HELP NO WAY TO REACH THE ELDER

I am a new player in Valheim. I was overly cautious at first, so I got troll armor before killing the first boss. I got the troll armor by shooting the backs of the heads of the trolls and running away, repeating that you end up killing them even though it's hard and stressful a bit. Anyway, when I fought Eitkhyr or whatever, I didn't even take damage from him, so I fought him with a baton. Anyway, to the point: The problem is: I found two locations of the second boss, the elder, but they are so far, very far; maybe if the map radius is 10 km, one is 3-4 km north from the center and the other is 4-5km south of the center. After crafting a Karve a second time, the first one got destroyed by Greylings because I put it on the beach. I sailed to the south looking for the southern elder; the journey was so eventful, I started by sailing by the beach side to avoid any sea creatures; I knew the kraken and serpent existed. I got spoiled on YouTube, so in my journey, I traveled for days by the black forest, each time going down to explore a bit in case something unexpected happened. Anyway, to this point, things went very smoothly until the scenery suddenly changed and I got the announcement that I had entered the swamp. Well, I got scared and ran away, even though the wind wasn't blowing in the right direction. By doing so, I continued south, trying to explore more of the map to find a roundabout, when a chill ran down my spine and I broke out in a cold sweat. Something big happened—the thing that I watched so many meme videos about had happened to me. I stumbled up onto the plains; I didn't recognize it immediately, so I kept sailing a bit in its direction to have a better look. It was indeed strange that only birch trees were there, but I had to validate my doubts. My heart rate kept accelerating as the seconds passed by, then I started sweating and swearing, and thanking God for my luck, I saw LOXES. OMG, people always find the deathsquitos first and get oneshotted. Even with troll armor level 3, you get an instakill. My fear drove me to go against the unlucky wind. I pressed S four times and started running away. I was so lucky to survive. Sensing things were taking a dangerous path, I decided to get back exactly on the same path I took to get there, but the wind kept trolling me, so I had to change course a bit. Doing so, I found an island with some crumbled houses; well, I thought it was a good thing, and I landed there to build an outpost and teleportation portal to keep sailing south safely. Then the strange drama stuff started to take place; I heard arrows piercing through the air, and the buzzing sound of the flies reminded me of the deathsquitos. I started to get an ominous feeling and was scared at the same time. OMG, why is this journey so unlucky and frightening? To my misfortune, my curiosity got the best of me since there was a meadow and there was no indication that a swamp or plain were nearby, so I decided to enter one of the houses. Of course, after eating the best food and maximizing my HP for any dangers to come, it came from nowhere: a zombie attacked me. and it did more damage than the brute greydwarf I got scared and tried to get to my boat, but I couldn't since I learned my lesson and started to anchor it away from the beach and swim to it. The zombie followed me there and kept damaging the boat, so I decided to go back to the island since the wind seemed AGAIN to be blowing in the opposite direction of my escape route. After running away and fighting back, I managed to kill him. Then my IQ dropped below 0, and I decided to ignore the reappearing sound of arrows killing dears whom I didn't know from where they came since it was an island isolated by water even if near meadows, so even I couldn't swim back there even with 120 stamina. Like the idiot I was, I decided to look around for a bit more since I managed to kill the zombie, whose name I learned was Draugr by googling Valheim zombie village. I was deaf to the ringing bell of danger triggered by the sound of the arrows and decided that I could even take on three zombies at the same time, even though one of them was enough to kill me, saying that it was the first time, he had the surprise element, and the first strike. I opened the door, then I started sweating again; they have arrows, omg; then they started chasing me, and of course I didn't have the rested buff, so the health regeneration was so painfully slow, and by going around the island running away, I attracted more of the archers than the axe wielders, and by the way, I had a level three wood shield, so it couldn't do a thing against their mind-blowing damage. Then I obviously started dying, and I knew very well that my equipment is really gone and it will take a very long time to get it again since it was not an option to come back and retrieve it; the island is swarming with zombies and nothing can be done. then I remembered that the save wasn't triggered for more than 12 minutes, which means I can go back to when I was only against two archers, then I died when a melee zombie hit me from behind, getting all my thirty remaining health ticks, so I clicked escape + windows key >> task manager and ended the game. When I got back to Valheim after a restart, I found that I had fortunately survived, but the boat was nowhere to be seen. Another journey started full of greydwarves and trolls carrying trees chasing after me. After a week in the game, I was home, thanks to the outposts that I built along the way, with only one of them having a portal, which, by the way, couldn't be connected to my main base or the others since the others were already connected to each other, so I learned to always keep an unconnected portal in my house in the meadows. Along the journey, I kept trying to find meadows for finewood, but to no avail; always there was a swamp or ocean after the black forest. After this very hard work, I concluded that the southern route was not an option and decided to get north. Not so long after this new journey started, I found a huge swamp cutting the huge central island in half and preventing me from delving further north. and that's the whole situation. How can I kill the second boss despite exploring all of the black forests on the map and only finding two locations? 
5:13 pm, April 12, 2023
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Zep Tepi replied to HELP NO WAY TO REACH THE ELDER April 12, 2023 @ 3:02:17 pm PDT

Quite an adventure! You only get to be new to all of it once. Congrats on getting that one draugr at least. Buzzing noises that don't come from your own beehives is always bad news.

