Valheim has no levels. Your maximum health and stamina are 25 and 50 plus whatever three foods you have eaten, and your regeneration depends on the Rested buff your base gives you. A player in Ashlands food has more than ten times the health of one who forgot to eat. That makes food and base upkeep the biggest power lever in the game, bigger than any weapon upgrade.
Meadows food and the first hut are in the beginner guide. This guide covers every later biome, the stations that unlock its food, Comfort and raid defence, for the current version up to the Ashlands.
The short answer: what to eat in each biome
Totals include your base 25 health and 50 stamina, at full strength right after eating.
| Biome | Max-health loadout | Max HP / stamina | What unlocks it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Forest | Deer stew + Minced meat sauce + Carrot soup | 125 / 123 | Cauldron (10 tin) and your first carrots |
| Swamp | Serpent stew + Sausages + Black soup | 210 / 111 | Spice rack (cauldron level 2), iron cooking station for serpent meat |
| Mountains | Serpent stew + Wolf skewer + Sausages | 225 / 115 | Butcher's table (level 3, needs silver) |
| Plains | Serpent stew + Lox meat pie + Fish wraps | 250 / 123 | Pots and pans (level 4), stone oven, windmill for barley flour |
| Mistlands | Misthare supreme + Honey glazed chicken + Meat platter | 270 / 130 | Stone oven and food preparation table |
| Ashlands | Piquant pie + Mashed meat + Fiery svinstew | 325 / 151 | Mortar and pestle (level 5), rolling pins (level 6) |
The table is the boss loadout. For travel, mining and everyday fighting, swap one slot for your tier's best stamina food: two health foods plus one stamina food is the safe default.
How food actually works
- Three different foods at once. You cannot eat the same food again until its icon starts flashing. Eating it then refreshes both strength and duration.
- Food fades on a curve, not a line. The bonus is base × (time left ÷ duration)^0.3. With half its time left a food still gives 81%; with 10% left it gives 50%. Eat when the icon flashes, not when it vanishes.
- The fork colour tells you the focus: red for health, yellow for stamina, blue for eitr, white for balanced. Shield players should lean red: maximum health also sets how much your block absorbs before you stagger.
Best food combos by biome
Meadows food (deer, boar, mushrooms, raspberries) is in the beginner guide. Values below are per food, then totals for each loadout.
Black Forest: the cauldron arrives
| Food | Health | Stamina | Duration | Made at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer stew | 45 | 15 | 25 min | Cauldron |
| Minced meat sauce | 40 | 13 | 25 min | Cauldron |
| Carrot soup | 15 | 45 | 25 min | Cauldron |
| Queen's jam | 14 | 40 | 20 min | Cauldron |
| Boar jerky | 23 | 23 | 30 min | Cauldron |
Fighting: Deer stew, Minced meat sauce and Carrot soup (125 / 123). Exploring: Carrot soup, Queen's jam and Deer stew (99 / 150). Plant the carrot seeds you find in the Black Forest early.
Swamp and Mountains: Sausages and Serpent stew
| Food | Health | Stamina | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serpent stew | 80 | 26 | Cauldron level 2. Serpent meat must be cooked on an iron cooking station |
| Wolf skewer | 65 | 21 | Cauldron level 3 |
| Sausages | 55 | 18 | Cauldron level 2. Makes 4 per craft |
| Black soup | 50 | 17 | Cauldron level 2 |
| Eyescream | 21 | 65 | Cauldron level 3 |
| Onion soup | 20 | 60 | Cauldron level 2 |
| Turnip stew | 18 | 55 | Cauldron level 2 |
Without a serpent, Sausages, Black soup and Turnip stew give 148 / 140 in the Swamp. In the Mountains, Wolf skewer, Sausages and Eyescream give a balanced 166 / 154.
Plains: the stone oven
| Food | Health | Stamina | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lox meat pie | 75 | 24 | Food preparation table, then stone oven |
| Fish wraps | 70 | 23 | Cauldron level 4 |
| Blood pudding | 25 | 75 | Cauldron level 4 |
| Bread | 23 | 70 | Food preparation table, then stone oven |
Lox meat pie, Fish wraps and Blood pudding (195 / 172) is often better than the max-health loadout against Fulings, where running out of stamina is fatal.
