Overview
The Flame Spear is a two-handed weapon in Crimson Desert and the most powerful craftable spear available in terms of raw damage. With 27 Attack Powerit hits harder than every other standard spear by a wide margin. It carries a Fire Affinity, meaning its attacks deal fire-based elemental damage on every hit. It also comes with a Critical Rate Lv.1 bonus for a chance to land critical hits.
The Flame Spear is obtained through the research system at Gorthak Ironworksa late-game research institute in northwestern Delesyia. Completing the Weapon Heat-Treatment Research project unlocks a dispatch mission that lets the player craft the Flame Spear at a blacksmith. Because of this, the weapon is not available until the player has progressed deep enough into the main story to access the Ironworks and completed the prerequisite research chain.
At 27 Attack Power, the Flame Spear outclasses other standard spears by a significant margin. Combined with fire elemental damage and a crit bonus, this is an endgame-caliber weapon that can tear through enemies and bosses alike. The fire affinity is particularly effective against enemies vulnerable to elemental damage, making the Flame Spear one of the best choices for players who favor the spear playstyle in the late game.
Weapon Stats
Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
Weapon Type | Spear (Two-Handed) |
Rarity | Uncommon |
Attack Power | 27 |
Normal | |
Element | Fire Affinity |
Lv. 1 | |
Weight | 6 |
Core Slots | 5 |
Refinement Capacity | 10 / 10 |
Sell Price | 4.94 Silver Coins |
Obtain Method | Craft (via dispatch mission) |
Stats
The following stats are.
Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
Weapon Type | Two-Handed Spear |
Grade | Uncommon (Green) |
Attack Power | 6 |
Attack (+0) | 27 |
How to Obtain
The Flame Spear is crafted through the research and dispatch mission system. It cannot be found as a world drop, purchased from a merchant, or looted from a chest. The player must follow a specific research chain at Gorthak Ironworks to unlock the ability to craft it.
Step 1: Unlock Gorthak Ironworks
Gorthak Ironworks is located in the northwestern part of Delesyianear the Demeniss border. Access to the institute is gated behind main story progression. Once the relevant story objectives are completed, the player can visit the lead researcher and pay the initial fee of 5x Gunpowder to unlock the research menu.
Step 2: Complete Prerequisite Research
The Weapon Heat-Treatment Research sits in Row 2 of the Gorthak Ironworks research tree (project 2A). Before it becomes available, the player must complete the Row 1 prerequisite project in the same column: Basic Smelting. The Basic Smelting project costs 1.30x Silver and takes 2 hours to complete. It awards a Flame Spear Blueprint and a Sustained Supply Cannon Shell upon completion.
Step 3: Weapon Heat-Treatment Research
The Weapon Heat-Treatment Research costs 12x Silver and takes 7 hours to complete. Once finished, it unlocks dispatch missions that allow the player to craft the Flame Spear, the Electromagnetic Flame Spitter, and the Shotgun Shield. These dispatch missions are carried out through the game's dispatch system and require the player to send crew members on the crafting assignment.
Step 4: Craft at a Blacksmith
After the dispatch mission is complete, the Flame Spear recipe becomes available at any blacksmith. The first blacksmith most players encounter is Turnali in Hernand. The exact crafting materials for the Flame Spear have not been fully documented by the community, but given its high stats and fire affinity, it likely requires higher-tier ores beyond the standard Iron Ore and Copper Ore used for basic weapons.
Fire Affinity
The Flame Spear is one of the few weapons in Crimson Desert that carries an innate elemental affinity. Fire damage adds a layer of effectiveness beyond raw attack numbers. Enemies with elemental weaknesses take extra damage from fire attacks, and certain boss encounters become significantly easier when the player brings the right element.
Fire damage may also apply burning effects or additional damage-over-time depending on the enemy type and encounter. Against standard enemies, the sheer Attack Power of 27 is usually enough to finish fights quickly regardless of elemental bonuses. Where the fire affinity truly shines is against late-game bosses and elite enemies that have specific elemental vulnerabilities, where the added fire damage can reduce kill times noticeably.