If you saw a kraken on YouTube, it was a mod, because the vanilla game doesn't have them. There are sea serpents, but encountering one on a sunny day is very rare. They usually come out at night or during storms. There are also leviathans which are living islands and no threat at all, unless you annoy them and aren't prepared for a swim.

Sailing past dangerous biomes isn't too bad if you keep your distance. For reference, I usually sail at a distance where the land barely shows on my mini map. If it looks dangerous I might go out a little further, just as long as I'm out of aggro range. Sometimes that does put you in the ocean biome, but as I said earlier, serpents are very rare on sunny days, and if you get the wind behind you, you can probably outrun them.

Chances are good that you will have to sail past dangerous biomes when you go places, but it's doable if you are careful. Just make sure you find a good place to park before nightfall and plant a quick portal so you can sleep in your own bed. (You definitely haven't found all of the black forests on the map. They can show up all the way to the edge.) So go ahead and give sailing another try.
11:13 pm, April 12, 2023
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WhiteDwarf replied to HELP NO WAY TO REACH THE ELDER April 12, 2023 @ 3:31:55 pm PDT

Cool story, very fun to read... :steamhappy:
11:13 pm, April 12, 2023
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Eradan replied to HELP NO WAY TO REACH THE ELDER April 12, 2023 @ 10:17:01 am PDT

You don't need a mace to master the swamp :) Use any weapon you like.

I usually do it with an axe or a knife.
8:13 pm, April 12, 2023
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Zelph replied to HELP NO WAY TO REACH THE ELDER April 12, 2023 @ 10:34:14 am PDT

Originally posted by MF:
Originally posted by LokoLG:
Are you skipping bronze? With bronze shield and weapons from black forrest is swamp easier. I always max gear, weapons, food, potions from location i am in, before i move to next location.

150% agree. Going into the swamp without a maxxed out bronze mace and shield is suicidally dumb. Even though it slowed me down, I also maxxed out my bronze armor and wore the troll cape. I've only died a small number of times in the Swamp as a result and have n't had any capital 'D' disasters.
Nah, I usually start the swamp with a club. And troll armor > bronze. Cheaper, and no speed decrease, AND only 6 less defense.
8:13 pm, April 12, 2023
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LokoLG replied to HELP NO WAY TO REACH THE ELDER April 12, 2023 @ 11:07:13 am PDT

Originally posted by Zelph:
Originally posted by MF:

150% agree. Going into the swamp without a maxxed out bronze mace and shield is suicidally dumb. Even though it slowed me down, I also maxxed out my bronze armor and wore the troll cape. I've only died a small number of times in the Swamp as a result and have n't had any capital 'D' disasters.
Nah, I usually start the swamp with a club. And troll armor > bronze. Cheaper, and no speed decrease, AND only 6 less defense.

You probaly know the game very well.
8:13 pm, April 12, 2023
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iamoffline1 replied to HELP NO WAY TO REACH THE ELDER April 12, 2023 @ 9:13:37 am PDT

Not sure I got that right, but you avoided the ocean biome as well as sailing close to the swamps...? I agree, the swamp is the next step on your journey and thus it is inevitable being able to deal with those, altho such an island with a draugr village might be a tough starting point.
Personally I'd suggest to scout for other waterways (unless you were sailing in an enclosed 'lake' rather than an open ocean - even if there is a small ocean biome in the middle of it), you'll need to deal with the ocean sooner or later anyway. I'll give you a tip if you want:
Take your bow with you, eat good food (you should have access and be using the ones with carrots when looking for the elder by now) and have your bow skill at around 30+. You could just sail around for a bit in the ocean biome to see what might happen during different weather or day-/nighttime. Just make sure you are actually sailing/moving with your ship and have enough stamina and can quickly return to a safe coast if needed. If you will do this, I'm sure you'll be fine by slowly testing out your own capabilities.
There's always several ways to get to one such destination. If your map should have plains at 3 directions from your spawn (just as an example), you might need to find a way around those or take the mats for a boat/portal with you and scout for another connection to the ocean from where you can start scouting again.
That much for your actual question, but I have one more note to make if you don't mind:
You might save yourself a good portion of frustration if you got yourself the bronze weapon & shield, in case of 0%-brain-moments as described above :P That's not to make fun of you, but those might have helped.
5:13 pm, April 12, 2023
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MF replied to HELP NO WAY TO REACH THE ELDER April 12, 2023 @ 9:34:50 am PDT

Originally posted by LokoLG:
Are you skipping bronze? With bronze shield and weapons from black forrest is swamp easier. I always max gear, weapons, food, potions from location i am in, before i move to next location.

