Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen – Best Hal’s Workshop Weapons for Each Vocation (Ranked by Strength and Magick)

Hal’s Workshop in the Norgandian Settlement lets you commission weapons for nine vocations, plus shields for the Fighter. Open the “Workshop” menu, pick the “Manufacturable Gear” list, and each weapon type shows a set of rows with their own stats, costs and material lists. The strongest option in that list is never the cheapest, so here is where each vocation’s top weapon sits and what separates it from the rest.

Quick answer: For every vocation, the highest-stat weapon is the recipe shown as “???” that appears after the Village Defense side quest. The Fighter’s top sword costs 20,000 G; every other vocation’s top row costs 30,000 G.

Strongest Hal weapon for each vocation

Vocation	Top weapon	Top stat	Cost
Fighter	Smithed Ruin-Bringer’s Woe	Strength 1,100	20,000 G
Warrior	Smithed Knight’s Grandblade	Strength 1,140	30,000 G
Thief	Smithed Shadow Skivers	Strength 1,070	30,000 G
Archer	Smithed Foretoken	Strength 1,085	30,000 G
Mystic Spearhand	Smithed Vice Versa	Str 1,175 / Mag 1,175	30,000 G
Mage	Smithed Chicaner’s Bonestaff	Magick 1,175	30,000 G
Sorcerer	Smithed Sealstaff of Ruin	Magick 1,180	30,000 G
Magick Archer	Smithed Fiendsbane	Magick 1,160	30,000 G
Trickster	Smithed Sagacious Epode	Magick 1,220	30,000 G

How these weapons are ranked

“Best” means only the highest weapon stat Hal can make for a given vocation; no other factor affects the ranking. Strength determines the order for Fighter, Warrior, Thief, Archer and Mystic Spearhand, while Magick is used for Mage, Sorcerer, Magick Archer and Trickster. Every Mystic Spearhand duospear has identical Strength and Magick values, so either stat gives the same ranking. This reflects the complete weapon part of Hal’s list after Village Defense. It is not a list of every weapon in the game: relic weapons from appraisal are not part of it and are not compared here.

Gold and materials appear in separate columns, while the ranking is determined by stats rather than price. Within each weapon type, the item with the higher stat also has the greater Manufacturing Cost. There are 36 weapons in total (four for each vocation), along with four Fighter shields.

Reading the Workshop screen

Every stat entry uses an arrow between two values: your Arisen’s present stat appears on the left, and the value after equipping that weapon appears on the right. If the right-hand value is below your current stat, it is red; if it is above, it is blue. These displayed totals include your character’s stats, so they exceed the weapon’s standalone values. The tables give each weapon’s own stats. For a given character, the difference is constant across all rows, meaning the ranking remains the same as the one shown here.

Strength vocations: Fighter, Warrior, Thief, Archer, Mystic Spearhand

Fighter (ranked by Strength)

Rank	Weapon	Strength	Cost
1	Smithed Ruin-Bringer’s Woe	1,100	20,000 G
2	Smithed Rimed Needle	940	15,000 G
3	Smithed Patterned Brand	650	12,000 G
4	Smithed Barbaric Axe	530	9,000 G

The Smithed Patterned Brand order screen, showing the sword’s required materials and the stat change before you commit.

Warrior (ranked by Strength)

Rank	Weapon	Strength	Cost
1	Smithed Knight’s Grandblade	1,140	30,000 G
2	Smithed Spinechiller	980	20,000 G
3	Smithed Brand of the Beast	690	15,000 G
4	Smithed Three-Fanged Axe	570	10,000 G

The Smithed Knight’s Grandblade leads the Warrior greatswords. Until you have it, the Smithed Brand of the Beast is the best you can commission.

Hal's Workshop panel for the greatsword row shown as ??? with Curvestone, Baleful Hoof and Bloodstained Plate for 30000 G — The top Warrior recipe shows as a “???” row: Curvestone x2, Baleful Hoof x1 and Bloodstained Plate x3 for 30,000 G.

Thief (ranked by Strength)

Rank	Weapon	Strength	Cost
1	Smithed Shadow Skivers	1,070	30,000 G
2	Smithed Ice Talons	910	20,000 G
3	Smithed Taloned Steel	610	15,000 G
4	Smithed Spearpoint Daggers	480	10,000 G

The Smithed Shadow Skivers are the strongest Thief daggers. The Smithed Taloned Steel holds the top spot on the early list.

Hal's Workshop panel for the dagger row shown as ??? with its materials and 30000 G cost — The strongest Thief daggers sit behind a “???” row at 30,000 G.

Archer (ranked by Strength)

Rank	Weapon	Strength	Cost
1	Smithed Foretoken	1,085	30,000 G
2	Smithed Snowstorm Seeker	925	20,000 G
3	Smithed Zephyr’s Arc	630	15,000 G
4	Smithed Deerhorn Bow	510	10,000 G

The Smithed Foretoken is the best Archer bow Hal can make. The Smithed Zephyr’s Arc is the early pick, well above the Smithed Deerhorn Bow that opens the list.

Hal's Workshop panel for the bow row shown as ??? with Curvestone, Midnight-Black Tatter and Bloodstained Plate — The top Archer bow is the “???” row: Curvestone x2, Midnight-Black Tatter x2 and Bloodstained Plate x3 for 30,000 G.

