Every Dungeon Type in Valheim: Seven Kinds, and What Each One Is Actually For
Valheim has seven distinct dungeon types, and they are not interchangeable content. Each one is the only reliable source of a specific material, which means skipping a dungeon type does not slow your progress — it stops it. Burial Chambers hold the Surtling cores your first smelter needs. Sunken Crypts hold the iron. And the two Ashlands dungeons hold things nothing else drops at all.
On sourcing. Iron Gate do not publish system documentation. The figures below come from the community wikis and can change with any patch.
The Seven Types
| Dungeon | Biome | Inhabitants |
|---|---|---|
| Burial Chambers | Black Forest | Skeletons, Ghosts |
| Troll Caves | Black Forest | 0 or 1 Troll |
| Sunken Crypts | Swamp | Draugr, Blobs |
| Frost Caves | Mountain | Cultists, Ulvs, Bats, rare Stone Golems |
| Infested Mines | Mistlands | Seekers, Ticks |
| Putrid Holes | Ashlands | One Morgen |
| Charred Fortresses | Ashlands | Charred Warriors, Marksmen, Warlocks |
Two of the seven sit in the Black Forest, which is why that biome takes so long to leave. Burial Chambers are maze-like multi-room dungeons that sometimes change level; Troll Caves are a single large chamber marked by a rock formation with two or three bone piles at the mouth.
Troll Caves have a mechanic worth knowing: a cave holds 0 or 1 Troll, and the Troll does not respawn because it is a single-use spawn point. Clear one and it is permanently safe — which makes an emptied Troll Cave a legitimate storage site or forward base.
Frost Caves are the most varied fight of the seven, mixing Cultists, Ulvs, Bats and occasional Stone Golems, with bats lurking in deep shafts you can fall down.
Infested Mines are found beneath Black marble buildings or inside large stone formations in the Mistlands, and are "typically guarded by multiple Seekers" before you even get in.
What Gates Each One
Most dungeons have no gate at all. Burial Chambers, Troll Caves, Frost Caves, Infested Mines, Putrid Holes and Charred Fortresses are all open the moment you can reach and survive them.
Sunken Crypts are the exception. Their iron gates need the Swamp Key, dropped by The Elder — which means the entire iron tier of the game is locked behind the second boss, and no amount of exploring gets you past it.
The Swamp Key is not consumed on use. One key opens every crypt in the world, forever. Players who hoard it or worry about running out are solving a problem that does not exist.
Crypts generate in clusters of four at random points within a Swamp — so finding one usually means finding several, and a single Swamp expedition can clear a full iron supply rather than one crypt's worth.
Putrid Holes have a soft gate of their own. Each contains one Morgen, which does not respawn once killed. That makes a cleared Putrid Hole permanently safe to re-enter and loot at leisure.
What They Actually Hold
| Dungeon | The reason to go |
|---|---|
| Burial Chambers | Surtling cores — required for the Charcoal Kiln and Smelter |
| Troll Caves | Troll hide, and a permanently safe chamber once cleared |
| Sunken Crypts | Scrap iron — the bulk source for the entire iron tier |
| Frost Caves | Ulv and Cultist drops, and the Fishing Rod in the rare frozen-lake room |
| Infested Mines | Black cores and Mistlands progression |
| Putrid Holes | Up to 14 Molten cores at 25% each — about 3.5 per hole on average |
| Charred Fortresses | Ashlands loot chests, behind 6,000 HP gates |
Burial Chambers are not optional. Surtling cores gate the Charcoal Kiln and the Smelter, which gate every metal in the game. You cannot progress past bronze without clearing them.
The Frost Cave fishing rod is the most missable item in the game. A rare Frost Cave room contains a large frozen lake with a fishing rod at its edge, which also drops 2–4 fishing bait. Since the only other source is Haldor at 350 coins, that room is worth checking every cave for.
Putrid Holes are a Molten core farm, and the maths favours them. "Up to 14 Molten cores with a 25% chance each" averages 3.5 cores per hole, alongside up to 22 Ancient pots at 50% and a long list of Ashlands materials.
Charred Fortresses are a siege, not a dungeon crawl. Their gates have 6,000 HP against walls and spikes at 1,500 and pillars at 1 — so the intended route is not the gate. They also require tool tier 5 to break through properly, which puts them firmly at the end of the progression.
Practical tips
- Seven dungeon types, and each is the main source of one material.
- Burial Chambers hold Surtling cores — you cannot smelt without them.
- Sunken Crypts need the Swamp Key from The Elder, and the key is never consumed.
- Crypts generate in clusters of four — find one, find several.
- Troll Cave Trolls and Putrid Hole Morgens do not respawn.
- The rare Frost Cave frozen-lake room holds a free Fishing Rod plus 2–4 bait.
- Putrid Holes average about 3.5 Molten cores each.
- Charred Fortress gates have 6,000 HP — pillars have 1.
Running your own Valheim server
Dungeons are cleared once and then remembered — a crypt cluster somebody found is a supply route for the whole group, provided the world is still there. A gamever Valheim server keeps that world persistent for up to 10 players, with one-click backups so a mapped Swamp is never re-explored from scratch.
Conclusion
Valheim's seven dungeon types each anchor a step of progression. Burial Chambers (Black Forest) hold the Surtling cores that gate every smelter in the game; Troll Caves hold a single non-respawning Troll and become safe storage once cleared. Sunken Crypts hold the scrap iron for the entire iron tier and are the only gated dungeon — they need the Swamp Key from The Elder, which is never consumed — and they generate in clusters of four. Frost Caves mix Cultists, Ulvs, Bats and Stone Golems, and one rare room holds a free Fishing Rod. Infested Mines sit beneath Mistlands black marble. And the Ashlands pair split the work: Putrid Holes average about 3.5 Molten cores each behind a single non-respawning Morgen, while Charred Fortresses are a siege with 6,000 HP gates.
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