Valheim biome variants

Every world splits its biomes into areas, and some areas become variants with their own creatures, places and plants: Dark Meadows with draugr and double the star chance, Peaceful Meadows without greylings, Goblin Plains full of fulings. The map still shows only the biome’s name, so MaxDPS uses the game’s internal names.

32 variants across 6 biomes and 4 shared
19 change spawns adding or stopping creatures
Up to ×3 stars star chance in 8 variants
From the game files Valheim 1.0.21

How biome variants work

From the game’s AltBiome and SpawnSystem code.

Picked from the world seedEach biome is split into areas. When a world loads, every variant goes through its biome’s areas in an order set by the seed and claims some, so the same seed always gets the same variants. Existing worlds get them too.
Away from the startEach variant has a minimum distance from the world centre, a chance per area, a smallest and largest area it fits, and a least and most number of areas per world.
Spawns in and around itNear a variant’s area its own spawn rules run alongside the biome’s, and the biome spawns it names are stopped. This applies to the ground right at the area’s edge too.
Star chanceA variant can multiply the 10% chance of each extra star for creatures spawned inside it. Two variants on one area multiply together.

All biome variants

What each one changes.

Variant	Biome	Stars	Adds	Stops	Per world
Mushroom	Meadows, Black Forest	—	Mushroom	—	1–3
Lantern	Meadows, Swamp, Mountains, Black Forest, Plains, Deep North, Mistlands	—	Scenery	—	3–5
Bones	Swamp, Plains, Mistlands	—	Rancid Remains	—	1–3
Menhir	Meadows, Plains	—	Skeleton, Skeleton (Mountains)	—	1–3
Dark Meadows	Meadows	×2	Draugr, Draugr Elite, Draugr Village	Abandoned Farm	2–5
Peaceful Meadows	Meadows	—	Boar, Deer	Greyling, Greydwarf, Skeleton, Draugr	1–2
Dandelion Meadows	Meadows	—	Dandelion	—	1–3
Raspberry Meadows	Meadows	—	Raspberries	—	1–3
Smalltree Meadows	Meadows	—	Neck	—	1–3
Birch Meadows	Meadows	—	Deer	—	1–3
Troll Black Forest	Black Forest	—	Troll	—	1–3
Root Black Forest	Black Forest	—	Root, Greydwarf Brute	Skeleton	1–4
Ruin Black Forest	Black Forest	—	Scenery	—	1–5
Rock Black Forest	Black Forest	×2	Scenery	Troll Cave	1–5
Pinetree Black Forest	Black Forest	×2	Scenery	—	1–5
Blueberry Black Forest	Black Forest	—	Blueberries	—	1–5
Hut Swamp	Swamp	—	Abandoned Hut	—	1–3
Bog Swamp	Swamp	—	Abomination	—	1–5
Bat Swamp	Swamp	—	Bat	—	1–3
Abomination Swamp	Swamp	—	Abomination	—	1–3
Wolf Mountain	Mountains	×2	Wolf	Skeleton, Drake	1–5
Drake Mountain	Mountains	×2	Drake	Wolf, Skeleton	1–3
Fortress Mountain	Mountains	×3	Skeleton (Mountains), Stone Golem	—	1–2
Lox Plains	Plains	—	Lox	Fuling, Fuling Outpost, Fuling Village	0–1
Goblin Plains	Plains	×2	Fuling, Abandoned House, Fuling Village	Lox, Deathsquito	0–2
Death Plains	Plains	×2	Deathsquito, Tar Pit	Lox, Fuling, Fuling Outpost, Fuling Village	0–1
Kalhygge Black Forest	Black Forest	—	Scenery	—	1–2
Rockless Mistlands	Mistlands	—	Scenery	—	2–5
Trees Mistlands	Mistlands	—	Scenery	—	1–5
Swords Mistlands	Mistlands	—	Scenery	—	1–3
Hare Mistlands	Mistlands	—	Hare	—	1–3
BroodSwarm Mistlands	Mistlands	—	Seeker Brood	—	1–3

Variants in several biomes

Mushroom

Meadows, Black Forest · 1–3 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 500 m

Pickables: More Mushroom

Lantern

Meadows, Swamp, Mountains, Black Forest, Plains, Deep North, Mistlands · 3–5 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 500 m

Scenery: 1 extra kind of trees, rocks or props

Bones

Swamp, Plains, Mistlands · 1–3 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 2,000 m

