Eikthyr is the first boss in Valheim who is likely based on Eikthyrnir from Norse Mythology and you will be required to face it in order to progress in the game.
A pickaxe is unavailable to players in Valheim until they will be able to defeat Eikthyr, who will drop Hard Antler which is used to craft the Antler Pickaxe that allows you to mine.
To defeat Eikthyr you will need to gear up and collect its summoning item which will lead to the boss fight at its altar location.
Eikthyr Altar Location
At the very start of your world, you will begin at the main spawning area where you will find the shrines of each of the bosses in the game.
Next to the shrines will be the Eikthyr Vegvisir which will register the location of an Eikthyr altar location on your map.
You can follow the marked location when you are ready to face Eikthyr by summoning and defeating it in combat.
How to Summon Eikthyr?
In order to summon Eikthyr for the boss fight, you will need to head to the location of its altar which you can usually find at the start of the game.
You will then need to equip 2x Deer Trophy in one of your item slots which you will need to use to summon the boss.
Face the altar and use the item in your item bar and the Deer Trophies will be consumed, summoning Eikthyr.
Defeating Eikthyr
Once you have summoned Eikthyr, it will begin to attack you with its powerful lightning attacks as well as a melee ram attack.
Its first attack involves it shooting out lightning in a straight line with a small amount of area of effect which you can dodge easily by moving to the side as it charges up.
Eikthyr will attempt to stomp the ground, creating an area of effect lightning attack which can be avoided by keeping your distance from it.
A more basic attack of Eikthyr is its melee attack which it does when it gets near you but you can easily take advantage of this moment and move to its side to attack it.
Eikthyr’s melee attack can be blocked which can allow you to fight it with your melee weapons but it is recommended to fight the creature from afar to avoid its lightning attacks.
How to Get Deer Trophy?
If you are going to face Eikthyr, you will need Deer Trophies which are drops that you can get from killing deers in Valheim.
You can farm Deer Trophies by looking around in the Meadows or the Black Forest (Meadows is safer) and hunt down the deers, preferably with a bow to make it easy.
Sneak up on the unsuspecting deers and shoot them with your bow and arrows until you get 2x Deer Trophies.
Not all deer will drop a Deer Trophy, so you may need to hunt a few more than expected to complete the summoning requirements.
Eikthyr Drops
Upon death, Eikthyr drops 3x Hard Antler which you can use to make your first pickaxe, and an Eikthry Trophy that you can mount on its shrine to gain its Forsaken Power.
Mounting Eikthyr’s Trophy on its shrine or an item stand will cause it to occasionally speak, and a text will appear saying “So you were my death? You look so small and soft… Tell Odin he may have broken this form but the wilderness will never submit to his rules…” as the last sign of Eikthyr’s unbreakable will.
Eikthyr Power
After defeating Eikthyr and mounting the Eikthyr Trophy on a shrine, you will be able to acquire its Forsaken Power by interacting with the shrine.
The Eikthyr Forsaken Power reduces the stamina drain when you run or jump by 60% for 5 minutes, and has a cooldown of minutes.
Verdict
Eikthyr is one of the easiest bosses in the game because of its slow movement and avoidable attacks but it is still necessary to gear up for the fight.
It is important that you consume food before the fight to give you a boost in stamina and health because some of its attacks may be hard to dodge or block for newer players.
Defeating Eikthyr will allow you to progress in Valheim which points you forwards to being able to mine, heading into the bronze age.
Only by defeating Eikthyr will you be able to farm metals in Valheim and you must focus on fighting this boss before proceeding to stronger biomes.
