The fourth boss you'll take on in Valheim is Moder, the frost dragon queen of the Mountain biome. Moder is a huge enemy that fights on the ground and can take to the skies, but the terrain on which you face the boss can give you an advantage. It's possible to defeat Moder all by yourself if you bring the right gear and carefully manage the fight. Here's everything you need to know to beat Moder.

　　To take on Moder, you'll first need to clear the way to the Mountain biome by taking down Eikthyr in the Meadow, The Elder in the Black Forest, and Bonemass in the Swamp. You'll also need the ability to withstand the cold, so it's highly recommended that you mine and craft some Wolf armor ahead of this battle--at least the Wolf Cuirass or the Wolf Cape, which will give you automatic Frost resistance. We've outlined exactly what gear you should have below, which will give you the best chance of defeating Moder even if you can't bring a squad of other Vikings to help you.

　　You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos.

　　Click To Unmute

　　Firearms Expert’s FAVORITE Weapons Of 2023

　　State Of Gaming Handhelds In 2023How Lies of P Cracked the Souls GenreLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Ichiban Kasuga Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Chitose Fujinomiya Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Kazuma Kiryu Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Saeko Mukoda Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Eric Tomizawa Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Tianyou Zhao Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Seonhee Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Koichi Adachi Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Yu Nanba Character Spotlight Trailer

　　Share

　　LinkEmbed

　　Size:640 × 360480 × 270

　　Start at: End at: Autoplay Loop

　　Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?

　　Sign up or Sign in now!

　　Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.

　　This video has an invalid file format.

　　00:00:00

　　HTML5

　　Auto HD High Low

　　Report a problem

　　Sorry, but you can't access this content!

　　

Please enter your date of birth to view this video

JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031Year2023202220212020201920182017201620152014201320122011201020092008200720062005200420032002200120001999199819971996199519941993199219911990198919881987198619851984198319821981198019791978197719761975197419731972197119701969196819671966196519641963196219611960195919581957195619551954195319521951195019491948194719461945194419431942194119401939193819371936193519341933193219311930192919281927192619251924192319221921192019191918191719161915191419131912191119101909190819071906190519041903190219011900

　　By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's

　　Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

　　enter

　　Now Playing: Valheim First-Person Mod Gameplay

　　

How To Find Moder

Moder is located in the Mountain biome, but you won't find it just waiting for you when you climb up just any cliffs. Like the other bosses, you'll need to summon Moder with a sacrifice at a specific location--but first, you need to get that location marked on your map. You can get Moder's location from special rune stones you'll find in the Mountain biome, which are usually secreted in ruins around the area. Look for stone towers and decrepit fortifications

　　Ruins scattered across Mountains will sometimes hide the rune stone that will lead you to Moder.

　　Interacting with the rune stones will mark Moder's altar for you, where you can summon the boss. You'll need to sacrifice three Dragon Eggs at the altar to bring the dragon into your game world to defeat it. These are best sourced from around Moder's altar, especially if Moder is located on a different mountain from the one you're currently exploring. Dragon Eggs are very heavy (they weigh about 200 pounds each), and like metal, they can't be teleported. It's best to just find some near the altar and drag them up to the boss than to try to bring them from farther away.

　　

What You'll Need To Fight Moder

　　

Armor: Wolf Armor (Upgraded If Possible)

A great deal of the fight against Moder is about withstanding its attacks. To do that, you'll need to be able to block and absorb a fair amount of damage. First and foremost, you could outfit yourself completely with Wolf armor so that even if you take a few hits from Moder, you won't be killed right away. Check out our Wolf armor guide to see what you need and how to make it. If you've got the resources, it's worth it to upgrade your Wolf armor to at least Level 2--this isn't essential, but if you're soloing the boss, you'll want all the damage resistance you can get.

