Valheim players will need a bow to survive in the various biomes on the map. Bows are effective at taking down enemies from range and inflicting damage on larger foes whose strong melee attacks should be avoided. Players can upgrade their bows and craft better ones as they progress through the game.
However, players will also need better arrows when they attempt to inhabit the more dangerous biomes and defeat all of the bosses in Valheim. There are eleven different types of arrows that can be crafted or forged in the game. This guide will cover the four elemental and seven basic arrows in Valheim, as well as how to get them.
Updated March 17, 2023, by Joe Grantham: The Mistlands update for Valheim was a huge upgrade, especially for those players who are able to survive and battle their way to the late game. In the now fully fleshed-out Mistlands biome, players will find a variety of new enemies and loot, which naturally means new tools and weapons can be crafted. Among the new materials is Carapace, which is dropped from Seekers and described as a plate of chitinous armor. With this resource in hand, players can now craft Carapace arrows which are the best non-elemental arrows in the game. The fact that Valheim is continuously updated also means that other changes to arrows or the bows that utilize them have been made.
11 Wood Arrows
- Pierce: 22
- Knockback: 10
The first arrows players will be able to craft are Wood Arrows. Players will first need to have a Workbench. The Workbench is unlocked after players have crafted a Hammer with Wood and Stone.
Workbenches are then crafted using just the Hammer and 10 Wood. Once the Workbench is crafted, all players will need is 8 Wood to craft 20 Arrows, a process that can be repeated over and over again thanks to the number of trees in Valheim.
10 Flinthead Arrows
- Pierce: 27
- Knockback: 10
The next available arrow is the Flinthead Arrow. In addition to Wood, Finthead Arrows are crafted with 2 Flint and 2 Feathers. Flint is located in the Meadows biome near the shores of lakes and rivers. Feathers can be found in three different locations. The first is by killing either a Crow or a Gull.
They also have a small chance to drop from trees in the meadows and will sometimes appear in chests as well. Players can craft Flinthead Arrows once they have reached level two at the workbench.
9 Bronzehead Arrows
- Pierce: 32
- Knockback: 10
Bronzehead Arrows are the first set of arrows that are created using the Forge. To craft the Forge, players will need to mine Copper in the Black Forest. To make Bronze for the arrows, players will also need to farm Tin, which is found near water in the Black Forest biome. Players will need a Smelter to refine the Copper and Tin Ore into Bronze.
To craft the Smelter, gamers will need to collect Surtling Cores from Burial Chambers. Once the Smelter has been assembled, Bronze can be refined and players can use the Bronze to produce arrows at the forge. 1 Bronze, 8 Wood, and 2 Feathers produce a total of 20 Bronzehead Arrows when forged.
8 Fire Arrows
- Pierce: 11
- Fire: 22
- Knockback: 10
The first elemental arrows that players will unlock, and by far the weakest, are Fire Arrows. Players will need 8 Resin, along with 8 Wood and 2 Feathers to craft them. Players will find Resin by killing the various Greydwarf enemies in Valheim, which frequent the Black Forests.
Fire Arrows are okay early in the game, but they do not inflict enough damage to compete against the arrows listed below. They are however great options against Trolls and The Elder boss.
7 Ironhead Arrows
- Pierce: 42
- Knockback: 10
The next best arrows are the Ironhead Arrows. These can be crafted with 1 Iron, 2 Feathers, and 8 Wood. Players will need to explore the Sunken Crypts scattered throughout the Swamp biome to find Scrap Iron.
The Crypts are denoted by gated doors and green torches in the Swamp. The Crypts are locked until the key is acquired after defeating The Elder. Players will be able to Smelt these scraps into Iron to craft the arrows.
6 Obsidian Arrows
- Pierce: 52
- Knockback: 10
Players will need Obsidian to craft the arrows, which is located in the Mountain biomes. Because of all the snow, and the fact that the ores are indistinguishable from rocks, Obsidian can be hard to find at first, but players will soon get used to spotting it.
Unlike Bronze and Iron which are used in inferior arrows, Obsidian does not need to be refined or altered in any way. For a stack of 20 arrows, players will need 4 Obsidian, 2 Feathers, and 8 Wood.
5 Needle Arrows
- Pierce: 62
- Knockback: 15
Needle Arrows are the second-best non-elemental arrows in Valheim thus far and have the same Knockback rating as Carapace Arrows which out damage them. Players will need to travel to the Plains biome and kill Deathsquitos to get the necessary Needles for the arrows.
These pesky creatures are easy to kill, but deal 90 damage per attack. It is probably best to hunt them at range. The Needles are also used to craft the Porcupine, one of the best maces in all of Valheim. All players need to craft the arrows are 4 Needles and 2 Feathers.
4 Silver Arrows
- Pierce: 52
- Spirit: 20
- Knockback: 10
Silver Arrows while not the best all-around arrows, are particularly effective against Undead or Unholy enemies, like those found in the Swamp Biome. Players will need to have their Forge at level three before the Silver Arrows can be crafted. The Silver needed to craft the arrows is found buried under the snow and rocks in the Mountain biome.
Players will need their Wishbone to discover these hidden deposits, which is acquired after beating the Bonemass boss. Additionally, players will need 8 Wood and 2 Feathers to Forge 20 arrows.
3 Poison Arrows
- Pierce: 26
- Poison: 52
- Knockback: 10
The second-best elemental arrows in Valheim are the Poison arrows, which deal pierce damage, as well as a huge portion of poison damage over time. With how difficult these arrows are to craft though, players should save them for enemies that are particularly perceptible.
Players will need to look for Ooze and Blobs in the Swamps, as they are the only creatures that drop the Ooze needed to craft the Poison Arrow. Players will need 8 Wood, 4 Obsidian, 2 Feathers, and 2 Ooze to craft a bundle of 20 arrows.
2 Frost Arrows
- Pierce: 26
- Frost: 52
- Knockback: 10
Poison and Frost arrows both have the same total damage output, but the Frost arrows can be considered slightly better as they deal their damage upfront instead of over time. The only necessary ingredient that has not been mentioned thus far is the Freeze Gland. This rare item is dropped by Drakes in the Mountain biome.
While players are looking for Obsidian, they should keep an eye out for the flying creatures. For every successful hit, the Frost Arrows have a slowing status effect, making them the best arrows in Valheim at the moment.
1 Carapace Arrows
- Pierce: 72
- Knockback: 15
Courtesy of the Mistlands update, Carapace Arrows are the new best non-elemental arrows in Valheim. Arguably they are even better than the Frost and Poison Arrows due to more reliable damage and a superior Knockback rating.
Other than the standard 8 Wood and 2 Feathers, players will also need to acquire 4 Carapace in order to craft a bundle of 20 Carapace Arrows, and this must be done at a Black Forge too. Carapace is dropped from Seekers and Seeker Soldiers in the Mistlands, which is currently the most dangerous biome for players to enter.
Valheim is available on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.