How to Break and Mine Stone in Valheim

Last Updated: May 30, 2022 References

Do you need to break stone in the viking-inspired survival/exploration game Valheim? Breaking large boulders with a pickaxe is a much easier and quicker way to get stone than gathering rocks found on the ground. You need a pickaxe to mine stone. Unfortunately, you can't craft a pickaxe until after you defeat the first boss, Eikthyr. After that, you get the materials needed to craft an antler pickaxe, which can be used to mine stone, copper, tin, and iron, which can be used to craft stronger pickaxes. This wikiHow article teaches you how to mine stone in Valheim.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Getting Started

1
Craft a hammer. When you first start out in Valheim, the first thing you need to craft is a hammer. This is used to build other tools, weapons, and building materials. All that is required to craft a hammer is 3 wood and 2 stone. Once you have the materials needed to craft a hammer, open the crafting menu, select the hammer and click Craft.
- You can find wood by punching trees and picking up branches. You can find stone by picking up small black stones on the ground.
- To open your inventory and crafting menu, press Tab on the keyboard.^{[1]
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Craft a workbench. A workbench is needed to craft nearly everything else in the game. It requires 10 pieces of wood to craft. Once you have enough pieces of wood to craft a workbench, equip your hammer and open your crafting menu. Select the workbench option and place the workbench.
- To protect the workbench from the elements, you will want to place the workbench inside of a shelter. You can find abandoned shelters all throughout Valheim. You can also craft a shelter around your workbench after you place the workbench. You'll want to craft a shelter big enough for a bed, a chest, a fire, and a workbench. If you place a workbench next to an abandoned shelter, you can quickly dismantle the shelter and gain wood, which can be used to rebuild the shelter or other items.^{[2]
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3
Craft some weapons. After you have a workbench, you can craft more advanced weapons and tools. You'll need to craft some weapons in order to survive and beat Eikthyr. You can craft melee weapons, such as an ax or spear, or you can craft a bow and arrow for long-range combat.
4
Craft some armor. Before you decide to take on Eikthyr, it's recommended that you craft and equip some armor. Hunt deer to gather deer hide, which can be used to craft a leather helmet, leather tunic, and leather pants at a workbench.
- If you are using a melee weapon, you may want to craft a wooden shield out of wood.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Finding and Defeating Eikthyr

1
Interact with the glowing red stone next to the sacrificial altar. When you first spawn in the world, you will find a large red stone next to the sacrificial altar. Interact with the glowing red stone to have Eikthyr's location marked on your map.
- Press E on the keyboard to interact with objects.
- Eikthyr's location can only be found in meadow biomes.
2
Gather two deer trophies. You can get deer trophies by hunting deer. It's considered an uncommon drop, so you may have to hunt several deer in order to obtain 2 deer trophies.
3
Rest and eat food. Before you head into battle with Eikthyr, you'll want to make sure you have full health and stamina. It's recommended you eat 3 different types of food and rest. The resting effect gives your character 50% health regen, 100% stamina regen, and a 50% boost to all skills. You can rest by sitting in a shelter or next to a fire.
4
Go to Eikthyr's marked location. Go to the location that was marked on your map when you interacted with the glowing red stone. When you get there, you will find a sacrificial stone in the middle of the meadows.
5
Place 2 deer trophies on the sacrificial stone. Place the 2 deer trophies in your action bar and then place them on the sacrificial stone. This will trigger a cut scene in which Eikthyr is summoned.
6
Defeat Eikthyr. The three main attacks you need to watch out for are his ranged lightning attack, his close-range spherical lightning attack, and his charge attack. If you are using a melee weapon and a shield, you should be able to use the shield to block most of his attacks. Avoid taking damage and defeat Eikthyr.^{[3]
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Collect the hard antlers. After defeating Eikthyr, he drops hard antlers and the Eikthyr trophy. The hard antlers are one of the ingredients needed to craft an antler pickaxe.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Crafting Pickaxes

1
Craft an antler pickaxe. The antler pickaxe is the first pickaxe you get in the game. It can be used to mine stone, copper, tin, and muddy scrap piles. It is also repairable on a workbench unlike other pickaxes. You need 1 hard antler, and 10 pieces of wood to craft an antler pickaxe. After you get the antlers from Eikthyr, gather 10 pieces of wood. Then use the workbench to craft an antler pickaxe.
2
Use pickaxes to mine stone. Once you have crafted a pickaxe, place it in your action bar and equip it. Attack large boulders with the pickaxe to break them and mine stone.
3
Craft a forge. If you want to craft stronger pickaxes than an antler pickaxe, you need to craft a forge in order to get the materials needed. To craft a forge, you need 4 stone, 4 coal, 10 wood, and 6 copper.^{[4]
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- Coal can be found in random chests, by defeating Surtlings, and burning meat.^{[5]
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  Research source} Copper can be found by mining copper ore with a pickaxe.
4
Craft a bronze pickaxe. A bronze pickaxe is the second pickaxe you can get in the game. It is more durable and has a stronger attack than an antler pickaxe. To craft a bronze pickaxe, you need 10 bronze, and 3 core wood.
- Core wood is found by chopping down pine trees in the black forest biome using an axe. You can get bronze by processing 2 copper and 1 tin in a forge.^{[6]
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Craft a smelter. A smelter is needed to smelt the iron needed to craft an iron pickaxe. To craft a smelter, you need 20 stone, and 3 surtling core, which is dropped by defeating surtlings. Once you get the materials needed, use the workbench to craft a smelter.^{[7]
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Craft an iron pickaxe. The iron pickaxe is the most durable pickaxe with the strongest attack. In addition to stone, copper, tin, and muddy scraps, it can also be used to mine silver and obsidian. In order to craft an iron pickaxe, you need 3 wood core and 20 iron. Once you have the materials needed, craft an iron pickaxe using a workbench.
- You can get iron by smelting iron scraps mined from muddy scraps in a smelter.^{[8]
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