Adds: Rancid Remains on Meadows, Swamp, Black Forest, Plains, Mistlands ground, day and night, groups of 1–3, up to 3, 25% every 6 minutes 40 seconds
Scenery: 3 extra kinds of trees, rocks or props

Menhir

Meadows, Plains · 1–3 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 750 m

Adds: Skeleton on Meadows ground, night only, after Bonemass, groups of 1–3, up to 3, 25% every 5 minutes · Skeleton (Mountains) on Plains ground, night only, after Bonemass, groups of 1–3, up to 3, 25% every 5 minutes
Scenery: 1 extra kind of trees, rocks or props

Meadows variants

Meadows guide · normal spawns

Dark Meadows

Meadows · 2–5 areas per world · 50% chance per area · beyond 1,900 m

Stars: ×2 star chance: each extra star is 20% instead of 10%
Adds: Draugr day and night, groups of 1–2, up to 2, 50% every 2 minutes · Draugr Elite on Swamp ground, night only, groups of 1, up to 1, 5% every 5 minutes
More places: Draugr Village
No: Abandoned Farm
Weather: Never clear, light rain or deep forest mist

Peaceful Meadows

Meadows · 1–2 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 1,000 m

Adds: Boar day and night, groups of 4–7, up to 15, 50% every 2 minutes 30 seconds · Deer day and night, groups of 2–4, up to 10, 50% every 1 minute 40 seconds
Stops: Greyling · Greydwarf (one of its spawns) · Skeleton · Draugr from the biome’s normal spawns
Scenery: 1 extra kind of trees, rocks or props

Dandelion Meadows

Meadows · 1–3 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 500 m

Pickables: More Dandelion

Raspberry Meadows

Meadows · 1–3 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 500 m

Pickables: More Raspberries

Smalltree Meadows

Meadows · 1–3 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 500 m

Adds: Neck day and night, groups of 2–4, up to 6, 50% every 1 minute 40 seconds · Neck day and night, in rain, thunderstorm, light rain, groups of 2–4, up to 8, 100% every 30 seconds
Scenery: 5 extra kinds of trees, rocks or props; 3 usual kinds removed

Birch Meadows

Meadows · 1–3 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 500 m

Adds: Deer day and night, groups of 1–3, up to 5, 50% every 1 minute 40 seconds
Scenery: 4 extra kinds of trees, rocks or props; 1 usual kind removed

Black Forest variants

Black Forest guide · normal spawns

Troll Black Forest

Black Forest · 1–3 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 750 m

Adds: Troll day and night, groups of 1, up to 2, 10% every 1 hour 6 minutes

Root Black Forest

Black Forest · 1–4 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 2,000 m

Adds: Root day and night, groups of 1–3, up to 150, 50% every 3 minutes · Greydwarf Brute night only, groups of 1, up to 3, 50.6% every 2 minutes
Stops: Skeleton from the biome’s normal spawns
Scenery: 2 extra kinds of trees, rocks or props

Ruin Black Forest

Black Forest · 1–5 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 500 m

Scenery: 5 extra kinds of trees, rocks or props

Rock Black Forest

Black Forest · 1–5 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 750 m

Stars: ×2 star chance: each extra star is 20% instead of 10%
No: Troll Cave
Scenery: 6 extra kinds of trees, rocks or props; 3 usual kinds removed

Pinetree Black Forest

Black Forest · 1–5 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 750 m

Stars: ×2 star chance: each extra star is 20% instead of 10%
Scenery: 1 extra kind of trees, rocks or props; 3 usual kinds removed

Blueberry Black Forest

Black Forest · 1–5 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 500 m

Pickables: More Blueberries

Kalhygge Black Forest

Black Forest · 1–2 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 500 m

Scenery: 2 extra kinds of trees, rocks or props; 4 usual kinds removed

Swamp variants

Swamp guide · normal spawns

Hut Swamp

Swamp · 1–3 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 1,500 m

More places: Abandoned Hut
Scenery: 4 extra kinds of trees, rocks or props; 2 usual kinds removed

Bog Swamp

Swamp · 1–5 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 1,500 m

Adds: Abomination day and night, groups of 1, up to 3, 20% every 33 minutes 20 seconds
Scenery: 5 extra kinds of trees, rocks or props; 2 usual kinds removed

Bat Swamp

Swamp · 1–3 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 2,000 m

Adds: Bat day and night, groups of 2–3, up to 10, 5% every 1 minute 40 seconds

Abomination Swamp

Swamp · 1–3 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 2,000 m

Adds: Abomination day and night, groups of 1, up to 3, 20% every 33 minutes 20 seconds

