For all the melee-killing madness that you inflict on your enemies in Valheim, the weapons you carry can get all blunt and (maybe) useless after a good while. So with that being said, a bow next to your murder weapon of choice is a good investment, but only if you have the arrows to do it. While the bow itself is easy to pick the best from (with only 4 bows available, for now), the same can’t be said with the arrows, as all the arrows in the game can serve a different purpose, and can offer a different approach against various types of enemies. You don’t have to aim anywhere else to know what arrow is the best for what scenario, as this list covers the necessary arrows that you need for your ranged needs.

As with all Valheim lists, this was written at the time of the game’s latest version (version 0.156.2) and is based on the overall usability of the arrow in a whole range of scenarios. Some arrows may be omitted from the list but can be referenced in the ones listed below.

With all that being said, time to get to the point (pun intended).

5. Metal Tipped Arrows (Bronzehead and Ironhead Arrows) – Best Metal-Based Arrows

Crafting either metal wiil require some extra steps, so it's best to know how to make the Charcoal Kiln and Smelter to be able to make these arrows. (YouTube Channel: ESO)

While these two have their distinct stat values, they’re both made the same way (as with many other arrows in this list) and serve the same pros and cons towards the arrow family they represent. Simply put, they are good in terms of raw damage, but given the materials that make up the core of these arrows, it’s a tradeoff that puts it below this list, and to be honest, could even be lower considering the time needed to make these.

What’s Good About Metal Tipped Arrows?

While that may not sound like the best intro for these arrows, there are still some benefits to making them. I’ll be separating them into their respective categories to illustrate the strength of each one below.

Bronzehead Arrows:

• Cheapest metal-based arrows to craft
• Can make a plentiful amount when you run out of things to use bronze for
• Decent pierce damage with good knockback

Ironhead Arrows:

• Good pierce damage with good knockback
• Can be found in the Swamps through chests

Now you may be wondering why the ironhead looks less useful than the bronzehead arrows? Well, again, it’s really because of the nature of the core materials they have, which are the metals. For Bronze, yes, I can see the argument of getting these for your arrows, assuming you got the time for it. They offer fairly good piercing damage for the material it is made upon, and if you have moved on from the Bronze weapons and armor you have, and have a chest full of unused bronze you can go for it.

Ironheads, on the other hand, are a hard pass, simply because Iron is used on all of the highest grade armor, and some of the best weapons out there, so, pro-tip, don’t waste Iron.

Damage on both of these are fine, but given how close the damage of the Flinthead arrows is to the Bronzehead (27 vs 32), and at maybe 2 times less the hassle and time wasted to get it compared to the Ironhead, you’re likely to stock up on that long before using any metal-based arrows.

How to Get Metal Tipped Arrows?

Your Forge may not have to be this grand as long as you have the necessities to make the arrows.

A quick side note on all the arrows on this list. They all have their respective materials listed that can make 20 arrows, with 100 being the limit of arrows you can get, per stack, per inventory slot.

Now, how do you get the metal arrows that we just touched on? It’s pretty much up to how your world is generated, and how much time you wish to grind for a certain number of arrows. Material-wise, expect to farm the following:

Bronzehead Arrows (per 20 Arrows):

• 8 Wood
• 2 Feathers
• 1 Bronze

Ironhead Arrows (per 20 Arrows):

• 8 Wood
• 2 Feathers
• 1 Iron

Since these are metal-tipped arrows, you’ll need a Forge to make these, and given that you have access to Bronze, let alone Iron, you’ll likely have one made already at your base or dedicated forge area.

With that being the case, if you need arrows that meet the metal of your shooting needs, then these arrows should be good for that use case, albeit, a very costly one in my own opinion.

For a detailed look at the arrows’ stats, you may look at the table or use the key points below.

