Valheim Tier List
169 Valheim weapons, placed from S-tier down to F-tier by the damage they actually deal: the average against every non-boss creature at max quality, after each creature’s resistances. Lightning Strike leads at 363 average damage, and S-tier opens with Lightning Strike, Frostfire Sledge, Thunderblood Sledge, Frostfire Crossbow, and Thunderblood Crossbow. Every figure is read from the game files for November 2026, so the list moves only when a game update changes the numbers. Each list ranks the whole game at once; the biome lists below cut the same ranking down to what you can have at each stage.
S Tier - Best in Game
(17)S-tier is led by Lightning Strike at 363 average damage. They are followed by Frostfire Sledge (321), Thunderblood Sledge (313), Frostfire Crossbow (308), Thunderblood Crossbow (300), Frostfire Greatsword (293), Thunderblood Greatsword (281), and Frostfire Mace (266). The remaining 9 weapons round out this tier. The last entry in this tier sits at 246 average damage.
A Tier - Strong Picks
(25)A-tier is led by Frostfire Spear at 246 average damage. They are followed by Nord Sledge (243), Thunderblood Atgeir (239), Nord Crossbow (232), Frostfire Dagger (230), Thunderblood Spear (230), Thunderblood Dagger (221), and Nord Greatsword (212). The remaining 17 weapons round out this tier. The last entry in this tier sits at 166 average damage.
B Tier - Viable
(34)B-tier is led by Slayer at 166 average damage. They are followed by Nord Spear (161), Storm Star (156), Demolisher (155), Dyrnwyn (153), Nord Dagger (152), Klossen (151), and Krom (148). The remaining 26 weapons round out this tier. The last entry in this tier sits at 103 average damage.
C Tier - Situational
(34)C-tier is led by Black Metal Axe at 101 average damage. They are followed by Black Metal Sword (100), Black Metal Atgeir (99), Porcupine (98), Storm Fang (93), Frostner (92), Root Fang (88), and Ash Fang (83). The remaining 26 weapons round out this tier. The last entry in this tier sits at 51 average damage. It spans the Black Forest through the Ashlands.
D Tier - Below Average
(34)D-tier is led by Bronze Mace at 50 average damage. They are followed by Needle Arrow (50), Black Metal Bolt (50), Poison Arrow (49), Bronze Axe (49), Bronze Sword (47), Bronze Spear (43), and Obsidian Arrow (42). The remaining 26 weapons round out this tier. The last entry in this tier sits at 18 average damage. It spans the Meadows through the Ashlands.
F Tier - Weak
(25)F-tier is led by Antler Pickaxe at 14 average damage. They are followed by Flint Knife (13), Snowball (13), Stone Pickaxe (12), Abyssal Harpoon (8), Grappling Hook (8), Wooden Knife (7), and Ooze Bomb (5). The remaining 17 weapons round out this tier. The last entry in this tier sits at 3 average damage.
How this list is ranked
Valheim keeps no match statistics, so nothing here is a win rate: 169 entries are ranked by average effective damage against the whole bestiary at max quality, through the same calculation the matchup tool uses — so a weapon that erases one faction and does nothing to another lands where the average puts it, not where its best matchup does, computed from the game files for November 2026. Lightning Strike leads at 363.
Tiers are percentile bands on that ranking — the top tenth is S, then A, B, C and D, with the bottom sixth in F. Bands on rank rather than fixed cutoffs, because armour runs from 1 to 50 and weapon damage from 20 to 300, and one set of thresholds could not serve both.
Best gear by biome
The same numbers, cut by where you are in the game — each list holds everything available by that biome, not only what the biome itself unlocks.
169 Valheim weapons, placed from S-tier down to F-tier by the damage they actually deal: the average against every non-boss creature at max quality, after each creature’s resistances. Lightning Strike leads at 363 average damage, and S-tier opens with Lightning Strike, Frostfire Sledge, Thunderblood Sledge, Frostfire Crossbow, and Thunderblood Crossbow. Every figure is read from the game files for November 2026, so the list moves only when a game update changes the numbers. Each list ranks the whole game at once; the biome lists below cut the same ranking down to what you can have at each stage.
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Valheim Tier List FAQ
What is the best weapon in Valheim?
Averaged across every non-boss creature at max quality, Lightning Strike deals the most damage at 363 average damage, followed by Frostfire Sledge (321), Thunderblood Sledge (313), Frostfire Crossbow (308), and Thunderblood Crossbow (300). The best weapon for one particular fight can differ, because resistances multiply each damage type separately — the matchup tool ranks every weapon against a single target.
How is this Valheim tier list ranked?
On the game’s own numbers, not on win rates. Valheim is single-player and co-op with no match telemetry, so there is nothing to measure players against — these 169 entries are ordered by the stat the category is actually judged on, read from the installed build. That makes the ranking reproducible and it also makes its limits clear: it can tell you what hits hardest, not what suits your playstyle.
How often does this Valheim tier list change?
Only when a game update changes the numbers behind it. Every ranking is computed from the game files — this list reflects them as of November 2026 — so it moves when a patch rebalances a weapon, armour piece or food, not from week to week.
Should I only use S-tier gear?
No. Each list ranks everything in the game at once, however late you can first make it, so an S-tier entry is no help until you can craft it. What matters is the best option available to you now — the biome lists cut the same ranking down to what you can have by each biome.