As you progress in Valheim, you will come across an older type of wood known as Ancient Bark or Elder Bark by some.
This kind of wood is not like other types of wood as it is older and dates back into the earlier times of Valheim where it has other uses.
You will be able to obtain his kind of wood once you find a Swamp biome and gain access to the Ancient Trees that reside within it.
Also read all our Valheim guides here: https://progametalk.com/valheim/
How to Farm Ancient Bark?
In regards to how to get Ancient Bark, you will first need to find the Swamp location in your world, which there are many of.
Within the Swamp biome, you will find large Ancient Trees that tower over the whole area, and the smaller ones can be cut down for breaking into Wood and Ancient Bark.
You will need a Bronze Axe or a higher tier axe to cut down Ancient Trees and break their logs into the wood.
While adventuring in the Swamp biome, you will come across chests from time to time that has a chance of containing Ancient Bark.
The chests within the Sunken Crypts (dungeons in Swamp biome) can also contain Ancient Bark along with other goods.
Wood Cutting Skill
The more you hit trees with an axe, the more your Wood Cutting skill will increase, allowing you to deal more damage with every swing.
When your Wood Cutting skill has reached higher levels, it will be faster for you to chop down trees which will make it easy to farm wood.
You can level your Wood Cutting skill by simply chopping down and breaking several trees and after a while farming will be relatively easy.
Ancient Tree Seeds Misconception
Previously it was thought by some that the Ancient Seed (sacrifice item for The Elder) was used for planting Ancient Trees.
This information was incorrect as the Ancient Seeds were in fact, sacrificial items with only the purpose of summoning The Elder at its altar.
There is currently no way to plant and grow Ancient Trees and you will have to resort to farming them in the Swamp biome or obtaining them from chests.
Also read the other farming guides in Valheim
- Wood
- Copper
- Thistle
- Bronze
- Flint
- Stone
- Tin
- Bone Fragments
- Deer Hide
- Leather Scraps
- Surtling Core
- Ymir Flesh
- Fine Wood
- Feathers
- Carrot Seed Farming
- Core Wood
- Coal
Ancient Bark Uses
Ancient Bark is mainly used to craft some of the more unique weapons in the game as well as the Bonfire structure and the Long Boat.
You following are the Ancient Bark recipes:
Ancient Bark Weapons
- Ancient Bark Spear
- Battleaxe
- DraugrFang
- Fang Spear
- Frostner
- Iron Sledge
Ancient Bark Structures
- Bonfire
Ancient Bark Boats
- Longship
Verdict
While most would consider Ancient Bark to be less useful at first, it, later on, becomes quite handy when crating your endgame weapons.
It is a good idea to keep a good amount of Ancient Bark for later on when you have the resources to craft stronger weapons.
Ancient Trees may appear to be a weaker type of wood by its appearance, but they are in fact not only ancient but sturdier even if they have aged over time.
The strongest bow in Valheim right now is the Draugr Fang, an Ancient Bark bow that offers a good amount of damage upon impact as well as poison damage to counter enemy healing.
