Starting weapons, armor, or any item are only useful early on, but as you make progress in the game and come across difficult fights, the only option is to upgrade your current gear. Valheim has a standard upgrade system to elevate your normal gear, which is still beneficial. The full release, though, has added a unique way to upgrade your current gear by pushing the limits even further than before.
Here I will explain everything you need to know about the Forge of Potential refinement system, the risk it carries, the items you will need, and lastly, whether you should do it or skip it entirely in Valheim 1.0.
What is the Forge of Potential in Valheim 1.0
Forge of Potential is a special station that can be used to refine equipment beyond its common upgrade limit, but with a huge risk-to-reward ratio. If the refinement process is successful, you end up with powerful equipment; if not, then the equipment is broken.
You will find the Forge of Potential in the Mountains biomes; once you track one of them, set up a portal to link it to your home base. It serves as a shortcut for the refinement we will be doing on the forge. Now use the equipment you want to refine, along with the proper idol type (Battle and Protection Idols), to make use of the Forge of Potential.
Also note, when you do find one, you will not get idols in the locations; you do need to carry the idols before reaching the Forge of Potential location.
Idol Types and Requirements
Different equipment requires different idols to upgrade through Forge of Potential. We will need Battle idols and Protection Idols to upgrade equipment via Forge of Potential. Battle Idols are used to upgrade weapons, tools, and magic staves in Forge of Potential. Lastly, Protection Idols are for upgrading armor, capes, and shields.
These idols can be found in chests in ruins, abandoned buildings, dungeons, and a handful of other locations.
Idol Type & Location Information
Here is a simple look at the ways to obtain different idol types in the game.
- Wooden Battle and Protection Idols: Meadows Biome
- Bronze Battle and Protection Idols: Black Forest Biome
- Iron Battle and Protection Idols: Swamp Biome
- Silver Battle and Protection Idols: Mountains Biome
- Black Metal Battle and Protection Idols: Plains Biome
- Black Marble Battle and Protection Idols: Mistlands Biome
- Flametal Battle and Protection Idols: Ashlands Biome
- Bloodgold Battle and Protection Idols: Deep North Biome
Note: Battle and Protection Idols also have tiers or variety types. For example, you have your Wooden Battle Idol, which sits at the lower end of the idol tier. Then, on the higher end, we have Bloodgold or Flametal Battle Idols. The same rules also apply to the Protection Idols.
Attempting Refinement
Once you have picked the perfect equipment and the necessary idol type, you can choose Attempt Refinement to level up the quality of the equipment by one level. The benefits from the upgrade will vary from one piece of equipment to another. The game gives you all of its stats on the right panel on the Forge of Potential screen or box on the HUD.
Refining Weapons and Tools will grant stat increases such as damage and durability. You will get an elemental damage increase when you refine a Magic Staves. Refining a Shield will increase its defensive properties. Lastly, for Armor and Capes refinement, you will get an increase in armor and durability stats.
Tip: The refinement here is not guaranteed at all; if you are lucky, you might get a successful refinement, as the whole screen will shake with lightning that will cast on the anvil. If not, you are left with a destroyed item, with some crafting materials returning to your inventory.
If you are feeling extremely lucky, you can go at it again by using the same weapon and using the idol for another hit on the quality increase. Again, you are carrying a risk every time you hit the refinement button on Forge of Potential.
Should you use the Forge of Potential in Valheim 1.0?
I highly recommend you only use the Forge of Potential for any item you have a second or third backup.
If you have two of the same weapon, armor, shield, or any item, then using Forge of Potential makes a lot of sense instead of putting all the chips on a weapon, hoping the gods will favor you on this spin. While the stat increase looks appealing, at the same time, you must consider the downsides, which are losing everything. It is a gamble, and being aware of the risk is the best way to move forward.
The normal Workbench is available, and it will upgrade the equipment to a normal limit. This is perfect for anyone who is seeking to raise the item’s normal limit. Forge of Potential comes after reaching the normal limit. When it comes to the final number for refinement, some have reached 17 on their favorite equipment by refining over time. The system is entirely RNG, and failing the RNG is more of a punishment than a simple refinement, since you will lose the equipment on failure.
