Meadows

Meadows is the starting biome in Valheim and one of the safest areas in the game. It is covered in grass and dotted with open clearings, sparse forests, streams, lakes, and gentle hills. The biome commonly contains beech, birch, and oak trees, and it serves as the first place new players explore and establish themselves.

Although Meadows is calm compared to later biomes, it is not empty. Early enemies such as Boar, Neck, and Greydwarf can appear here, while Draugr only spawn in Meadows when found in a Draugr Village. Passive wildlife such as Deer, Gull, Perch, and Pike can also be found in the area. After defeating Eikthyr, Greylings can appear at night, and after defeating the Elder, more dangerous Greydwarfs may show up occasionally. Meadows is also the only biome that does not play its own soundtrack at night.

The biome provides most of the basic materials needed in the early game. Common resources include:

• Wood from branches and trees
• Finewood from birch and oak
• Mushroom
• Flint near water
• Stone
• Dandelion
• Raspberry
• Bee Nest inside abandoned houses

Meadows also contains several useful chest sources, including house chests and buried chests. These can hold a mix of early supplies such as coins, amber, feathers, flint, arrows, torches, and other valuables. Because of this, abandoned houses and burial sites are worth exploring early on, even before better equipment is available.

Several structure types can appear in Meadows:

• Ruined buildings, including towers and small or large houses, sometimes with treasure chests and beehives attached to walls
• Abandoned villages, often made up of at least two houses and sometimes containing broken beds, treasure chests, raspberry patches, and wood piles
• Draugr villages, usually generated farther from the starting area and therefore unlikely to threaten a new player early on
• Stone structures built from natural stone, often with bones inside
• Viking burials, marked by small stones arranged in a boat shape
• Vegvisir stones that reveal the location of Eikthyr, found only at the Sacrificial Stones

Meadows is designed to support early survival and progression. It is a good place to gather food, basic building materials, and the first components needed for beehives and simple combat gear. Flint can be collected along shorelines and riverbanks, while raspberries and mushrooms provide quick food sources during the opening hours of play.

During the Alpha, Meadows was known as the Green Forest.