Not that long ago, we touched on Clubs and Two-Handed Weapons in Valheim, with all of them being good in their own right and use case. This time, we focus on the very thing they share in common, blunt damage. Most enemies aren’t resistant to this type of damage, and in some cases, happens to be the biggest weakness. Given how valuable blunt weapons can be here, we should combine them into the best blunt weapons list that we can create.
As with all Valheim lists, this was written at the time of the games’ latest version (Hearth and Home Update, version 0.203.10). Some descriptions will be taken from previous articles mentioned above as the information attached to them is still accurate.
Now to find out the best blunt weapon in the game… and don’t mind the enemies splattered on the wall.
5. Stagbreaker
Mobs are no problem when the Stagbreaker can hit the ground and make them (relatively) go away.
What’s Good About the Stagbreaker?
Its ability to be able to clear mobs in an area this early gets some leverage over similar-tier blunt weapons in the early game, with emphasis on the things below going for it.
Stagbreaker:
- Cheapest two-handed weapon to wield
- Can make a decent amount of damage
- Knockback via an AoE smash
A good early weapon for mob clearing yes, but if a powerful enemy is in your face, that channeling animation to hit the ground would only channel an early grave for you when used incorrectly, so be warned when and where you smash the ground. Still, you’d likely use this for quite a while as it’s the only AoE hammer you’d craft until we get to the next blunt, dual-wielded mallet in the list.
How to Get the Stagbreaker?
To obtain the spiky looking hammer, you’ll need to do the following:
Stagbreaker:
- Get Core Wood from Fir Trees in the Black Forest
- Kill Deer and try to get a Deer Trophy
- Kill Boars for Leather Scraps
It’s by far the easiest material to get on this list, as the only thing tough to get in relative terms is the Core wood from Pine trees in the Black Forest. The rest of the materials are easily attainable as you will kill boar and deer for food, so this is a nice bonus that will transition into the pointy mallet when you do choose to hammer home the pain.
For a detailed look at the weapons stats, you may look at the table or use the key points below.
- Damage Profile: Blunt
- Base Damage: 20
- Full Upgraded Damage: 38
- Minimum Crafting Area: Workbench (Level 2)
4. Iron Mace
Without deviating to hybrids, the Iron Mace is the best pure blunt weapon that you can craft, as its single-handed, iron-made nature makes it a strong weapon in its own right.
What’s Good About the Iron Mace?
A great weapon with great utility, here are the things the Iron Mace can provide.
Iron Mace:
- Slight knockback increase from the Bronze Mace
- Damage increase can help with higher difficulty mobs
- A good weapon for doing Swamp runs or killing Bonemass
Again, if you want the go-to weapon of choice for Swamp runs, or if you want to go toe to toe with the game’s 3rd boss, Bonemass, this blunt rod is worthy of an inventory slot. Its one-handed operation allows for a shield on the other that will help protect you when out dealing the swamp-folk.
How to Get the Iron Mace?
The Iron Mace is created by doing the following:
Iron Mace:
- Obtain Iron Scraps from the Swamp crypts
- Smelt the scraps in a Smelter to get Iron Ore
- Get Wood
- Kill Boars for Leather Scraps
- Combine all the materials by the Forge
While the metal has changed from Bronze to Iron, so does the quantity needed to make it. We jump from 8 to 20 in terms of needed core metal, and given Iron’s importance, is a lot. Also different is the location of the ore needed, as we will be finding Iron in the Swamps through pickaxing muddy scrap piles in the crypts. The same process as the bronze when turning the ore into ingots, so when you do arrive home, make sure to grab this Iron swing stick to enjoy its blunt damage goodness.
For a detailed look at the Iron Mace’s stats, you may look at the table or use the key points below.
- Damage Profile: Blunt
- Base Damage: 55
- Full Upgraded Damage: 73
- Minimum Crafting Area: Forge (Level 2)
3. Iron Sledge
Remember what we said about the previous two entries? Just imagine a hybrid of the two weapons, and chances are we get the Iron Sledge as a result.
What is Good About the Iron Sledge?
Describing it is as easy as saying the Stagbreaker was made of metal and the damage has been significantly boosted, which is almost accurate, apart from some other benefits listed below.
Iron Sledge:
- Strong AoE damage to chunk out an enemy’s health
- High possibility for stagger effect to apply to enemies
- When upgraded, it’s strong enough to be used on the toughest enemies in the Plains
High stagger is the key contention point as, unlike its wooden brethren, the stun possibility is greatly increased with the Iron Sledge, and given it has the highest stun chance of all the weapons, it’s no doubt got some tactical heft alongside its bluntness.