Bronzehead Arrows:

• Piercing Damage: 32
• Elemental Damage: N/A
• Total Damage: 32
• Knockback Amount: 10

Ironhead Arrows:

• Piercing Damage: 42
• Elemental Damage: N/A
• Total Damage: 42
• Knockback Amount: 10

4. Wood Arrows – Best General Purpose Arrow

No fancy steps needed, just chop, craft and use. (YouTube Channel: Bigundes World)

Scaling back the complexity, we now focus on the first arrow you’ll make in the game, the Wood Arrows. While being the weakest in the list in terms of damage, you’d be surprised that it’s not far off the metal tipped ones in usability, and its ease of making just makes it a cut above its Bronze and Iron-headed counterparts.

What’s Good About Wood Arrows?

As said above, its ease of making and accessibility makes it good, granted Valheim’s current balance for each arrow can be off at times, but it’s still the most frequently used arrow for most of your needs

Wood Arrows:

• Easiest to craft
• Can make a sizeable inventory of arrows with it.
• Still retains the same knockback amount as its stronger counterparts

Simplicity wins, and if you’re just starting your run on Valheim or in need of a large number of arrows, these wooden darts are still viable for the roams you’d like to take on the less extreme biomes.

How to Get Wood Arrows?

The forest is your weapon, quite literally.

The real winner is the materials needed to make these arrows, and the list is as short as the explanation for why it’s good.

Wood Arrows (per 20 Arrows):

• 8 Wood

Yes, you read that right, 8 Wood. Just pick up some wood from fallen branches, or cut a tree down, and you can load up on a lot of these very quickly. Given that you’d make a crude bow very early on, you’d be familiar with the damage this can bring as soon as that tree you cut down hasn’t taken away your health bar when you’re not careful (they hurt a lot, surprisingly).

For a detailed look at the arrows’ stats, you may look at the table or use the key points below.

Wood Arrows:

• Piercing Damage: 22
• Elemental Damage: N/A
• Total Damage: 22
• Knockback Amount: 10

3. Obsidian Arrows – Best Alternate Piercing Arrows

Obsidian is easy to get, but the area and danger around it is anything but easy. (YouTube Channel: EpicCRAZY WOLF)

With all the materials in the game that we can use, it’s really surprising that obsidian is mostly an arrow exclusive item. The only other item that uses obsidian is a tool shelf, and that’s just to upgrade your workbench, while the rest makes 3 kinds of arrows, and we focus on the best piercing arrow you can make out of it.

What’s Good About Obsidian Arrows?

Being an arrow that doesn’t carry metal properties, the portal limitation of it being unable to teleport on is not present, and therefore (with pre-prepped portal materials) makes it accessible to do. For Obsidian arrows specifically, they are good for the reasons below.

Obsidian Arrows:

• Obsidian is a plentiful resource
• One of the highest piercing arrow
• Materials used can also make Poison Arrows

Speaking of Poison arrows, if you are considering it, don’t bother, as it’s a nerfed-out version of the obsidian arrow, while offering a fraction of its piercing damage. Given that the Draugr Fang, Valheim’s best bow, has built-in poison damage, you’re better off using that with the Obsidian Arrow you’ve amassed, assuming you haven’t turned said obsidian into something else.

How to Get Obsidian Arrows?

From drakes to stone golems, there's no time to chill when you're surrounded by many dangerous creatures in the mountains.

Obsidian is found around the larger mountains and is abundant in terms of the number of drops, and if you choose to make it (and the other arrows that need that too), you can make a decent inventory of high-grade arrows. For materials, you should be looking at getting the following:

Obsidian Arrows (per 20 Arrows):

• 8 Wood
• 4 Obsidian
• 2 Feathers

As I said, you’ll be going to the mountains more often, and more often than not you’ll also be getting silver and freeze glands while being up there, so when getting the obsidian, try creating a multi-item farming plan to get the most out of your cold, dangerous expedition. Also one more important tip is that obsidian can only be obtained by using an iron pickaxe, so remember to sharpen (and repair) that before trekking through the snowy alps.

For a detailed look at the arrows’ stats, you may look at the table or use the key points below.

Obsidian Arrows:

• Piercing Damage: 52
• Elemental Damage: N/A
• Total Damage: 52
• Knockback Amount: 10

2. Frost Arrows – Best Elemental Arrows

Same tips and tricks as Obsidian Arrows, but with a bit more blizzard bloodshed. (YouTube Channel: Fortizar)

Now we go to a different kind of arrow, the elemental arrows. I said that obsidian makes other arrows, and one of them happens to be the best in terms of strategical choice for a wider range of situations, the frost arrow.