Mistlands: health, stamina and now eitr
| Food | Health | Stamina | Eitr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Misthare supreme | 85 | 28 | — |
| Honey glazed chicken | 80 | 26 | — |
| Meat platter | 80 | 26 | — |
| Fish 'n' bread | 30 | 90 | — |
| Mushroom omelette | 28 | 85 | — |
| Seeker aspic | 28 | 14 | 85 |
| Yggdrasil porridge | 27 | 13 | 80 |
Balanced: swap Meat platter for Fish 'n' bread (220 / 194). Magic: Seeker aspic, Yggdrasil porridge and Misthare supreme (165 health, 105 stamina, 165 eitr).
Ashlands: the current top tier
| Food | Health | Stamina | Eitr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piquant pie | 105 | 35 | — |
| Mashed meat | 100 | 34 | — |
| Fiery svinstew | 95 | 32 | — |
| Roasted crust pie | 34 | 100 | — |
| Scorching medley | 32 | 95 | — |
| Spicy marmalade | 30 | 90 | — |
| Marinated greens | 32 | 16 | 95 |
| Sparkling shroomshake | 30 | 15 | 90 |
| Ashlands loadout | Health | Stamina | Eitr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piquant pie + Mashed meat + Fiery svinstew | 325 | 151 | — |
| Piquant pie + Mashed meat + Roasted crust pie | 264 | 219 | — |
| Roasted crust pie + Scorching medley + Spicy marmalade | 121 | 335 | — |
| Marinated greens + Sparkling shroomshake + Piquant pie | 192 | 116 | 185 |
Feasts: one slot, 50 minutes, shared
Feasts are made at the food preparation table with spices from the Bog Witch, placed with a serving tray, and give 10 servings anyone can eat. They last 50 minutes. The Ashlands gourmet bowl (75 / 75 / 38 eitr) has the highest total of any single food, but its health is far below Piquant pie, so use feasts for groups and building sessions, not bosses.
Cooking stations and the cauldron ladder
| Station | Cost | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Cooking station | 2 wood | Grills meat over a fire. Take food off when done or it burns to coal |
| Iron cooking station | 3 chains, 3 iron | Needed for serpent, lox, seeker, bonemaw, asksvin and volture meat. Needs a hearth or two campfires under it |
| Cauldron | 10 tin (forge) | Most cooked dishes. Needs a fire underneath |
| Spice rack → Butcher's table → Pots and pans → Mortar and pestle → Rolling pins | Cauldron extensions | Each one raises the cauldron one level, up to 6. Their materials (silver, black metal, black marble, flametal) set the order |
| Stone oven | 15 iron, 20 stone, 4 surtling cores | Bakes pies, bread and the best Mistlands and Ashlands food. Needs an Artisan table nearby. Burns food left in over 100 seconds |
| Food preparation table | 5 iron, 20 finewood, 15 leather scraps | Prepares oven dishes and feasts |
| Windmill | 20 stone, 30 wood, 30 iron nails | Turns barley into flour; fastest in open, windy spots |
| Beehive | 10 wood, 1 queen bee | About one honey per 20 minutes. Needs under 60% cover |
Meads that are worth the fermenter
Mead bases are brewed at the Mead ketill (4 tin, 6 copper, 2 leather scraps) and fermented in a Fermenter (30 finewood, 5 bronze, 10 resin). A fermenter needs a roof and 70% cover, takes two in-game days, and most bases turn into six meads.
| Mead | Effect | Where it earns its keep |
|---|---|---|
| Minor / Medium / Major healing | 50 / 75 / 125 health over 10 seconds | Every boss. They share one 2-minute cooldown |
| Poison resistance | Poison resistance for 10 minutes | Swamp, Bonemass, blobs |
| Frost resistance | Frost resistance for 10 minutes | Mountains and Moder before you have wolf gear |
| Anti-sting concoction | Deathsquitos will not attack, 10 minutes | Plains, especially farming barley |
| Fire resistance barley wine | Fire resistance for 10 minutes | Ashlands and its fire-heavy enemies |
| Minor / Medium stamina | 80 / 160 stamina almost instantly | Escapes and long sprints |
Comfort and the Rested buff
Sit by a fire, or stand sheltered near one (a roof with 80% cover), and you start Resting. After 20 seconds you become Rested: +50% health regeneration, +100% stamina and eitr regeneration, and +50% skill experience. You cannot rest while Wet (except in a heated hot tub) or while poisoned, burning or freezing.
