The Three Greydwarves in Valheim: 40, 60 and 150 Health, and All Three Burn
The Black Forest throws three different Greydwarves at you and most players never separate them properly. They run 40, 60 and 150 health, they do completely different jobs in a patrol, and all three are very weak to fire — which makes a single Fire Arrow or a well-placed campfire the answer to the entire family.
On sourcing. Iron Gate do not publish system documentation. The figures below come from the community wikis and can change with any patch.
All Three, Side by Side
| Greydwarf | Greydwarf Shaman | Greydwarf Brute | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health 0★ / 1★ / 2★ | 40 / 80 / 120 | 60 / 120 / 180 | 150 / 300 / 450 |
| Very weak to | Fire | Fire | Fire |
| Resistant to | Poison | Poison | Poison |
| Immune to | Spirit | Spirit | Spirit |
| Stagger threshold | 30% | 33% | 50% |
| Main attack | 14 Slash (2s) | 30 Poison (8s) | 30 Slash (2s) |
The uniformity is the useful part. Every Greydwarf variant is very weak to Fire, resistant to Poison and immune to Spirit, so there is exactly one loadout decision to make and it covers the whole Black Forest. Poison — including the Poison Arrows you might be carrying — is the worst possible choice against all three.
The Basic Greydwarf
40 health, two attacks: a melee Attack for 14 Slash every 2 seconds, and a Throw for 10 Blunt every 8 seconds. The throw is what catches people who assume it is a pure melee enemy; a Greydwarf on a ledge above you is a ranged attacker.
Its drops are the reason the Black Forest is worth farming at all:
| Drop | 0★ | 1★ | 2★ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greydwarf eye | 50% | 2 | 4 |
| Resin | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Stone | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Wood | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Greydwarf trophy | 5% | 5% | 5% |
Note the pattern: Resin, Stone and Wood are guaranteed at 1, 2 and 4 across the star tiers, while the eye is only 50% at zero stars and becomes guaranteed at 2 and 4 from one and two stars. Starred Greydwarves are worth killing specifically for eyes.
The Shaman
60 health, and it is a support unit rather than a fighter:
| Ability | Effect | Cooldown |
|---|---|---|
| Magic attack | 30 Poison | 8s |
| Attack | 14 Slash | 2s |
| Heal | 20 Health over 4 seconds | 10s |
The heal is the whole point. A Shaman in a patrol restores 20 health over four seconds to nearby Greydwarves on a 10-second cooldown, which means a group with a Shaman in it heals faster than a new player kills. Every Black Forest fight that felt like it went on forever had a Shaman in the back.
Kill the Shaman first. At 60 health it dies to almost anything, and its death converts an attrition fight into a normal one. It is also the only Greydwarf with a ranged poison attack — 30 Poison at 8-second intervals — so leaving it alive costs you health as well as time.
Its drop list is different from the others: Greydwarf eye, Resin, Wood, Bukeperries and a trophy. The Bukeperries are the notable entry; the Shaman is a source of them.
The Brute
150 health at zero stars, up to 450 at two stars, with a single Attack for 30 Slash every 2 seconds. No ranged option, no support role — it walks at you and hits twice as hard as a Greydwarf.
The 50% stagger threshold is the highest of the three, meaning you need to land damage equal to half its health before it staggers. At 150 health that is 75 damage, and at 2★ it is 225 — which is why the Brute is the one that feels unstaggerable in a bad fight.
The Brute's drop list contains the item that gates your first boss progression:
| Drop | 0★ | 1★ | 2★ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ancient seed | 33% | 2 (66%) | 4 |
| Dandelion, Greydwarf eye, Stone, Wood | — | — | — |
| Greydwarf Brute trophy | — | — | — |
Ancient seeds summon The Elder, and at zero stars a Brute drops one only 33% of the time. That is the arithmetic behind the usual advice to clear Burial Chambers for seeds instead — but a 1★ Brute drops 2 at 66% and a 2★ drops 4, so a starred Brute is a far better seed source than the base one.
Fighting the Family
- Bring fire. All three are very weak to it. Fire Arrows, a Surtling core torch, or simply fighting near a campfire all exploit the same weakness.
- Never bring poison. All three are resistant, and the Shaman deals it back at you.
- Kill the Shaman first, always. 60 health, and it heals 20 over 4 seconds on a 10-second cycle.
- Respect the Greydwarf throw. 10 Blunt at 8-second intervals from range is not much, but it means high ground does not make you safe.
- Expect the Brute to eat your stagger attempts. 50% of 150 at zero stars, 50% of 450 at two.
- Farm starred Greydwarves for eyes. The eye goes from a 50% chance to a guaranteed 2 at one star.
Running your own Valheim server
The Black Forest is where a group first splits up — one player clearing crypts, another farming eyes — and that only works in a world that stays up between sessions. A gamever Valheim server keeps that world persistent for up to 10 players, with one-click backups.
Conclusion
Valheim's three Greydwarf variants run 40, 60 and 150 health at zero stars, scaling to 120, 180 and 450 at two, and every one of them is very weak to Fire, resistant to Poison and immune to Spirit — so a single loadout answers the whole Black Forest and Poison Arrows are the worst possible choice. The basic Greydwarf attacks for 14 Slash and throws for 10 Blunt, dropping guaranteed Resin, Stone and Wood while the eye is only a 50% chance at zero stars. The Shaman is the priority target at just 60 health: it heals nearby Greydwarves 20 health over 4 seconds on a 10-second cooldown and fires 30 Poison at range, which is why groups containing one feel unkillable. The Brute hits for 30 Slash every 2 seconds and carries the highest stagger threshold at 50%, and it is the walking source of Ancient seeds — 33% at zero stars, 2 at 66% with one star, 4 with two, which makes starred Brutes a genuinely better route to The Elder than base ones.
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