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🦠 Valheim · Boss 3 of 7 · 🐸 Swamp

How to Summon & Beat Bonemass

A giant poisonous blob in the Swamp — the difficulty wall of the early game. Bring poison mead or don't bother.

Current as of June 2026 — Ashlands era · verified vs. the official Valheim Wiki (June 2026)
Quick answer
Summon with 10× Withered bone
⚔️ Weak to 🔨 Blunt and 🧊 Frost · 🩸 5,000 HP · 🔮 drops the Bonemass power · Summon ↓ · Beat it ↓
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How to Summon Bonemass

Offering10× Withered bone
Where to find itWithered bones come from Muddy scrap piles inside the Sunken Crypts (you'll be mining these for iron anyway) and from Swamp chests. Ten is a low bar once you're crypt-diving.
Altar locationHis altar is out in the Swamp. The Vegvisir is found inside Sunken Crypts and occasional ruined Swamp structures.
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How to Beat Bonemass

Boss HP5,000
Recommended gearIron armour, an Iron shield, and a blunt weapon — an Iron mace, or even better the Frostner if you've reached silver. And Poison Resistance mead.
Weak to🔨 Blunt and 🧊 Frost — a mace or Frostner hits both notes.
ResistsSlash; very resistant to 🔥 Fire and 🏹 Pierce (bows are nearly useless here).
Immune toPoison, Stagger.

Attacks to watch

Step-by-step strategy

1

Poison Resistance mead is near-mandatory — the whole fight is balanced around it. Drink one before you start and re-drink as it expires.

2

Flatten the ground around the altar with a hoe first — it kills the swamp's uneven footing and keeps leeches out.

3

Best weapon is the Frostner (blunt + frost = double weakness). No silver yet? An Iron mace or two-handed Stagbreaker/Iron sledge works — and the sledge's AoE clears his summoned adds.

4

A classic safe method: climb onto the altar mound and swing down at him, using knockback to keep skeletons off you.

5

Leave the bow at home — he's very resistant to pierce and fire. Frost arrows are the only semi-decent ranged option.

📷 Screenshots coming for these spots:

📷Screenshot to add: Bonemass's altar in the Swamp, ground hoed flat
📷Screenshot to add: Sprinting clear of Bonemass's poison cloud
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Drops & Forsaken Power

TrophyBonemass trophy
What it unlocksThe Wishbone — wear it and it pings toward buried Silver veins in the Mountains (plus muddy scrap and buried treasure). It's effectively required to progress the Mountain biome.
🔮 Forsaken Power — Bonemass: Block stamina cost −100%, faster block-stamina return, and resistance to blunt/slash/pierce for 5 minutes. The premier tank power — you'll pop it in every boss fight from here on. Mount the trophy on the Sacrificial Stones at spawn to use it; powers last 5 minutes and buff nearby allies too.
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Where Bonemass Falls in the Run

Bonemass is boss 3 of 7 — the Swamp Forsaken. The Mountains and Silver — the Wishbone is how you actually find silver ore, which gates the entire Mountain gear tier.

See the full kill order, every summon item, and a tick-off tracker on the Valheim bosses hub.

Bonemass FAQ

How do you summon Bonemass?
Place 10 Withered bones in his altar in the Swamp. Withered bones come from Muddy scrap piles in Sunken Crypts and from Swamp chests.
How do you beat Bonemass in Valheim?
Bring Poison Resistance mead (near-mandatory) and a blunt weapon — Frostner is ideal since he's weak to both blunt and frost, but an Iron mace or sledge works. Sprint out of his poison cloud rather than rolling, and skip the bow: he resists pierce and fire.
What does Bonemass drop?
The Wishbone, which detects buried silver, scrap and treasure (you need it to find silver in the Mountains), plus the Bonemass Forsaken Power — the go-to tank buff with −100% block stamina cost.

More Valheim

One Forsaken down — here's the rest of the run.