it can do 84 piercing, 84 slashing, and 36 spirit damage. But even best of all is the 168 staggering from this guy. 

Silver Shield

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  • 10x Fine wood 
  • 8x Silver 

The Silver Shield is a good shield that is relatively easy to make. It initially has 60-90 block power and 90-135 parry power. But when maxed, it gains about 30 block and parry power.

Silver Sword

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  • 2x Wood 
  • 40x Silver 
  • 3x Leather scraps
  • 5x Iron 

The Silver Sword is my favorite melee weapon in the game. Although the black metal weapons are better, the spirit damage added makes this one preferable to me. When maxed, it does 93 slashing damage and 45 spirit damage for the primary attack. But get this, the charged attack does 279 slashing damage and 135 spirit damage. It also has a huge 279 staggering. 

Armor

There is one primary set of armor that you can make with Silver, and it’s a great set.

Drake Helmet

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  • 20x Silver
  • 2x Wolf pelt
  • 2x Drake trophy

The Drake Helmet is the headpiece for the wolf armor. You need to slay a few drakes and wolves to get it, but you only need Silver to upgrade it. Depending on the level, it will grant 20-26 armor.

Linen Cape

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  • 20x Linen thread 
  • 1x Silver 

A Linen Cape is a great choice for those who want to adventure in style. The armor is basic, but it is a great, durable cape. Just make sure when you make it that you change the “style” to suit you before you click “craft.”

Lox Cape

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  • 6x Lox pelt 
  • 2x Silver

The Lox Cape is a great cape that offers resistance to frost. It isn’t as durable as the Linen Cape, but it is more durable than the Wolf Fur Cape. So just choose whichever is easiest for you to make. 

Wolf Fur Cape

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  • 12x Wolf pelt 
  • 6x Silver 

The Wolf Fur Cape is my favorite cape because it looks so cool. It has resistance to frost, but it’s exceedingly durable. All of the cames currently have the same armor boost, which is one per level. 

Wolf Armor Chest

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  • 20x Silver
  • 5x Wolf pelt
  • 1x Chain

The Wolf Armor Chest piece offers 20-26 armor, but it also gives resistance to frost. If you have this and a cape, you’ll never feel even a little cold. But then again, at this point, you don’t need more than a fur cape. 

Wolf Armor Legs

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  • 20x Silver 
  • 5x Wolf pelt
  • 4x Wolf fang

The Wolf Armor Legs also offer 20-26 armor. They do not have any frost resistance so if you leave off one piece of this armor, let it be the legs. Switch them out for something stronger or easier to make. 

FAQs

Question: How Much Silver Do I Need?

Answer: It takes 207 Silver to Craft all weapons and armor. But if you also want to upgrade them, you’ll need 717 Silver. This doesn’t include the two for a Butcher’s Table and two for each treasure chest you want to build.

Question: Does Silver Respawn in Valheim?

Answer: No. After you get all of the Silver from the vein, you have to find another one. It will never respawn, just like other metals in the game don’t respawn. 

Question: Do All Mountains Have Silver Veins?

Answer: No. Short Mountains won’t have any veins, and some tall Mountains won’t have any either. That’s one downfall to procedural generation. Sometimes you luck out, and sometimes you don’t. 

Skipping Silver Equipment

It is possible to skip getting Silver altogether as black metal is considered “better” than Silver. However, this makes the mid-to-late game more difficult. You also need Silver to upgrade the Cauldron, which allows you to make valuable foods such as Bread Dough and uncooked Lox Meat Pie.

I wouldn’t skip any metal unless you’ve played through the game a few times and decide to try something new. The first time you play, I recommend doing it the way that the developers intended. But that’s just my ninja way. 

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