Swords: Every Tier, Stats and Crafting Recipes

Why Swords Are the Best All-Around Melee Weapon

If you master only one melee class in Valheim, make it swords. They are fast, stamina-efficient and deal Slash damage that few enemies resist. Their real edge is no multitarget penalty: a mace or axe splits damage across the enemies it hits, while a sword deals full damage to each one.

The shared moveset

• Primary: a three-hit combo; the third hit deals double damage with 20% extra knockback.
• Secondary: a thrust for triple damage at slightly longer range, in a narrow 10-degree arc.
• Backstab: 3x on both attacks, great with Troll Leather armor or the Fenris set.

Range and knockback

One-handed swords reach 2.4 meters (2.7 on the secondary) in a 90-degree arc. Their low knockback is a hidden strength: unlike maces, they keep targets close enough for the full combo. Each swing moves you 0.66 meters forward.

Every Sword in Valheim: Tier Breakdown

Bronze Sword

"Blood-drinker. A thirsty friend." Your first real sword is a revelation after Flint weapons: it hits much harder than the Flint Knife and pairs with a shield. It needs only a level 1 Forge, so you can make it as soon as you smelt Bronze in the Black Forest, and it is very stamina-efficient for its tier.

The base craft is 2 Wood, 8 Bronze and 2 Leather Scraps. Each upgrade costs more than the last. Get it to at least quality 2 before pushing deeper; the extra Slash matters against Greydwarf Brutes and Trolls.

Iron Sword

"The straight line between life and death runs along the edge of this blade." A 57% damage jump over Bronze, for 2 Wood, 20 Iron and 3 Leather Scraps at Forge level 2. Iron is scarce early, so many veterans make the Iron Mace first, since Blunt shines against Skeletons, Blobs and Bonemass.

The Iron Sword is still good, especially against Draugr and Abominations, and it costs the same stamina per swing as the Iron Mace. If you are committed to swords, skipping it costs skill levels. Maxing it is expensive (see the cost table below).

Silver Sword

"Purest of metals, nothing unclean can abide its touch." Here swords get special. Alongside Slash, it deals Spirit damage that only affects undead and demons. Against Wolves and Drakes you rely on Slash alone, but against Skeletons, Draugr and Fenrings the Spirit damage adds up fast. No other sword has more Spirit damage.

It needs Forge level 3 and 2 Wood, 40 Silver, 3 Leather Scraps and 5 Iron. Silver is slow to mine, and you need the Wishbone from Bonemass to find veins, so plan your trips. At 1.0 weight it is the heaviest one-handed sword.

Black Metal Sword

"A thing of death and beauty. It catches the light with a greenish glow." The pure damage choice before the Mistlands. It beats the Silver Sword against anything that is not undead, which suits the Plains, where Fulings, Deathsquitos and Lox are the threats.

It needs Forge level 4 and 2 Finewood, 20 Black Metal and 5 Linen Thread. Fulings drop Black Metal Scrap, which you smelt in a Blast Furnace, and Linen Thread comes from Flax at a Spinning Wheel. The first upgrade is cheap: just 10 Black Metal and 5 Linen Thread.

The Silver Sword stays better against undead, so many veterans carry both and swap by target.

Mistwalker

"The faint glow seems to slice through the mist." The most unusual sword. Its Slash never increases with quality, while its Frost and Spirit damage grow with each upgrade (Spirit starts at zero).

The mist-clearing glow

It clears the Mistlands mist in a 5 meter radius, shorter than a Wisplight but without using an equipment slot. The catch: the glow makes you about 20% more visible while sneaking. It needs a Black Forge plus 3 Finewood, 15 Iron, 10 Refined Eitr and 3 Wisps.

Ashlands Swords

Nidhögg

Forged at Black Forge level 3 from 3 Charred Bone, 12 Flametal and 2 Asksvin Hide. At Black Forge level 4 it can become Nidhögg the Bleeding (Bloodstone), Nidhögg the Thundering (Iolite, adds Lightning) or Nidhögg the Primal (Jade, adds Poison), each for 6 Flametal and the gem.

