Valheim combat and magic: blocking, dodging and Eitr

Keep enough stamina to defend after attacking. Face an incoming hit to block it, use a timed block only with equipment that supports parrying, and leave room to dodge. For magic, eat food that supplies Eitr and check the staff's costs before casting. Blood magic can spend health as well as Eitr.

Block, parry or dodge?

To get the timed-block bonus, the hit must arrive less than 0.25 seconds after you start blocking. Holding your shield up early gives an ordinary block. You still need enough stamina and stagger capacity to withstand the hit. Compare quality and Blocking skill in the equipment tool, then inspect the blocking rules.

Dodge protection depends on animation state. Do not treat an entire roll, jump or recovery animation as invulnerable. If you have no movement input while dodging from a block, the character rolls backward relative to their look direction.

Why health food helps with stagger

Your maximum health and stagger factor determine how much stagger you can take. More health can let you withstand a heavier hit. Stagger fades over time, but several hits close together can overwhelm you.

Save stamina for the next block or dodge. One extra swing is rarely worth leaving yourself unable to defend. Use the food planner to compare health, stamina and food duration, and the combat calculator to inspect armor, resistance and stagger separately. For equipment choices, see the weapon and armor guide.

Eitr food and Refined Eitr do different jobs

Casting magic spends Eitr. Eitr food raises your maximum, then contributes less as it wears off. For example, Yggdrasil Porridge provides 80 base Eitr. Compare a full food combination and its age in the planner rather than judging one meal alone.

Refined Eitr is a crafting material made through the Eitr Refinery. Carrying it does not add to your Eitr bar. Follow its acquisition and production links when you need materials for equipment; eat Eitr food when you need to cast.

Eitr regenerates after its spending delay. Attacking and dodging can stop regeneration, while blocking reduces its rate. Equipment and status effects can modify recovery. Use the survival calculator to compare how those conditions affect recovery.

Elemental magic and blood magic

The staff determines the relevant skill and costs. Check the skill and resources each staff uses:

Staff of Protection and Dead Raiser each cost 40% of your current health before skill reduction. The cost uses your health at the time of casting, not your maximum. The relevant weapon skill reduces the attack's Eitr and health cost; world settings can further change Eitr spending. Check the item's primary and secondary attack details rather than assuming that every spell has the same cost.

Healing and meads

Food supports health regeneration, while meads provide their own effects. Minor Healing Mead, Minor Stamina Mead and Minor Eitr Mead restore different resources. Read the effect duration as well as the amount, and move out of danger while recovery takes effect.

If another dose is refused, check your active effects. The game rejects a consumable when its effect, or another effect in the same category, is already active. The minor recovery meads have 120-second effects, which last longer than their resource-restoration period. Switching to a stronger mead in the same category will not bypass an active effect in that category.