Valheim Forge Guide - Everyone's Favorite Crafting Station

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Emily is a gaming aficionado who has written for The Gamer, Gamerant, GamerBolt, and Valnet, but she has found a home here at Ready Game Survive. She adores writing about Ark: Survival Evolved among other great survival titles, and outside of traditional survival, she loves Legend of Zelda, League of Legends and Fable.

What is a Forge in Valheim?

Materials Needed: 4x stone, 4x coal, 10x wood, 6x copper
Upgrade Levels: 7
Craftable Items: 60+

The Forge is a crafting station used to craft dozens of items in Valheim. To gear yourself up with the best weapons, tools, and armor in the game, you have to build a Forge. If you want to leave the start island on anything but a slow and inconvenient raft, you need a Forge to make nails for a boat.

The Forge can be upgraded six times to reach Tier 7, allowing you to max out the best gear in the game. It will take some work, but you can have the best of the best in no time.

Valheim Forge Upgrades

There are six items that can upgrade the Forge. These items should be placed near the Forge, but you cannot interact with them after they are placed.

They are items that allow more items to be crafted with the Forge but serve no other purpose. Unless you like your workshop to look boss like I do, then they are there for added aesthetics.

The order that you make these upgrades doesn’t matter. You can place any two of them, and your Forge will be level three, regardless of which upgrades you place.

Forge Cooler

25x Fine Wood
10x Copper

Anvils

5x Wood
2x Bronze

Smith’s Anvil

5x Wood
20x Iron

Forge Toolrack

10x Wood
15x Iron

Forge Bellows

5x Wood
5x Deer Hide
4x Chain

Grinding Wheel

25x Wood
1x Sharpening Stone

The Sharpening Stone is a unique item that only has one use: to make a Grinding Wheel. You can either make it in a Stonecutter or find it in boxes at Fuling Villages.

What the Forge Can Make

The Forge can make over 60 items. Each item requires the Forge to be a certain level or higher, to craft. You can make any Forge item with a Tier 4 Forge. However, tiers 5 through 7 are for upgrading items.

Tier 1 – Requires Tier 4 to Max Out Items

Bronze Helmet – the Bronze Helmet is the first helmet you’ll make. It has a base armor of 8 and a durability of 1000. To upgrade the helmet, you need Bronze.
Bronze Plate Cuirass – the Bronze Plate Cuirass is a chest piece with a base armor of 8 and a durability of 1000. It negatively affects your movement speed by 5% when you wear it. To upgrade this piece, you need Bronze.
Bronze Plate Leggings – the Bronze Plate Leggings have a base armor of 8 and durability of 1000. They negatively affect your movement speed by 5% when you wear them. To upgrade this piece, you need Bronze.
Padded Helmet – the Padded Helmet is an amazing helmet that you need Iron and Linen Thread to craft. You need both of these materials to upgrade it as well. The helmet has a base armor of 26.
Drake Helmet – the Drake Helmet is the helmet that goes with the Wolf Armor set. It requires Silver, Wolf Pelt, and a Drake Trophy. But you only need Silver to upgrade it.
Bronzehead Arrow – arrows cannot be upgraded, but each time you make arrows, you receive 20 arrows. To craft Bronzehead Arrows, you need Wood, Bronze, and Feathers. These arrows do 32 Piercing damage.
Copper Knife – this knife only needs Wood and Copper to craft, but you also need Greydwarf Eyes to upgrade it. Its base damage is 12 Piercing and 12 Slashing. The knife’s base durability is 200.
Bronze Atgeir – the Bronze Atgeir introduces you to polearms. The Atgeir is made for combos (it’s wonderful at staggering and blocking), and it can be made with Wood, Bronze, and Leather Scraps. The base damage for this Atgeir is 45 Piercing, and it has a base durability of 125.
Bronze Mace – the Bronze Mace is a one-handed club with a 35 Blunt damage base and 200 durability base. The mace is good for parrying and does double damage when using the chain attack.
Bronze Spear – the Bronze Spear has a base of 35 Piercing damage and 100 durability. You need Wood, Bronze, and Deer Hide to craft and upgrade it. Spears are naturally throwable and can be retrieved.
Bronze Sword – the first sword you can make is the Bronze Sword. This sword does 35 slashing damage before it is upgraded and has 200 durability. You need Wood, Bronze, and Leather Scraps to craft and upgrade the Bronze Sword.
Huntsman Bow – the Huntsman’s Bow does 42 base piercing damage. You need Fine wood, Iron, Feathers, and Deer hide to craft and upgrade it.
Bronze Buckler – the Bronze Buckler has a block power of 16. It can only be upgraded to tier 3 rather than 4, but it is a good starter parry shield. This shield has a parry force of 40-60. You only need Bronze and Wood to craft it.
Bronze Axe – the Bronze Axe can chop down any tree. Unlike the pickaxes, the progression of axes is more for convenience as the Bronze Axe can cut down any tree.
Bronze Pickaxe – the Bronze Pickaxe can mine anything aside from Silver and Obsidian. Everything else is easy work with the Bronze Pickaxe, which can be made with Core Wood and Bronze.
Cultivator – there is only one cultivator in the game. The Cultivator is a farming tool that can till soil and plant seeds. You can also plant grass to make your yard look gorgeous again. You need Core Wood and Bronze to make this tool.
Bronze – Bronze can be made with two Copper and one Tin. All of the Bronze items can be made with Bronze but not with Copper or Tin alone. In fact, Bronze can make a lot more items than either of the two alone.
Bronze Nails – you only need one Bronze to make ten Bronze Nails. The nails can then be used to craft a cart, a Karve, and wood shutters. They are also necessary to hang item stands.