What’s Good About Frost Arrows?

As the name suggests, it slows the enemy you hit with the frost effect that this arrow offers. While a tedious one to get, truthfully, it’s one of the most versatile arrows that you’ll make in the game and is worth getting. Below are a few things that can benefit you when using this icy bolt.

Frost Arrows:

• Slows enemies to enable getting away, especially strong enemies.
• One of the highest combined damaging arrows in the game
• Is usually the go-to arrow of choice for utility purposes

Like the obsidian arrow before it, it also has powerful stats, and in fact, it has one of the highest at 78 damage (tied with Poison arrows), but that’s assuming the enemy has no resistance against frost effects (more on the stat breakdown later).

How to Get Frost Arrows?

Freezing your own glands off is an extra when facing these creatures of the ice.

If you know how to make Obsidian arrows, then you have most of the core components these frozen snow darts need, with the only difference being the extra item listed below.

Frost Arrows (per 20 Arrows):

• 8 Wood
• 4 Obsidian
• 2 Feathers
• 1 Freeze Gland

You’ll be looking at finding more fights with Drake (not the rapper), and hoping it drops the freeze gland needed to make a decent amount of arrows, and if you’re in a big mountain, you shouldn’t be having an issue finding a lot of them there. While being a bit harder to make, when you encounter harder enemies, later on, you can use this arrow to tell them to chill out.

For a detailed look at the arrows’ stats, you may look at the table or use the key points below.

Frost Arrows:

• Piercing Damage: 26
• Elemental Damage: 52
• Total Damage: 78
• Knockback Amount: 10

1. Needle Arrows – Best Piercing Arrow

These mosquitoes don't suck, they stab. (YouTube Channel: Video Game DataBank)

What’s better than a thin piece of wood to kill your unsuspecting target? A thinner, more deadly material that can kill your target. Enter the Needle Arrow, an arrow that inflicts a lot of flat damage, it’s without a doubt the best arrow the game has to offer (so far).

What’s Good About Needle Arrows?

Do you want an arrow that kills a large variety of enemies? Get this. Do you want an arrow that isn’t dependent on effects? Get this. Do you want an arrow for hunting deer for food? Don’t use this, as you can save these for more important enemies. Just use wood arrows.

Going back to the needle arrows, as stated, it’s got a flat damage profile that isn’t reduced by effect resistances, making it the best arrow for straight-up damage.

Needle Arrows:

• Good flat damage profile
• Only arrow where the knockback amount is increased
• Doesn’t need wood to be crafted

When the arrow is that deadly, you can throw wood out the window (but don’t as you still need wood and can make the area lag). Speaking of materials, we can now proceed with that.

How to Get Needle Arrows?

Thankfully, this amount of Deathsquitos don't naturally spawn, but even 4 of these at the same time can be lights out for you.

Like many arrows here, even the best arrow doesn’t need much explaining on where to get it. Materials are pretty straightforward as listed below:

Needle Arrows (per 20 Arrows):

• 4 Needles
• 2 Feathers

To make the painful Needle arrow, you also need to farm it, in the most painful biome to possibly be on, the Plains. You’ll have to find the Deathsquito, which, as the name suggests, is a very deadly in-game mosquito that can kill you instantly if you aren’t prepared. Killing it likely drops a needle, but prepare to have some instances where it doesn’t, so farm and kill a lot of these (just not many at the same time), so you can get their tails and use it against them (or any enemy).

For a detailed look at the arrows’ stats, you may look at the table or use the key points below.

Needle Arrows:

• Piercing Damage: 62
• Elemental Damage: N/A
• Total Damage: 62
• Knockback Amount: 15

You may also be interested in:

• Valheim Best Armor (And How to Get Them)
• Valheim Best Food (And How to Get Them)
• Valheim Best Shield (And How to Get Them)
• Valheim Review - Is It Good or Bad?