If you want the strongest weapon setup in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Complete Edition, start with Gungnir, Excalibur, Mjolnir, and Carolingian Longsword. Gungnir is the best all-rounder for reach, Excalibur delivers enormous heavy-attack damage, Mjolnir dominates stun-focused builds, and Carolingian Longsword gives you a fast, reliable answer before the late-game relics unlock. Your ideal ranking still depends on weapon speed, stun, enemy type, skill-tree bonuses, and whether you’re playing a one-handed, dual-wield, or shield build.
One important warning: Valhalla’s displayed attack numbers change with weapon quality, upgrade level, player power, and runes. A Flawless weapon at power 300 won’t show the same damage as a Mythical version at power 400. The rankings below focus on each weapon’s moveset, passive effect, reach, and practical performance rather than pretending every copy has one fixed number.
Valhalla’s best weapons at a glance
Weapons in Valhalla fall into useful combat personalities. Bearded axes are quick and aggressive, dane axes punish groups, greatswords trade speed for spectacular reach, and spears let you control fights from outside normal melee range. Weapon weight also matters: pairing two heavy weapons increases damage potential but burns stamina faster, while a light weapon paired with a shield gives Eivor safer blocks and parries.
| Tier | Weapon | Best quality | Why it ranks here |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | Gungnir | Mythical spear | Extreme reach, excellent crowd control, strong single-target pressure |
| S | Excalibur | Mythical greatsword | Heavy critical hits and reliable blind effects on finishers |
| S | Mjolnir | Mythical hammer | Area stun bursts and exceptional control in packed fights |
| A | Carolingian Longsword | Superior greatsword | Fast two-handed attacks and a powerful critical-damage passive |
| A | Sepulcher Axe | Mythical bearded axe | Ignites after critical hits and shreds regular enemies |
| A | Housecarl’s Axe | Mythical bearded axe | Attack rises as your weapon remains in hand during combat |
| B | Varin’s Axe | Mythical bearded axe | Fast, dependable, and available from the opening sequence |
| B | Blacksmith’s Hammer | Superior hammer | Great stun output, but short reach and modest crowd coverage |
That list also explains why raw rarity isn’t everything. A Mythical weapon can feel worse than a lower-quality greatsword if its attack rhythm clashes with your stamina habits. For more gear-focused comparisons, Steamoz’s S-to-B weapon ranking format is a useful reminder to judge equipment by real combat value, not just rarity color.
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View on Steammoz Store →S-Tier weapons that dominate endgame fights
1. Gungnir
Gungnir is the safest S-tier recommendation because its special property extends the weapon’s reach beyond the visible spear model. That extra range lets you tag zealots, elites, and bosses before their standard melee attacks can connect. It also makes a second spear or heavy weapon in your off-hand far less awkward, because you can begin encounters with controlled pokes instead of walking directly into an enemy’s attack arc.
You obtain Gungnir in Goinnhellir, inside the Isu cave in Hordafylke, after completing the main story mission A Brother’s Keeper. Eivor must return to the cave near the end of the campaign; trying to grab it earlier won’t work. Pair it with the Brush with Death skill from the Raven tree. A last-second dodge slows time, giving you a clean window to land several spear strikes or reposition behind a stunned target.
2. Excalibur
Excalibur is the best greatsword for players who like decisive, high-impact swings. Its passive causes heavy critical hits to blind all enemies around you. The effect is especially nasty when you open with a charged heavy attack, then use the brief confusion to execute a stunned elite or finish a nearby target with Stomp. Excalibur is slower than a bearded axe, so don’t mash light attacks in a crowd and expect to escape cleanly.
The sword is assembled by collecting eight Treasures of Britain tablets. Six are hidden in caves across England, while three Order of the Ancients members carry the remaining tablets; Hrothgar, Heike, and Woden are the relevant zealots. Once you have all eight, take them to Myrddin’s Cave in Hamtunscire. The weapon’s damage scales normally with upgrades, so spending tungsten ingots on quality and weapon slots is worthwhile if Excalibur is your main hand.
3. Mjolnir
Mjolnir’s chance to deal stun damage to all enemies around Eivor is the reason it stays in S tier. Stun is more valuable than a small attack bump against groups because a full stun bar exposes an enemy to a brutal stun finisher. The hammer becomes particularly effective with the Brush with Death slow-time skill, Parry Damage, and the Way of the Bear ability Heavy Dual Wield if you want to pair it with another two-handed weapon.
Mjolnir is locked behind a genuine completion checklist. You need the full Thor armor set, which means defeating the three Daughters of Lerion, looting Thor’s helmet from the underground statue in East Anglia, and killing all 45 Order of the Ancients targets. After that, return to Hordafylke and lift the hammer from the stone. It’s a reward for finishing the game’s long combat-and-collection arc, not an early shortcut.
A-Tier weapons with fewer restrictions
Carolingian Longsword
Carolingian Longsword is arguably the best practical weapon before you complete Britain’s late-game puzzles. Its passive increases critical damage after each heavy finisher, so the weapon gets scarier as you chain executions. Greatswords also have a satisfying forward step on several attacks, giving you better reach than most axes without the extreme commitment of a dane axe.
You can find it in a wealth chest at Forest Hideout in East Anglia. It’s a strong fit for the Way of the Bear tree, especially with Adrenaline Fiend, Heavy Dual Wield, and Perfect Attack. Perfect Attack rewards pressing the light-attack button again just as the previous strike lands, adding damage without changing your basic rotation.
