Valheim's eight bosses — the Forsaken — each grant a permanent, reusable buff called a Forsaken Power, and picking the right one is one of the highest-leverage decisions in the game. This tier list ranks all eight powers for Valheim 1.0.15 (patch released 2026-09-18), from the ones you'll swap to constantly to the ones you'll almost never touch, and gives you an exact "which power for which job" table so you stop guessing at the Sacrificial Stones.
Quick answer: For general play, Eikthyr (−60% run/jump/swim stamina) and Moder (sailing tailwind + carry weight + move speed) are the two you'll live in — Eikthyr for on-foot exploration and combat mobility, Moder for hauling ore and crossing the map. Bonemass (−25% physical damage taken) is the best pure-combat and boss-fight pick. The rest are situational. Every power lasts 5 minutes and they all share a single 20-minute cooldown, so you're not juggling them mid-fight — you commit to one.
Key Takeaways
- All eight powers last 5 minutes (300 seconds) and share one 20-minute cooldown — you cannot chain them, and swapping your active power at the Sacrificial Stones does not reset the timer.
- Eikthyr and Moder are S-tier for uptime — the stamina and mobility they give apply to what you do 90% of a playthrough: moving.
- Bonemass is the boss-killer — −25% physical damage taken plus free blocking is the single best survivability window in the game.
- The power affects nearby allies too, and activating it locks you in a short animation — never pop it mid-dodge.
- Deep North's final boss, Kall Fimbulbringer, does not grant a combat buff — it drops Sacrificial Blood to complete the story, so there is no "9th power" to chase.
How Forsaken Powers work (the mechanics most guides skip)
You claim a Forsaken Power by mounting a boss's trophy on the Sacrificial Stones at your world's starting spawn. Only one power is active at a time; you switch by interacting with the stones and selecting a different mounted trophy. Activating the power (default hotkey F) triggers a short animation that locks you in place for a couple of seconds — you can't move or attack during it, though you can equip or swap gear — so pop it before an engagement, never in the middle of a dodge roll.
Three rules decide everything about how you use powers, and they're verified against the Valheim Wiki's Forsaken power page (valid for patch 1.0.15):
- Duration: 5 minutes (300s), every power, no exceptions.
- Cooldown: 20 minutes, shared across all powers. The timer does not reset when you log off, sleep, or switch your active power. So there is no clever "swap to Moder to sail, then swap to Eikthyr to run" — you get one activation every 20 minutes.
- Powers buff you and nearby allies. In co-op, one player popping Bonemass shields the whole squad.
That shared cooldown is why the ranking below weights uptime value so heavily. A power you'd want active constantly (mobility) beats a power that only matters in a 3-minute burst you can't always time (a specific boss fight).
Each power also carries an in-game flavor line that tells you what it's for. Moder's, for example, reads: "The dragon's wings urge you on. You shall always have tailwind while sailing, and you shall swiftly carry heavy burdens, even over the coldest mountains." — which is a plain-language summary of tailwind + carry weight + frost resist. The Elder's is "The power of the forest invigorates you. You shall gather its bounties faster, just as you shall regain your own vitality should you lose it," i.e. the harvesting-and-regen buff. When you're unsure what a mounted trophy grants, read its line at the Sacrificial Stones before committing.
Valheim Forsaken Power tier list (patch 1.0.15)
| Tier | Power | Boss / Biome | Effect | Why it ranks here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | Eikthyr's Power | Eikthyr / Meadows | −60% stamina for run, jump, swim | Applies to the thing you do most: move. Turns Mistlands' vertical terrain and long overland treks from a stamina grind into a jog. |
| S | Moder's Power | Moder / Mountain | Constant sailing tailwind, +300 carry weight, +10% move speed, −50% frost | The exploration and logistics king — cross the ocean fast, haul a full load of ore home, and shrug off Mountain frost. |
| A | Bonemass's Power | Bonemass / Swamp | −25% pierce/slash/blunt damage taken, −100% block stamina cost, +5 stamina per block | The best defensive window in the game. Trivializes melee boss phases and lets a shield user block forever. |
| B | Yagluth's Power | Yagluth / Plains | −50% lightning damage, +25 Farming skill, +10% damage | The +10% damage is a fine offensive option for boss DPS; the lightning resist matters against Mistlands Seekers and storms. |
| B | The Queen's Power | The Queen / Mistlands | +100% Eitr regeneration, −100% sneak stamina, −50% poison | Essential if you play a mage — doubling Eitr regen is huge for spellcasting. Dead weight if you don't. |
| B | Fader's Power | Fader / Ashlands | +100% Adrenaline gain, −50% stagger meter, −50% fire | Strong for the reworked Call to Arms combat if you fight aggressively; the Adrenaline gain feeds your Trinket surge. |
| C | The Elder's Power | The Elder / Black Forest | +60% chop & pickaxe damage, +30% health regen | Great during a big harvesting session, niche otherwise — you'll pop it to clear a forest or mine a copper deposit, then swap off. |
| C | Moder (as a combat pick) | — | — | Listed once at S for exploration; do not expect it to help in a fight. |
Note on Deep North: the eighth and final Forsaken, Kall Fimbulbringer, is different — beating it drops Sacrificial Blood that you return to the Sacrificial Stones to complete Valheim's story. It is an endgame capstone, not a ninth combat buff, so there's no new power to slot after it.
