Released for early access on Steam on February 2, 2021, Valheim is a unique sandbox survival game that takes you to the Norse afterlife. Players take the role of a slain Viking who must prove that they have what it takes to enter the halls of Valhalla by obliterating the evils of Valheim. Like most survival games out there, Valheim allows players to build shelters, hunt, scavenge, craft, and engage in near-endless battle for glory. Players also have the ability to create and customize their characters according to their preferences.
As interesting as those features may be, Valheim is still in early access, which means players can expect more features and improvements coming to the game. Despite the fact that the game is still in development, 94% of players positively received the game, boasting a 4.7/5 overall rating. Not bad for a game developed by a five-person team. With that said, as much as we want to dive into the history of Valheim, that is a topic for another day. Today, however, we are going to take a quick overview of one of the most sought out materials in the game: The Black Metal.
What is Black Metal?
Black Metal is the main material used to craft the fourth level of equipment and materials next to silver. Most of the players in the game agree that gears and weapons made using this material are the best in the current version of the game. Black Metal appears in the form of Bars or Scraps, with Bars as the rarest ones to find. For this reason, most players would farm scraps and smelt the materials themselves.
How to Find Black Metal Scraps?
Black Metal Scraps are found only in Fuling Villages. A slain Fuling drops the material and the amount depends on the job or the level of the Fuling. A level 1 Fuling will drop 1 Black Metal Scrap, Level 2 will drop 2, and a level 3 Fuling will drop 4. The same drop ratio will result when slaying a Fuling Archer and Fuling Shaman with the same levels. Fuling Berserkers with levels 1-3 will drop 3-4 Black Metal Scraps.
Do take note that the Fulings are high-level enemies, which means that you must at least have an Iron Armor equipped, and you must use stealth in slaying these entities one-by-one, if possible. Also, do not forget to check the chests in the village once you slay every resident in the area. There is a high probability that the chests will contain Black Metal Scraps as well.
How to Smelt Black Metal Scraps?
Once you have the Black Metal Scraps, your next quest is to smelt the material into metal bars so that you can craft various black metal weapons in the game. To turn Black Metal Scraps into Black Metal Bars, you will need 20x Stone, 5x Surtling Core, 10x Iron, 20x Fine Wood, and 1x Artisan Table.
For the materials, the easiest to find are stones, which are located everywhere. Surtling Cores come from the Surtlings found in the Swamp Biome. Fine Wood comes from oak and birch trees, while the Artisan Table comes from a Dragon Tear dropped by the fourth boss in the game.
Black Metal Recipes
After smelting the Black Metal scraps into bars, you can now craft various Black Metal items.
1. Black Metal Axe
- 6x Fine Wood
- 20x Black Metal Bar
- 5x Linen Thread
2. Black Metal Atgeir
- 10x Fine Wood
- 30x Black Metal Bars
- 5x Linen Thread
3. Black Metal Knife
- 4x Fine Wood
- 10x Black Metal Bars
- 5x Linen Thread
4. Black Metal Sword
- 2x Fine Wood
- 20x Black Metal Bars
- 5x Linen Thread
5. Black Metal Shield
- 2x Fine Wood
- 8x Black Metal Bars
- 5x Chain
Now that you have the basic knowledge, it’s time to jump back into your Valheim gameplay and collect your black metal scraps, smelt them into bars, and craft your black metal gears.