Originally posted by GunsForBucks:

You don't even need to prepare that much.
Just use poison potion and stand on his summon skull. Frost arrows and finewood bow.

You are right. You do not have to prepare that much. If you are woefully unprepared it'll just be a tougher fight. I can say I've been there and done that - more than once.

My bow broke when I fought Moder because I didn't have it upgraded enough, wasn't using the best arrows I could make, and didn't have it fully repaired when the fight started. I finished that fight with melee which is all kinds of fun when the enemy flies around most of the time. Not easy, but not all that hard either.

I had a long fight against the Bonemass the first time I tried that fight because I didn't gear up much after taking out The Elder so my damage output was poor. I still won but it would have been much easier had I taken the time to get better gear, and do some preparation (building) in the area first.

I used no healing potions for either of those battles. I only used the anti-poison mead for the Bonemass fight. No other meads were used. No boss powers either.

So, if it's possible for someone with a moderate skill level to go into these fights with little preparation and gear that is far below what's possible to obtain at that point in the game then anyone who puts in the time and effort to properly gear up, and prepare, will absolutely be able to win these fights solo. I guarantee it will be even easier if they bring a friend or three.

The first time I fought Eikthyr with a new player, first time I'd fought that boss as a duo, we dropped it so fast that we decided to fight it again right away to get more antler from it.

People in this thread are encouraging cheating and people are complaining that they had to try fights more than once. This game isn't presented as an easy game. Read the store page description if you haven't because if you don't know what you purchased maybe that's part of the problem. Once you understand the kind of game you bought please do yourselves a favour. Do not give up and do not cheat when things get tough. It's okay to fail a fight and try again later. It's okay to slow down and gear up more if you're not that good at fighting. It's okay to find some fights difficult. Take the time to get better and try again. Failure isn't the end of the journey here, and while it can be frustrating it's not something you can't deal with. That said, except for bugs nearly every time you fail it's going to be because of you, not because the game or any particular area or enemy is too hard.

Story time.

I recently had a karve sink (and I was on the darn thing with another player) because a sea serpent smashed it and it was entirely our fault. It was due to the decisions we made when we spotted the serpent, and prior to heading out on the ocean. One of us (them) had neglected to bring a bow and the other (me) had only wooden arrows. What happened was absolutely not the game's fault for being too hard and not the serpents fault because they are not too difficult. It was our fault, and mostly me because I'm the more experienced Valheim player.

Here's why I'm saying that it wasn't the game. We made poor decisions. We should have each had a bow and no less than 100 arrows per person before we started sailing. We could have sailed to a nearby shore instead of trying to kill the serpent with one bow but we didn't. We also could have tried to outrun the serpent instead of only one of us trying to kill it with a bow and the worst arrows in the game but we didn't. The two of us that were on the boat lost everything because it was too far from shore when the boat sank. Did we cheat, or give up? Nope. We built another Karve, got another bronze axe after mining in the Black Forest, and are going after The Elder again as soon as we have decent bows and enough food and arrows.

Why is that story relevant? Because it's the same with boss fights. If you're struggling with boss fights it's not the game's fault. It is yours. It's because you did something wrong, or failed do to something, or both. Or multiples of both. The bosses don't come after you, you go after them. They aren't waiting for you, you summon them. If you do that and aren't ready for the fight no matter the reason then that's 100% on you, not the game.

The serpent only came after us because we were in the ocean. Had we been prepared we would have killed it. Had we tried to outrun it we may have been successful, but if we went to shore we definitely would have survived. We may have lost the boat if we went to shore but we could have recovered the parts and rebuilt it, or slapped up a quick workbench and repaired it.

Our choices were our downfall, and it's exactly the same with anyone who's struggling with boss fights. Learn from any mistakes or failures, recover, improve, make better choices or try different plans and try again. Don't give up. Don't cheat. Work for it. Earn it. Then tell the story and bask in your well earned glory!