If you’ve taken out the second Valheim boss, you should now have a Swamp Key you’re likely wondering what to do with. While the item description doesn’t quite tell you much, the name hints that you’ll use it in the Swamp biome. Our in-depth guide about what to do after The Elder boss discusses it here. Otherwise, continue reading below for a quick answer.
What to Do With the Swamp Key in Valheim
Once you’ve found a Swamp biome in your Valheim world, you’ll start finding Sunken Crypt dungeons as shown in the above screenshot. These are similar to Burial Crypts from the Black Forest, but they have a few differences. Unlike the Burial Crypts, you can’t enter them unless you have a Swamp Key from killing The Elder boss. Fortunately, the Swamp Key isn’t consumable which means you can use it multiple times without losing it.
Before you start exploring Sunken Crypts, make sure you have a pickaxe with you. Most of the hallways through the dungeon are blocked by Muddy Scrap Piles. The only way through is by breaking them with a pickaxe. This is also how you get access to Iron in Valheim. Once you get enough Scrap Iron from a pile, you can smelt it into Iron Bars.
If this is your first time exploring the Swamp as it likely is, be prepared for all sorts of tough new enemies. Whether it’s the undead Draugrs or fireball hurling Surtlings. As previously mentioned in this article, our guide on what to do after The Elder prepares you for what to expect. Such as how to fight each new enemy, tips for the next boss, and more.
For more Valheim guides, head over to our guide hub here to see everything we’ve written. And if you have a question not answered in this guide, feel free to comment below the article asking for help. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Jeff is a journalist with over 10 years of experience writing, streaming, and making content about video games. With an associate degree in journalism, he’s a sucker for RPGs, survival games, roguelikes, and more.