How to destroy ancient swords in Valheim

One point of interest you might have come across while exploring the Mistlands of Valheim is the massive corroded ancient armor and swords left behind by the giants of old. Unlike the gear you equip, these colossal pieces of equipment cannot be interacted with or moved. Instead, they serve as pieces of randomly generated environmental objects, similar to an abandoned cabin in the Meadows or a stone ruin in the Black Forest. Some adventurers might have tried to destroy these ancient armor pieces and swords with their tools but to no avail. The reason is that only the fourth tier of pickaxes can break through the antique yet sturdy metal.

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Destroying ancient swords in Valheim

To destroy ancient swords in Valheim, you will need a black metal pickaxe, the fourth pickaxe variant available for crafting. Making this tool requires a Forge workstation, black metal × 25, and Yggdrasil wood × 3. If you have already reached the Mistlands biome, you likely have a Forge back at your base camp. Black metal is the refined ingot form of black metal scrap, a resource dropped by the goblin-like Fulings of the Plains. Black metal scrap also occasionally spawns in chests within Fuling villages. Conversely, Yggdrasil wood comes from Yggdrasil shoots, a tree that grows in the Mistlands.

Chopping down a Yggdrasil shoot for its wood requires a black metal axe, which is made by combining fine wood × 6, black metal × 20, and linen thread × 5 at a Forge. You can craft linen thread by refining Flax at a spinning wheel, a workstation that requires an artisan table to be built. Once you have made a black metal axe, collect the Yggdrasil wood needed for forging a black metal pickaxe. Finally, you can travel to the ancient swords and armor you found in the Mistlands of Valheim and destroy them for scrap iron.