Valheim: How To Use The Swamp Key

Valheim Swamp Key is an essential item you’ll discover while playing the sandbox survival video game developed by Iron Gate, and also an item you want to always keep in your inventory as you progress through the game.

Since the Swamp Key in Valheim doesn’t come with too much information provided by developers, you may want to know why it’s so essential to get it and keep it close. As such, below we’ll discuss this topic, and I’ll tell you the purpose of this item and how to use the Swamp Key in Valheim.

Where To Find the Swamp Key In Valheim

Once you defeat the first boss in Valheim by solving the Eikthyr Mystical Altar puzzle, you’ll notice that besides the fact that you’ll get a trophy, you’ll also receive an additional item to progress through the game. Eikthyr, for example, drops a Hard Antler that unlocks the option to mine in Valheim after you use the Antler to craft the Antler Pickaxe.

Eventually, that pickaxe will help you improve your gear by crafting bronze, and this step is mandatory if you want to defeat the second boss, The Elder. To deal with the Elder, you must solve another small puzzle at the Ancient Bowl. This puzzle helps you summon the boss, and once you defeat him, you’ll receive his trophy and a Swamp Key.

So, if you want to know how to get the Swamp Key in Valheim, the long answer is from The Elder or the second boss. You can see the Swamp Key below and its description: Partly covered in caked mud, it smells foetid.

Before we move forward with how to use the Valheim Swamp Key and why it is so important, you may want to know what happens if you misplace it. Or what to do if you lose your Swamp Key, because yes, this can happen by dropping it by mistake.

Although this is not an ideal scenario, you can get another key simply by defeating the Elder again because bosses can be summoned whenever you want; however, this also means that you’ll need 3 Ancient Seeds again.

That’s why you don’t want to misplace this specific key. Good, now we know where to find the key; let’s see why it’s essential for your Viking.

How To Open Crypt Gates

Like the Hard Antler, the Swamp Key lets you get to the next boss after the Elder. This boss, which is the third, is named Bonemass; however, summoning him is a bit trickier. The first thing to do after you get the key is to keep it in your inventory, even though you’ll waste a slot. Next, you’ll want to reach the Swamp Biome. If you don’t have one on your island, you’ll have to build a raft and sail to another island.

And finally, you’ll have to explore the Swamp Biome, looking for Sunken Crypts. As you can see below, the Crypts are easy to identify; however, you need the key if you want to open the Valheim Crypt Gates in the Swamp. The proper way, that is. If you want to enter the Crypts without a key, you can mine your way inside, under the gate.

It’s also worth mentioning that this key can be used unlimited times; however, it is mandatory to have it in your inventory to use it.

Once inside a Sunken Crypt, your main goal is to find a Rune Stone that reveals the location of Bonemass, but you’ll also want to mine the Muddy Scrap Piles to collect 10 Withered Bones required to summon Bonemass.

And that’s it, Viking! Now you know how to use the Swamp Key in Valheim, how to open the Crypt Gates, and why you can’t reach the third boss in the video game without this specific item.