Tier 2

Iron Helmet – the Iron Helmet has a base armor of 14 and durability of 1200. It requires Iron to craft and to upgrade. The Padded Helmet is better and easier to make once you unlock Linen Thread.
Iron Scale Mail – the Iron Scale Mail has a base armor of 14 and durability of 1200. It reduces your movement speed by 5%. To upgrade and craft this chest piece, you need Iron.
Iron Greaves – the Iron Greaves have a base armor of 14 and durability of 1200. They reduce your movement speed by 5%. To upgrade and craft these pants, you need Iron.
Wolf Armor Chest – the Wolf Armor Chest piece isn’t easy to make, but it does have an armor base of 20 and a durability of 1000. You need Silver, Wolf Pelt, and Chains to make this, but you don’t need Chains to upgrade it. The Wolf set increases Frost resistance but reduces movement speed by 5% for each piece.
Wolf Armor Legs – like the chest piece, the Wolf Armor Legs have an armor base of 20 and a durability of 1000. They also increase Frost resistance but reduce movement speed by 5%. You need Silver, Wolf Pelts, and Wolf Fangs for these legs.
Padded Cuirass – the Padded Cuirass is a solid chest piece belonging to the Padded Armor set. It has a base armor of 26 and reduces movement speed by 5%. You need Iron and Linen Thread to craft and upgrade it.
Padded Greaves – the Padded Greaves go with the Padded Armor set. They have a base armor of 26 and reduce movement speed by 5%. You need Iron and Linen Thread to craft and upgrade them.
Ironhead Arrow – arrows cannot be upgraded, but each time you make arrows, you receive 20 arrows. To craft Ironhead Arrows, you need Wood, Iron, and Feathers. These arrows do 42 Piercing damage.
Iron Atgeir – the Iron Atgeir is the second polearm with a base of 65 piercing damage. You need Wood, Iron, and Leather Scraps to craft this atgeir. It does three times the damage if you backstab.
Battleaxe – the Battleaxe is an iron weapon that also needs Ancient Bark and Leather scraps to craft. This Battleaxe is two-handed, and it can chop trees or be wielded with 70 slashing damage.
Iron Mace – the Iron Mace does a base blunt damage of 55 and has a durability of 200. IT is considered a club and requires Iron to upgrade. While its base attack isn’t extremely strong, its secondary attack does over 135 damage.
Iron Tower Shield – the Iron Tower Sheild is a bright shield with seven color pattern options. It can block 52 damage from the get-go, but it does reduce movement speed by 20%.
Iron Sledge – the Iron Sledge is a two-handed club that does 55 base damage. You need to collect Ancient Bark, Iron, Ymir Flesh, and Draugr Elite Trophies if you want to craft it.
Iron Sword – the Iron Sword has a base of 55 slashing damage and durability of 200. However, its secondary attack has a base of 165. You need Wood, Iron, and Leather Scraps to craft this sword.
Draugr Fang – the Draugr Fang is a bow that does an extra 5 poison damage to enemies. It also does 47 piercing damage when not upgraded. You need Ancient Bark, Silver, Deer Hide, and Guck to craft this weapon.
Banded Shield – the Banded Sheild is a simple shield that has good parry force. Its base block power is 42, but its parry block power starts at 63. You need Fine Wood and Iron to craft it. Remember to choose one of the four styles for this shield before crafting it.
Iron Axe – an Iron Axe can be used on any wood, despite the Blackmetal Axe being stronger. You never need to upgrade it, but it does help to either upgrade the axe or use a Blackmetal one, as the damage difference is significant.
Iron Pickaxe – the Iron Pickaxe can be used on anything that a pickaxe is needed for. It is the best pickaxe in the game, though I assume that will change soon. You need Core Wood and Iron to craft an Iron Pickaxe.
Iron Nails – Iron Nails are used in crafting house items, the Longship, the Spinning Wheel, and the Windmill. One Iron is needed to craft ten nails, so it isn’t difficult to get nails if you have a little Iron.