150% agree. Going into the swamp without a maxxed out bronze mace and shield is suicidally dumb. Even though it slowed me down, I also maxxed out my bronze armor and wore the troll cape. I've only died a small number of times in the Swamp as a result and have n't had any capital 'D' disasters.
5:13 pm, April 12, 2023
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AsianGirlLover replied to HELP NO WAY TO REACH THE ELDER April 12, 2023 @ 10:07:31 am PDT

Start a fresh seed with better spawns.
5:13 pm, April 12, 2023
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CuriosityKillsTheMADCat replied to HELP NO WAY TO REACH THE ELDER April 12, 2023 @ 8:35:48 am PDT

Hello ;)
I can (without thinking too much about it) find 3 options here (im sure others will find more or better options...)
1) Learn, adapt, and then continue on your journey in order to find another Elder summoning location (this is the option i recommend despite Valheim can be quite "harsh" to the players - at least sometimes). Note that a 3rd Elder summoning location can be even further away from your base and maybe it is also not that accessible like the two Elder summoning points you found so far.
2) Google "Valheim Map Generator" and enter your Seed code/number in order to generate your whole (!) world so you can see where (and if) there any other Elder summoning points.
3) Start a new game - optionally, if you choose this option, you can transfer your equipment and your "loot" to the new world by putting it into your character's inventory and then log into your new world. You can relog as many times as needed to transfer your whole equipment. (Characters and worlds are "independent" from each other in the way that they are two saves: one for the character and one for the world. This allows you to play several worlds with one character. Disclaimer: Personally, I do not support this playstyle - for me it is "One World, One Character). But if you play solo there wont be any judges and no limitatations on your playstyle.

Hope this helps a little bit

MFG
CKTMC

PS: Humans invented "paragraphs" to make longer texts more legible ;)
5:13 pm, April 12, 2023
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kaypy replied to HELP NO WAY TO REACH THE ELDER April 12, 2023 @ 8:37:42 am PDT

You need to be able to deal with swamp before killing the Elder will do you any good anyway.
Otherwise all the Elder gets you is nastier raids.

So I would recommend getting started sooner and crossing that northern swamp. Just mark where you need to go back to post elder (and maybe leave a portal somewhere handy)
5:13 pm, April 12, 2023
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Grimtempest replied to HELP NO WAY TO REACH THE ELDER April 12, 2023 @ 8:48:27 am PDT

Just a thought...no one likes to read a wall of text. If you want help, less is more.
5:13 pm, April 12, 2023
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LokoLG replied to HELP NO WAY TO REACH THE ELDER April 12, 2023 @ 9:02:56 am PDT

Are you skipping bronze? With bronze shield and weapons from black forrest is swamp easier. I always max gear, weapons, food, potions from location i am in, before i move to next location.
5:13 pm, April 12, 2023
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MF replied to HELP NO WAY TO REACH THE ELDER April 12, 2023 @ 9:05:45 am PDT

I had a similar adventure finding my Elder. Long long long sail until I hit an island that I knew he was on the other side of. I chose to go counter-clockwise which as it turned out was ten times longer than the other way. Not knowing the shapes of the landmasses makes for some serious adventures, and you can't sail too close to plains biomes or the skeeters will fly out and get you.

Best advice is bring lots of good food, so you don't get squished by a troll when you step ashore like I did. (I'd forgotten to eat and was malnourished.......... otherwise I could've killed him even though he suckered me).

Like you, I wandered both into the swamp and a plains biome before I was ready and wow did I skeedaddle. I was a long way from my portal near where I'd killed the Elder and snuffing it in such a location would've been an unmitigated disaster. This game will bend you over a log and pound you mercilessly for being careless. Never forget that.

Also never forget to have a spare set of armor ready for the day that you screw up big time and have to out, build another boat and go get your stuff back. Been there.

Crossing the swamp when you're not ready is perhaps not the best advice. Scout it CAREFULLY for sure but know how to make a bonfire (for abominations), and stock up on potions. Pull a mob to you with a bow to see how you handle it.

You're not getting any iron until you kill the Elder.
5:13 pm, April 12, 2023
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