Conquering Bonemass: The Ultimate Gear Guide
The grotesque, swamp-dwelling boss Bonemass presents a significant challenge in Valheim. This monstrous blob of putrid flesh and bones demands a specific approach and the right equipment to ensure victory. So, what is the best gear against Bonemass? The most effective strategy revolves around exploiting Bonemass’s weaknesses, namely blunt damage and frost damage, while mitigating his potent poison attacks. This means arming yourself with a fully upgraded Iron Mace or a comparable blunt weapon, wearing decent armor, consuming health-boosting food, and understanding how to manage the fight itself. This detailed guide will break down each element to ensure you’re well-prepared to face the swamp’s terror.
The Best Weapons for Bonemass
Blunt Damage is King
Bonemass is highly resistant to piercing and slashing damage, making swords, axes, and spears comparatively ineffective. Your primary weapon should be a blunt damage dealer.
- Iron Mace: The Iron Mace is arguably the best single weapon for this fight. Crafted with 20 Iron, 4 Wood, and 3 Leather Scraps, this weapon provides significant damage output. Aim to fully upgrade this weapon as much as possible before the encounter.
- Stagbreaker: The Stagbreaker is a powerful two-handed hammer that is also effective due to its blunt damage. It’s craftable after defeating Eikthyr and can hold its own.
- Iron Sledge: The Iron Sledge, obtainable after defeating The Elder, is another formidable two-handed option that delivers high blunt damage.
- Wooden Club: Surprisingly, a fully upgraded Wooden Club can actually be quite effective, showcasing that raw damage output can sometimes outweigh weapon type.
- Torch: While not ideal as a primary weapon, a Torch can inflict blunt damage and is better than nothing if you are unprepared.
Frost Arrows: A Helpful Supplement
While not a primary source of damage, Frost Arrows can provide crucial additional damage to Bonemass. Bonemass is susceptible to frost damage making these arrows helpful for those who prefer a ranged approach or need to chip away at his health from a distance. Additionally, firing arrows at him while he is in poison gas is a way to contribute while avoiding poison damage. Crafting a fair amount of these arrows before the fight will benefit you.
Optimal Armor Choices for the Bonemass Fight
Prioritize Protection and Mobility
While Iron Armor offers the best protection at this stage of the game, it’s not strictly necessary. Focus on having the best armor you currently have available, since armor’s impact is not as vital as the correct weapon.
- Iron Armor: A full set of Iron Armor provides great protection, but its heavy weight can hinder your mobility.
- Bronze Armor: Bronze Armor can serve as a good alternative if you lack the resources for a full iron set. It’s lighter and still offers acceptable protection for this fight.
- Troll Hide Armor: If neither Iron or Bronze armor is available, Troll Hide Armor can be a viable option. While providing less defense, it is lighter, offering more mobility in the swamp.
Armor is Secondary to Food and Tactics
Remember, armor is secondary to bringing the right weapon and having enough health and resistances. Good movement and situational awareness are more critical. You should prioritize movement, particularly when you need to retreat from Bonemass’s poison attacks.
The Importance of Food and Potions
Maximize Health and Stamina
Bonemass hits hard and has a lot of health, requiring substantial health and stamina management on your part.
- Meat-Based Foods: Prioritize meat-based foods which offer the highest health regeneration. This is far more beneficial for the fight compared to other food types.
- Health-Boosting Meals: Any high-quality food that provides large health pools, are ideal, such as Lox Meat Pie.
- Poison Resistance Mead: Poison Resistance Mead is essential for mitigating the massive poison damage that Bonemass inflicts. Bring several of these to help endure his poisonous attacks.
Other Considerations
The Bonemass Altar and Summoning
- Withered Bones: You need 10 Withered Bones to summon Bonemass at his Mystical Altar. These are found in the Sunken Crypts within the swamp biome.
