Applies to Valheim 1.0, patch 1.0.21 (released on Steam October 28, 2026). Raid triggers and spawn data come from the community Valheim Wiki. Server flags come from Iron Gate's dedicated server guide. The time estimates are our own arithmetic from those figures.
Valheim has 21 random raids, and a boss kill can both start and stop them. Kill Bonemass and the Draugr raid ends for good, but Drakes, Ghosts, Blobs and Skeletons start showing up. So the useful questions are why a raid appeared, why it stopped, and why a new base has gone quiet.
This guide covers all of that. It lists every raid by boss, shows what each base biome can still get at the end of the game, and walks through the settings that reduce raids or switch them off.
Quick answer: Every 46 minutes, Valheim has a 20% chance of starting a raid, so expect one about every 3 hours 50 minutes of qualifying play. A raid needs a player within 40 m of 3 base structures, outside a dungeon, in a biome that raid allows. Only "You are being hunted..." skips the base check. Your boss kills decide which raids are possible. To stop raids completely, set Raid Rate to None in World Modifiers, or use -modifier raids none on a dedicated server.
How do raids work in Valheim?
The check is simple, and each rule explains a common complaint.
- The timer rolls. At the default setting, the game rolls a 20% chance every 46 minutes.
- The game looks for an eligible player. That player must be in the right biome, outside a dungeon, and within 40 m of at least 3 player base structures. The check uses the exact biome at your feet, not the name on your small minimap.
- It picks one possible raid at random. Your world's kill history decides the pool.
- Enemies spawn 40 to 80 m from the chosen player. They spawn in hunt mode, so they already know where players are within 200 m.
A "base" is any 3 player-base pieces. A bed, a portal and a Workbench in a small outpost hut qualify, so a raid can start there too. So can 3 torches on a beach.
The red circle on your map has a 64 m radius, but the real event area is 96 m. Most raids only count down while a player is inside that area. If you portal out, the timer pauses and the raid waits for you. The hunt raid is the exception, and its timer keeps running.
What are all the raids in Valheim?
These are the 21 random raids on a default, world-based game. Wherever the table lists two requirements, both must be met on that world.
Boss raids that end
Each of these has a fixed start and end point. You stop one by killing the boss in the "Ends after" column.
| Message on screen | Enemies | Starts after | Ends after | Seconds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eikthyr rallies the creatures of the forest. | Boars, Necks | World start | Eikthyr | 90 |
| The forest is moving... | Greydwarfs, Brutes, Shamans | Eikthyr | The Elder | 120 |
| A foul smell from the swamp... | Draugr, Skeletons | The Elder | Bonemass | 150 |
| A cold wind blows from the mountains. | Drakes, plus Freezing | Bonemass | Moder | 150 |
| The horde is attacking! | Fulings, Berserkers, Shamans | Moder | Yagluth | 120 |
| What's up, Gjall?! | Gjall, Ticks | Yagluth | The Queen | 90 |
| They sought you out. | Seekers, Seeker Broods | Yagluth | The Queen | 90 |
| The undead army marches. | Charred Twitchers, Marksmen, Warriors | The Queen | Fader | 90 |
| The dead have been summoned. | Monuments of Torment, Twitchers | The Queen | Fader | 90 |
| The Jotun have found you. | Krigens, Elakings | A Krigen or Hexen kill | Kall Fimbulbringer | 90 |
| They emerge from below... | Elakings, Eyeless Ones | An Eyeless One kill | Kall Fimbulbringer | 90 |
Monuments of Torment stay in the world after the raid ends, so break them or they'll keep spawning Charred near your base.
Raids that never end
Once unlocked, these stay in the pool for the rest of the world.
| Message on screen | Enemies | Starts after | Seconds |
|---|---|---|---|
| The ground is shaking. | Trolls | The Elder + a Troll has died | 80 |
| A foul smell from the swamp... | Blobs, Oozers | Bonemass | 120 |
| You feel a chill down your spine... | Ghosts, Wraiths | Bonemass | 150 |
| A skeleton surprise! | Skeletons, Rancid Remains | Bonemass | 120 |
| You are being hunted... | Wolves | Bonemass | 120 |
| There's a smell of sulfur in the air... | Surtlings | Bonemass + a Surtling has died | 120 |
| You stirred the cauldron. | Bats | Bonemass + a Bat has died | 120 |
| She's hot on your tail! | Brenna, Skeletons, Rancid Remains | Brass Chest returned to Hildir | 90 |
| You get the chills... | Geirrhafa, Fenrings, Cultists | Silver Chest returned to Hildir | 90 |
| They were bros, man. | Zil & Thungr, Fulings, Berserkers | Bronze Chest returned to Hildir | 90 |
Two details trip people up. "A foul smell from the swamp..." is the message for two different raids, so check the enemies. And "a Troll has died" means any cause, because the game doesn't track who made the kill. A Lox can unlock Trolls for you by killing one.