How to Get the Iron Sledge?
All this usability comes at a cost, literally, as an item to craft it is only exclusively bought through the merchant and that will take a lot of earned coins to get that. The full list of things to get is the following.
Iron Sledge:
- Get Ancient Bark by cutting down Ancient Trees with an axe
- Obtain Iron Scraps from the Swamp crypts
- Smelt the scraps in a Smelter to get Iron Ore
- Purchase the needed Ymir Flesh from the trader
- Kill a Draugr Elite to try and obtain a Draugr Elite Trophy
- Combine all the materials by the Forge
For a detailed look at the weapons stats, you may look at the table or use the key points below.
- Damage Profile: Blunt
- Base Damage: 55
- Full Upgraded Damage: 73
- Minimum Crafting Area: Forge (Level 2)
2. Porcupine
Take a very large mace, tack on a bunch of needles to pierce enemies and you get, on a larger picture, Valheim’s best weapon. For this list, however, it loses out to a very specific reason, but this blunt weapon still hurts a lot, so let’s learn more about it.
What’s Good About the Porcupine?
Here’s a surprise on the list that only applies to the blunt weapons category, the best weapon in the game, the Porcupine, is now second. This doesn’t mean that it has gotten worse, but given how the list goes, this is now an objective second, with it only losing out due to a very specific reason, which we’ll get to later. For now, this imposing spike mallet is our focus, and it will still splatter any enemy out of its skin, so let’s dive right into what makes this so good, which is listed below:
Porcupine:
- Highest overall damage profile from all the clubs
- A suitable weapon to many enemies, even the highest-level ones
- Its combination of blunt and piercing make many enemies with no resistances easy to burst
We touched on the list that the Iron Mace is the best, pure blunt weapon of choice, which leads to this weapon is the first of the hybrid blunt weapons. The mix comes in the form of Piercing damage, which, as the name implies, pierces an enemy dealing a lot of damage to anyone afflicted by it (unless the enemy is resistant to said damage type).
How to Get the Porcupine?
For a high-grade weapon, the Porcupine has a pretty modest construction to it, in terms of its materials, namely the following items:
Porcupine:
- Chop Birch Trees to obtain Fine Wood
- Obtain Iron Scraps from the Swamp crypts
- Smelt the scraps in a Smelter to get Iron Ore
- Kill Deathsquitos in the Plains to get Needles
- Get Flax from the Plains and put in a Spinning Wheel to obtain Linen Thread
- Combine all the materials by the Forge
For a detailed look at the Porcupine’s stats, you may look at the table or use the key points below.
- Damage Profile: Blunt / Piercing
- Base Damage: 50 / 45 (95)
- Full Upgraded Damage: 50 / 63 (113)
- Minimum Crafting Area: Workbench (Level 4)
1. Frostner
The surprise of the list is that Frostner is the “best” blunt weapon, and I say that with quotes as the Porcupine and the Frostner will always be a stylistic preference, but if you want the most in a blunt weapon, the Frostner’s kit is for you.
What’s Good About the Frostner?
The best part and single reason why the Frostner is the best blunt weapon is its utility coming from 3 damage types as explained below.
Frostner:
- Triple damage profile with both blunt, frost, and spirit damage
- A varied effective rate against many types of enemies
- Highest knockback amount of any one-handed club in the game
While on paper, the 3 effects make it a force to be reckoned with against all enemies, but in reality, the spirit damage really only applies to undead mobs, and as for the majority of enemies, you’ll only get the benefit of 2 effects, frost, and blunt damage. It’s still a good combo, don’t get me wrong, but it would be nice to have all 3 any day, but that would make it too overpowered.
How to Get the Frostner?
A lot of benefits, but also a lot of materials needed to make it. Prepare the grocery list of items you’ll need to make this one as it includes the following:
Frostner:
- Get Ancient Bark by cutting down Ancient Trees with an axe
- Use a Wishbone to spot and dig for Silver ore
- Smelt the scraps in a Smelter to get Silver Ore
- Purchase the needed Ymir Flesh from the trader
- Kill Drakes for Freeze Glands
- Combine everything at the Forge
For a detailed look at Frostner’s stats, you may look at the table or use the key points below.
- Damage Profile: Blunt / Frost / *Spirit
- Base Damage: 35 / 40 / *20
- Full Upgraded Damage: 35 / 58 / *20
- Minimum Crafting Area: Forge (Level 3)
*only applies to certain enemies