Valheim Weapons by Biome: Every Tier After 1.0

Valheim gives you a new weapon tier in every biome: flint in the Meadows, bronze in the Black Forest, iron in the Swamp, silver in the Mountains, black metal in the Plains, eitr and carapace in the Mistlands, flametal in the Ashlands and, since 1.0, bloodgold in the Deep North. In each biome, make one melee weapon from the new material, the bow of that tier and a shield, and you are equipped for what that biome throws at you.

Valheim 1.0 came out on 9 September 2026, and Iron Gate's 1.0 patch notes list more than 40 new weapons: twelve Nord weapons, a Frostfire and a Thunderblood version of each of them, and four staves. The damage numbers below are base damage at quality 1 and at quality 4, taken from the fan-run Valheim Wiki on 25 October 2026. None of the patches since 1.0, up to 1.0.20 on 15 October 2026, list a change to weapon damage.

Valheim Weapons by Biome at a Glance

There is no new bow in the Plains, so the Draugr Fang from the Mountains carries you through it. Crossbows start in the Mistlands.

Meadows: Flint and Wood

The Club (12 blunt at quality 1, 30 at quality 4) and the Stone Axe need no station at all. Once you have a Workbench, flint gives you the Flint Axe (20/35 slash, and it chops), the Flint Knife (5/8 slash and pierce) and the Flint Spear (20/38 pierce), plus the Crude Bow (22/31 pierce) and the Wood Shield.

At quality 4 the Flint Spear hits hardest of the Meadows melee weapons. Its secondary attack throws it for 1.5 times the damage, you pick it up again afterwards, and it floats if you throw it into water (Spears).

Black Forest: Bronze

Bronze unlocks the first real set at a level 1 Forge: the Bronze Sword (35/53 slash), Bronze Mace (35/53 blunt), Bronze Axe (40/55 slash, cuts birch and oak), Bronze Atgeir (45/63 pierce), Bronze Spear (35/53 pierce) and Copper Knife (12/15 slash and pierce). The Finewood Bow (32/41 pierce) and the Stagbreaker (20/38 blunt with area damage, from corewood and five deer trophies) come from the Workbench.

Skeletons are weak to blunt damage and resist pierce (Weapons), so the Bronze Mace is the weapon for Burial Chambers. The Bronze Buckler has 16 block armour and a 2.5x parry bonus, the highest of any shield type, and the Bone Tower Shield, from three skeleton trophies, has 32.

Swamp: Iron

Iron adds 20 base damage to the sword, mace, axe, atgeir and spear. The Iron Sword and Iron Mace both do 55/73, the Iron Axe 60/75 slash, the Iron Atgeir 65/83 pierce and the two-handed Battleaxe 70/88 slash. The Iron Sledge (55/73 blunt, double stagger, area damage) needs Ymir Flesh and a Draugr Elite trophy, the Ancient Bark Spear does 55/73 pierce and the Huntsman Bow 42/51. All of them are made at a Forge of level 1 to 3.

1.0 added a new shield here: the Shield of Roots, made at a level 2 Workbench from 10 finewood and 1 Writhan Root. It has 48 block armour, 10% lower attack stamina use and no movement penalty, the only shield without one. Writhan Roots drop from the Writhan, a creature 1.0 added to the Swamp, and patch 1.0.15 raised its spawn rate and areas (1.0.15 notes). The regular choices are the Banded Shield (42), the Iron Buckler (28) and the Iron Tower Shield (52).

Mountains: Silver

Most Mountain weapons add spirit damage. The Silver Sword does 75/93 slash plus 30/45 spirit, the Frostner 40/58 frost plus 35 blunt and 20 spirit, the Silver Knife 25/28 slash and pierce plus 12 spirit, and the two-handed Crystal Battleaxe 90/108 slash plus 30 spirit. The Fang Spear does 75/93 pierce and the Flesh Rippers 60/72 slash for fist builds.

The Draugr Fang is the bow: 47/56 pierce plus 5/20 poison. The Silver Shield has 60 block armour.

