How to get to the Ashlands in Valheim without your boat catching fire

Valheim drakkar - the viking longboat is floating on the water near land with tall trees
(Image credit: Iron Gate)

Wondering how to build a Valheim Drakkar so you can explore the Ashlands? If you've been excited for the newest biome to arrive in the live game, your wait is over. Before you load up your longship and sail into the unknown, however, you should consider a few vital details. The ocean around the Ashlands is hot, and your ship will likely melt—albeit slowly—unless you've got a heat-resistant Drakkar under your feet.

You need very specific items in order to craft the Ashlands-ready boat, and I'll explain what those are and how to get them further down. Needless to say, be wary of spoilers for Valheim's latest update ahead. With that in mind, here's how to craft a Drakkar so you can get safely to the Ashlands.

Valheim Drakkar: How to craft it 

To make the Drakkar, you need to have spent quite a bit of time in the Mistlands biome—that is, of course, unless you decide to use Valheim cheats or console commands to spawn in the items you need. If you want to craft a Drakkar the proper way, here's what you need: 

  • Iron nails x100
  • Ceramic Plate x30
  • Finewood x50
  • Yggdrasil wood x25

(Image credit: Iron Gate)

The trickiest item here is the Ceramic Plate. It's crafted from black marble found in the Mistlands but you'll need to upgrade your artisan table using the Majestic Carapace that drops from the Mistlands boss. Yggdrasil wood is also found in the Mistlands, and is harvested from Yggdrasil shoots.

You should already have plenty of iron—or know where to get it—from exploring the swamp biome. Once you've smelted iron scrap into ingots, you can use the forge to turn it into iron nails. Finewood is another resource you should be very familiar with.

Once you've crafted your Drakkar and you're ready to set sail, head to the far south of your map and look for the orange tinge to the ocean as you approach. As soon as you cross that line, brace yourself for whatever the Ashlands decides to throw at you. Good luck, Viking.

Sarah James
Guides Writer

Sarah started as a freelance writer in 2018, writing for PCGamesN, TechRadar, GamingBible, Red Bull Gaming and more. In 2021, she was offered a full-time position on the PC Gamer team where she takes every possible opportunity to talk about World of Warcraft and Elden Ring. When not writing guides, most of her spare time is spent in Azeroth—though she's quite partial to JRPGs too. One of her fondest hopes is to one day play through the ending of Final Fantasy X without breaking down into a sobbing heap. She probably has more wolves in Valheim than you.