If you want to get the best chance of survivability in Valheim, you’d need a strong weapon to partner a shield, but for a game that doesn’t have set rules to completion, you can go to a much braver, more vulnerable route. Here we discuss Valheim’s dual-handed weapons aimed to forgo the shield entirely and go for a more aggressive and oftentimes, more stamina-consuming attack to kill enemies.

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 ease of crafting, and usability of the weapon.

Now on to the reckless swinging and killing.

5. Stagbreaker – Best Early Two-Handed Weapon

A ground-leveling hammer to level the playing field. (YouTube Channel: Vedui42)

When you go full-on aggressive for early, then the Stagbreaker takes it as its cheap weapon cost and use for being a mob breaker will come in handy for leveling the odds (and even the ground).

What’s Good About the Stagbreaker?

The ability to be able to clear mobs is a good stat early game, but specifically, it’s good at doing the following:

Wood Arrows:

• Cheapest two-handed weapon to wield
• Can make a decent amount of damage
• Knockback via an AoE smash
• Safe clearing of crypts when used right

While that’s the biggest benefit for this weapon, it’s also its biggest drawback, specifically being unable to hit the enemies directly, and relying on them getting close for the AoE damage. Doing that while also being unable to block when you channel the attack just spells disaster on the wrong timing.

How to Get the Stagbreaker?

The point of this weapon? Lots.

To obtain the spiky looking hammer, you’ll need to gather the following:

Stagbreaker:

• 20 Core Wood
• 5 Deer Trophy
• 2 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.

Stagbreaker:

• Damage: 20-38
• Damage Type: Blunt
• Minimum Crafting Area: Workbench (Level 2)

4. Battleaxe – Best Dual-handed Axe

A swing into your enemies requires lots of stamina. (YouTube Channel: AnterGamer)

While regular axes are more on chopping wood than an actual weapon, this larger, more imposing axe deals a lot more damage to a greater number as well. With a triple attack combo at its core, it’s a weapon built to cut anyone down to size.

What is Good About the Battleaxe?

Unlike the Stagbreakers AoE ground smash, the Battleaxe goes back to traditional on-hit damage, and specifically, it’s a great weapon for these reasons:

Battleaxe:

• Can hit multiple enemies with more consistent damage spread
• Double damage on the third hit of the combo
• The alternate attack does stagger

As cool as it looks, it’s a tough one to wield as you’ll have a longer windup time to hurl the weapon towards your foes. Not only that but it mostly kills enemies in front of you, leaving your back exposed to other attacks. Though, it’s the general tradeoff for these sorts of weapons, and so if you specifically want a glorified tree cutter as a primary weapon, then here it is.

How to Get the Battleaxe?

It ain't just trees that this axe is cutting down to size.

A lot of material variance compared to the axes but in total, you’ll need the following:

Battleaxe:

• 30 Ancient Bark
• 35 Iron
• 4 Leather Scraps

Let’s get to the sharp end of the Battleaxe, it’s expensive in material costs, like really expensive. It requires a lot of Ancient Bark, which is from the trees in the Swamp biome, and while we’re at it, a load of Iron is also needed, which is found therein crypts and, if lucky under some parts of the biome as well. It’s a lot of materials for something that isn’t practical to build, and if your seed has far away Swamps and your camps aren’t near those areas, you’d swing towards other weapons in this list. Assuming you’re fine with that and want the aesthetics of it, then go at it, chop-chop.

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

Battleaxe:

• Damage: 75-93
• Damage Type: Slash
• Minimum Crafting Area: Forge (Level 2)

3. Iron Sledge – Best Dual-Wielded AoE Hammer

An in-depth guide into making this enormous hammer. (YouTube Channel: ESO)

When we talked about the AoE effect that the Stagbreaker has, it’s got some good use for the smaller enemies in the beginning. Now, what about bigger, deadlier foes? Then enter the Iron Sledge.

What is Good About the Iron Sledge?

To put it in simpler words, the Iron Sledge is a Stagbreaker turned to 11 on the damage graph. Its use for the game can be as follows:

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

The amount of safety this weapon brings just makes it an amazing mob clearing weapon if you don’t feel confident about going face to face with enemies like the Draugr and even a Fuling. Speaking of the former, it’s also necessary to battle their elite counterpart as you’ll need them for the creation of this weapon, which we’ll get to now.

How to Get the Iron Sledge?

A mallet for many mobs coming your way.

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:

• 10 Ancient Bark
• 30 Iron
• 4 Ymir Flesh
• 1 Draugr Elite Trophy

The only familiar items to be featured are the Iron and Ancient Bark. As for the rest of the items, we’ll be taking a deeper dive into it so you can eventually hammer home the win and get that huge hammer to your bloodthirsty hands.