Plains: Black Metal

Everything here comes from a level 4 Forge: the Black Metal Sword (95/113 slash), Black Metal Axe (100/115 slash), Black Metal Atgeir (105/123 pierce), Black Metal Knife (34/37 slash and pierce) and Black Metal Battleaxe (110/128 slash). The Porcupine mace does 50 blunt and 45/63 pierce, and the Vilebone Maulclaws do 60 pierce plus 20/32 slash.

The Black Metal Shield (78) and Black Metal Tower Shield (104) need a level 3 Forge. If you have not upgraded your Draugr Fang yet, this is the moment, because it stays your bow until the Mistlands.

Mistlands: Black Forge and Magic

The Black Forge and the Galdr Table open a long list at their first level. Melee: Mistwalker (75 slash plus 40/58 frost), Krom (150/168 slash, two-handed), Jotun Bane (80/95 slash plus 40 poison), Skull Splittur (130/148 slash, two-handed axe), Demolisher (145/163 blunt), Himminafl (85 pierce plus 40/58 lightning), Carapace Spear (115/133 pierce) and Skoll and Hati (45/48 slash and pierce, dual knives). Ranged: Spinesnap (72/84 pierce) and the Arbalest, the first crossbow (200/209 pierce).

The Galdr Table adds the first four staves: Staff of Embers, Staff of Frost, Staff of Protection and Dead Raiser. The Carapace Shield has 96 block armour and the Carapace Buckler 78.

Two 1.0 changes matter here. Every Mistlands weapon now clears mist around you, and Mistlands and Ashlands gear got more durability (1.0 patch notes).

Ashlands: Flametal and Gem Upgrades

A level 3 Black Forge makes Nidhögg (135/153 slash), Slayer (170/188 slash, two-handed), the Berserkir Axes (140/155 slash, dual), the Flametal Mace (135/153 blunt), Splitnir (135/153 pierce), the Ash Fang bow (82/94 pierce) and the Ripper crossbow (220/229 pierce). Dyrnwyn (145/163 slash plus 10 fire) is assembled at a level 4 Black Forge from three fragments, one from each of three Mysterious Locations. The fragments do not come back, so a world normally gets one Dyrnwyn, unless its world modifier for item drops is raised (Dyrnwyn). On a shared server, agree on who carries it before someone picks up the last fragment.

Most Ashlands weapons can be turned into one of three versions with a gem: Bloodstone, Iolite or Jade. Nidhögg, for example, becomes Nidhögg the Bleeding, the Thundering or the Primal (Nidhögg). The Galdr Table at level 2 adds Dundr, the Staff of Fracturing, the Staff of the Wild and the Trollstav. Shields: Flametal Shield (114) and Flametal Tower Shield (140).

Deep North: The Nord Weapons

The Deep North has the strongest weapons in the game, and every one of them starts as a mould.

The quality 4 numbers come from each weapon's own wiki page. The wiki's overview tables for swords, axes and polearms show 10 less for the Nord Sword, Nord Axe and Nord Atgeir, so treat those three as unconfirmed until the wiki agrees with itself.

You cannot craft them directly. Each one takes four steps (Moulds):

1. Find the mould. Moulds come from rubble piles in the Winding Tunnels, whose entrances sit inside the great halls of Abandoned Villages, from chests buried at Memorial Sites, and from the weapon stands on the bottom floor of Mörkhalla. The sword, mace, axe, spear and bow moulds can also turn up in Abandoned Village barrels. Each Memorial Site chest holds one item: one of 19 weapon, shield or staff moulds, or a Silver Necklace (Memorial Site).
2. Make the cast at a Black Forge with three extensions built next to it (level 4). Most casts cost 20 Bloodgold, the mould and 10 Timberwood. The greatsword takes 2 Frozen Branches instead of the Timberwood, the knucklechains 2 Long Claws.
3. Make Liquid Frost. The Frigid Kiln turns 5 Ice into 1 Liquid Frost every 30 seconds and holds 25 Ice (Frigid Kiln). Ice comes from the ice sheets on Deep North shores.
4. Harden the cast in a Frost Foundry. It burns 5 Liquid Frost and takes 50 seconds (Frost Foundry). Both the Kiln and the Foundry need 10 Frostcores, which hang at the ends of most Winding Tunnels.

