Before you start
- Access to the Meadows; no pickaxe is needed for loose stones.
- Food before tree cutting or hunting.
- A chosen return point so materials do not end up far from your build.
Collect for a specific build
The totals below are shopping plans calculated from the listed recipes, not an in-game unlock requirement. Spend the first materials as soon as they give you a useful tool; you do not need to collect the entire list in one trip.
- These totals exclude the walls, roof, floor, supports, and door.
- Gather additional wood for the building shell and fire fuel. Increase the bed allocation for each player.
- Subtract anything you already own rather than crafting duplicate tools.
| Target | Wood | Stone | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| First working set | 18 | 6 | Hammer, stone axe, and workbench |
| Core tools and furnishings | 46 | 11 | The first set, plus club, campfire, cooking station, bed, and chest |
| Make | Materials per craft | Station |
|---|---|---|
| 1 × Hammer | 3 Wood + 2 Stone | Inventory |
| 1 × Stone axe | 5 Wood + 4 Stone | Inventory |
| 1 × Workbench | 10 Wood | Hammer; no station required |
| 1 × Club | 6 Wood | Inventory |
Mechanics sources: Valheim Wiki: CraftingValheim Wiki: WorkbenchValheim Wiki: CampfireValheim Wiki: Cooking stationValheim Wiki: BedValheim Wiki: Chest
Pick up loose material before using tools
Large rocks are a later mining job. If the object has no pickup interaction, look for the smaller loose stones rather than trying to break a boulder with the axe.
- Walk the open ground and edge of a Meadows treeline. Interact with branches for wood and the small loose stones for stone.
- Craft the stone axe once you have its materials. Continue the loop until you can make the hammer and place the workbench.
- Return to the build area, use the materials, and make the next trip from there.
Mechanics sources: Valheim Wiki: MeadowsValheim Wiki: Stone
Use Beech for your first larger wood supply
Point at a tree to check its name before chopping. The stone axe can cut Beech; it can also cut Fir and Pine, but you do not need to enter the Black Forest just to build a starter home. Birch and Oak are unsuitable for ordinary stone-axe harvesting.
Choose a tree with room to step away. Move out of its path when it begins to fall, let the logs settle, then chop the logs into collectible material. Falling trees can kill you, so keep the cutting area away from your bed and workbench.
Take manageable loads home and repair the axe when you return. Save some ordinary wood for fire fuel instead of spending the final pieces on extra walls.
Mechanics sources: Valheim Wiki: ToolsGamesRadar+: Valheim beginner tipsValheim Wiki: Wood
Collect the materials that open your next choices
Keep flint and stone as separate items in your plan: the recipes require the named material. Likewise, deer hide and leather scraps are not interchangeable.
| Material | How to get it | A useful first purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Flint | Pick it up along Meadows riverbanks and coastlines. | A chopping block or flint equipment |
| Leather scraps | Defeat wild boars and collect their drops. | A crude bow, shield, or other early equipment |
| Deer hide | Hunt deer and collect the hide from the drops. | Leather equipment and later workbench improvements |
| Resin | Defeat the small tree-like Greylings in the Meadows and collect their drops. | Torches and a wood shield |
Mechanics sources: Valheim Wiki: FlintValheim Wiki: Leather scrapsValheim Wiki: MaterialsValheim Wiki: Greyling
Use flint for your first workbench improvement
When a recipe or equipment upgrade calls for a level 2 workbench, build a chopping block adjacent to the bench. Place it within two meters and check that the bench now displays level 2.
That improves the station; your existing gear does not upgrade automatically. Open the Upgrade menu with the item and its listed materials in your inventory, then choose the equipment you want to improve.
| Make | Materials per craft | Station |
|---|---|---|
| 1 × Chopping block | 10 Wood + 10 Flint | Hammer; within workbench range |
Mechanics sources: Valheim Wiki: Chopping blockValheim Wiki: Crafting menu
Go from boar scraps to deer hunting
- Eat, equip a usable melee weapon, and hunt boars close enough to return easily. Let an isolated boar approach rather than pursuing it into unfamiliar ground.
- Collect the leather scraps for a crude bow. Craft it at the covered workbench, then make wood arrows there.
- Find a deer with a clear shot. Approach quietly, stop before it flees, and draw the bow fully before releasing. If it runs, reset the approach instead of spending your whole stamina bar chasing it.
- Collect both the meat and hide. Keep any deer trophies for the later Eikthyr objective.
| Make | Materials per craft | Station |
|---|---|---|
| 1 × Crude bow | 10 Wood + 8 Leather scraps | Workbench level 1 |
| 20 × Wood arrow | 8 Wood | Workbench level 1 |
Mechanics sources: Valheim Wiki: Leather scrapsValheim Wiki: MaterialsValheim Wiki: Crude bowGamesRadar+: Valheim beginner tips
You are ready when…
0 of 3 ready
Saved in this browserWhen something goes wrong
The tree says my axe is too weak.
