The Meadows is the safest biome in Valheim as well as the starting area. It is covered in grass and is dotted with beech, birch and oak trees. Ferns, rivers, lakes and rolling hills can also be found inside it. The player can find various points of interest while exploring this biome, such as Viking graveyards, draugr villages, and various types of abandoned structures.

Black Forest biomes are coniferous forests full of dense and lush vegetation. A low blanket of ferns, felled logs, stumps, and Thistle plants is towered over by a canopy of Pine and Fir trees. Rolling hills are broken up by huge exposed boulders and slumbering Copper deposits. The coastline features many coves, inlets, and even marshlands; and is lined with glistening Tin deposits, ready to be collected. It is the only biome where Copper and Tin can be mined, available to the player after defeating Eikthyr and acquiring an Antler pickaxe. Large amounts of Greydwarfs amble about, along with the occasional Troll and gaggle of Skeletons. The forest is also home to Burial Chambers, the first instanced dungeon area in the game. These chambers are the player's first source of Surtling cores, which allow the player to build a smelting yard and begin processing metals. Typically, the player will explore the Black Forest as their second biome, after the Meadows.

The Ocean is a biome which is currently a large, empty body of water. It is only realistically accessible by boats, as swimming in it quickly depletes stamina causing drowning. Players venturing into this biome may be occasionally attacked by a Serpent.

Swamps are dark and muddy areas, full of huge trees and hostile creatures. Huge trees cover the sky in the swamp, making It always rains lightly in the swamp, regardless of the weather elsewhere. The swamp contains Sunken Crypts, which require a Swamp Key to open. These crypts are a collection of rooms that are often separated by piles of muddy junk, which can be mined for scrap metal, leather scraps, and withered bones. In addition, abandoned structures and hostile creatures can be found.

The Mountain is a biome which features frozen snow covered peaks framed with Fir trees. This frozen and unforgiving region is home to Wolves and others sons of Fenrir. Drakes, the offspring of Moder, can be found in the skies making their nests at its peaks where they lay their Dragon eggs. Beware shifting piles of stone, they might be more alive than you think, stirring the resting Stone Golem. Mountains can also contain Frost caves, which are a dungeon home to Cultists and their pet Ulv. Bats also make their home here and can startle unsuspecting Vikings. Crystals can be found growing naturally on the walls and occasionally contain a large underground lake, be careful not to wake the Stone Golem that can also be resting there. Going into the mountain biome will cause the Freezing effect on the player. This effect can be negated by drinking Frost resistance mead, wearing a Lox cape, wearing a Wolf fur cape, wearing a Fenris coat, or wearing the Wolf armor chest. The Wolf armor legs do not offer frost resistance. This effect is also negated by nearby campfires.

The Plains is a wide open biome with rolling hills and sparse trees. It is home to many different kinds of rock formations some appearing to be natural (such as enormous destructible stone monoliths), and some constructed by the native fulings. Populated fuling villages can be seen spread across the plains, built from deer hide and bone. Despite its initially tranquil appearance, the plains biome is difficult and dangerous to navigate. Resources uniquely found in the plains enable the player to make weapons out of black metal and linen thread, and food out of barley flour and lox meat. Finally, the Plains contain tar in and around tar pits, which allows the player to construct high-tier furniture and darkwood buildings or decorations. Be careful when sailing near the Plains as deathsquitos can spawn on the beach and aggro far into the water.

The Mistlands is a jagged, mountainous biome covered in a perpetual mist that hangs over its entirety and makes it difficult to see inside. It is full of valleys, dales, ravines, and even plateaus punctuated by gargantuan black crags that often peek over the mist. Yggdrasil shoots grow on these rocks. Larger, glowing Yggdrasil roots can be found lining the ground, often visible through the mist. Its coastline is equally treacherous, greeting the longship with sheer cliffs, steep wharfs, and rocky sandbars. Wisplights and placeable Wisp torches can be used to clear out the permeating mist, but both require Yagluth to be defeated. This biome is oppressive, being quite difficult to navigate, often to the point of disorientation. The enemies are tough and will most often see the player before the player sees them. Seekers and Seeker Soldiers are the most common enemies, able to chase the player nearly constantly. Standard Seekers even have the ability to fly if they need to access higher areas of the slopes. Also residing here is a player-neutral race of Dvergr, who will actively fight enemies to defend their keeps. Should the player attack them as well, they will prove to be formidable foes. The Mistlands, alongside its content update, introduces a new combat mechanic called Eitr. It is acquired by eating specific foods made from the biome's crops and creatures, such as Magecaps. Eitr grants the player the ability to use a variety of Magic abilities to fight the harsh environment.

The Ashlands is a molten hellscape biome that takes the form of a crescent shaped island in the southernmost part of the world. Thus, it must be reached by Drakkar. A fiery realm, the terrain changes the more inland one travels, with central parts taken up by lava. The undead army of Charred make up the population, among other creatures. The water within the Ashlands is boiling, and so most ships will burn after traveling through it for some time. Only the new ship, the Drakkar, can survive the perilous voyage to the biome. This biome has been the primary focus of the Ashlands update. It follows the Mistlands progression-wise.

The Deep North is a vast, snowy biome, found in the northernmost part of Valheim. It is barren of any life and resources but the occasional mound of rock. Sheets of ice float along the shores, a potential danger to any ship attempting to dock here. At higher altitudes, the Deep North may transition into a Mountain biome. Like Mountains, the Deep North may have snowstorms, which deal continuous freezing damage to players without frost resistant clothes or Frost resistance mead in effect.