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The Tenth Realm has no shortage of monstrous creatures, with more being introduced as time goes on. One of Valheim’s newer additions is the Abomination, an aggressive beast found lurking in the Swamps, as if they weren’t dangerous enough already.
Fighting an Abomination is a challenge worth taking on, though. Abominations are the only way to get your hands on Roots, which are needed to craft Root armor. For the early game, this armor set can give you quite the boost, providing decent protection and a significant buff to your bow skill.
That said, crafting the armor set is easier said than done. The Abomination is a hardy enemy, acting as an early game miniboss that is pretty tough to put down before you reach the iron age. In this guide, I’ll be getting to the root of this new monster’s strengths, giving you tips on handling the Abomination, and making your gardening trips a bit more manageable.
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Where to find Valheim’s Abomination
The Abomination can be found in the Swamp biome, hiding amidst the other ominous-looking trees. Not that you’d notice it; the Abomination likes to hide in the murky water that makes up much of the Swamp. At any point during your exploration through the desiccated forest, the Abomination could decide to break its camouflage, burst out from its burrow and charge you. You’ll need to keep your wits about you, as it’s pretty spritely for a hulking tree. Caught unawares, you’ll be pounded into fertilizer in no time.
Unlike other creatures that have a more-or-less fixed home, the Abomination will stalk the entirety of the Swamp, though they seem to prefer the cover of night. They can be found on the outskirts of the Swamp just as easily as in the heart, making you vulnerable to an ambush at any point. As the Swamp water makes fleeing tougher than in other biomes, you’d best be ready to fight and exploit its weaknesses.
Valheim Abomination: Strengths and weaknesses
As with every other monster, the Abomination has its strengths and weaknesses. The Abomination’s first strength is its toughness. A poorly armed Viking will need to be prepared for a long fight, as the Abomination is highly resistant to many forms of damage. It is outright immune to frost, spirit, and poison damage, with a major resistance to piercing damage.
This pretty much makes bows and spears a no-go, with swords being little better. Blunt weapons will do a bit more damage, though the Abomination is still fairly resistant to crushing blows. Instead, the wise Viking should channel his inner lumberjack, bringing with him an ax to deal good chop damage against the Abomination.
Toughness, stealth, and speed are the main strengths of the Abomination. You can expect it to take a hefty amount of punishment and deal out the same, while being capable of ambushes and high-speed pursuit. However, you can exploit this speed to your advantage in the Swamp.
Assuming you’ve mapped out your surroundings a bit, having found a geyser and dealt with the nearby Surtlings, you’ll be able to punish the Abomination’s main weakness – fire. If you time it right, you can cause the Abomination to charge right into the geyser, causing massive damage and giving you a bit of breathing room. If you bring fire arrows, you can exploit this weakness further, plus giving you the comfort of causing damage from afar.
Fighting the Abomination
In the early game, your best bet is to buckle up for a lengthy fight. You should bring the best armor you have available, a bow and a whole load of fire arrows, an ax, and the best food in your pantry. You should also build a fermenter, if you can, to brew some mead. Stamina regen mead, like the tasty mead, will be particularly useful to offset the wet effect you get while in the Swamp. Having a few flasks of health mead is also handy in a pinch, as the Abomination will hit hard if it gets within range.
Once you’re armed, it’s time to go tree hunting. You’ll need to be on your toes while in the Swamp, being especially careful around bodies of water. That’s where you’re most likely to find them. If you’ve activated an Abomination, but have lost sight of it, be on the lookout for large twisted trees that stick close to the ground – that’s the Abomination’s idling state. A further giveaway is if the tree emits a greenish mist, an effect unique to the Swamp. Before intentionally seeking out an Abomination, you should check the area for a geyser.
As I mentioned, that will be a major source of damage. After you’ve found one, you can continue the hunt for the Abomination, leading it over to the geyser once activated. Once there, you can intermittently deal large amounts of fire damage with it, while chipping away at the Abomination from afar. It’ll take some time, but this is a very safe strategy. You could also climb up a thin tree or build a tree platform, which will give you an unassailable firing position. Victory over this ominous oak will reward you with Roots, a unique material with a few uses.
Crafting with Roots
Roots can be fashioned into Root armor, providing moderate protection equivalent to Bronze armor. It also carries a resistance to poison and pierce, but carries a weakness to fire. The main draw to Root armor is the generous +15 to bow skill with the full Root set. For Vikings that prefer ranged combat, this is quite the boon during the early game. The three Root armor pieces are:
- Root Mask – Grants 8 armor, resistance to poison, and weakness to fire. Requires 10 Roots, 10 Ancient Bark, and 4 Leather scraps.
- Root Harnesk – Grants 8 armor, resistance to pierce, and weakness to fire. Requires 10 Roots, 10 Ancient Bark, and 2 Deer Hide.
- Root Leggings – Grants 8 armor and weakness to fire. Requires 10 Roots, 10 Ancient Bark, and 2 Deer Hide. Wearing all three will confer the additional +15 bow skill bonus.
Each piece of armor requires some additional Roots and Ancient Bark to upgrade. To build every piece of Root armor and fully upgrade them, you’ll need a total of 66 Roots and 120 Ancient Bark. It’s quite an investment, and will take some time to gather all the materials. You might want to upgrade to iron gear first to make it go quicker. While the Root armor set is not particularly useful now beyond its bow buff, things may very well change in future updates, like the Mistlands or the upcoming changes to the Mountains.
