The Forge Island 3 Weapon Recipes: 2026 Winter Update Guide

The Forge Winter Update completely transformed Island 3 weapon crafting with nearly 30 new ores from Frostpire Expanse and The Peak mines. After testing dozens of ore combinations and analyzing builds from top Discord community members, I’ve identified the exact recipes that deliver maximum DPS without wasting your hard-earned materials.

Best Island 3 Weapon Recipes at a Glance

*Note: Gargantuan was nerfed from 33.3x to 25x in the December 28, 2025 update.

Why Island 3 Recipes Matter More Than Ever

The Winter Update introduced significant power creep that makes Island 3 ores practically mandatory for progression. In my testing, weapons crafted with Frostpire Expanse ores deal 40-60% more damage than equivalent Island 2 builds, thanks to both higher multipliers and superior passive traits.

Here’s what makes these recipes game-changing:

Higher Base Multipliers. The jump from Island 2’s best ore (Darkryte at 6.3x) to Island 3 options like Suryafal (17.5x) and Gargantuan (25x) is massive.

Stacking Passive Traits. New ores like Voidstar give you +33 critical chance, while Iceite adds crowd control through freezing effects.

Synergy Potential. Combining complementary traits (like critical damage with attack speed slows) creates multiplicative power gains.

Best Early Game Island 3 Weapon Recipes

When you first arrive in Frostpire Expanse, you’ll need starter weapons to survive Bjorn’s questline without burning through rare ores. These recipes use common Frostpire materials that you can farm reliably.

 #1: Pure Snowite Build (Safest Start)

Ore Composition: 100% Snowite
Multiplier: 8x
Key Trait: Snow (15% attack/movement speed slow for 3 seconds, 30% proc chance)

I recommend this for your very first Island 3 weapon because Snowite is abundant in the starting zone. The slow effect helps you kite tougher enemies while learning their patterns.

Best Weapon Types: Spears (16 ores) or Colossal Swords (40 ores)
Pro Tip: Craft a Spear first since it only requires 16 ores versus 40 for Colossal Swords. You’ll get your first strong weapon faster.

#2: Iceite-Snowite Hybrid (Crowd Control)

Ore Composition: 70% Iceite + 30% Snowite
Multiplier: 9.75x
Key Traits: Ice (freeze for 2s, 25% chance, 12s cooldown) + Snow slow

This combination adds hard crowd control through the freeze effect, which is invaluable when facing Island 3’s aggressive enemy packs.

Where to Farm: Ice-themed rocks in the northern Frostpire region drop Iceite at roughly 1/150 chance.

Best Mid-Game Island 3 Weapon Recipes

As you progress deeper into Island 3, enemies scale dramatically. This is when you need to transition from survival builds to damage-focused recipes.

#3: Voidstar Crit Build (High Risk, High Reward)

Ore Composition: 33% Iceite + 33% Voidstar + 33% Crimsonite
Multiplier: 9.66x
Key Traits:

• Critical (+33 crit chance, +15% crit damage)
• Lethality (+20% physical damage)
• Negative Vitality (-15% max HP)

This is where things get spicy. Voidstar’s critical bonus is absurdly good—in my testing, it increased overall DPS by roughly 35% compared to non-crit builds. The HP penalty sounds scary, but if you’re comfortable dodging, the tradeoff is absolutely worth it.

Best Weapon Classes: Gauntlets (fast hits = more crits), Angelic Spear, Katanas
Warning: Avoid this build if you’re still learning boss patterns. The reduced HP is unforgiving.

#4: Pure Power Alternative

Ore Composition: 70% Suryafal + 30% Voidstar
Multiplier: 13.5x
Key Traits: Same critical boost, more serious raw damage

If you can farm Suryafal (found in The Peak region at a 1/800 drop rate), this variant trades the utility traits for a significantly better multiplier while keeping the critical damage.

Best Late-Game Island 3 Weapon Recipes

Late game in The Forge is all about raw multiplier stacking. Community consensus and my own testing agree: traits become less important than pure multiplication power at this stage.

 #5: Heavenite-Suryafal Hybrid

Ore Composition: 67% Heavenite + 33% Suryafal
Multiplier: 18.33x
Key Traits: None (pure stat stick)

This is your “I can’t afford Gargantuan yet” endgame recipe. Both ores drop from Large Ice Crystals in The Peak, though at very low rates (Heavenite: 1/5,000, Suryafal: 1/800).