Rested lasts 7 minutes plus your Comfort level. The wiki's Rested, Resting and Comfort pages agree on this: Comfort 1 gives 8 minutes, Comfort 3 gives 10, and each level adds one more minute.
Comfort counts items within 10 metres, and only the highest item in each category counts. Five chairs are worth one chair.
| Category | Items and Comfort | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Shelter | 2 when sheltered near a fire (1 if only sitting by a fire) | Confirmed |
| Fire | Campfire, bonfire, braziers 1; Hearth 2 (only when sheltered within 8 m of it) | Confirmed |
| Bed | Bed 1; Dragon bed 2 | Confirmed |
| Chair | Bench or stool 1; Chair 2; any throne 3 | Confirmed |
| Table | Table 1; Round table or Long heavy table 2 | Confirmed |
| Hot tub | 2, only while fuelled | Confirmed |
| Stand | Armor stand 1, nothing needs to hang on it | Confirmed |
| Banner | Banners 1; jute curtains 2 | Banners confirmed; curtains only on the Comfort page |
| Rug | 1 per rug pages; Comfort page says 2 for bearskin, wolf and lox | Disputed |
| Lantern | Lava lantern 1 on its own page, 2 on the Comfort page | Disputed |
| Garland, pot | 1 each | Only on the Comfort page |
So what is the maximum?
Older guides, including the previous version of this one, say 17 (24 minutes). The wiki's Comfort page now says 22 (29 minutes), or 24 with the seasonal Maypole and Yule tree. But that page is flagged as not fully updated, and its total uses rug, curtain and lava lantern values their own pages do not show, plus garlands and pots only it mentions. The values every page agrees on add up to 17.
So the cap is somewhere from 17 to 22, and it does not change what you should do: one item from as many categories as possible. Each stage, with confirmed values next to the Comfort page's figure:
| Stage | Confirmed Comfort | Comfort page | What you add |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meadows | 5 (12 min) | 5 | Shelter, campfire, bed, deer rug |
| Black Forest | 9 (16 min) | 11 | Chair, table, banner |
| Swamp | 12 (19 min) | 14 | Hearth, a throne, armor stand |
| Mountains | 13 (20 min) | 16 | Dragon bed |
| Plains | 16 (23 min) | 19 | Round or long table, heated hot tub |
| Ashlands | 17 (24 min) | 22 | Lava lantern |
A campfire built inside a dungeon entrance gives Comfort 3, a 10-minute Rested buff for 5 stone and 2 wood. It is the cheapest way to refresh the buff away from home.
The workbench and your player base
- A workbench costs 10 wood and lets you build within 20 metres. Each upgrade (chopping block, tanning rack, adze, tool shelf) adds 4 metres, up to 36.
- Crafting and repairing need a roof and 70% cover. Building nearby and stopping spawns do not.
- Player base: beds, fires, workbenches, smelters, portals, wards and many other stations create a 20-metre zone where creatures do not spawn and dropped items do not despawn. Spawners such as greydwarf nests still work.
- No spawn gaps: workbenches 28 metres apart leave no gaps; 40 metres apart does. A Ward only locks out other players, not monsters.
