Valheim: How the Forge of Potential Works

Valheim 1.0 brought a ton of brand-new additions to the game, not just for the end game, but for the early and mid game as well. One thing you may have already discovered if you’ve made it into the Mountains is the brand-new Forge of Potential, which was added with the Deep North. This forge is an incredible addition that lets you push your equipment far beyond its normal limits, though it comes with a pretty big risk.

Finding the Forge of Potential

First things first, the Forge of Potential is a rare, unmovable altar that can only spawn in the Mountain biome, typically somewhere around the highest peak. Much like Haldor or the Bog Witch, only one Forge of Potential can exist in your world. Once you discover it, or simply get close enough to it, a special icon will appear on your map.

It is possible to discover the Forge before you’re even remotely ready to venture into the Mountains. So, if you happen to stumble across it early, consider yourself extremely lucky.

Using the Forge

The Forge of Potential allows you to push your equipment beyond the normal upgrade limit of Level 4, but there’s a pretty big catch. Every time you attempt an upgrade, there is a chance that the Forge will backfire, potentially downgrading your equipment or even destroying it completely.

Before we can actually use the Forge, we’ll need to gather some Idols. You’ve likely already come across some of these brand-new items while exploring Valheim. There are currently two types you’ll want to look out for: the Battle Idol and the Protection Idol.

You can find these Idols in a variety of locations, including hidden treasure in the Meadows, chests inside shacks, Troll Caves, and more. Depending on where you find them, Idols can also come in a wide range of rarities, starting with Wood and Copper and eventually going up to Iron and beyond.

Once you’ve got some Idols, you can finally put the Forge to work. Battle Idols are used to upgrade weapons, while Protection Idols are used to upgrade armor and shields.

Let’s Go Gambling

So far, the community has figured out a rough breakdown of what can happen:

• 65% chance your item successfully upgrades once.
• 25% chance your equipment survives but gets downgraded.
• 10% chance the Forge completely destroys your item.

If you’re extremely lucky, you can push an item all the way up to around +24. On top of that, every upgraded item gets a unique glow that slowly changes color depending on how far you’ve upgraded it. Early upgrades give your gear a red or orange glow, while higher-level upgrades eventually turn the item into a glowing green powerhouse.

For most weapons and armor, these upgrades simply increase their stats, armor rating, and durability. However, there are a handful of weapons that gain some pretty unique benefits from getting additional upgrades.

Easily, one of the biggest examples is the Dead Raiser. Every additional upgrade you put into the Dead Raiser allows you to spawn another skeleton. So, if you’re lucky enough to push this weapon to some of the higher upgrade levels, you can end up running around with an entire army of skeletons at your command.