Tier 3

Silver Arrow – arrows cannot be upgraded, but each time you make arrows, you receive 20 arrows. To craft Silver Arrows, you need Wood, Silver, and Feathers. These arrows do 52 Piercing damage and 20 Spirit damage.
Ancient Bark Spear – the Ancient Bark Spear is a strong spear with a base piercing damage of 55 (82 for secondary) and durability of 100. You need Troll Hide, Iron, and Ancient Bark to craft it.
Fang Spear – the Fang Spear is a strong spear with a base piercing damage of 75. When thrown, it does over 110 damage instead. You need Ancient Bark, Wolf Fangs, Leather Scraps, and Silver to craft it.
Silver Sword – the Silver Sword does 75 base slashing damage and 30 spirit damage. That’s why, even though the Blackmetal Sword has higher base damage, I prefer the Silver Sword. You need Wood, Silver, Leather Scraps, and Iron to craft it.
Frostner – Frostner is a strong silver club with special powers. It slows enemies and does an exquisite job of knocking them back. This weapon does 35 blunt damage, 40 frost, and 20 spirit, even when not upgraded. The weapon is ideal for fighting Bonemass.
Silver Shield – the Silver Sheild is a good shield that has 90 to 135 parry block power. There are also seven customization options when you craft the shield. All you need is Fine Wood and Silver.
Serpent Scale Shield – the Serpent Scale Sheild. It is the second-best tower shield in the game, but it has the most unique look. The shield has a block power of 60 and it requires Fine Wood, Iron, and Serpent Scales to make and upgrade. This shield also is resistant to Piercing, but has a 15% reduction to movement speed.
Black Metal Shield – the Black Metal Shield is the best parry shield in the game. Although its block force is only 78, its parry force is 117 to 175, ensuring that you can parry almost any enemy. Again, don’t forget to choose a paint job for this shield.
Black Metal Tower Shield – the Black Metal Tower Shield is the best tower shield in the game. It has a block power of 104, but it does reduce movement speed by 20%. There are seven unique choices for paint jobs, and all of them look amazing.

Tier 4

Porcupine – the Porcupine is the only weapon that you need a Tier 4 Forge for but doesn’t use Black Metal. The unique weapon has a base blunt damage of 50 and piercing damage of 45. Its secondary attack does 125 blunt and 112 piercing damage. In short, this is a very strong weapon.
Blackmetal Atgeir – the Blackmetal Atgeir does a base 105 piercing damage, but it has amazing modifiers that increase its strength. You need Fine Wood, Black Metal, and Linen Thread to craft it.
Blackmetal Knife – the Blackmetal Knife is the strongest knife. It has a base damage of 34 piercing and slashing, making it a perfect hybrid. The knife attacks quick, and its secondary attack is three times stronger than its primary.
Blackmetal Sword – the Blackmetal Sword has one of the strongest base damages in the game. It does 95 slashing damage for its primary attack and 285 for its secondary.
Blackmetal Axe – the Blackmetal Axe is the strongest axe (tool) in the game, making quick work of any tree. However, it can also be sued as a weapon as it does 100 slashing damage.

Tier 5-7

These tiers are for upgrading items. You need to upgrade the Forge once for each level after the base level. For example, if you need a Tier 3 Forge to craft a weapon, then you need a Tier 6 to upgrade it the Level 4 as it starts at Level 1. The Tier 4 items need a Tier 7 Forge to upgrade to max level.

FAQs

Question: How Do You Use a Forge in Valeheim?

Answer: To use the Forge, all you have to do is build it under a roof and 70% cover. Then you can start crafting most of the items by interacting with the Forge immediately. Some items require Forge upgrades.

Question: Do You Have to Visit All Bioms to Max Forge Level?

Answer: You do not have to visit the Plains or the Mountains to max the Forge. The highest tier metal you need is Iron. You can make the Sharpening Stone without visiting the Plains as the Stonecutter only needs Iron as well.

Question: How Close Do Forge Upgrades Need to Be?

Answer: The Forge upgrades vary on how close they need to be. You can simply place one item at a time to ensure that the Forge is upgraded. More often than not, you won’t be able to place the upgrade unless it will work.

The Power of the Forge

There’s a reason for nearly every scenario in a video game. That’s why I like to wrap things up by imagining playing without the item I’ve talked about. Living without the Forge may be a fun challenge, but it’s far from practical.

You need the Forge to make almost everything late game. While you can play without it, I suggest trying a different challenge, such as skipping out on Black Metal items or using only a raft the entire game. Or even something like never making food.

There are plenty of ways to challenge yourself, but not making one of the two primary crafting stations may not be the best way to do that. The Forge is a great gift from Valheim developers, and it should be appreciated.

Valheim Forge Guide – Everyone’s Favorite Crafting Station