The Ymir Flesh is found via the merchant, who sells them. You earn the gold to buy that by killing Trolls, checking the crypts in the Swamp, selling valuable items you found in other crypts or a combination of the three. Going back, to find the merchant, you should be able to find him in a Black Forest, usually far from your spawn point. He always stays put once you find him, so you won’t have to do another cross-continental trade if ever.

The Draugr Elite Trophy is a little more straightforward as you’ll find the Draugr Elites mostly in the crypts in the Swamp, which is also where you find Iron. Like all trophies, it’s a luck of the draw in terms of its dropping rates, so you may need to fight many of them, just to be able to obtain one.

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

Iron Sledge:

• Damage: 55-73
• Damage Type: Blunt
• Minimum Crafting Area: Forge (Level 2)

2. Iron Atgeir – Best Mid-Tier Polearm

This video predominantly showcases the Bronze and Iron Atgeir in combat against the toughest mobs in the game. (YouTube Channel: FireSpark81)

From the Battleaxe, we turn towards its lighter counterpart, the atgeir, specifically, we are looking at the Iron Atgeir. It’s a two-handed weapon that pretty much looks like a sword on a stick, but as a weapon, it’s a mighty one at that.

What is Good About the Iron Atgeir?

A bit of the nuance that the Battleaxe suffers from are negated here, and if you look at it from its perspective, the Iron Atgeir is a respectable weapon for the following reasons:

Iron Atgeir:

• Faster combo animations than other dual-handed weapons
• The alternate attack does good pierce damage on a targeted enemy
• Cheaper to make than the Battleaxe

While that isn’t many reasons listed for this weapon specifically, the reason being is that spoiler, there is a better atgeir in terms of damage output, but we’ll save that for later. As for making this a priority to build, it’s in the same league as the Battleaxe as, it’s expensive (but cheaper to make than the previously mentioned weapon), and that its core item, Iron, is the most important ore in the game.

How to Get the Iron Atgeir?

Poke and swing, that's the name of the game.

While being expensive still, the Iron Atgeir is still doable as you’ll need the following:

Iron Atgeir:

• 10 Wood
• 30 Iron
• 2 Leather Scraps

Again, it is expensive but at least the Iron is the only issue. Other materials listed are those you’ve already gotten or crafted from the beginning of the game, or close to that. Iron, again, makes up for many of the tools, weapons, and armor that you’d need in the game, and that shares resources. It’s one of the last Iron weapons you’d ever build, which is the best way to describe the priority of this polearm into perspective. Once you do build it, however, its nimble, faster play style definitely makes this better than the weapons listed above, as long as you can manage your combos right, and not stab your friends along the way.

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

Iron Atgeir:

• Damage: 65-83
• Damage Type: Piercing
• Minimum Crafting Area: Forge (Level 2)

1. Blackmetal Atgeir – Best Polearm

One-shotting weaker mobs have never been so easy. (YouTube Channel: KilroyPlays)

Now, we get to the best two-handed weapon in Valheim, the Blackmetal Atgeir. With black metal in general, it’s bound to be attached to the best weapons this game has to offer, and that includes this atgeir.

What is Good About the Blackmetal Atgeir?

Like the Iron Atgeir before it, it’s got a fast combo attack and a powerful secondary attack, and again, it’s like an Iron Atgeir, only better. Below are the things that make it so great.

Blackmetal Atgeir:

• Best polearm in the game
• The alternate attack does huge pierce damage on a targeted enemy
• Is made of blackmetal, and allows for high stats in general.

Being relatively fast while doing great damage is the key to this death stick, and cost-wise, it doesn’t look all too bad.

How to Get the Blackmetal Atgeir?

A lot more metal on this atgeir, just make the point of killing clearer.

A modest amount of things are needed compared to the others on the list, but still a lot as you’ll need the following:

Blackmetal Atgeir:

• 10 Fine Wood
• 30 Black Metal
• 5 Linen Thread

Out goes the Iron and in goes the Black Metal. While the black metal doesn’t have many things that share its use, besides other weapons, where you get it from is the tricky part, killing Fulings and/or raiding their camp. These goblins are notorious for one-shotting you when you’re ill-prepared, so if you do wish to get their metal, pick them off one by one because one is tough enough to go against safely, an army of them? Good luck.

Another item you should be getting is Linen Thread, which is made by processing Flax through a spinning wheel. Getting Flax itself is done by getting it from the Plains, usually near the Fuling camps, and that’s pretty much going for two birds in one stone if you can plan your routes accordingly.

With all those acquired, you should be stabbing or swinging at anything that moves and you don’t need a shield to keep yourself safe, knowing that you won’t block any incoming damage your way if they’re all dead.

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

Blackmetal Atgeir:

• Damage: 105-123
• Damage Type: Piercing
• Minimum Crafting Area: Forge (Level 4)

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?