The Deep North’s weapon system works in two stages: craft a Nord weapon from a found mould, then enchant it into either Frostfire or Thunderblood. The two paths play differently, and the community’s damage verdict is already in: Thunderblood out-damages Frostfire for most builds. Here’s the whole system and the honest comparison.
Stage 1: Nord Weapons
The base family, roughly 36 weapons covering every weapon class plus staves. The crafting flow:
- Find a mould for the weapon you want (Deep North exploration loot).
- Cast it: 20 Bloodgold + 10 Timberwood, consuming the mould.
- Finish it at the Frost Foundry, the biome’s crafting station.
Moulds are per-weapon, so your arsenal grows by discovery, a scavenger-hunt design that keeps Deep North exploration paying out deep into the endgame.
Stage 2: The Enchant Choice
A finished Nord weapon upgrades with 20 Bloodgold + 1 essence, where the essence comes from Ancient Altar challenges, and the essence type decides the path:
Frostfire: fire plus frost damage, slows and burns targets, at the cost of some physical damage. The control path: enemies in molasses, ticking away.
Thunderblood: lightning plus bleed, a 25% lightning proc, and the signature scaling: +0.2% damage per missing point of your health. The berserker path: the lower your HP, the harder it hits.
The Verdict
Thunderblood wins on damage, per community consensus, and its missing-health scaling means it wins hardest exactly when fights go badly, which is a very Valheim kind of power. Pick Frostfire when the slow genuinely matters to your build (kiting builds, co-op crowd control, protecting a caster).
One boss-shaped caveat: Kall Fimbulbringer resists fire, frost, AND lightning, so neither enchant’s elemental half impresses the final boss; for him, the base weapon’s blunt or slash physical damage is what counts. Enchant for the biome, but win the final fight with physical fundamentals.
Armor, Briefly
The Nord-tier armor sets split by role: Protector (heavy, 44 armor per piece, frost-resist chest), Vanguard (agile, stamina bonuses), and Caller (mage, big eitr regeneration).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I re-enchant a weapon to the other path? Essences and Bloodgold are farmable; craft a second Nord casting for the other path rather than counting on respecs.
Which weapons take enchants best? Fast weapons proc Thunderblood’s lightning more often; big slow hitters wear Frostfire’s control better.
Is the Forge of Potential compatible with enchanted weapons? Over-cap gambling and enchanting are separate systems feeding the same endgame arsenal; the truly deranged do both.
Where does Bloodgold come from? Deep North mining and content; it’s the biome’s metal economy, budget 40 per weapon-plus-enchant.