The Flame Spear's fire affinity is distinct from the Flame Elemental Imbuement skill, which is a temporary buff that can be applied to any weapon. The Flame Spear carries its fire damage permanently as a built-in property, meaning the player does not need to activate or maintain a buff to benefit from it. This frees up skill slots for other abilities during combat.
Charge Mechanic
The Flame Spear has a unique charge-based fire system. A small icon in the bottom left of the screen tracks your current charge level. Charges accumulate passively, refreshing one charge every 2 seconds up to a maximum of 10 charges. When you strike an enemy with active charges, the hit deals bonus fire damage, burns the target, and can create small explosions depending on the specific attack used. Heavier swings such as Turning Slash consume more charges but produce larger explosions, while basic thrusts use fewer charges for a steady stream of fire damage.
Refinement and Upgrade Path
Like all standard (non-unique) weapons, the Flame Spear can be refined at a blacksmith to increase its base Attack stat. The weapon has a maximum refinement capacity of 10 levels, with each level providing roughly +2 to +3 additional Attack Power. Fully refining the Flame Spear pushes it well past 30 Attack Power, making it one of the strongest weapons in the entire game at max refinement.
Refinement Material Tiers
Refinement Level | Materials Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Levels 1-4 | ||
Level 5+ | Abyss Artifacts + higher-tier ores | Abyss Artifacts share a currency pool with skills and stat upgrades |
Levels 7-10 | Rare ores (Silver OreBismuth, etc.) + Abyss Artifacts | Increasingly rare materials; significant resource investment |
Many experienced players recommend stopping weapon refinement at level 4 and saving Abyss Artifacts for skills and core stat upgrades, since those investments often provide a bigger overall power boost than incremental gear upgrades. However, because the Flame Spear is already the strongest craftable spear at base level, investing Abyss Artifacts into pushing it past level 5 can be worthwhile for players who have already unlocked their essential survival and combat skills.
An alternative to gathering raw materials is to use a duplicate weapon as refinement fodder. If the player crafts a second Flame Spear, it can be consumed at the blacksmith to pay the refinement cost for the first one, bypassing the need for individual ore and artifact materials.
Kuku Flame Spear Upgrade
The Flame Spear can be upgraded at the Cuckoo Workshop into the Kuku Flame Spear. This upgraded variant removes the durability limitation entirely, significantly improves damage output, critical hit chance, and attack rate, and becomes eligible for further refinement. The Cuckoo version transforms the Flame Spear from a solid mid-game weapon into a true endgame powerhouse.
Crafting the Kuku Flame Spear requires small batteries and a Kuku Pot. The component materials (lubricant, cog wheels, electrical components, and small batteries) are best farmed in Delesyia from robot-type enemies. Alternatively, you can acquire them through dispatch missionslubricant from Zargon Tank Works, cog wheels and electrical components from Marne's Mysterium, and small batteries from Aeronautical Research Base.
Other elemental spear variants also exist. Each element has its own Cuckoo upgrade path, so players who prefer ice or lightning damage can pursue equivalent spear upgrades using similar materials.
Abyss Core Loadout
The Flame Spear has 5 core slots available for customization. The choice of cores depends on the player's build and priorities, but several loadout strategies pair well with the weapon's built-in strengths.
Strategy | Rationale | |
|---|---|---|
Critical Burst | Stack Critical Rate and Critical Damage cores | The built-in Crit Rate Lv.1 gives a baseline; adding more crit cores amplifies the frequency and damage of critical hits, especially during long boss fights |
Sustained DPS | Mix of Attack Power and Attack Speed cores | Supplements the high base Attack with faster swing speed, increasing total damage output over time |
Survivability | Useful for players who struggle with taking hits during spear combat; sacrifices some damage for durability |
For most players, the Critical Burst loadout is the most effective pairing with the Flame Spear. The weapon already has high base Attack Power and built-in fire damage, so stacking crit chance and crit damage lets it reach extremely high per-hit damage spikes. Over a sustained boss fight, those random critical hits at 27+ base Attack Power can remove large portions of a boss health bar.