The Jotun Invasion isn't on this list because you start it yourself by destroying Malicious Ice in Mörkhalla. It's part of the path to Kall Fimbulbringer and has no timer.
Why does a raid stop after you beat a boss?
That's how the event list is built. Each army raid runs from one boss kill to the next, so it covers a single stretch of progression. A recent r/valheim thread asked why early raids don't simply stay active at a low rate. Iron Gate hasn't explained the choice in any patch note we could find.
This has one practical use. If a raid type is ruining your base, killing the next boss removes it. Drakes wrecking your roof? Kill Moder and that raid is gone. The trade is a new raid, because Moder's kill brings the Fuling horde.
Which raids can each biome get at the end of the game?
This is the table to use when you choose a final base. It assumes all bosses are dead, so the raid pool is at its smallest, and that you've met every unlock in the "never end" table.
| Base biome | Raids still possible | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Meadows | Trolls, Blobs, Ghosts, Skeletons, Surtlings, Bats | 6 |
| Black Forest | Trolls, Blobs, Ghosts, Skeletons, Surtlings, Bats | 6 |
| Swamp | Trolls, Blobs, Ghosts, Skeletons, Surtlings, Bats | 6 |
| Plains | Trolls, Blobs, Ghosts, Skeletons, Surtlings, Wolves, Bats | 7 |
| Mountain | Ghosts, Skeletons, Wolves, Bats | 4 |
| Mistlands | Skeletons, Bats | 2 |
| Ashlands | Bats | 1 |
| Deep North | Bats | 1 |
Add the 3 Hildir raids to any row if you've returned her chests. They can fire in any biome.
Before the late bosses die, the picture changes. Ashlands and Deep North bases can get Seekers until The Queen is dead and Charred until Fader is dead. The Deep North can also get both Jotun raids until Kall falls. Our Deep North enemies guide covers how to fight them.
How do you stop raids in Valheim?
There are four options, from a full off switch to base design.
1. Change the Raid Rate. Open World Modifiers from the world screen and move the Raid Rate slider. On a dedicated server, add this to your launch options, as covered in our dedicated server guide:
-modifier raids none
Valid values are none, muchless, less, more and muchmore. If you also use -preset, set the modifier after it, because a preset overwrites earlier modifiers. Raid Rate changes both the timer and the chance:
| Raid Rate | Roll every | Chance | Average gap between raids |
|---|---|---|---|
| None | Never | 0% | No raids |
| Much less | 92 min | 10% | 15 h 20 min |
| Less | 69 min | 13.33% | 8 h 38 min |
| Normal | 46 min | 20% | 3 h 50 min |
| More | 27.6 min | 33.33% | 1 h 23 min |
| Much more | 13.8 min | 66.67% | 21 min |
Setting it to None doesn't make your base safe. The wiki's World Modifiers page notes that night spawns continue.
2. Turn on Player based raids. This helps groups with mixed progress. Raids then follow each player's own Forsaken Powers and items instead of the world's kills. On a server, use -setkey playerevents. The unlocks differ slightly: an Elder Trophy or Swamp Key enables Trolls even if no Troll has died, and Ghosts stop once you have Moder's power, a Dragon Tear or her trophy.
3. Fill the spawn zone with base pieces. Player base structures block creature spawns, raids included. The wiki says it directly: "Large coverage of base structures may completely prevent enemy spawning." Since raids spawn 40 to 80 m out, you need coverage in that ring, not just around your hall.
- Standing Wood Torch gives 20 m and is the cheap choice for large areas. It still works unlit.
- Campfire gives 25 m. Enemies don't attack it on sight, and you can hide it under leveled ground.
- Hearth or Bonfire gives 30 m.
