New players · Valheim 1.0.17
How to get stronger
A Viking starts with 25 health and 50 stamina. Food adds the rest — the best three foods reach 350 health by the Deep North. Armor goes up to 150 in the best set at max level, and skills raise each hit from 40% to 92.5% of the weapon's damage.
Biome by biome
With the best you can make by each biome (things whose materials and stations that biome or an earlier one gives). Hardest hit: the strongest attack of a creature living there, on a 0★ hit, in that set with those foods.
| Biome | Health | Stamina | Eitr | Best armor set | Hardest hit there | Strongest melee hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meadows | 115 | 120 | — |  Leather Tunic24 |  Greydwarf14 → 2 (57 hits) |  Early Axes45 |
| Black Forest | 150 | 170 | — |  Bronze Plate Tunic42 |  Troll70 → 29 (6 hits) |  Bronze Atgeir63 |
| Swamp | 175 | 200 | — |  Iron Scale Mail60 |  Oozer115 → 55 (4 hits) |  Battleaxe88 |
| Mountains | 195 | 230 | — | Iron Scale Mail60 |  Stone Golem110 → 50 (4 hits) |  Crystal Battleaxe138 |
| Plains | 235 | 260 | — |  Padded Cuirass96 |  Vile150 → 59 (5 hits) | Crystal Battleaxe138 |
| Mistlands | 270 | 305 | 240 |  Carapace Breastplate114 |  Gjall130 → 37 (8 hits) |  Krom168 |
| Ashlands | 325 | 335 | 270 |  Flametal Breastplate132 |  Fallen Valkyrie220 → 92 (4 hits) |  Scourging Slayer198 |
| Deep North | 350 | 390 | 315 |  Breastplate of the Protector150 |  Barka280 → 88 (4 hits) |  Frostfire Sledge348 |
Gear progression, slot by slot → · Hits survived in every set →
Food
Your own 25 health and 50 stamina never change; up to 3 different foods at a time add theirs, and each fades as it runs out. The most health:
Armor
Armor takes its value off a hit that is more than twice as big; a smaller hit shrinks to damage² ÷ (4 × armor) (HitData.DamageTypes.ApplyArmor). Against Barka's 280-damage hit:
Upgrades raise it: Iron Scale Mail 14 at level 1, 20 at level 4.
Weapons & upgrades
Every upgrade level adds the weapon's per-level damage: 
Bronze Sword 35 at level 1 → 53 at level 4. The strongest melee hit goes from 45 in the Meadows to 348 in the Deep North.
The Forge of Potential goes up to +5 above the normal max, one idol a try:
Skills
A hit rolls a share of the weapon's damage that grows with its skill (Skills.GetRandomSkillFactor):
- At skill 100 an attack costs 67% of its stamina or eitr (Attack.GetAttackStamina).
- Blocking 100 makes a block 50% stronger (ItemData.GetBlockPower).
- A death takes 5% off every skill: 100 → 95.
Rested
“You feel rested. Health and stamina regeneration are higher.”
8 min plus 1 min per comfort level above 1 (SE_Rested). Comfort pieces →
Carry weight
300 to begin with; 
Megingjord +150; 
Moder's power +300.
Forsaken powers
A boss's trophy hung at its stone gives its power: 5 min each use, then 20 min before the next.