Combat Tips
With the highest base Attack Power of any craftable two-handed weaponthe Flame Spear turns every swing into a heavy hit. The spear's natural reach advantage keeps enemies at a distance, and the fire affinity adds damage that standard weapons cannot match. Spears in Crimson Desert shine in both single-target and group encounters, and the Flame Spear amplifies those strengths further.
Key Spear Moves
Evasive Slash is the defining spear skill, unlocked at Armed Combat level 3. It activates a counter stance that blocks attacks that regular guards cannot handle. When the counter triggers, the follow-up thrust deals heavy damage. On the Flame Spear, that counter-thrust benefits from both the 27 base Attack Power and the fire affinity, often resulting in devastating single hits. Evasive Slash is significantly safer than a standard parrymaking it the go-to defensive option when wielding any spear.
Turning Slash (R1 + R2 or RB + RT) is the spear's primary crowd control tool. After leveling it up, it triggers almost instantly when chained from any other skill, dealing high damage and pushing enemies back. On the Flame Spear, the fire element spreads through the sweeping motion, hitting multiple targets in a group.
Basic Attacks and Critical Strikes
The spear's basic R1 attack is a quick triple thrust that pressures guarding enemies. Chaining it into the Stab skill (R1 + Triangle or RB + Y) with correct timing unleashes a rapid six-thrust assault. Each of those six hits carries the Flame Spear's fire damage, stacking elemental pressure rapidly.
The Critical Rate Lv.1 bonus means some of those already-powerful attacks will randomly deal even more damage. Over a long boss fight, a few well-timed critical hits with 27 base Attack Power can shave off significant chunks of a health bar. Pair the Flame Spear with critical-oriented Abyss Cores in the 5 available slots to push critical hit frequency higher and the weapon becomes one of the most damaging options in the game for sustained fights.
Comparison to Other Spears
Spear | ATK | Element | Special Bonuses | Core Slots | How to Obtain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Flame Spear | 27 | Fire Affinity | Critical Rate Lv.1 | 5 | Craft (Gorthak Ironworks research) |
27 | Soul (unique) | Shoots soul projectiles on kill (10s cooldown) | 0 (unique) | Found at Antumbra Ritual Grounds | |
18 | None | None confirmed | 5 | Found in world | |
21 | None | Attack Speed Lv.1 | 5 | Found in world | |
16 | None | None | 5 | Found in world | |
14 | None | None | 5 | Found in world | |
13 | None | None | 5 | Found in world | |
13 | None | Critical Rate Lv.1 | 5 | Found in world | |
10 | None | Attack Speed Lv.1Critical Rate Lv.1 | 5 | Found in world |
The Flame Spear and the Soul Spear share the highest base Attack Power among all spears at 27, but they fill very different roles. The Soul Spear is a unique weapon found at the Antumbra Ritual Grounds that cannot be refined, has zero core slots, and cannot be upgraded in any way. It trades customization for a unique passive ability that fires soul projectiles after killing an enemy (with a 10-second cooldown). The Flame Spear, by contrast, can be refined up to level 10, has 5 core slots for Abyss Gear, and carries permanent fire elemental damage. For sustained endgame combat, the Flame Spear's upgrade potential makes it the stronger long-term investment.
The Sydmon Spear at 21 Attack Power is the next closest standard spear, but it lacks any elemental affinity and has 6 fewer base Attack Power. The Bamboo Spear offers dual secondary bonuses (Attack Speed and Critical Rate) but only 10 base Attack Power, making it an early-game option rather than a competitor to the Flame Spear. For players who have access to the Flame Spear through the Gorthak Ironworks research chain, it is the clear top choice for spear-focused builds.
Best Situations for the Flame Spear
The Flame Spear excels in specific combat scenarios where its combination of high Attack Power, fire damage, and reach create advantages that other weapons cannot replicate.