Dyrnwyn

The legendary blade adds Fire to the highest Slash of the Ashlands one-handers. You rebuild it at Black Forge level 4 from the Dyrnwyn Hilt Fragment, Blade Fragment and Tip Fragment, plus 20 Flametal and 1 Bloodstone.

Krom and Slayer (two-handed)

Krom arrived in the Mistlands as the first two-handed sword (Black Forge level 1: 30 Iron, 20 Bronze, 5 Scale Hide). The Ashlands Slayer (Black Forge level 3: 30 Flametal, 5 Asksvin Hide, 3 Morgen Sinew) has three variants: Brutal Slayer, Scourging Slayer and Primal Slayer, each for 15 Flametal plus a gem.

How two-handers play

They give up the shield for raw power, with 2.6 meter range, higher knockback and the same combo pattern at a slower 3.44 seconds.

Nord Sword and Nord Greatsword (New in 1.0)

The Deep North adds the strongest swords in the game, all forged at Black Forge level 4 with Bloodgold.

Nord Sword

Made from a Mould: Nord Sword, 20 Bloodgold and 10 Timberwood. It outclasses Dyrnwyn on Slash at every quality. Rework it into:

• Thunderblood Sword: Nord Sword, 20 Bloodgold and 1 Thunderblood Essence. More Slash plus Lightning.
• Frostfire Sword: Nord Sword, 20 Bloodgold and 1 Frostfire Essence. Less Slash, heavy Frost and some Fire.

Nord Greatsword

The new top two-hander, made from a Mould: Nord Greatsword, 20 Bloodgold and 2 Frozen Branch. It has its own Thunderblood Greatsword and Frostfire Greatsword variants with the same Bloodgold and Essence costs.

Novelties

The Wooden Sword (Workbench) and the Wooden Greatsword (Dvergr chests) deal almost no damage; treat them as curiosities.

Every Crafting Recipe: Materials, Stations and Upgrade Costs

Bronze through Black Metal swords use the regular Forge; Mistwalker and every later sword need the Black Forge. Upgrade costs climb with each quality level, and higher Forge levels need upgrades such as the Anvils, Forge Cooler, Forge Bellows and Grinding Wheel.

Sword Combat Techniques and Advanced Tips

Learn the combo rhythm

The full combo takes 2.46 seconds (0.86s, 0.70s, 0.90s). The second swing is fastest, giving a quick one-two before the slower, harder third strike. Learn it and you will parry-counter into a full combo by instinct.

The secondary is your nuke

The thrust deals 3x damage in a 10-degree arc at 2.7 meters. Against bosses and elites: parry, land the secondary, then run the combo while they recover. A Silver Sword secondary on a staggered enemy deals 225 Slash plus 90 Spirit before skill bonuses.

Backstab openers

With a sneak build, a backstab secondary deals 9x damage. On a quality 4 Black Metal Sword that is 339 times 3, or 1,017 Slash. Very few enemies survive that opener.

Swords Skill: How Leveling Works

The Swords skill rises with every hit, boosting damage and blocking with the sword itself. Block armor climbs 50% from skill 0 to 100: the Black Metal Sword goes from 39 to 58.5, and its parry armor from 78 to 117.

Specialize

Each weapon type has its own skill, and skills drop a little on death. Split time across swords, maces, axes and spears and all four stay mediocre. Damage at skill 50 is noticeably higher than at skill 10.

When to Use a Sword vs a Mace or Axe

Swords are the best generalists, not the best at everything.

Maces for Blunt-weak enemies

In the Swamp, the Iron Mace and Frostner beat swords because Blobs, Skeletons and Bonemass are weak to Blunt (and Bonemass resists Slash). In the Mountains, Stone Golems are immune to Slash but vulnerable to Blunt. If you have the space, carry a mace alongside your sword.

Axes

Axes double as woodcutting tools, but they have shorter range (2.2 meters), slower swings and a multitarget penalty. Bring one as a weapon on foraging runs; for planned fights, the sword is better.

Two-handed swords

Krom, Slayer and the Nord Greatsword trade the shield for raw power, higher knockback and slightly longer reach, at a slower 3.44-second combo. They reward confident dodgers, and a maxed Nord Greatsword or its variants are among the hardest-hitting melee weapons in the game.