Find Hildir and return the brass chest

Before you start

• A boat and tested portal routine through the expedition guide.
• For this cautious combat route, iron armor, an iron mace, a shield and healing mead through the Bonemass preparation journey, or stronger equipment. This is a recommendation, not a quest unlock.
• Three substantial foods, Rested status, spare gear at home and a physical chest route back to Hildir. Megingjord from Haldor helps.

Discover the camp and choose one objective

The community reference places eligible Meadows camps roughly 3,000–5,100 meters from the world center. Its underlying placement band extends farther, but the Meadows limit narrows the usable area. This is a search clue for the middle world regions; sailing indefinitely toward the edge is not a better search.

This is an optional shopping quest. Iron Gate’s announcement describes rewards as additional goods to buy. Returning a chest does not hand you a free combat armor set.

1. Explore Meadows farther from the starting area, using mapped shores and short inland scouting trips. Look for the dress icon rather than Haldor’s bag. Once discovered, Hildir stays at that camp.
2. Build and test a portal near the camp, outside its construction restriction. Mark a practical nearby dock or land access for heavy deliveries.
3. Interact with the map table in front of Hildir. It adds special dungeon markers; talking to the trader alone does not replace using the table.
4. Choose one accessible Smouldering Tomb for the first trip. Multiple markers of a type are alternatives: Hildir accepts only one chest of each type.

Mechanics sources: Valheim Wiki: HildirIron Gate: Patch 0.217.14 — Hildir’s Request (22 August 2023)

Plan the delivery before the fight

Each quest chest weighs 200 and cannot enter an ordinary wood portal. Use portals for restocking and personal recovery, and arrange a land or boat delivery for the chest. A Karve can carry it in storage; a longship gives more room for the other loot. Scout the path from the dungeon to that storage before fighting.

If you already have Ashlands stone portals, entering a stone portal allows the chest through even when the destination is wood. Entering a wood portal toward stone still blocks it under default restrictions. This earlier route assumes physical transport.

Default world-based raids gain an additional miniboss event when its corresponding chest is returned. Player-based raid and other world settings can change the rules. Secure the home food, animals and recovery supplies before turning in a chest.

Mechanics sources: Valheim Wiki: Hildir%27s chestsValheim Wiki: Portal stoneValheim Wiki: Events

Reach Brenna with food and an exit

The special tomb resembles a Burial Chamber with burning iron torches beside its entrance. Clear the nearby forest and place your recovery portal outside, away from a fight at the doorway. Inside, deal with skeletons and ghosts before committing to the miniboss.

A workable food selection is sausages, black soup and turnip stew from the established Swamp kitchen. Carry refills and finished healing mead. If you already have a Plains barley supply, fermented fire-resistance wine is a useful extra; do not confuse its base with the drink.

1. Explore branches methodically and check doors before assuming a dead end. Keep track of the route back to the entrance.
2. Use the iron mace against Brenna: she is weak to blunt damage. Fire and poison do not damage her, and pierce is resisted.
3. Take a short melee opening after a sword swing, then retain stamina to withdraw. When she drives the sword into the floor, move out of the nearby fire blast instead of staying for another combo.
4. If health falls or the room fills with enemies, retreat through cleared space, heal and restore the setup. Collect the brass chest and trophy after the area is controlled.

Mechanics sources: Valheim Wiki: Smouldering TombsValheim Wiki: BrennaEIP Gaming: How to complete Hildir’s quests

Deliver the chest and check the new stock

If you die before extraction, return fed and equipped through the outside portal, clear the threat and recover the grave before loading the chest. If the chest is already safe in transport storage, finish the equipment recovery first. A chest in a grave or cache has not been delivered.

1. Before lifting the chest, move surplus treasure into marked storage or take portal-compatible loot home. Stay below your equipped carry limit with the chest added.
2. Walk the cleared route to the boat or cart, store the chest, and take the prepared delivery route. Do not assume a successful portal restock also moved the quest item.
3. At Hildir, put the chest into a hotbar slot, face her at interaction range and use that slot’s key or controller action. Check her shop after the hand-in.
4. The brass return adds clothing choices including Harvest clothes. They still cost coins; choose farm clothing for work at a protected farm and retain your combat kit for travel.