Tip | Details |
|---|---|
Boss fights with elemental vulnerability. | Any boss weak to fire takes bonus damage from every hit, making the Flame Spear's built-in fire affinity a passive damage multiplier throughout the entire encounter. |
Sustained single-target combat. | The spear's Evasive Slash counter keeps the player safe during long fights, and the high base Attack Power means every counter-thrust hits hard. Combined with crit cores, the Flame Spear excels at chipping away boss health bars over time. |
Late-game enemy groups. | Turning Slash spreads fire damage across multiple targets in a wide arc, clearing groups faster than non-elemental spears. Enemies that survive the initial hit may take residual burning damage. |
Spears can be used while riding mounts in Crimson Desert. The Flame Spear's reach and fire damage make it a strong pick for hit-and-run mounted engagements, where each pass delivers high elemental burst damage. | |
Abyss Dungeon runs. | The Abyss Dungeons feature waves of enemies and challenging bosses. A fully refined Flame Spear with crit cores offers both the sustained damage and safety (via Evasive Slash) needed for these endurance encounters. |
Tips and Recommendations
Tip | Details |
|---|---|
Start the Gorthak Ironworks research chain early. | The combined research time across both prerequisite and Weapon Heat-Treatment projects is at least 9 hours. Begin the chain as soon as you unlock Gorthak Ironworks to minimize waiting. |
Keep Gunpowder in reserve. | You need 5x Gunpowder just to unlock the Gorthak Ironworks research menu. Make sure you have it available before trekking to the institute. |
Refine to level 4 first, then decide. | Levels 1 through 4 use affordable ores. Going past level 5 costs Abyss Artifactswhich compete with skill unlocks. Only push past 4 if your essential combat skills are already unlocked. |
Prioritize Critical Rate cores. | The Flame Spear already has high Attack Power and built-in fire damage. Stacking crit chance in the 5 core slots gives the biggest damage boost per slot since critical hits scale off the weapon's already-high base damage. |
Use Evasive Slash as your primary defense. | This counter stance (unlocked at Armed Combat level 3) blocks attacks that regular guards cannot, and the follow-up thrust benefits from both the 27 Attack Power and fire affinity. It is safer and more rewarding than parrying. |
Pair with Turning Slash for groups. | When facing multiple enemies, chain into Turning Slash to apply fire damage in an arc. The pushback effect creates breathing room while the fire affinity punishes grouped-up opponents. |
The Flame Spear is not a replacement for the Soul Spear. | Both weapons have 27 Attack Power but serve different purposes. The Soul Spear is best for clearing trash mobs quickly thanks to its projectile passive. The Flame Spear is built for sustained damage in boss fights and endgame content where refinement and core slots matter. |
Consider crafting a duplicate for refinement fodder. | Instead of hunting for rare ores at high refinement levels, craft a second Flame Spear and use it as material to upgrade the first. |
Ash Claw Keep Retrieval
The Flame Spear pickup is located at Ash Claw Keep in the Palune region, perched near the very top of the fortress. Enemies patrol the interior levels, but the surrounding terrain can be used to bypass most of them.
Route
Fast travel to the closest waypoint to Ash Claw Keep inside Palune.
Approach from the rear rather than attempting to scale the front wall. Use Nature's Grasp or jump across the water channel to reach the back entry point.
Run up the internal ramp, take a left at the first split, then take another left to loop back on yourself toward the upper platform.
The Flame Spear is propped against a structure at the top, ready to be picked up without any additional puzzle or switch.
Palune Elemental Trio
The Flame Spear is part of a three-weapon elemental set scattered across Palune, alongside the Lightning Spear at a bandit camp near Hernand and the Bismuth Spear at the Well of Enlightenment. Each has a durability bar of 50/50 and cannot be repaired, but they apply their elemental effect on hit: flame sets targets ablaze, lightning shocks them, and bismuth leaves bismuth fragments behind.