Mystic Spearhand (ranked by Strength, Magick matches)

Rank	Weapon	Str / Mag	Cost
1	Smithed Vice Versa	1,175 / 1,175	30,000 G
2	Smithed Gelid Branch	1,010 / 1,010	20,000 G
3	Smithed Anointed Edge	710 / 710	15,000 G
4	Smithed Twin Sarissae	590 / 590	10,000 G

The Smithed Vice Versa duospear carries equal Strength and Magick, so it ranks first by either stat. The Smithed Anointed Edge is the strongest spear before Village Defense.

Hal's Workshop panel for the duospear row shown as ??? with its materials and 30000 G cost — The top duospear row reads “???” in Hal’s list and costs 30,000 G.

Magick vocations: Mage, Sorcerer, Magick Archer, Trickster

Mage (ranked by Magick)

Rank	Weapon	Magick	Cost
1	Smithed Chicaner’s Bonestaff	1,175	30,000 G
2	Smithed Dimpled Crystal	1,005	20,000 G
3	Smithed Gargoyle’s Perch	740	15,000 G
4	Smithed Yewen Cane	640	10,000 G

The Smithed Chicaner’s Bonestaff is the highest-Magick Mage staff. The Smithed Gargoyle’s Perch is the best you can order on the early list.

Hal's Workshop panel for the staff row shown as ??? with Curvestone, Midnight-Black Tatter and Maleficent Heart — The highest-Magick Mage staff is the “???” row: Curvestone x2, Midnight-Black Tatter x2 and Maleficent Heart x2 for 30,000 G.

Sorcerer (ranked by Magick)

Rank	Weapon	Magick	Cost
1	Smithed Sealstaff of Ruin	1,180	30,000 G
2	Smithed Dendrite	1,015	20,000 G
3	Smithed Numinous Conductor	760	15,000 G
4	Smithed Coiled Wyrm	670	10,000 G

The Smithed Sealstaff of Ruin posts the highest Magick figure of any Hal staff. Before that, the Smithed Numinous Conductor leads the Sorcerer archistaves.

Hal's Workshop panel for the archistaff row shown as ??? with its materials and 30000 G cost — The top Sorcerer archistaff row also reads “???” and costs 30,000 G.

Magick Archer (ranked by Magick)

Rank	Weapon	Magick	Cost
1	Smithed Fiendsbane	1,160	30,000 G
2	Smithed Frost Marrow	1,000	20,000 G
3	Smithed Soothstone	735	15,000 G
4	Smithed Rowan Arc	635	10,000 G

The Smithed Fiendsbane is the strongest magick bow for the Magick Archer, with the Smithed Soothstone ahead on the early list.

Hal's Workshop panel for the magick bow row shown as ??? with its materials and 30000 G cost — The strongest Magick Archer bow sits behind a “???” row at 30,000 G.

Trickster (ranked by Magick)

Rank	Weapon	Magick	Cost
1	Smithed Sagacious Epode	1,220	30,000 G
2	Smithed Frostflake Mirage	1,000	20,000 G
3	Smithed Raptorial Liturgy	610	15,000 G
4	Smithed Primal Orison	480	10,000 G

The Smithed Sagacious Epode censer holds the highest Magick value on all of Hal’s weapons. The Smithed Raptorial Liturgy is the strongest early option.

Hal's Workshop panel for the censer row shown as ??? with Curvestone, Baleful Hoof and Bloodstained Plate — The top Trickster censer is the “???” row: Curvestone x2, Baleful Hoof x1 and Bloodstained Plate x3 for 30,000 G.

Fighter shields (ranked by Strength)

Rank	Shield	Strength	Cost
1	Smithed Spiralscale Shield	950	15,000 G
2	Smithed Stellar Plate	780	12,000 G
3	Smithed Volucrine Hardshield	430	10,000 G
4	Smithed Norgandian Shield	280	8,000 G

The Smithed Spiralscale Shield has the highest Strength of Hal’s four shields. The Smithed Volucrine Hardshield is the best shield on the early list.

Hal's Workshop panel for the shield row shown as ??? with Curvestone and Bloodstained Plate for 15000 G — The top shield row reads “???”: Curvestone x1 and Bloodstained Plate x2 for 15,000 G.

Unlocking the stronger recipes and “???” rows

The side quest Hammer and Tongs has you deliver a Winterweed Blossom to Hal. Once you complete it, Hal’s Manufacture list becomes available. Each weapon type then has two rows, corresponding to ranks 3 and 4 in the tables above.

After the side quest Village Defense, Hal says he can forge more elaborate pieces, and each weapon type grows to four rows: the two original recipes, one new named recipe, and one row shown as “???” with a black silhouette and a name and description that both read “???”. That “???” row is the top-ranked weapon in each table. Even with no visible name, the row still lists its Required Materials, Manufacturing Cost, weight and stat change, so you can order it like any other. Every recipe with its gold and materials is in every Hal recipe, gold and materials, and how the list grows is covered in how to unlock more Hal recipes and the ??? rows.

Materials you will need

The first two recipes (ranks 3 and 4) use materials including Azure Ore, Snowoak Bark, Ponderous Bone, Barbarian Armor Fragment, Rectrix, Direwolf Pelt and Boltscale. Across the third rows, materials include Glacial Ore, Wintry Dragon Scale, Bloodstained Plate, Bugatooth and Maleficent Heart; the “???” rows use Curvestone, Baleful Hoof, Bloodstained Plate, Midnight-Black Tatter and Maleficent Heart. For the cold of Norgan itself, see how to stay warm in Norgan’s whiteouts.