Gaming Guide

Valheim: How to Craft the Frostner Mace

The Silver-tier mace deals blunt, frost, and spirit damage and needs one ingredient sold only by Haldor.

The Silver-tier mace deals blunt, frost, and spirit damage and needs one ingredient sold only by Haldor.

Frostner is the one-handed mace of the Silver equipment tier, and it replaces the ordinary mace you might expect at that stage. Instead of pure blunt force, it hits with three damage types at once, which makes it one of the most flexible melee weapons available before the Mistlands. Putting it together means pulling materials from the Mountain and Swamp biomes and buying a trade good that no monster ever drops.

Quick answer: Craft Frostner at a level 3 Forge using 30 Silver, 10 Ancient Bark, 5 Ymir Flesh, and 5 Freeze Glands. Ymir Flesh only appears in Haldor’s shop after you beat the Elder.

Image credit: Coffee Stain Publishing

What you need before crafting Frostner

Two things gate the recipe: reaching the point where its materials are reachable, and unlocking Haldor’s stock. Get these in place first, or the blueprint stays locked.

  • A Forge upgraded to level 3, which is the station and crafting level Frostner requires.
  • A defeated Elder. Ymir Flesh only shows up in Haldor’s inventory after the Black Forest boss is down.
  • The Wishbone from Bonemass, which makes finding underground Silver far easier.
  • Access to the Mountain biome for Silver and Freeze Glands, plus a Swamp for Ancient Bark.

Crafting materials and where to find them

Frostner takes four materials. Three come from the world; one comes only from a merchant.

MaterialAmountWhere to find it
Silver30Underground veins in the Mountains
Ancient Bark10Ancient Trees in the Swamp
Ymir Flesh5Bought from Haldor
Freeze Gland5Dropped by Drakes in the Mountains
Image credit: Coffee Stain Publishing / Quick Tips

Silver

Silver sits in buried deposits across the Mountain biome. Carry the Wishbone and follow its pulses and rising chime until you are standing over a vein, then dig down and mine the ore. If you do not have the Wishbone yet, you can slam the ground with a Sledgehammer until a message confirms something is beneath you. Smelt the ore into Silver at a smelter before crafting.

Ancient Bark

Ancient Bark comes from chopping down Ancient Trees in the Swamp. A bronze axe or better is required to harvest it; the trees also drop regular wood, which you do not need for this weapon.

Freeze Gland

Freeze Glands drop from Drakes, the flying creatures that patrol the higher, colder parts of the Mountains. Shoot them down with a bow to collect the glands. The same item is also used for Frost Arrows, so gather a few extra.

Ymir Flesh

Ymir Flesh cannot be harvested or crafted. It is sold only by Haldor, the traveling merchant, for 120 gold each. Haldor spawns in a small camp somewhere in a Black Forest biome, and his location is fixed for your world once it generates. Explore Black Forests until a money-bag icon appears on your map, then head to it. Picking up the Flesh is also what unlocks the Frostner recipe.

Ymir Flesh only stocks in Haldor’s shop after the Elder is defeated, so clear that boss before making the trip.

Image credit: Coffee Stain Publishing

Crafting the mace and confirming it worked

With all four materials in your inventory and the recipe unlocked, stand at a level 3 Forge and craft Frostner from the weapons list. Once it finishes, the finished mace lands in your inventory ready to equip. If the recipe is greyed out, check that your Forge is at level 3 and that you actually own the Ymir Flesh that unlocks it.

Image credit: Coffee Stain Publishing

Frostner stats and effects

At its base quality, Frostner deals 35 Blunt, 40 Frost, and 20 Spirit damage. It weighs 2, has 200 durability, and applies a small movement penalty of -5% while equipped. Its primary attack is a three-hit combo with a double-damage final swing, and its slower secondary attack hits for extra damage with heavy staggering.

  • Frost applies instantly and slows enemies that survive the hit.
  • Spirit deals damage over time, but only affects some enemies.
  • Knockback is very high (100), making it strong for crowd control.
  • Wet enemies take extra Frost damage, so foes in water are especially vulnerable.

Enemy resistances still apply per damage type. A Blunt-resistant target takes reduced damage from the Blunt portion but full Frost and Spirit damage, as long as it is not resistant to those. That mix makes Frostner strong against Draugr, Blobs, and Skeletons, and useful right up to the Plains. Frost does not contribute to staggering, so enemies stagger less often from Frostner than from other maces.

The high knockback can push a focused target out of reach. In group fights or when finishing a single enemy, the secondary attack is often the better choice.

Image credit: Coffee Stain Publishing

Upgrading Frostner

Every upgrade needs only Silver, but each quality level also requires a higher Forge level. Upgrading raises Frost damage and durability while Blunt and Spirit stay fixed.

QualityFrostDurabilitySilver / Forge level
140200Base recipe / 3
24625015 / 4
35230030 / 5
45835060 / 6

Frostner remains a dependable weapon through the Plains and is worth pairing with a strong shield or buckler for its slow and damage-over-time utility. It is eventually outclassed by Black Metal gear, but until then its blend of blunt, frost, and spirit damage carries you through some of the harder stretches of the game.