What should I craft first in Valheim?

The creatures that unlocks better gathering. Tools before trophies.

No. Each tier teaches the system; skipping it costs you later.

What do I keep vs scrap?

Keep one of every creatures you outgrow. The spare pays for itself.

Crafting in Valheim is a sequence, not a checklist. The creatures fall into an order where each step unlocks the next.

Craft the creatures that opens new gathering first. A better tool is worth more than a bigger pile of raw material.

Upgrade in tiers. Jumping straight to the top tier wastes the parts you needed for the step that teaches the system.

Banded shield (Weapons): Banded with hoops of iron, a true warrior’s companion.
Bronze axe (Weapons): A bright and burnished blade, curved like a smile.
Abyssal razor (Weapons): A knife from the deep.
Abyssal Harpoon (Weapons): The ocean’s wrath.
Bronze pickaxe (Weapons): A good bronze pick.
Bronze mace (Weapons): A headache on a stick.
Bronze atgeir (Weapons): A true warrior’s tool.
Bronze buckler (Weapons): A shield of burnished bronze, good to turn a blade or two.
Bronze Spear (Weapons): A sturdy spear with a head of burnished bronze.
Antler pickaxe (Weapons): This tool is hard enough to crack even the most stubborn rocks.
Black metal atgeir (Weapons): A vicious hewing-axe of almost unbreakable black metal.
Black metal axe (Weapons): A perfectly-balanced axe forged from dark metal with an emerald sheen.
Black metal knife (Weapons): A darkling blade.
Battleaxe (Weapons): Skull-splitter, a warrior’s joy.
Black metal shield (Weapons): Fashioned from the strongest metal, able to turn even the deadliest blades.
Black Metal Tower Shield (Weapons): A tower shield of gleaming dark metal.
Ancient bark spear (Weapons): Despite its gnarled look, this spear is strong and perfectly balanced.
Arrows (Weapons): Arrows is a type of ammunition for Bows.

Keep one of every creatures you outgrow. The moment you need it again, the spare saves a full detour.

Greydwarf (Creatures): Greydwarfs are aggressive creatures found in Black Forests.
Greydwarf Brute (Creatures): Greydwarf Brutes are aggressive creatures found in Black Forests.
Draugr (Creatures): Draugr are aggressive creatures found in Swamps or in Draugr Villages, Sunken Crypts, and sometimes towers in the Mountain.
Greydwarf Shaman (Creatures): Greydwarf Shamans are aggressive creatures found in Black Forests.
Boar (Creatures): Boars are wild creatures found throughout Valheim, known for their aggressive behavior when approached.
Greyling (Creatures): Greylings are aggressive creatures found in Meadows.
Blob (Creatures): Blobs are aggressive creatures found in the Swamps.
Drake (Creatures): Drakes are aggressive creatures found in the Mountains.
Fuling (Creatures): Fulings are aggressive creatures found in Plains, especially within Fuling Villages.
Fuling Berserker (Creatures): Fuling Berserkers are aggressive creatures found in Plains guarding Fuling Villages and Stonehenges.
Fuling Shaman (Creatures): Fuling shamans are aggressive creatures found in Plains occupying Fuling Villages.
Ghost (Creatures): Ghosts are aggressive creatures found in Black Forests within Burial Chambers, and as part of “You feel a chill down your spine…” raid event.