Expected Farming Time: 8-12 hours of mining with Prismatic Pickaxe
Best Weapons: Hell Slayer, Angelic Spear, Chaos Straight Sword

 #6: The Ultimate Build

Ore Composition: 100% Gargantuan
Multiplier: 25x (nerfed from 33.3x)
Key Traits:

• 20% weapon damage as fire per second (2s duration, 20% proc chance)
• 50% weapon damage AOE explosion (35% proc chance)

Let’s be real: Gargantuan is the best-in-slot for every weapon type. The 1 in 1,666,666 drop rate from Large Ice Crystals means most players will never see one naturally.

Market Price: 15-25 million gold (or real money trading, which I don’t recommend)
Reality Check: If you do get lucky enough to obtain Gargantuan ore, save it for your absolute best weapon roll—preferably an Angelic Spear, Savage Claws, or Hell Slayer.

Optimal Ore Amounts by Weapon Type (Island 3 Meta)

Not all weapon types are created equal in Island 3. Here’s the exact ore amounts needed for maximum crafting efficiency, according to data compiled by community expert Zach.08l.:

Critical Insight: While Island 3 has the best ores, some weapon types actually have better success rates when crafted on earlier islands. For example, craft your Katanas on Island 2 for better variant rolls, then upgrade them with Island 3 ores later. For more details on optimal locations and progression paths, check out our complete Forge locations guide.

Which Weapon Variants Are Worth Crafting?

Not all weapon variants are equal. Based on community testing and DPS calculations:

S Tier Details (Craft These)

• Angelic Spear: Fastest attack speed (0.41s), highest DPS in spear class, works perfectly with on-hit effects
• Savage Claws (Gauntlets): Fast hitting, incredible with Magmaite/Voidstar builds
• Hell Slayer (Straight Sword): Balanced stats, obtainable via blueprint from Santa’s shop
• Chaos (Straight Sword): Former king, still excellent with proper ore combinations

A Tier  Details (Solid Options)

• Demonic Spear: Higher damage per hit than Angelic, but slower (better for tank builds)
• Ironhand Gauntlets: Most common gauntlet variant, actually has the best DPS
• Wyvern Axe (Great Axe): Only competitive Great Axe variant

C Tier Details (Skip These)

• The Hook (Dagger): Weakest dagger variant, not worth Island 3 ores
• Boxing Gloves: Lower DPS than Ironhand despite more serious single-hit damage
• Trident: If you roll this instead of Angelic/Demonic Spear, it’s usable but suboptimal

Common Crafting Mistakes That Waste Ores

After watching countless failed crafts in-game, these are the errors I see repeatedly:

If you’re looking to maximize your crafting efficiency and avoid these pitfalls, our Forge achievements and skills guide covers advanced progression strategies that complement these weapon recipes.

Where to Farm Island 3 Ores Efficiently

Knowing the recipes is pointless if you can’t find the ores. Here’s where each key ore spawns:

Frostpire Expanse (Early Island 3)

The Peak (Late Island 3)

Pro Mining Route: Start at The Peak’s northern teleporter → Circle clockwise, hitting all Large Ice Crystals → Portal back to hub when inventory is full → Repeat. This loop yields 50-80 crystals per hour with a Prismatic Pickaxe.

How to Maximize Your Weapon Potential

Great recipes are only half the battle. Here’s how to push your weapons to maximum effectiveness:

Step 1: Perfect the Crafting Mini-Game

The forging mini-game has four stages (Smelting → Pouring → Molding → Shaping). Focus on hitting “Perfect” during the Shaping phase—this can boost your final weapon stats by 10-15%.

Step 2: Apply Best-in-Slot Runes

These two runes synergize perfectly with high-attack-speed weapons like Angelic Spear and Gauntlets.

Step 3: Enchant for Your Playstyle

If you’re running the Voidstar crit build, add crit damage enchants. For tank builds with Heavenite, prioritize defensive enchants.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts: Smart Progression Over Perfect Recipes

The biggest lesson from my 50+ hours of testing Island 3 recipes: progression beats perfection. Don’t wait around farming for that 1-in-a-million Gargantuan drop when a solid Voidstar crit build will carry you through 95% of content.

Start with the 70% Iceite + 30% Snowite recipe using a Spear (cheap at 16 ores), grind through Bjorn’s questline, then upgrade to the Heavenite-Suryafal hybrid when you can afford the mining time.

The meta will continue evolving as more players reach endgame and share discoveries. But these recipes represent the current cutting edge of Island 3 crafting—tested, optimized, and proven to work.

Now get out there and start forging. Those Island 3 bosses won’t defeat themselves.

Related Guides

• The Forge Achievements & Skills Guide
• The Forge Complete Locations Guide
• Plants vs Brainrots Santa Arrival Event