Upgrading a Nord Sword to quality 4 costs another 70 Bloodgold and 35 Timberwood at the Black Forge, 90 Bloodgold in total with the cast (Nord Sword). Bloodgold itself is smelted in a Blast Furnace from Petrified Tissue, which you blast out of petrified Gammeltrolls with Ember Charges (Petrified Tissue). Since patch 1.0.14 the Deep North battleaxes can cut every tree (1.0.14 notes).

Frostfire or Thunderblood?

Every Nord weapon can be turned into a Frostfire or a Thunderblood version at a level 4 Black Forge, for 20 Bloodgold and 1 essence of the matching kind. The essences drop from Fallen Warriors, which you summon by placing 3 Memorial Coal on the altar at a Memorial Site (Frostfire Essence). Memorial Coal comes from the fire pits in Mörkhalla and from Krigen. A Fallen Warrior has 750 health, is weak to spirit and resists blunt, slash, pierce and fire (Fallen Warrior).

The mace, dagger and knucklechains follow the same pattern. Thunderblood weapons also have a 25% chance per hit to set off chain lightning and do 0.2% more damage for every point of health you are missing (Thunderblood Essence).

Frostfire adds more damage on paper, but most of it is frost, and frost is exactly what the Deep North shrugs off. Barka, Elakings, the Eyeless One, Gammeltrolls, Moose and Kall Fimbulbringer all resist it, and Barka and Kall resist lightning as well (Barka, Kall Fimbulbringer). Mörkhalla is no better for frost: Krigen and Hexen are very resistant to it, and Krigen resist pierce as well (Krigen, Hexen). Only the pulps are weak to frost, and Hexen are weak to fire. Of all the creatures named here, only Barka and Kall resist lightning, so on paper Thunderblood holds up better across the Deep North.

One rule saves you a lot of Bloodgold: convert first, upgrade after. A Nord weapon that you turn into Frostfire or Thunderblood loses its upgrade levels and starts again at quality 1.

The Four New Staves

The staves follow the same mould, cast and foundry route, but their casts are made at a level 3 Galdr Table:

• Lightning Strike: fires a projectile that calls down a lightning strike for 300 lightning damage in a 3 metre radius (360 at quality 4), for 40 eitr. The cast needs a Thunderblood Essence (Lightning Strike).
• Echo Spike: a projectile for 25 eitr that passes through enemies without hurting them, bursts for 60 fire and 60 frost where it bounces, and on the way back hits each enemy it touches for 50 fire and 50 frost plus a 60 fire and 60 frost burst around it. The bounce burst can hit you too, and if the projectile flies back through you, you get 10 eitr back. The cast needs a Frostfire Essence (Echo Spike).
• Northern Vengeance: puts a sphere on you and every ally within 5 metres for one minute per quality level. When someone with a sphere takes damage, it fires 75 frost (99 at quality 4) back at the attacker. It costs 100 eitr and 40% of your current health and does not reduce the damage you take (Northern Vengeance).
• Spirit Caller: summons spirit animals, such as a bear with 1,500 health or a moose with 1,100, up to four of each kind depending on its quality. It costs 100 eitr and 40% of your health, and the cast needs a Moose Trophy (Spirit Caller).

New Shields, Ammunition and Bombs

The three Nord shields top every list. The Nord Buckler has 88 block armour and the highest parry block of any shield, the Nord Shield 132, and the Nord Greatshield 158, the most block armour of any shield, at the cost of 10% movement speed (Nord Greatshield).

Bloodgold Arrows do 100 pierce and Bloodgold Bolts 92. Both come 20 at a time from 1 Bloodgold, 2 Feathers and 8 Timberwood at the Black Forge (Bloodgold Arrow). 1.0 also added a Bloodgold Missile for the ballista and a Bloodgold Payload for the catapult.