Which Forsaken Power should you use? (decision table)
| Your goal right now | Use this power | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Exploring on foot / mapping new land | Eikthyr | −60% run/jump/swim stamina means near-endless sprinting and climbing. |
| Sailing to find new islands | Moder | Constant tailwind cuts crossing time dramatically. |
| Hauling ore or heavy loot home | Moder | +300 carry weight stacks with the Megingjord belt so you're not overburdened. |
| A melee boss fight | Bonemass | −25% physical damage + free blocking is the biggest survivability swing. |
| Casting spells (Eitr build) | The Queen | +100% Eitr regen keeps your staves firing. |
| Grinding wood / mining a deposit | The Elder | +60% chop & pickaxe damage clears it in far fewer hits. |
| Fighting in the Mountain biome | Moder | −50% frost resist replaces frost-resistance mead for the window. |
| Aggressive Ashlands/Deep North melee | Fader | +100% Adrenaline feeds the Call to Arms surge system. |
The real-world way players use this, from the Valheim community: most keep Eikthyr or Moder slotted by default and only swap to Bonemass before a boss or a dangerous dive. As one r/valheim explorer put it, they run deer power roughly 90% of the time and only switch to the dragon when they're specifically hunting for new islands by sea. Another summed up the modern meta cleanly — Eikthyr for jump-heavy zones like Mistlands, then swap to Moder for Ashlands and the Deep North because the flat +10% run speed wins on open ground.
The two exploration powers, head to head
Because "Eikthyr or Moder for exploring?" is the most-argued Forsaken question, here's the clean split:
Eikthyr cuts stamina cost. You can sprint, jump, and swim almost indefinitely. That's decisive in vertical, obstacle-dense terrain — Mistlands, mountainsides, anywhere you're constantly climbing and hopping. It does nothing for your top speed; it just lets you keep moving without gassing out.
Moder raises movement speed by a flat 10% and lets you carry 300 extra weight without the overburdened slow — plus the sailing tailwind. On flat open ground (Plains, Ashlands, Deep North) and on the water, that 10% and the tailwind win. The catch: when Moder's power expires you can be instantly overburdened if you filled your inventory to its buffed cap, so don't loot to the brim while relying on it.
Rule of thumb: jump-heavy or stamina-heavy terrain → Eikthyr. Flat ground, sailing, or hauling → Moder. Stack either with the Fenris armor set and a stamina/speed mead for genuinely absurd travel speed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do Valheim Forsaken Powers last? Every Forsaken Power lasts exactly 5 minutes (300 seconds) in patch 1.0.15, and there is a 20-minute cooldown shared across all of them. Switching which power is active does not reset the cooldown, so you effectively get one activation every 20 minutes.
Can you have more than one Forsaken Power active at once? No. Only one power can be active at a time. You mount all the boss trophies on the Sacrificial Stones, but you select a single power to carry, and swapping it does not let you stack effects or dodge the shared cooldown.
What is the best Forsaken Power in Valheim? For general play, Eikthyr (stamina) and Moder (mobility, carry weight, sailing) give the most value because they help with movement, which is what you do most. Bonemass is the best power for boss fights and dangerous melee thanks to −25% physical damage taken.
Do Forsaken Powers work in multiplayer? Yes — activating a power buffs you and nearby allies, so in co-op a single Bonemass activation can protect your whole group during a boss phase.
Does the Deep North boss give a new power? No. Kall Fimbulbringer, the eighth and final Forsaken added in Valheim 1.0, drops Sacrificial Blood used to complete the game's story at the Sacrificial Stones — it is a story capstone, not a ninth combat buff.
Where do you activate and switch Forsaken Powers? You claim and switch powers at the Sacrificial Stones at your world's original spawn point, by mounting a boss's trophy. Then activate the equipped power in the field with the default F key — but note it locks you in a short animation, so trigger it before combat, not during it.
More Valheim guides
Want to go deeper on Valheim's endgame and progression? These guides pair directly with your Forsaken Power choices:
- Valheim Boss Order: All Bosses and How to Beat Them
- Valheim Kall Fimbulbringer: Final Boss Guide
- Valheim Weapon Tier List: Best Weapons
- Valheim Deep North Guide: How to Survive
Verified against the Valheim Wiki (Forsaken power page) and Iron Gate's official patch notes at valheimgame.com. Power effects are current for patch 1.0.15 (2026-09-18). Valheim is developed by Iron Gate AB and published by Coffee Stain Publishing.
