Valheim takes the player through a series of progression arcs, from the humble early stages of stick and rock, all the way up to the mystical Black Metal found much later in the game. Bronze is somewhere in between.

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Unlike just about every other item in the game, Bronze isn't found on the ground, isn't dropped by bosses, and can't be dug up. It's an alloy, a component of two other metals, currently the only material in the game like this. Here's how you make Bronze and take your Viking gear to the next level.

Gather Some Surtling Cores

looking for surtling cores
Via setreadygame.com

Surtlings are (almost) cute flame creatures located in the Swamp, Ashlands, and around Fire Geysers. When defeated, Surtlings can drop Surtling Cores which will unlock both the Charcoal Kiln and Smelter crafting options.

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If you don't fancy taking on waves of Surtlings, maybe because you're playing on your own, then you can try and find some Burial Chambers in the Black Forest Biome. These creepy-looking tombs will have Surtling cores on sticks inside, sort of like yummy (very hot) candyfloss. Watch out for the skeletons though.

You'll also need some stone and wood for the next steps so make sure to stock up while gathering the cores.

Build A Charcoal Kiln For Fuel

valheim bronze crafting

To smelt, you must have a fire. A very hot fire. The Charcoal Kiln is crafted from Stone and Surtling Cores and can be built when you are near a Workbench.

The Charcoal Kiln produces Charcoal when wood is put inside. This Charcoal is the fuel you use for the Smelter. Without the Kiln, you can't have a Smelter, which means you can't melt Copper and Tin together, which means you definitely won't be getting bronze any time soon. It's a complicated business this whole bronze thing.

Create A Smelter

outside next to a smelter
Via pcgamer.com

Look, you could try and smelt tin and copper together inside your new Charcoal Kiln, but all you're going to get is very hot hands. To create Bronze you need a Smelter, once again crafted from Stone and Surtling Cores.

Put the Charcoal inside your smelter and huzzah! You've got the recipe for extreme heat. This will smelt ores to produce Tin Bars and Copper Bars, which have a range of different uses in the game. Now all you need is the ore.

Find Some Copper Ore

Valheim Black Forest copper deposit mining pickax
Via rockpapershotgun.com

You put the copper in the Smelter and swirl it all about. But you need actual copper ore first. Thankfully, copper is one of the easier ores to find in Valheim if you know what to look for. Head to the Black Forest biome with your trusty pickaxe and keep your eyes peeled for some shiny rocks.

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Copper has a sort of greenish tinge to it and might sparkle a bit in the sunlight. Copper deposits like this often protrude out of the ground and then go deeper, so make sure to smash your way through all of it. If you dig all the way around a deposit the ore will crumble to pieces, making it easy to pick up every single last piece. Watch out for the Greydwarves, they're not friendly.

Find Some Tin Ore

searching the forest.
Via gameranx.com

Once you've found copper you're not too far away from the tin, either. Tin is located by the pools of water in the Black Forest biome and is much darker in color, sometimes with these fat black streaks running through the deposit. Dig it up. Having trouble finding tin? Here's our guide to this lovely little ore.

Remember, neither tin nor copper can be transported through a portal, so you need to carry it yourself. Set up a nearby base to store your items. If you were feeling particularly efficient, you could set up your forge, smelter, and kiln next to the forest biome. We would say you could build a cart, but that requires bronze nails. D'oh.

Build Yourself A Forge

Valheim Forge Crafting Station Cabin

Alright, you have the Charcoal Kiln, the Smelter, the Tin, and the Copper. Now all you need is a Forge. Smelt the Copper and Tin in the Smelter first so you get Copper and Tin bars, and then they're ready to go into the Forge.

A Forge is built with stone, wood, and copper. You also need to build a roof over the Forge otherwise it won't work. Makes sense, you don't want your Forge getting soggy. The ratio of Copper to Tin is 2:1, so 2 Copper Bars and 1 Tin Bar for every piece of Bronze. It's a bit of a grind, but at least grinding has set you up with everything you need to know.

Entering the Bronze Age

entering the bronze age
Via pcinvasion.com

Cue the epic music, you've entered Valheim's Bronze Age. This is the era of progression that leads up to defeating The Elder for the first time. Your new Bronze Gear is going to help with that.

You can craft some new Bronze armor, like the helmet and plate leggings, or some new weapons like a sword and spear. A Bronze Pickaxe is the one we recommend getting first though. Just like in any other survival game ever created, the pickaxe is just a must-have. Lastly, bronze is also a component in the Fermenter, which means you're close to brewing your first delicious meads.

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