The Elder is Valheim's second boss, a king among trees that dwells within the Black Forest biomes.
This ent-like creature is not exceptionally more difficult than the first boss, Eikthyr, and he can also be hacked to make the battle an absolute breeze. Still, there is a bit more to this boss battle compared to your first boss encounter, and you'll want to continue bolstering your equipment accordingly.
Summoning The Elder
Runes with the second boss's location can be found within the Black Forest, inside Burial Chambers unlocked by defeating Eikthyr. If you're lucky, you will come across it while gathering surtling core to build a charcoal kiln and smelter. You can also find these runes randomly tucked inside castle ruins within the Black Forest as well.
You will also need Ancient Seeds of The Elder. Collect these from Greyling spawns which are marked by purple smokey points in the Black Forest. each spawn point will drop one seed. Greyling Brutes, which you'll need to face while getting to the spawn point, have a chance at dropping ancient seeds as well.
Preparations
It's come time to get your smithy productions up and running. First, you'll need to construct a charcoal kiln and smelter to begin producing tin and copper ingots. Then, with the copper, you'll craft a forge so you can begin melding tin and copper into bronze to craft better gear.
Fire arrows are crafted from wood, resin, and feathers which can be plucked from gulls or gathered from chopped trees. These arrows are hands down the most efficient weapon to fell The Elder. Even so, you will want to train up your archery skill as much as possible and enter the battle with several stacks of these arrows on hand.
Tin production also allows you to craft a cauldron and begin testing your culinary skills, so be sure to utilize this before setting out to find The Elder's altar. Though you have a cooking pot now, you still won't have access to some of the heartier ingredients that make up Valheim's most nutritious dishes, so just make the best with what you've got.
If you've managed to locate a merchant and get your hands on a fishing rod, then Cooked Fish is going to sustain you better than Cooked Meat or Grilled Neck Tails, though if you haven't, you should go with Cooked Meat first. Queen's Jam is also incredibly sustainable, made of eight raspberries and blueberries each.
Yellow Mushrooms picked in the Black Forest are a good backup to have on hand. Honey also has a unique regenerative effect, restoring health faster than any other meal or ingredient in the game so far.
Tree Felling Hack
However, you may not even need all that fortifying nourishment if you prep the battleground around the altar appropriately. Hacking the boss or not, it is a great preparatory tactic to place fire pits around the shrine to ensure constant fire damage to The Elder without using up all of your fire arrows.
The real hack is to dig out a hiding place at the edge of the altar platform, running under the stone. build fires around the pit as well. None of The Elder's attacks can reach underground. Yes, despite all physics and the fact that they shoot up beneath your feet, this includes his roots attack.
For added effect, you can place another ring of campfires around your hidey-hole. You should also be able to continue pelting him with fire arrows from the safety of this niche to add even more injury to the insult. This method all but ensures you won't take a single hit during the encounter.
Fighting Tactics
The Elder has a basic arsenal of three attacks. There's the ranged roots attack where he will summon a patch of roots beneath your feet and the surrounding area. They don't follow you, though, so to evade these, simply vacate the area.
Next is his stomp attack. This physical attack also has an AoE and is the main reason why melee tactics are not recommended. Though again defying all physics, his massive stump of a foot can be fully parried with a meager round shield when timed correctly. This will then leave The Elder open to a few strong blows from an ax.
For his final attack, The Elder will shoot spikey tendrils of forage from his arm-like branches. This ranged attack can cause grievous damage. However, it's also easily avoidable by dodging behind one of the pillars surrounding the arena. Tendrils can destroy trees, so be sure you are taking cover behind pillars, not trees.
In fact, the pillars surrounding the altar serve as stout coverage for avoiding both the spikey tendrils and The Elder's roots. If you're not utilizing the hidey-hole hack, it is best to station yourself behind one of these and shoot arrows at The Elder from there. Once he begins summoning the roots, simply move out of the area to a nearby pillar.
If you don't want to run from pillar to pillar, all of these attacks can be avoided using the pit hack.
Rewards
The trophy you collect from The Elder can be hung on the correlating stone at the game's starting circle. It should be the tall thin one next to Eikthyr's stone. Once activated, the trophy bonus will grant you faster wood cutting, maximizing your harvesting efficiency and sparing your equipment the wear 'n' tear.
The Elder will also drop the Swamp Key upon slaying him. This key unlocks sunken crypts within the swamp and, in turn, allows you to begin preparations to face the third boss.