Check its name. Use Beech for this stage; upgrading a stone axe is not the normal way to unlock Birch or Oak chopping.
I have an axe but cannot gather stone.
Pick up small loose stones directly. Mining large rocks requires a pickaxe, which comes later in the progression route.
I cannot carry the next load comfortably.
Deposit the reserve in your chest and bring only the tools, food, and materials for the next job. Make a second trip instead of adding a distant stockpile.
The bow recipe is missing even though a friend has scraps.
Pick up wood and leather scraps on your own character, then open the covered workbench. A material in another player’s inventory has not been discovered by you.
Sources & checks
- Valheim Wiki: Meadows
Starting-biome resources, wildlife, and the danger of inhabited Draugr villages.
Community reference · Checked . Community-maintained reference. Relevant page text and tables were inspected through the search index; direct page retrieval was blocked.
- Valheim Wiki: Stone
Loose-stone collection before a pickaxe is available.
Community reference · Checked . Community-maintained reference. Relevant page text and tables were inspected through the search index; direct page retrieval was blocked.
- Valheim Wiki: Tools
Stone axe can cut Beech, Fir, and Pine; Birch and Oak require a stronger axe for ordinary chopping.
Community reference · Checked . Community-maintained reference. Relevant page text and tables were inspected through the search index; direct page retrieval was blocked.
- GamesRadar+: Valheim beginner tips
Falling trees can kill the player; boar leather scraps support an early bow for deer hunting.
Community reference · Checked . Older guide used only to corroborate falling-tree hazards and the boar-to-bow hunting route; its control bindings are not used.
- Valheim Wiki: Wood
Wood as an early crafting/building material and campfire fuel.
Community reference · Checked . Community-maintained reference. Relevant page text and tables were inspected through the search index; direct page retrieval was blocked.
- Valheim Wiki: Flint
Flint collection on Meadows shorelines and its tool/upgrade uses.
Community reference · Checked . Community-maintained reference. Relevant page text and tables were inspected through the search index; direct page retrieval was blocked.
- Valheim Wiki: Leather scraps
Boars supply leather scraps; scraps are used for early equipment.
Community reference · Checked . Community-maintained reference. Relevant page text and tables were inspected through the search index; direct page retrieval was blocked.
- Valheim Wiki: Materials
Deer drop deer hide and meat; basic material acquisition.
Community reference · Checked . Community-maintained reference. Relevant page text and tables were inspected through the search index; direct page retrieval was blocked.
- Valheim Wiki: Crude bow
Crude bow requirements, charging an arrow, and hunting deer.
Community reference · Checked . Community-maintained reference. Relevant page text and tables were inspected through the search index; direct page retrieval was blocked.
- Valheim Wiki: How to play
Recipe discovery through ingredients; a small covered workbench arrangement; heat passing through walls.
Community reference · Checked . Community-maintained reference. Relevant page text and tables were inspected through the search index; direct page retrieval was blocked.
- Valheim Wiki: Crafting
Basic hammer, stone axe, and club quantities used to calculate the shopping plan; dedicated recipe sources establish their stations.
Community reference · Checked . Community-maintained reference. Relevant page text and tables were inspected through the search index; direct page retrieval was blocked.
- Valheim Wiki: Workbench
Workbench cost, placement without another station, cover for interaction, free repairs, and upgrades.
Community reference · Checked . Community-maintained reference. Relevant page text and tables were inspected through the search index; direct page retrieval was blocked.
- Valheim Wiki: Campfire
Campfire cost, terrain placement, wood fuel, rain/wind exposure, ventilation, and bed heating.
Community reference · Checked . Community-maintained reference. Relevant page text and tables were inspected through the search index; direct page retrieval was blocked.
- Valheim Wiki: Cooking station
Cooking station cost, fire underneath, early meat cooking times, and overcooking into coal.
Community reference · Checked . Community-maintained reference. Relevant page text and tables were inspected through the search index; direct page retrieval was blocked.
- Valheim Wiki: Bed
Bed cost, claiming a spawn point, sleep requirements, and destroyed-bed fallback.
Community reference · Checked . Community-maintained reference. Relevant page text and tables were inspected through the search index; direct page retrieval was blocked.
- Valheim Wiki: Chest
Chest cost and ten storage slots.
Community reference · Checked . Community-maintained reference. Relevant page text and tables were inspected through the search index; direct page retrieval was blocked.
- Valheim Wiki: Chopping block
Chopping block placement and materials for the first workbench improvement.
Community reference · Checked . Community-maintained reference. Relevant page text and tables were inspected through the search index; direct page retrieval was blocked.
- Valheim Wiki: Greyling
Meadows Greylings drop resin, used for torches and the wood shield.
Community reference · Checked . Community-maintained reference. Relevant page text and tables were inspected through the search index; direct page retrieval was blocked.