Dragonspine is the one place in Teyvat where frostbite is a personality trait. Yet despite newer banners and shinier event weapons, the Dragonspine Spear still holds its own as a free-to-play four-star polearm, provided players can stomach the time-gated grind for Vitalized Dragontooth. As of 2026, HoYoverse has kept this loop permanently available, so anyone who missed the 1.2 launch party can still waddle up the mountain and claim a respectable spear without spending a single Primogem.

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The first step is unlocking the blueprint through the World Quest The Festering Fang. Adventurer Harris hangs around Dragonspine and will hand over the blueprint once players reach Adventure Rank 20 and complete the relevant quest chain. After that, the real fun begins: collecting Strange Teeth, infusing them at a big glowing crystal heart, and then cursing the 48-hour cooldown with the same energy normally reserved for artifact rolls.

Materials needed to forge one Dragonspine Spear:

Material Quantity Source
Vitalized Dragontooth 8 Infuse Strange Tooth at the Core in Wyrmrest Valley
Starsilver 50 Mining in Dragonspine
Northlander Polearm Billet 1 Weekly bosses/events, quest rewards
Mora 500 Standard currency

Each refinement of the spear requires another 8 Vitalized Dragontooth, so players aiming for maximum refinement should prepare for multiple weeks of tooth-related errands.

Now for the main event: four Strange Tooth spawn locations. They can be cleared in roughly ten minutes with a good route, but the 48-hour respawn timer means these teeth are not exactly abundant. The locations are:

  • Wyrmrest Valley (Red Cave) – Inside the large red cave in central Dragonspine, the glowing tooth sits at the back wall.

  • Small Island (North of Mainland) – Swim to the island in the lake above Dragonspine, or use a Cryo platform-maker to avoid getting soaked.

  • Torch Cluster – Northeast of the Starglow Cavern waypoint, near two unlit torches.

  • Waterside Floor – West of the main snowfield by the lakeshore, the tooth is visible on the ground.

Once players have one or more Strange Teeth, they need to travel to the giant crystal heart in Wyrmrest Valley—affectionately known as the Core. Interacting with it triggers a fight against Fatui enemies, usually an Electro Cicin Mage plus a few Skirmishers. After defeating them, each Strange Tooth can be infused to produce one Vitalized Dragontooth. Note that players can carry multiple Strange Teeth, but they must repeat the Fatui fight and infusion for each tooth, up to four per run. It is a workout, but at least the Fatui respawn as consistently as the teeth.

Respawn timing is where many Travelers lose their minds. Strange Teeth do not reset at the daily server reset; they respawn 48 hours from the moment of collection. That means a tooth picked up at 2:17 PM on Monday will return at 2:17 PM on Wednesday. External timers, calendar alerts, or a very persistent sticky note are recommended.

Team building for this grind can be as simple or as dramatic as desired. Free-to-play-friendly units like Amber (for shields and those annoying ranged Fatui), Kaeya (Cryo for Sheer Cold mitigation and freeze combos), Barbara (healing and wet status), and Lisa (Electro to strip Skirmisher shields) cover most mechanics without costing a single wish. Players with a stacked roster can bring Zhongli, Layla, or Diona for shields, plus a high-burst DPS like Raiden Shogun, Hu Tao, or Eula. Pyro and Electro characters make the Fatui shield-breaking phase much faster.

A few common pitfalls:

  • Strange Tooth not appearing? Check the collection timer. It is 48 hours from pick-up, not daily reset.

  • Cannot interact with the Core? Make sure The Festering Fang quest is completed and the Dragonspine region is fully unlocked.

  • Missing Northlander Polearm Billet? This is the true F2P bottleneck. Those weekly boss drops are as reliable as a C6 Bennett’s self-control. Spend billets wisely.

  • Refinement grind? Repeat the entire collection, infusion, and cursing cycle for every refinement rank.

Quick FAQ:

Is the Dragonspine Spear still worth it in 2026 with all the new polearms?

Yes. It remains a solid free four-star option, especially for physical or Cryo polearm users. It competes well at low investment, though some event or banner 4-stars may outperform it with refinements.

Can players gather Strange Teeth in co-op?

Yes, but the host world determines spawn availability. Players must claim teeth in their own world to progress their own forging.

Are there region or platform differences?

None. The process and timers are universal across all servers and platforms as of recent patches.

Can players farm more than four Strange Teeth per reset?

No. Four spawns per instance, no exceptions. The game enforces patience.

After forging the first Dragonspine Spear, smart players combine their tooth runs with Starsilver mining and Festering Fang chest sweeps to maximize each trip. The Northlander Billet drop remains the biggest obstacle, so tracking weekly bosses and event shops is essential. For most F2P and light spenders, the Dragonspine route is still one of the best no-gacha polearm pathways in Genshin Impact—assuming they can remember to set that 48-hour alarm and do not accidentally feed the tooth to Paimon.