Environment and Positioning
- Terrain Advantage: Utilize the terrain to your advantage. Large stones can be climbed for a ranged advantage to damage from a distance.
- Be Observant: Be mindful of the falling foliage he creates with his attacks to evade damage and prepare your counters.
- Parry Opportunities: You can parry Bonemass’s melee attacks, creating an opening for counterattacks.
Mastering the Fight
Understanding Bonemass’s Attack Patterns
Bonemass utilizes melee swings, throws out a poisonous ooze cloud, and spawns adds. The key to success here is knowing when to retreat and when to push in with your blunt damage dealer.
- Blunt Damage Dealers: Focus on inflicting as much blunt damage as possible during safe windows after his attacks.
- Poison Cloud: Retreat when Bonemass creates a poisonous cloud to avoid severe damage. Use frost arrows to shoot from a safe distance during the cloud.
- Adds: If you are comfortable, take out adds to reduce the amount of damage you might receive from the adds.
The Bonemass Trophy and Power
- Bonemass Trophy: The Bonemass Trophy is dropped upon his defeat. It can be placed at the Sacrificial Stones at spawn for a powerful buff.
- Bonemass Power: This grants resistance to blunt, slash, and pierce damage, reducing incoming damage by a significant amount.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Can you beat Bonemass solo?
Yes, Bonemass can be defeated solo with the right preparation, strategy, and gear. It is much easier with more players, but not impossible to do solo.
2. Is Bonemass weak to fire?
No, Bonemass is not weak to fire. In fact, he’s resistant to all damage types except blunt and frost.
3. What damage does Bonemass do?
Bonemass primarily deals blunt damage with his melee attacks and poison damage with his ranged cloud and aura attacks.
4. Is root armor good for Bonemass?
Root Armor is excellent for the Bonemass fight, primarily because it provides poison resistance. It is a great armor set to aim for as an alternative to other armor types.
5. Are frost arrows mandatory for the Bonemass fight?
No, frost arrows are not mandatory, but they are very helpful for additional damage and are particularly valuable when you need to keep your distance due to the poison cloud.
6. Is the Stagbreaker good against Bonemass?
Yes, the Stagbreaker is a good choice against Bonemass due to its blunt damage. However, the Iron Mace is a stronger alternative when fully upgraded.
7. What is the easiest way to beat Bonemass?
The easiest way to beat Bonemass is to exploit his weakness to blunt damage, use Poison Resistance Mead to mitigate poison damage, and utilize frost arrows to supplement your damage.
8. What happens after you beat Bonemass?
After beating Bonemass, you obtain the Wishbone, allowing you to find Silver deposits in the mountains, and the Bonemass Trophy for its powerful buff.
9. What is the hardest boss in Valheim?
The Queen in the Mistlands biome is considered the hardest boss in Valheim.
10. Does Bonemass drop a unique item besides the trophy?
Yes, Bonemass drops the Wishbone, a crucial item for finding hidden resources.
11. What is the best boss buff in Valheim?
The Bonemass Power is often considered the most useful due to its damage resistance against multiple damage types, making it ideal for tackling almost all types of content.
12. Can you summon Bonemass more than once?
Yes, you can summon Bonemass multiple times as long as you have the 10 Withered Bones required for each summon.
13. Is Moder harder than Bonemass?
Moder is generally considered to be more challenging than Bonemass due to the more difficult terrain during the fight, and the adds that are present during the fight.
14. Can you parry Bonemass?
Yes, you can parry Bonemass’s melee attacks, which provides an opportunity to counterattack.
15. What is the strongest armor in Valheim?
Carapace Armor in the Mistlands biome is the strongest armor in Valheim. However, at the time of facing Bonemass, you will not have access to it.
By arming yourself with the knowledge and gear detailed in this guide, you’ll be well-prepared to conquer Bonemass and continue your Valheim adventure. Remember to use the right tools for the job, and to carefully manage the environment. Good luck, and may Odin be with you in your battle!