Writhan is a new hostile creature introduced in Valheim 1.0, who appears only in the Swamp biome, but not exclusive to the Deep North. This guide will provide you with tips and tricks on how to find and beat Writhan in the game, including the best strategies and all the reward drops.
Writhan’s Location & Stats
Writhan spawns as a regular surface enemy while exploring the Swamp, so treat it like any other Swamp threat. You may encounter it while gathering iron, ancient bark, or hunting other creatures. Explore the Swamps as normal and expect to encounter it while traversing the muddy terrain and flooded areas.
Writhan has a very distinctive, unsettling Swamp look, but once you deal it sufficient damage, it’ll self-destruct in an explosion, dealing area damage and leaving a crater behind, so stand clear when its health gets low. Here are its main stats:
| Stats | Values |
|---|---|
| Health | 400 HP for base variants, although star variants will scale higher. |
| Movement | Very slow (run speed 2). |
| Affinities | Weak to Slash (×1.5 damage) Resistant to Blunt (×0.5) Resistant to Fire (×0.5) Immune to Poison |
Once you manage to beat Writhan, it’ll drop the following rewards:
- Writhan Roots
- Writhan Trophy
Writhan Roots unlock multiple new crafting recipes, such as Lox Fur Hood and Writhan Shield, but the most important one is the Bird’s Nest recipe, which requires Writhan Roots, Acorns, and Thistles. You can place it hanging from a wall like a beehive, passively producing feathers over time (holds up to 4), which is an excellent renewable feather farm, something Valheim never had before.
How to Beat Writhan
Before getting into the battle with Writhan, bring along your special Swamp loadout, which should include Poison Resistance Mead, stamina food, and Iron or better gear. Prefer slash weapons, such as swords, axes, atgeirs, etc. You can also bring a shield for blocking and parrying. Finally, here’s what you need to do to beat this enemy:
- Use slash damage for the 1.5× multiplier, which is the most optimal approach in this fight.
- Use your shield for blocking and parrying its attacks, then counter with a slash weapon attack.
- Exploit its extremely low speed: kite, circle-strafe, or hit-and-run easily.
- Once its health drops significantly, it will explode on its own, so keep your distance or be ready to dodge and roll away.
- The explosion deals enough damage to create a crater in the ground.
- Ranged weapons also work well because of how slow it is, just be sure to clear all nearby enemies first if possible, so you can focus on Writhan.
Avoid relying on blunt weapons, such as maces and clubs, or fire arrows, as they deal reduced damage. Also, try to fight on drier ground when you can to avoid stamina drain from wading and leech attacks. Lastly, be aware of the Wet/Cold status, and once you know the matchup, you’ll be able to farm multiples for many more Writhan Roots, if you want a network of Bird’s Nests for passive feather production.
