Dyrnwyn: How to Get Valheim's Legendary Flaming Sword

The Honest Take on Dyrnwyn

Dyrnwyn is one of the coolest-looking weapons in Valheim and one of the most disappointing to use. You cross the Ashlands, clear three Mysterious Locations guarded by elite 2-star Charred, defeat Lord Reto and spend a pile of Flametal and Bloodstone. The reward looks competitive on paper but falls behind the far easier Nidhögg the Thundering in almost every real fight.

That said, getting it is genuinely fun. The fragment quest is one of the best adventures in the Ashlands, and the sword is a stunning wall piece with a constant orange glow. Go in for the journey, not to replace your Nidhögg the Thundering.

The legend

"Dyrnwyn" means "white-hilt" and comes from the Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain, from 15th to 16th century Welsh tradition. It belonged to Rhydderch Hael, and when drawn by a worthy man the whole blade blazed with fire. The in-game sword burns with a perpetual flame on your back and in your hand.

How to Find All Three Dyrnwyn Fragments

Each fragment sits at one of three chained Mysterious Locations: the first reveals the second, which reveals the third. The fragments do not renew, so only one Dyrnwyn can be crafted per world unless you raise the item drop rate world modifier.

First location: Dyrnwyn Tip Fragment

Find the Vegvisir (a glowing runestone that marks map locations) inside a Putrid Hole. Only about 25% of Putrid Holes have it, so you may need several. The site is a small Grausten ruin with no entrance: break through a wall to reach the altar with the Tip Fragment and four Molten Cores.

A Monument of Torment (Elite) guards it, spawning only 2-star Charred Twitchers, Warriors, Marksmen and Warlocks. They are much tougher than standard versions.

Second location: Dyrnwyn Blade Fragment

A Vegvisir at the first site reveals the second: a ring of Grausten arches with four Molten Cores and the Blade Fragment on an open altar, no wall-breaking needed. The same elite Charred guard it, so bring full Ashlands gear.

Third location: Dyrnwyn Hilt Fragment

The second site's Vegvisir points to another enclosed Grausten ruin (break in again) holding the entrance to the Tomb of Lord Reto. Clear the dungeon and defeat Lord Reto, who always drops the Hilt Fragment. This is the hardest fragment: a full dungeon and a miniboss on top of the elite spawners outside.

Dyrnwyn vs Nidhögg the Thundering: The Real Comparison

The math is not kind to Dyrnwyn. Both swords share the same attacks (a 3-hit combo with double damage on the last hit, plus a 3x secondary thrust), attack speeds, stamina costs and blocking. The difference is how their elemental damage works.

Slash versus element

Dyrnwyn has 10 more base Slash. But its 10 Fire is a damage-over-time effect ticking for roughly 2 per second, which barely scratches Ashlands enemies even when they are weak to fire. Nidhögg the Thundering's 10 Lightning is instant, and every hit has a 25% chance to trigger Chain Lightning for 75 damage that can jump to nearby enemies.

Stagger and procs

Lightning counts fully toward stagger, while the fire burn adds nothing meaningful, so Nidhögg the Thundering staggers better despite lower Slash. A charged secondary that hits a large enemy twice can deal up to 300 from Chain Lightning. Dyrnwyn would need 30+ hits on one target to match a single proc through its burn.

No gem slot

Dyrnwyn cannot take gemstones. Nidhögg starts as a base sword and becomes Nidhögg the Thundering with Iolite, Nidhögg the Bleeding with Bloodstone or Nidhögg the Primal with Jade.

Understanding Fire Damage and Why It Falls Short

Fire damage in Valheim is always applied as a burn over time. The listed value is divided across the debuff duration, so Dyrnwyn's 10 Fire becomes roughly 2 damage per second. Even stacking the burn with repeated hits, expect maybe 4 per second against enemies very weak to fire.

Lightning, by contrast, lands instantly and in full. A Chain Lightning proc's 75 damage hits immediately, can chain to nearby targets and adds to stagger.

A deliberate nerf

The original game files had Dyrnwyn dealing 48 Fire before the Ashlands launched. The developers cut it to 10, which strongly suggests they see it as a trophy rather than a competitive weapon.

Where Dyrnwyn Fits in the Weapon Meta

In the Ashlands

Iolite (Lightning) weapons dominate nearly every class. Thundering Berserkir Axes are considered the top melee option, and Nidhögg the Thundering is the best Ashlands one-handed sword by a comfortable margin. Chain Lightning on fast weapons offers instant damage, stagger and multi-target hits no other element matches.

Even the Mistlands-tier Mistwalker can beat Dyrnwyn in some Ashlands fights. That is a sobering comparison for a weapon that takes far more effort.

After the Deep North update

Players once hoped the Deep North would revive Dyrnwyn. Instead, 1.0 brought its own sword tier, all crafted at a level 4 Black Forge with Bloodgold:

• Nord Sword: 170 Slash.
• Thunderblood Sword: 180 Slash plus 45 Lightning.
• Frostfire Sword: 138 Slash, 88 Frost and 12 Fire.

Even the Frostfire Sword carries more Fire than Dyrnwyn, and the Staff of Embers reaches 138 Fire at Quality 4. Dyrnwyn's role is settled: craft it for the adventure, display it on an Item Stand in your mead hall, and fight with something else.