- Workbench gives 20 m, plus 4 m per upgrade. It shows its radius, which helps you spot gaps. Stations briefly drop to 20 m when the zone reloads, so spawns can still slip through.
- Artisan Table gives 40 m.
Patch 1.0.14 helped too: "PlayerBase effect on some build pieces has been increased to block enemies more." Our Valheim building guide lists the wider layout rules.
4. Stay away or go underground. Raids won't trigger for players in dungeons, and most need a base within 40 m. If you're rebuilding and don't want a raid on a half-finished wall, do your mining and exploring first. In an emergency, an admin can end a raid with the stopevent console command. Treat that as a server tool, since using devcommands blocks achievements unless you opt back in.
Why are raids not happening in your world?
Bad luck is the most likely cause. At normal settings there's a 33% chance of no raid in 4 hours and an 11% chance over 8 hours, because each 46-minute roll fails 80% of the time. If it's been longer than that, check these:
- You're not near your base. Exploring doesn't count, because you need 3 structures within 40 m.
- Your biome has few options. A cleared Ashlands base may only qualify for Bats, and only after a Bat has died.
- Your Raid Rate is low or off. Check World Modifiers, especially on a rented server.
- Spawns are blocked. If your coverage reaches 80 m, the message can play with no enemies. That's the base doing its job.
- You're underground. Raids won't trigger for players in dungeons.
Too many enemies was a separate problem, and a real bug. Patch 1.0.16 fixed it: "Fixed a bug that could cause way too many enemies to spawn, especially during raids." If you remember raids being worse around launch, that's likely why.
How do you survive a raid at your base?
Random raids run for 80 to 150 seconds with a player in the area, so you don't have to win. You have to keep the damage down until the timer runs out.
- Dig a moat. It stops ground enemies, as our building guide explains, but Drakes, Ghosts, Wraiths and Bats fly over it.
- Stay inside the 96 m area. Standing far away pauses the raid and leaves it waiting.
- Roof your pens. The wiki warns that tames can die quickly in raids, and Bats are the worst case for boars in open pens. Our taming guide covers breeding replacements.
- Close the doors for Blobs. The Blob and Oozer raid can't damage structures, so shut yourself in if you're not ready for it.
- Keep an eye on Monuments of Torment. Destroy them after a Charred raid.
- In multiplayer, stay together. The timer runs if any player is in the area, but enemies only spawn when the zone owner is there.
Late raids can also pay off. One r/valheim player's advice in that same thread was to "See raids as a resource delivery service," and they named Zil & Thungr's black metal as the reason. That's fair once your base can take the hit.
FAQ
How often do raids happen in Valheim? At default settings, the game rolls a 20% chance every 46 minutes. That averages one raid every 3 hours 50 minutes of time near a base. You can go much longer on bad rolls.
Can you turn off raids in Valheim? Yes. Set Raid Rate to None in World Modifiers, or add -modifier raids none to a dedicated server's launch options. Night spawns still happen.
Do raids happen when you're away from your base? Not normally. Most raids need a player within 40 m of 3 base structures, so nothing starts while everyone is out exploring. The wolf raid, "You are being hunted...", can start in the Mountain or Plains with no base nearby.
Does a Ward stop raids in Valheim? No. A Ward only blocks other players, though it does give 20 m of player base and shows a pulsing dome when enemies attack your buildings.
Do raids stop after you kill all the bosses? Only the boss raids. Trolls, Blobs, Ghosts, Skeletons, Wolves, Surtlings, Bats and the Hildir raids stay in the pool, subject to biome.
What triggers the "ground is shaking" raid? Trolls. It unlocks once The Elder is dead and a Troll has died on your world, and it can fire in the Meadows, Black Forest, Swamp or Plains.
Treat raids as a schedule you can read. Check which bosses you've killed, match that against your base biome, then choose your Raid Rate and spawn coverage to suit. You'll spend less time repairing walls and more time getting ready for the next biome.
More Valheim guides? Keep your run moving with our biome and boss coverage.
- Valheim boss order: all bosses and how to beat them
- Valheim building guide: base building tips
- Valheim Deep North enemies guide
- Valheim patch notes
Raid data comes from the Valheim Wiki's Events, Player base, World Modifiers and Global Keys pages, checked against Iron Gate's dedicated server guide and Patch 1.0.21 notes for Valheim 1.0.21 (2026-10-28). Average gaps and no-raid odds are our own arithmetic from those figures.
