How to Beat Trolls in Valheim

No, we're not talking about other players. Valheim has real, roaming, towering trolls hanging around the map.

In Iron Gate Studios' Viking-themed survival title, they appear to have left no challenge un-installed. Valheim, the tenth world of Yggdrasil, has several enemies for players to conquer—aside from the five primary bosses. Among the most challenging of these are trolls who are often hailed as the player's first major overland challenge.

How to Beat Trolls in Valheim

Trolls stand about 2-3 player's tall and are easily told apart from its surrounding by their pale blue, green, or red skin depending on their star tier. There are variants—some carry a tree club weapon, some have hair—but its general shape and behavior will stay the same.

These enemies can spawn anywhere in the Black Forest—including on the edges where the biome meets with the Meadows. Troll Caves are another common place to find Trolls as one usually hangs around outside while two more tend to wait inside.

Spawns are aggressive to the player, quick to charge and chase them on sight. Additionally, the game counts it as an ally of greylings, meaning the player may find themselves overwhelmed if they stumble upon a group while attempting to flee. The only other notable enemy type that will stand up to Trolls are the Draugr.

In combat, a Troll will swipe at the player with its hands or with its club weapon, beat the ground around it in a powerful area of effect (AOE) attack, and throw nearby stones toward their enemies. It is weak to piercing damage, resistant to blunt damage, and immune to spirit attacks. Its star-tier-specific stats are as follows:

Zero-Star

• Health: 600
• Swipe Damage: 60
• AOE Damage: 70
• Projectile Damage: 50

One-Star

• Health: 1200
• Swipe Damage: 90
• AOE Damage: 105
• Projectile Damage: 75

Two-Star

• Health: 1800
• Swipe Damage: 120
• AOE Damage: 140
• Projectile Damage: 100

The most effective strategy to use here is kiting—or staying just out of range while peppering enemies with ranged attacks. The Troll will follow the player around the map and attempt to attack them. However, a Troll is slow and will stop performing its attack animation. Players can use their superior speed to evade attacks while shooting at the Troll from just beyond reach.

The biggest issue in a fight like this is managing the available stamina pool. Players should always make sure their stamina is high before taking on Trolls if they can help it. The key here is to find the sweet spot between using stamina to evade and rebuilding it while using quick attacks from a few yards away.

Fire arrows have been notably useful in this regard as they apply damage over time (DOT) that can actively chip away at the Troll's health while the player dodges around it. This drastically shortens the fight and makes it so the Troll is always taking damage whether or not the player is actually firing on it.