While all resources in Valheim take an investment of time and effort to uncover and use, Iron is particularly tough to come by. You'll get to it about halfway through your quest through the game, but unlike Copper and Tin, which you'll use to make Bronze for weapons and armor, Iron isn't available to mine at first. Instead, you can only find Iron in specific places in the Swamp biome, and it's impossible to unlock those locations without taking down the boss of the Black Forest, The Elder.

Here's everything you need to know to harvest Iron, including where you can get it, what you need to do to earn it, and what you can turn it into once you have it.

What To Do First

Before you're ready to start harvesting and using Iron, you need to make some serious strides through the Meadows and Black Forest biomes. Iron is located in the Swamp biome, which is home to some tough customers in Valheim's mid-game. The Swamps have enemies that wield poison, like Blobs, plus tougher combatants such as Draugrs who can make quick work of you with their bows if you're not paying attention.