　　

Ranged Weapons: Draugr Fang Bow, Poison Arrows

Because Moder can fly, a lot of this fight will rely on your bow. You'll want the best bow you can get, which at this point is the Draugr Fang. Craft it with 20 Silver, 2 Deer Hides, 10 Ancient Bark, 5 Guck. The last two items you can source from the Swamp biome; cut down a couple of Ancient Trees and you'll have the bark you need, and cut Guck from the big green pustules stuck to Swamp trees. If you can afford to upgrade the bow, do so, since you'll be fighting Moder for a while and your Draugr Fang's durability is likely to become an issue. Moder is weak to fire, so Fire arrows are a good bet. We found Poison arrows were also very effective, maybe even more so than Fire arrows. Soloing the boss, we needed around 170 Poison arrows, so make sure you have a lot.

　　Outfit yourself in as much Wolf and Silver gear as possible. The more you have, the easier a time you'll have withstanding Moder's attacks.

　　

Melee Weapons: Silver Sword, Silver Shield

Moder won't always be in the air; the dragon also likes to land near you to hit you with melee attacks. This is actually good news, since fighting up close allows you to give your bow a break and you'll do more damage with melee strikes than with arrows. Bring your favorite, strongest weapon; we recommend the Silver Sword since it should be among the strongest you can craft at this point.

　　More important than the sword, however, is your shield. Moder does two different melee attacks on the ground, but the damage you'll take against either is negligible if you can block it with a good shield. The Silver Shield absorbs most of what Moder dishes out, especially if you can upgrade it ahead of the fight, so you should absolutely craft one. Coupled with Silver armor and the Bonemass ability it makes fighting the boss on the ground a breeze.

　　

Food

You're going to need as much as health as you can get in this fight, but another major consideration is stamina regeneration. The fight with Moder takes place on rough Mountain terrain and you'll need stamina to be able to cross it and reposition yourself, block Moder's big attacks, and get your own swings in. You can get high stamina through potions and foods, but your best bet is to get a high Rested bonus before starting the fight.

　　In general, aim for high-health, long duration foods--if you can source it, Lox Meat is a great for this fight, as are other long-lasting foods like Sausages. We did the fight with Lox Meat, Cooked Meat, Sausages, and Queen's Jam; you can also get a useful stamina boost out of Carrot Soup.

　　It's also a good idea to make some Healing Mead for emergencies. Tasty Mead can also be useful if you're desperate for stamina, but it halves your health regeneration and therefore should be used very sparingly. stamina Meads are good if you can get them as well, if you find you're having trouble.

　　

Ability: Bonemass

Since you've beaten Bonemass, keep its ability at the ready for fighting Moder. It'll decrease the damage you take from Moder's melee attacks, giving you the incentive to get in close. The ability will also help protect you from other enemies if they happen to show up during the fight, which can be a big problem.

　　

Get Your Rested Bonus

It's hard to overstate how good the Rested bonus is in boss fights. It increases your health and stamina recharge rate significantly, so it's worth sleeping or sitting by a fire before getting into this fight. While food and mead are good for keeping you alive, the Rested bonus is going to do the most work in keeping you in this fight, and you run the risk of getting yourself killed by unforeseen consequences (like wolves joining the battle) if you can't recharge stamina fast enough to deal with them.

　　Try to find a good place to avoid Moder's aerial attacks--if you can find a runestone to duck behind, you'll have a piece of cover that can't be destroyed.

　　

How To Beat Moder - Boss Fight Strategies

Once you're geared up, you should be ready to take on the boss. It's a good idea to have a portal near the battlefield (but not too close) that'll allow you to escape if you're in trouble or that can get you to a Forge so you can repair your equipment. It's very likely that you'll run down the durability on your bow, so don't be afraid to duck out of the fight for a second to fix up your stuff. If you can put the portal downhill from Moder's altar, all the better--you don't want to be struggling to run up a steep slope while the boss is peppering with ice crystals.

　　

In The Air

Moder moves around the battlefield in two different ways: flying and crawling. When the boss flies, it's highly mobile and will move around like a drake, circling you before hovering overhead to breathe ice crystals on you from a distance. You can run to avoid the ice crystals (and you should avoid them), but it can be difficult to keep your stamina up if you're sprinting all over the battlefield. A better option is to take cover behind rocks and structures. This gets risky, though, as Moder does massive damage to rock and buildings, so any cover you hide behind probably won't last for long.

