Steel is a key metal in Dwarf Fortress, essential for upgrading your weapons and armor and progressing in the game.
However, steel is trickier to make compared to iron, which is the previous tier metal.
If you haven’t progressed enough in the game yet, consider checking out our guide on where to find iron and coal.
In this guide, I will explain how to make steel in Dwarf Fortress and showcase some of its main uses.
How to Make Steel in Dwarf Fortress
To make steel, you’ll first need a smelter and a dwarf with the furnace operator labor.
To get steel, you will need to collect the following materials.
- 2 bars of iron (smelt hematite, magnetite, or limonite)
- 2 units of flux (calcite, chalk, dolomite, limestone, or marble)
- 4 units of fuel (2 if magma powered)
Flux can be complicated to gather depending on the available layers near your fortress so make sure to check out our guide on how to find flux stones.
After gathering the materials, the process of making steel is split into two steps.
First, combine 1 bar of iron, 1 unit of flux, and 2 units of fuel to create 1 pig iron at the smelter.
Then, combine the newly crafted pig iron with the remaining materials (1 bar of iron, 1 unit of flux, 2 units of fuel) to craft 2 bars of steel.
One useful tip for managing steel production is to craft as many iron bars as possible while crafting only the necessary amount of pig iron.
This is because you can always turn iron bars into pig iron, but not vice versa. The last thing you want is to be stuck with excess pig iron, which has no other uses.
Where to Use Steel in Dwarf Fortress
Steel has a wide variety of uses in the game as it is considered an upgrade over iron and has the third highest value of all metals in the game, similar to gold.
As for its uses, here’s everything you can make with steel.
- Melee Weapons
- Crossbows
- Bolts
- Picks
- Armor
- Anvil
- Metal Crafting
- Construction
Steel is a key mid-game resource and you’ll always need it if you want to progress from the iron era and upgrade your tools, equipment, and facilities.
Wrapping up
This sums up everything you need to know on how to make steel in Dwarf Fortress, as well as how to use it.
Collect iron, flux stones, and fuel, smelt pig iron, and then you’re ready to start crafting steel at a smelter.
Since you’re progressing into the steel era and your fortress’ population is growing, consider checking out our guide on how to farm for food. It’s an essential resource for keeping your dwarves productive, so make sure to have enough stockpile.
Did you have any issues collecting the materials for steel production? Which steel item are you crafting first? Let us know in the comments below.
He has a Master’s Degree in Philosophy, which allows him to always come up with a fresh approach to solving in-game puzzles and challenges, but also to create content that’s to the point, clean and easy to follow.
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