Sepulcher Axe
Sepulcher Axe has one of the most entertaining passives in the game: critical hits have a chance to ignite the weapon. Fire damage adds pressure while you reposition, and burning enemies are easy targets for a heavy finisher. It shines against standard soldiers and clustered raiders, though fire-resistant enemies and bosses reduce the value of the effect.
The axe sits in an Offchurch crypt in Grantebridgescire. Bring Incendiary Powder Trap if you want to build around fire, but don’t rely on the passive alone. Crit chance runes and the Wolf skill tree’s Predator Bow synergy can help create a more consistent critical-focused loadout.
Housecarl’s Axe
Housecarl’s Axe increases attack while the weapon remains in your hand. That makes it excellent for sustained encounters where you aren’t constantly swapping to a bow, shield, or second weapon. It’s less explosive than Sepulcher Axe, but more dependable across raids and fortress assaults. You’ll find it in a wealth chest at Utbeck in Grantebridgescire.
If you want a quick early-game upgrade, Varin’s Axe remains perfectly usable. It gains attack after each hit, and its fast animation makes it forgiving against enemies that punish long recovery frames. Don’t discard it just because you acquire a shinier weapon; at matching quality, its speed can outperform slower gear during ordinary story fights.
B-Tier weapons and when they still make sense
B-tier doesn’t mean bad. These weapons simply have narrower strengths or lose efficiency once you start fighting high-level zealots, mastery challenges, and DLC bosses. Blacksmith’s Hammer is a great example. Its stun output is excellent, and the early-game weapon is available in a wealth chest at Bodilsburg Garrison in Lunden, but its short reach forces you to take more risks than a spear or greatsword.
Spartan Shield is another situational pick. Heavy shields can deal strong bash damage and give you a reliable defensive rhythm, but shield attacks consume stamina and don’t clear groups as efficiently as a dane axe. Use one when you’re learning enemy telegraphs, not because defensive equipment is automatically weaker. A successful parry restores control; a panic block simply delays the next attack.
DLC equipment expands the list without completely rewriting it. The Paris expansion adds weapons such as the Joyeuse greatsword, while Dawn of Ragnarök introduces mythical gear and the Atgeir weapon class. Atgeirs have excellent sweeping attacks and can be fantastic for crowd control, but they require more deliberate stamina management than bearded axes. Your Complete Edition access doesn’t remove the core rule: choose the moveset you can execute consistently.
| Weapon type | Strength | Main weakness | Best skill pairing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spear | Reach and safe pokes | Less burst per hit | Brush with Death |
| Greatsword | Heavy damage and reach | Slower recovery | Perfect Attack |
| Hammer | Stun and finisher access | Short range | Parry Damage |
| Bearded axe | Fast sustained pressure | Limited crowd reach | Adrenaline Fiend |
| Atgeir | Wide sweeps and crowd control | Stamina hungry | Heavy Dual Wield |
Best equipment setups and upgrade priorities
For a balanced endgame setup, use Gungnir in the main hand and a light shield in the off-hand. You get reach, parry protection, and a low-risk answer to shielded enemies. For maximum damage, dual-wield Excalibur and Mjolnir with Heavy Dual Wield. That skill removes the normal restriction on pairing two heavy weapons, but the stamina cost is real; save your dodge for attack telegraphs instead of spending every bar on repeated heavy swings.
Your first skill priorities should be Brush with Death, Adrenaline Fiend, Stomp, Last Chance Healing, and the weapon-specific nodes that match your chosen tree. Stomp is strongest after a successful parry or when an enemy is down, while Last Chance Healing prevents a single missed dodge from ending a long raid. Raven Distraction and Advanced Assassination are still valuable even on a warrior build because stealth lets you thin a fortress before open combat.
| Build | Main weapon | Off-hand | Core skills | Combat rhythm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reach control | Gungnir | Light shield | Brush with Death, Parry Damage | Poke, parry, then punish with stun attacks |
| Heavy executioner | Excalibur | Mjolnir | Heavy Dual Wield, Stomp | Charge heavies, blind groups, execute elites |
| Fast berserker | Housecarl’s Axe | Varin’s Axe | Adrenaline Fiend, Perfect Attack | Maintain hit chains and dodge through recovery |
| Defensive learner | Blacksmith’s Hammer | Spartan Shield | Parry Damage, Last Chance Healing | Block safely, parry, then fill the stun bar |
Upgrade the weapon you actually use instead of spreading tungsten across six backups. Each quality jump unlocks additional rune slots and raises the weapon’s level ceiling, so a fully upgraded A-tier weapon can outperform an untouched relic. Diamond-shaped weapon runes are especially valuable late game: prioritize attack, critical chance, critical damage, and stun based on your build rather than blindly stacking one stat.
On PC, cap your frame rate near your monitor’s refresh rate if combat feels inconsistent. Stable input matters more than a few extra frames when you’re timing Brush with Death or a perfect parry. For broader performance advice, see Steamoz’s PC fixes and low-FPS troubleshooting guide, then check the official Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Steam page for current platform information.
Finally, treat this tier list as a starting point, not a commandment. Valhalla’s combat rewards timing more than spreadsheet damage. Gungnir is the safest recommendation, Excalibur is the biggest spectacle, and Mjolnir is the best crowd-control toy—but the weapon you can parry, dodge, and finish with confidently is the one that will carry Eivor through the Complete Edition’s toughest fights. For official updates and expansion details, consult Ubisoft’s Valhalla game page and the official support hub. Steamoz’s campaign tips coverage is also worth a look if you enjoy planning RPG encounters instead of simply charging the nearest red icon.