The Ember Charge is a bomb: 140 blunt, 100 chop and 50 pickaxe damage in a 3 metre radius, 10 per craft from 2 Seal Pelts and 1 Ember at the Workbench. It is also the tool that breaks petrified Gammeltrolls for Bloodgold, and Embers come from the Eternal Pyre you build after Fader (Ember Charge).

Past Quality 4: The Forge of Potential

One Forge of Potential spawns in each world, in the Mountains (Forge of Potential). Each attempt costs one idol and nothing else. Most weapons take the Battle Idol of their own tier, and for most Deep North weapons that is a Bloodgold Battle Idol, which you find in chests in Mörkhalla, Abandoned Villages and the Deep North's graveyards and shipwrecks (Bloodgold Battle Idol). The wiki lists a few exceptions, the Nord Axe and Nord Atgeir among them, so check the idol on the weapon's own page before you farm. 65% of the time the weapon gains a quality level, also past 4. The other 35% of the time it is destroyed and you get 35% of its materials back. Patch 1.0.20 fixed a possible exploit at the forge (1.0.20 notes).

Our armour sets guide covers the Protection Idols and the armour side of the same forge.

Gearing Up a Group on One Server

Mould runs through the Winding Tunnels and Memorial Site fights go faster with the whole group online, and a dedicated server keeps the world up between sessions without anyone running it on their own PC. Our Valheim server hosting starts at €6.40 a month for 4 GB and 2 to 4 players, and 6 GB for a full group of up to 10 starts at €8.30. Every plan has DDoS protection, NVMe storage and 2 or 3 backup slots in the panel, so you can back up the world before an update.

For the bosses that each weapon tier is meant for, see our bosses in order guide, and for the order of the biomes themselves, the progression guide.

FAQ

What is the strongest weapon in Valheim 1.0? It depends on the enemy. On paper the sledges hit hardest of the melee weapons: the Thunderblood Sledge does 235 blunt and 45 lightning at quality 1 (265 and 60 at quality 4), and the Frostfire Sledge 200 blunt, 12 fire and 88 frost. The crossbows lead the ranged weapons, with 274 pierce and 45 lightning on the Thunderblood Crossbow, and the Lightning Strike staff does 300 lightning in an area (360 at quality 4). Most Deep North creatures resist frost, and Barka and Kall Fimbulbringer also resist lightning.

How do you make Nord weapons in Valheim? Find the mould in the Winding Tunnels, a Memorial Site chest or Mörkhalla, make the cast at a level 4 Black Forge with 20 Bloodgold, then harden the cast in a Frost Foundry with 5 Liquid Frost from the Frigid Kiln.

Where do Frostfire and Thunderblood Essences come from? From Fallen Warriors. Place 3 Memorial Coal on the altar at a Memorial Site to summon one. Each essence has its own drop chance, so one warrior can drop either essence, both or none (Fallen Warrior). Memorial Coal comes from Mörkhalla's fire pits and from Krigen.

Does a Nord weapon keep its upgrades when you turn it into Frostfire or Thunderblood? No. It goes back to quality 1, so turn it into the version you want first and upgrade it afterwards.

Which bow should I use in each biome? Crude Bow in the Meadows, Finewood Bow in the Black Forest, Huntsman Bow in the Swamp, Draugr Fang in the Mountains and Plains, Spinesnap in the Mistlands, Ash Fang in the Ashlands and the Nord Bow in the Deep North. Crossbows start with the Arbalest in the Mistlands.

Which weapons were added in Valheim 1.0? Twelve Nord weapons, a Frostfire and a Thunderblood version of each, four staves (Echo Spike, Spirit Caller, Northern Vengeance and Lightning Strike), four shields (the three Nord shields and the Shield of Roots), Bloodgold arrows, bolts, missiles and payloads, and the Ember Charge.

Related guides: Valheim armour sets, Valheim comfort guide, Valheim food and feasts, Valheim Mistlands guide, Valheim 1.0 Deep North server prep