Raids: how they trigger and how to stop them
Every 46 minutes there is a 20% chance of a raid. It can only start on a player who is in the right biome, not in a dungeon, and within 40 metres of at least three player base structures. Enemies spawn 40 to 80 metres away in hunt mode, so they know where you are. The event ends only when its timer runs out with a player inside the event area (96 metres, wider than the 64-metre red circle). Leaving pauses it; it does not cancel it.
| Raid | Enemies | Possible between | Walls help? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eikthyr rallies the creatures | Boars, necks | Start to Eikthyr | Yes |
| The forest is moving | Greydwarves, brutes, shamans | Eikthyr to the Elder | Yes |
| A foul smell from the swamp | Draugr and skeletons | The Elder to Bonemass | Yes |
| A cold wind blows | Drakes, plus freezing | Bonemass to Moder | No, they fly |
| The horde is attacking | Fulings, berserkers, shamans | Moder to Yagluth | Yes |
| Gjall / Seekers | Gjall and ticks, or seekers and broods | Yagluth to the Queen | Gjall fly |
| The undead army marches | Charred twitchers, marksmen, warriors | The Queen to Fader | Partly; marksmen shoot |
| Trolls, skeletons, surtlings, ghosts, bats, blobs, wolves | Various | Stay enabled after their unlock | Not for ghosts and bats |
What actually works:
- Moat or earth wall. Dig with a pickaxe or raise ground with the hoe (2 stone per use, a workbench nearby). Raising and lowering is limited to roughly 15 to 20 units from the original terrain, so combine a ditch with a raised bank.
- Stakewall (4 wood, 1,000 durability) does not rot in rain. It deals no damage, and blobs can just clear it on flat ground, so build it on a slight rise in the Swamp.
- Sharp stakes (6 wood, 4 corewood) deal 15 pierce and knockback but lose 34 of 200 durability per hit, refund nothing and draw aggro. Use them at gates, not as the whole perimeter.
- Shield generator (5 iron, 5 copper, 1 shield core): a 30-metre dome that blocks rain, Ashlands cinder rain and projectiles, fuelled by bones. It only absorbs projectiles, so enemies can still walk in.
- Fight the flyers. Drakes, ghosts, wraiths, bats and gjall ignore walls. Keep a bow and a shelter you can fight from.
Most base structures are attacked on sight by enemies that can reach them. Campfires, bonfires and braziers are the exception. A workbench or smelter outside your wall is a target.
Choosing where to build
- Farm in the Plains if you can defend it. Barley and flax only grow there, and windmills run well in its wind. Carrots and onions also grow in the Meadows, Black Forest, Plains and Ashlands; turnips also in the Swamp and Mistlands.
- Crops need open sky and about 1 metre of clear space, and take 4,000 to 5,000 seconds to grow. Keep roofs away from fields.
- Cold and heat stop crops. Crops that do not tolerate cold will not grow in the Mountains, and those that do not tolerate heat will not grow in the Ashlands, unless an active shield generator covers them.
- Avoid a Swamp main base. Its rain keeps you Wet, and you cannot rest while Wet.
- Build near ore or a coast. Ores and metals cannot pass through portals, so being near the next metal or your ship saves hours of hauling.
Common mistakes
- Eating one strong food and two snacks. Three foods of your current tier are worth more than one top dish.
- Never upgrading the cauldron. Most food stalls happen because the spice rack or butcher's table was never built.
- Stacking duplicate furniture. A second throne adds nothing; a rug or an armor stand does.
- A hearth too far from your seat. It only gives 2 Comfort within 8 metres while you are sheltered.
- Leaving during a raid. The timer pauses, and the raid is waiting when you return.
For gear to pair with this food, see the weapons and armor guide, and for the bosses each food tier prepares you for, the boss progression guide. Structural support and roofing are in the building guide.
★Honest Take: the kitchen is your real skill tree
Valheim hides its character progression in the kitchen. Going from Swamp food to Ashlands food adds over 100 health, more than any armor upgrade, and it is gated by stations rather than fights. The downside is real: the cauldron ladder, the fermenter's two-day wait and the stone oven's coal timer make cooking a chore when you want to explore, and the wiki's conflicting Comfort numbers show that even the community is unsure of some rules. But the trade is honest. An hour of farming, cooking and furnishing pays back as a character that survives mistakes, the closest thing to levelling up Valheim offers.
