True to any survival game, Valheim tasks its players with exploring the surrounding lands to find resources to craft better gear. Each step opens a new line of tools to go down, until the Viking survivor tasked with a mission from Odin is fully kitted out.
Pickaxes are an integral part of the resource gathering process in Valheim, giving access to precious metals that can make strong weapons, armor, and tools. Players will likely start with the humble Stone Pickaxe, one of the first craftable items in the game, before moving. One of the picks along the line is the Bronze Pickaxe, the first metallic iteration that players can get. Here's what's needed to smelt Bronze, and how to turn it into the mining tool.
How to Smelt Bronze
In order to create Bronze, which is an alloy of other metals, players will need either the Antler Pickaxe or the Stone Pickaxe, which grant the ability to mine ores. The Stone Pickaxe is recommended, as the Antler Pickaxe, though the better of the two, requires a boss fight to craft.
A Forge will also be necessary in the settlement to make any tools involving metals, as it allows for players to create alloys. The Forge has to be place under a roof and near a Workbench. Bronze is made by combining two Copper, which is bountiful in the Black Forest, and one Tin, which yields one Bronze bar. The Black Forest is a dangerous place for low-ranking players, so it's probably advisable to wait for a while before attempting to get to the Bronze Age.
Players will need to harvest 20 total Copper and 10 Tin to craft forge enough Bronze to make the pickaxe.
How to Craft Bronze Pickaxe
Players will need 10 Bronze bars and three Core Wood, which can only be harvested from pine trees in the Black Forest, to craft the Bronze Pickaxe. Like the bars, it can only be made at the Forge. Once all of the required resources have been gathered, it will be unlocked in the crafting interface to the right.
A Bronze Pickaxe can mine Iron ore, the next step in the tool progression system. It can also destroy Muddy Scrap Piles in the Sunken Crypt, allowing for further exploration. Not only does the Sunken Crypt contain bountiful loot, but the scrap piles also have a chance to drop Iron Scrap, Leather Scrap, or Withered Bones, so it's definitely worth digging through them.
Valheim is available in Steam Early Access on PC.