With many different biomes spanning a huge archipelago map in Valheim it’s going to take the layer a long time to discover it all. Though the game is procedurally generated there are still some rules that every map in the game seems to follow. For example if you go to the north of the map the biomes will always turn to Deep North, an extremely cold biomes similar to the mountains biome. Well what happens if we go south? Queue, Ashlands.
What are the Ashlands?
The Ashlands are another biome that is in the current version of Valheim’s early access. A biome is an area such as the meadows area, mountains or plains. Ashlands is a large area with black ground and appears to be relatively flat. Although the ground is black and resembles coal, upon using a pickaxe to break up the ground the player will still find regular stone as with the other biomes earth.
The Ashlands have not been fully implemented into the game yet. Although there are enemies and a type of resource that can be collected only from this area. The Ashlands can be found if the player travel to the south of the map. At some point other biomes will become not prevalent at all and only Ashlands will remain.
In the Deep North the player will receive a great deal of damage from the cold of the area. There is no equivalent to that damage in the ashlands and you will not take any damage from heat. At this point in the game there is no heatstroke or exhaustion and apart from the hostile enemies located at the ashlands you will be relatively safe there.
When the player enters the area the message 9biome_ashlands) shows on the screen. This is the current name for the biome and is visible when the mouse is over that area of the map and on the minimap when the player is present within the biome. Very clearly, this biome is still a work in progress although is seems to have more content than other work in progress biomes such as the mistlands and deep north.
What Enemies are in the Ashlands?
There is currently only one type of enemy that can be found in the Ashlands and that is the Surtling. This is the only creature that lives here and will spawn whether it is day or night. The Surtling will spawn at a resource called the glowing rocks. If the player defeats the Surtlings near glowing rocks and leaves the area the enemies may respawn there again.
Surtlings are not only available in the Ashlands however. They can also be found in the swamp biome at flaming geysers that are going from the ground. There are significantly more Surtlings at the Ashland biome though. Upon being defeated, Surtlings will drop coal and possibly a Surtling core. They will also rarely drop a Surtling trophy.
There are currently no other enemies or characters that spawn at the Ashlands at the time of writing although this is probably subject to change. As the other biomes that have placeholders in the game have significantly less content than the ashlands, it is estimated they are the next biome that will be worked on and have a forsaken creature. (The roadmap does list Mistlands for 2021 however, even though it has less content.)
Resources Available in the Ashlands
There are a few different notable resources that can be found in the Ashlands. Along with some resources that can be obtained through other methods, there is one type of resource that can only be found here, although it currently doesn’t have a purpose in the game.
Coal
As aforementioned, coal can be obtained by destroying Surtlings that spawn i the Ashlands. Although the ground resembles coal, digging at the earth will only allow the player to earn themselves stone.
Surtling Core
The Ashlands is a great biome to go to if you are looking at finding lots of Surtling cores. Upon being defeated, Surtling enemies drop them regularly. Along with finding them in burial crypts, these are the only two ways of obtaining them in the current game.
Flametal Ore
Flametal ore is another resource that can be obtained in the Ashlands. This resource can only be found here in the current version of Valheim. By using a pickaxe of at least Iron quality, the player can obtain Flametal ore from destroying the piles of Glowing Metal which can be found in this biome. These are easy to see as they are glowing red piles on a dark ground.
Once this flametal ore has been mined by the player, it can be processed in the blast furnace to get Flametal. Flametal currently has no purpose but is expected to be the next advancement in metal after Black Metal. Fiery flaming armor and weapons with fire damage perhaps?
Thus ends our coverage on the Ashlands in Valheim. This page is subject to change when the game is further developed and more updates become available. For now, this is everything you need to know about the Ashlands biome. Have you been to the Ashlands? What do you think this biome is intended for? Let me know in the comments below.
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