Mountains variants

Mountains guide · normal spawns

Wolf Mountain

Mountains · 1–5 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 2,000 m

Stars: ×2 star chance: each extra star is 20% instead of 10%
Adds: Wolf day and night, groups of 2–4, up to 8, 50% every 2 minutes
Stops: Skeleton · Drake from the biome’s normal spawns
Scenery: 1 extra kind of trees, rocks or props; 2 usual kinds removed

Drake Mountain

Mountains · 1–3 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 2,000 m

Stars: ×2 star chance: each extra star is 20% instead of 10%
Adds: Drake day and night, groups of 1–2, up to 4, 25.6% every 2 minutes
Stops: Wolf · Skeleton from the biome’s normal spawns
Scenery: 1 extra kind of trees, rocks or props; 1 usual kind removed

Fortress Mountain

Mountains · 1–2 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 2,000 m

Stars: ×3 star chance: each extra star is 30% instead of 10%
Adds: Skeleton (Mountains) day and night, groups of 3–6, up to 10, 25% every 5 minutes · Stone Golem day and night, groups of 1–2, up to 1, 25.6% every 2 minutes
Scenery: 3 extra kinds of trees, rocks or props; 1 usual kind removed

Plains variants

Plains guide · normal spawns

Lox Plains

Plains · 0–1 area per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 2,000 m

Adds: Lox day and night, groups of 3–5, up to 15, 10% every 16 minutes 40 seconds
Stops: Fuling from the biome’s normal spawns
No: Fuling Outpost, Fuling Village
Scenery: 1 usual kind removed

Goblin Plains

Plains · 0–2 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 2,000 m

Stars: ×2 star chance: each extra star is 20% instead of 10%
Adds: Fuling day and night, groups of 5–7, up to 5, 33% every 1 minute
Stops: Lox · Deathsquito from the biome’s normal spawns
More places: Abandoned House, Fuling Village

Death Plains

Plains · 0–1 area per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 1,000 m

Stars: ×2 star chance: each extra star is 20% instead of 10%
Adds: Deathsquito day and night, groups of 1–3, up to 5, 20% every 8 minutes 20 seconds
Stops: Lox · Fuling from the biome’s normal spawns
More places: Tar Pit
No: Fuling Outpost, Fuling Village
Scenery: 2 usual kinds removed

Mistlands variants

Mistlands guide · normal spawns

Rockless Mistlands

Mistlands · 2–5 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 2,000 m

Scenery: 4 extra kinds of trees, rocks or props; 3 usual kinds removed

Trees Mistlands

Mistlands · 1–5 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 2,000 m

Scenery: 3 extra kinds of trees, rocks or props

Swords Mistlands

Mistlands · 1–3 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 2,000 m

Scenery: 4 extra kinds of trees, rocks or props

Hare Mistlands

Mistlands · 1–3 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 2,000 m

Adds: Hare day and night, groups of 1–3, up to 20, 50% every 1 minute 40 seconds

BroodSwarm Mistlands

Mistlands · 1–3 areas per world · 20% chance per area · beyond 2,000 m

Adds: Seeker Brood night only, groups of 5–10, up to 100, 40% every 50 minutes

Questions

What are biome variants in Valheim?

Areas of a biome that the world turns into a variant when it loads. A variant can add creatures, stop others, raise the star chance and add or remove places, plants and weather. There are 32 in the game files.

What is Dark Meadows in Valheim?

A Meadows variant at least 1,900 m from the world centre. Draugr and Draugr Elite spawn there, stars are ×2 as likely, and it has Draugr Village. It is never clear, light rain or deep forest mist.

Why are there no greylings in part of my Meadows?

It is probably Peaceful Meadows. It stops Greyling, Greydwarf (one of its spawns), Skeleton and Draugr from spawning and adds bigger herds of Boar and Deer.

Do biome variants show on the map?

No. None of them sets a name, so the map shows the plain biome name.

Which biome variants have more starred creatures?

Dark Meadows (×2), Rock Black Forest (×2), Pinetree Black Forest (×2), Wolf Mountain (×2), Drake Mountain (×2), Fortress Mountain (×3), Goblin Plains (×2), Death Plains (×2).

Variants, their spawns, places, plants and weather come from the AltBiomeList in game build 26249040; placement, spawn blocking and star chances from the game code (AltBiomeWorldData, BiomeSector, SpawnSystem). Names are the game’s internal ones.