Every Spear in Valheim: Six Weapons, and the Secondary Attack Is a Throw
Spears are the most mechanically distinct melee class in Valheim. All six deal pure Pierce, they attack faster and cheaper than anything else in melee, and their secondary attack throws the weapon — which you then walk over and retrieve. They also have no three-hit combo, which changes how the class actually plays.
On sourcing. Iron Gate do not publish system documentation. The figures below come from the community wikis and can change with any patch.
Every Spear
| Spear | Damage | Stamina (primary / secondary) |
|---|---|---|
| Flint spear | Pierce 20 / 38 | 6 / 8 |
| Bronze spear | Pierce 35 / 53 | 8 / 10 |
| Ancient bark spear | Pierce 55 / 73 | 10 / 12 |
| Fang spear | Pierce 75 / 93 | 12 / 14 |
| Carapace spear | Pierce 115 / 133 | 16 / 18 |
| Splitnir | Pierce 135 / 153 | 16 / 18 |
The stamina column is the class's quiet advantage. Where swords and clubs charge double for a secondary attack, spears charge two more points — 6/8, 8/10, 10/12, 12/14, 16/18. A thrown spear costs barely more than a stab.
No spear carries a second damage type. Every one is pure Pierce, which makes this the most predictable class in the game and also the most exposed: against anything that resists Pierce, a spear has nothing else to offer.
The Throw
The secondary attack throws the spear, and the thrown weapon can be retrieved by the player. That is a genuinely different combat option from anything else in melee:
- It converts a melee weapon into a ranged one at will, without carrying a bow or spending arrows.
- It costs almost nothing — two stamina above a normal stab.
- The spear is recoverable, so unlike arrows there is no consumable cost at all.
The catch is that you are unarmed until you pick it up. Throwing a spear at range and then closing on the target means arriving without a weapon, so the throw is either an opener you follow with a walk, or a finisher.
The Properties Table
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Stamina multiplier | 1× |
| Range | 1.9 metres |
| Attack speed | 0.68 seconds |
| Damage multiplier | 1× |
| Staggering | 1× |
| Knockback | 20 |
| Movement | Player moves forward 0.33 m |
| Arc | 40 degrees |
| Combo | No three-hit combo |
Three of these decide how the class plays.
The 40-degree arc is narrow. Spears do not sweep — they stab in a line. Against a crowd that is a real weakness, and it is the mirror image of the sword's no-cleave-penalty rule: a sword wants to be surrounded, a spear does not.
Knockback 20 is the lowest of any melee class, well below a Club's 30 and a mace's 80. Spears do not create space at all.
No three-hit combo is the important one. Most melee weapons in Valheim escalate through a combo where the final hit does extra damage; spears do not. Every stab is identical, which makes the class's damage output flat and predictable rather than rewarding a completed sequence. Combined with the 0.68-second attack speed — fast — the spear is a steady-DPS weapon rather than a burst one.
The 0.33 m forward step on each attack is small but it accumulates. A player spamming spear attacks drifts forward, which is worth knowing near a ledge.
Where Pierce Lands, and Where It Does Not
Because every spear is pure Pierce with no secondary type, the class lives or dies on one column of the bestiary.
Pierce is a weakness on: Trolls — including a head weak point that is very weak to Pierce — the Seeker Soldier's abdomen, Seeker Broods, Ticks, and the Gjall's egg sacs.
Pierce is resisted by: the Abomination (very resistant), all three slimes, Wraiths, Bats, Skeletons, Rancid Remains, Stone Golems, the Seeker family's bodies, the Blue Dragon, and the Skeletal Archer.
That is a long resistance list for a class with no fallback. A club carrying Blunt plus Frost plus Spirit always has something landing; a spear against a Stone Golem has nothing.
The practical rule: spears are excellent where Pierce is a weakness — Troll heads above all — and should be swapped out entirely against slimes, skeletons and golems rather than pushed through.
Running your own Valheim server
A weapon you throw and walk back to fetch is a weapon that suits a group where somebody else is holding the target still. A gamever Valheim server keeps that world persistent for up to 10 players, with one-click backups.
Conclusion
Valheim's six spears are the only melee class that is pure Pierce with no second damage type on any weapon, running from the Flint spear at 20 to Splitnir at 135. Their stamina economy is the best in melee — a secondary costs two more points than a primary rather than the usual double — and that secondary is a throw, converting a melee weapon into a recoverable ranged one for almost nothing, at the cost of leaving you unarmed until you fetch it. The properties table explains how they actually play: a narrow 40-degree arc that does not sweep, the lowest knockback of any melee class at 20, a fast 0.68-second attack, a small 0.33 m forward step per swing, and no three-hit combo, which makes damage flat rather than rewarding a finished sequence. The class's real constraint is its purity: Pierce is a weakness on Trolls (with a very-weak head), Seeker Broods, Ticks and Gjall eggs, but it is resisted by the Abomination, every slime, Wraiths, Bats, Skeletons, Rancid Remains, Stone Golems and the Seeker bodies — and a spear has no second type to fall back on.
Want somebody holding the target? Rent a Valheim server at gamever.io — instant setup, up to 10 players, one-click backups and updates, and 24/7 uptime. Start with a free trial and use promo code WELCOME.