Run stamina -60% · Jump stamina -60% · Swim stamina -60%
Health regen +30% · +60% Chop damage · +60% Pickaxe damage
Block stamina -100% · Slightly resistant to Blunt · Slightly resistant to Slash · Slightly resistant to Pierce
Carry weight +300 · Movement speed +10% · Resistant to Frost
Farming +25 · Resistant to Lightning · +10% Blunt damage · +10% Slash damage · +10% Pierce damage · +10% Chop damage · +10% Pickaxe damage · +10% Fire damage · +10% Frost damage · +10% Lightning damage · +10% Poison damage · +10% Spirit damage
Sneak stamina -100% · Eitr regen +100% · Resistant to Poison
Adrenaline +100% · Stagger -50% · Resistant to Fire
Meads
Healing
Major Healing Mead125 over 10 s
Medium Healing Mead75 over 10 s
Minor Healing Mead50 over 10 s
Lingering Healing MeadHealth regen +25%
Stamina
Medium Stamina Mead160 over 2 s
Minor Stamina Mead80 over 2 s
Tasty MeadHealth regen -50%, Stamina regen +100%
Berserkir MeadAttack stamina -80%, Block stamina -80%
Resistance
Poison Resistance MeadVery resistant to Poison
Frost Resistance MeadResistant to Frost
Fire Resistance Barley WineResistant to Fire
Set bonuses, capes & trinkets
Straw Hat set: Harvester
Farming +25
Bear set: Berserk
Health regen +30% · Stamina regen +15% · Slightly weak to Blunt · Slightly weak to Slash · Slightly weak to Pierce · +10% Slash damage · +10% Chop damage
Troll Leather set: Sneaky
Sneak +15
Root set: Improved archery
Bows +15
Fenris set: Fenris blessing
Unarmed +15 · Resistant to Fire
Vilebone set: Vilebone Wrath
Health regen +20% · Stamina regen +40% · Slightly weak to Blunt · Slightly weak to Slash · Slightly weak to Pierce · +20% Blunt damage · +20% Pierce damage
Lox Fur set: Boon of the Lox
Sneak +30 · Bows +15
Ask set: Ask's Endurance
Run stamina -10% · Jump stamina -10% · Attack stamina -20% · +10% Pierce damage
Vanguard set: Vanguard
Run stamina -10% · Dodge stamina -20% · Health regen +10% · Stamina regen +10% · +10% Pierce damage
Wolf Fur Cape
Resistant to Frost
Lox Cape
Resistant to Frost
Feather Cape
Jump stamina -20% · Max fall speed 5 · Fall damage -100% · Very weak to Fire · Resistant to Frost
Ashen Cape
Resistant to Frost
Asksvin Cloak
Wind speed bonus +25% · Resistant to Frost
Moose Hide Cape
Resistant to Frost
Cape of the Caller
Resistant to Frost
15 trinkets fire an effect when adrenaline fills from hits, blocks and parries. Trinkets ranked →
Questions
›How do I increase max health in Valheim?
Eat. A character has 25 health of its own (the Player prefab); food adds the rest, and up to 3 different foods count at once. The most health three foods give: 115 in the Meadows (Cooked Deer Meat, Cooked Boar Meat and Grilled Neck Tail), 350 by the Deep North (Meat In Bread, Seal Meat Soup and Piquant Pie).
›How do I get more stamina?
Stamina foods: the best three reach 390 stamina (base 50). Rested multiplies stamina regeneration by 2; Eikthyr's power: run stamina -60%, jump stamina -60%, swim stamina -60%; at skill 100 an attack costs 67% of its listed stamina.
›Do skill levels change damage?
Yes. At skill 0 a hit rolls 25%–55% of the weapon's damage (40% on average); at skill 100, 85%–100% (92.5%). That is 2.31× the damage on average (Skills.GetRandomSkillFactor).
›How much do upgrades add?
Each level adds the item's per-level value: the Bronze Sword goes from 35 damage at level 1 to 53 at level 4; the Iron Scale Mail from 14 to 20 armor.
›What does the Forge of Potential add?
Up to 5 levels above an item's normal max, one idol a try (188 items take idols). The Iron Sword: 73 damage at level 4, 103 at +5, which takes 21.8 idols on average because a failed try breaks the item.
›How much skill do I lose when I die?
5% of every skill's level (skillDeathLowerFactor on the Player prefab): a skill at 100 drops to 95.
›How long does Rested last?
8 min plus 1 min for each comfort level above 1. The highest comfort without seasonal pieces is 22, for 29 min. While Rested, skills rise 50% faster and health regenerates ×1.5.
From the game files of Valheim 1.0.17.