　　There's a caveat to that, however. We were lucky enough to find one of Valheim's free-standing rune stones near Moder's altar. These stones, which you can read for lore and tips, can't be destroyed, making them a perfect cover. We actually were able to avoid pretty much all damage from Moder's frost breath by just standing close to the runestone and keeping it between us and the boss.

　　In any event, try to find good places to stand to avoid the incoming frost breath while you hit Moder with your poison arrows. You're going to want to prioritize avoiding getting hit with the crystals, as they'll slow you down significantly if they hit you, leaving you open to additional punishment from the boss. The situation can cascade out of control in a hurry, so survey the battlefield ahead of time and make note of where you'll want to go to avoid getting blasted by projectiles.

　　With Moder on the ground, you can deal more damage than with arrows--just block your way through the boss's melee attacks.

　　

On The Ground

When it's not flying, Moder will drop to the ground and fight you close up. The boss can crawl around on the mountain slopes, but it won't move very fast or go very far, waiting instead for you to come within range of its attacks.

　　Moder has a frost breath attack it'll use when it's grounded, which comes out as a constant jet straight in front of it, rather than a bombardment of crystals. When it rears up to breathe frost at you, strafe sideways past it to avoid getting hit. Once you've closed the range, Moder will give up trying to freeze you and just swing at you with its wings, or try to take a bite out of you. Both these attacks can be blocked with your shield, although you'll probably get pushed back a fair distance. You'll avoid damage almost completely if you block, though, allowing you to stay in close on the boss and hack away with your sword with little or no risk.

　　If you're not equipped for a close-range fight, you can do just as well hanging back and firing away with your bow, provided you have the arrows and either a backup bow or the ability to repair it when it breaks. This might even be the safer strategy, as Moder will often just hang out on the ground and not really do anything if you stay out of its range. That'll give you the opportunity to just lay into it with arrows at your leisure.

　　

Beware Of Wolves

The biggest threat during this boss fight might not be the boss itself, but the other enemies that make the mountains their home. Wolves in particular are extremely deadly in Valheim because they're very strong and very fast. Fighting a wolf can run down your stamina in a hurry, leaving you open to attack. Wolves bite so fast that they can rip you apart before you can recharge enough to fight them off. If you see or hear any wolves, it's best to disengage from Moder and try to take the wolves out as quickly as possible. If you can get them with your bow at range, all the better, but prioritize them in all cases.

　　

Run If You Have To

You can't go wrong by setting up for a boss fight like this one by placing a portal relatively close to the boss's altar. If things get bad, just run for it. You can make it through the portal to return to your base and use that opportunity to heal up, repair your gear, or even just sit by a fire for a second and restore your Rested bonus.

　　While bosses heal over time (or at least Bonemass does), don't be afraid of leaving Moder in the middle of the fight. The boss will still be waiting for you when you return, and if you're not gone for very long, it'll still be as hurt as when you left it. When trying to solo the boss fight, don't be afraid to cut and run and then return when you're a little better prepared.

　　Destroying Moder gives you what you need to move into the Plains biome and start processing Dark Metal, Flax, and Barley.

　　

What You Get For Beating Moder

When the boss is finally defeated, you'll get a few key new items. First, you'll collect the Moder Trophy, which you can take back to the altar where you first started in Valheim to claim a new power. Moder's ability makes it so you have a tailwind as long as it's active while you're sailing, which can make exploration out on the high seas much easier to handle.

　　You'll also claim 10 Dragon Tears from Moder, which you can use to create a new crafting station called the Artisan Table. With it, you'll be able to create three new crafting stations that let you process materials you get from the Plains biome, including Dark Metal, which you'll use to make your next tier of armor and weapons.

　　Valheim News & Guides

　　How To Create A Dedicated Server To Play With Friends How To Find Scrap Iron And Make Iron Gear How To Find Silver And Craft Wolf Armor Mountain Gear + Show More Valheim News & Guides Links (7) Every Armor Set You Can Craft In Valheim Console Command Cheats And Codes Workbench Upgrade Guide Elder Boss Fight Guide & How To Get The Swamp Key Moder Boss Fight Guide Valheim Beginners Guide & Tips Valheim Impressions: How The Game Succeeds By Not Starving You