Valheim Deep North Crafting Guide — Nord Gear, Frost Foundry and 1.0 Materials

Valheim 1.0's Deep North is a full crafting era — new foundries, a new metal-and-cloth economy, a Nord weapon line, four armor sets and a hidden upgrade forge that pushes gear past its old ceilings. This is the smith's map of the north.

The stations

• Frost Foundry — the Deep North's central production station: the Nord arsenal, armor sets and northern components all route through it.
• Frigid Kiln — the biome's processing companion, firing the north's raw materials into usable stock.
• Forge of Potential — the hidden idol forge. Collect mysterious idols scattered across the world and bring them to this forge for a chance at upgrading your items beyond their normal ceiling — 1.0's long-game treasure hunt and the only way to squeeze the last drops out of endgame gear.

The material economy

1.0 introduces a full new material shelf: Bloodgold, Crown Jewel, Dead Pulp, Embers and Frostfire Essence, Frozen Branch, Ice and Liquid Frost, Long Claws, Moose and Seal products (hide, meat, sinew, blubber), Molds & Casts, Nornathread, Petrified Tissue, Timberwood, Writhan Roots and Thunderblood Essence, among others. New plantables — kale, oats, poteitr — feed the cauldron line, and trophies from the north's new creatures (Barka, Elaking, Eyeless One, Hexen, Krigen, Writhan and more) hang as both bragging rights and crafting inputs.

The Nord arsenal

The weapon line is broad and blade-forward: Nord Sword, Nord Greatsword, Nord Atgeir, Nord Mace, Nord Sledge, Nord Axe, Nord Greataxe, Nord Spear and Nord Dagger, plus further specialties deeper in the list — alongside new bombs and ammunition for the ranged slots. Two-handers in particular get a renaissance here: the Jotun war punishes stale shield-wall tactics, and the great-axe line answers it.

Armor: medium, heavy and the mould economy

The Deep North's four new armor sets split into weight classes, and their crafting route runs through Deep North Armor moulds: Jotun Warrior types drop both medium and heavy armour moulds, a drop rate the post-launch patches have already improved (see the patch notes roundup). Expect mould farming to be the armor grind's spine — target Jotun patrols with a farming route and a forward fire.

Extras worth chasing

• Two new capes and two new trinkets — slot-sensitive power pieces for endgame loadouts.
• Deeper Pockets & Wider Pockets — Haldor's permanent inventory upgrades; buy early, thank yourself forever.
• The Crown of Roots — a purchasable curiosity for collectors of the strange.
• New tools — including the grappling hook line, which doubles as the biome's safety rope on ice and cliffs.

Keep reading:

• Deep North Survival Guide
• Kall Fimbulbringer Boss Guide
• Valheim 1.0 & the Deep North Update