Mechanics sources: Valheim Wiki: Hildir%27s chestsEIP Gaming: How to complete Hildir’s quests

You are ready when…

When something goes wrong

Sources & checks

Default survival rules · 1.0 release context checked 9 September 2026. Each source carries its own check date below; those dates do not certify every mechanic on this page for the current build. Shopping targets, route choices, and combat tactics are editorial recommendations. No firsthand gameplay test is claimed. How to read the evidence.

1. Valheim Wiki: Hildir

   Meadows discovery, dress marker, map-table locations, shop and return of one chest per type.

   Community reference · Checked 2026-09-08. Substantive indexed reference text and tables inspected on 2026-09-08 UTC; direct Fandom retrieval was unavailable. Exact mechanics remain needs-review against a game build. Preparation and recovery choices are editorial advice, not gameplay observations or a 1.0 compatibility claim.

2. Iron Gate: Patch 0.217.14 — Hildir’s Request (22 August 2023)

   Hildir’s requests unlock additional purchasable clothing and base goods; Smouldering tomb, Howling cavern, Sealed tower and three minibosses were added with configurable world modifiers.

   Official publication · Checked 2026-09-08. Substantive official Steam archive text inspected on 2026-09-08 UTC. The 22 August default-release entry is separate from later Public Test entries. Supports the original feature announcement, not present-day numeric mechanics or release status.

3. Valheim Wiki: Hildir%27s chests

   Each chest weighs 200; ordinary wood portals block them, stone portals can carry them; chest-specific shop unlocks.

   Community reference · Checked 2026-09-08. Substantive indexed reference text and tables inspected on 2026-09-08 UTC; direct Fandom retrieval was unavailable. Exact mechanics remain needs-review against a game build. Preparation and recovery choices are editorial advice, not gameplay observations or a 1.0 compatibility claim.

4. Valheim Wiki: Portal stone

   The entry portal determines restricted-item transport: stone to wood works, wood to stone does not.

   Community reference · Checked 2026-09-08. Substantive indexed reference text and tables inspected on 2026-09-08 UTC; direct Fandom retrieval was unavailable. Exact mechanics remain needs-review against a game build. Preparation and recovery choices are editorial advice, not gameplay observations or a 1.0 compatibility claim.

5. Valheim Wiki: Events

   Default world-based Hildir raid prerequisites are the respective brass, silver or bronze chest returned; player-based raids use separate rules.

   Community reference · Checked 2026-09-08. Substantive indexed reference text and tables inspected on 2026-09-08 UTC; direct Fandom retrieval was unavailable. Exact mechanics remain needs-review against a game build. Preparation and recovery choices are editorial advice, not gameplay observations or a 1.0 compatibility claim.

6. Valheim Wiki: Smouldering Tombs

   Black Forest tomb identification, skeleton/ghost inhabitants and Brenna with brass-chest reward.

   Community reference · Checked 2026-09-08. Substantive indexed reference text and tables inspected on 2026-09-08 UTC; direct Fandom retrieval was unavailable. Exact mechanics remain needs-review against a game build. Preparation and recovery choices are editorial advice, not gameplay observations or a 1.0 compatibility claim.

7. Valheim Wiki: Brenna

   Blunt weakness, fire/poison immunity, pierce resistance, sword slash and sword-into-ground fire nova.

   Community reference · Checked 2026-09-08. Substantive indexed reference text and tables inspected on 2026-09-08 UTC; direct Fandom retrieval was unavailable. Exact mechanics remain needs-review against a game build. Preparation and recovery choices are editorial advice, not gameplay observations or a 1.0 compatibility claim.

8. EIP Gaming: How to complete Hildir’s quests

   Build exterior platforms/stairs and extend workbench range up the tower; break cave ice barriers and check doors; put a recovered chest on the hotbar and use it while facing Hildir.

   Community reference · Checked 2026-09-08. Article updated 3 May 2025, directly inspected on 2026-09-08 UTC. Used for exterior workbench/platform access, cave ice and doors, and chest hand-in controls. Older power, food and potion tables are not adopted. This is reference research, not our gameplay test.