You need extremely powerful equipment to fight other colonies and survive in Dwarf Fortress. Armor and weapons made of iron can sometimes be insufficient to fight against crowded enemy groups. But don’t worry, we will solve this problem with our “Dwarf Fortress how to make steel” guide.
Steel isn’t that easy to craft at the beginning of the game. You need to build a comprehensive and systematic Smelter area. You will find all the information you are looking for and the key to industrialization in our guide.
Workshops Required for Steel Production
To produce steel in Dwarf Fortress, you need 3 workshops in total.
- First, you need to build a simple “Wood Furnace” and produce fuel to melt the ores. Since the fuel you will produce will be charcoal, it will be very useful for you to store some wood.
- The second workshop is Smelter. You can produce iron and steel by using ores and charcoal in your “Smelter” storage.
- The third workshop, Metalsmith, allows you to make various equipment from steel, although it is not related to steel production. Also, to build a metalsmith workshop, you must have 1 anvil in your storage.
If you have built these three workshops, you are now ready to move on to the production phase. By the way, if you need more information about smithing, you can read our Dwarf Fortress metal crafter article.
Related: Dwarf Fortress Metal Crafter
Raw Materials Required for Steel
Now we will give the clearest answer to the question of “Dwarf Fortress how to make steel”, which is the main topic of our guide. First of all, it is very important for the working dwarf to have a furnace operator laboratory to get full efficiency from Smelter. Then, the following materials should be found in stockpiles;
- 2 bars of iron (smelt hematite ore)
- 2 units flux
- 4 units of fuel (charcoal and ash)
If you have all these items, you can now proceed to the production stage by following the steps below.
- First of all, you need to give orders to your dwarf, who is doing furnace operator labor with Smelter, to produce Pig Iron. To produce Pig Iron, you need 1 bar of iron, 1 flux stone, 1 unit of fuel (for carbon source), and 1 unit of fuel (heat the forge).
- In the second step, you need to use 1 bar of iron, 1 bar of pig iron, 1 flux stone, 1 unit of fuel, and 1 unit of fuel to start steel production. In this, you must again give your dwarf the task of producing “Make Steel bars” from the Smelter workshop.
That’s it! Your dwarves have succeeded in producing steel in your colony for the first time. If you want, you can now produce most of the equipment such as weapons, armor, instrument, trap and furniture as steel via metalsmith. We will even have one of our dwarves make a “steel war hammer” to set an example for you.
As you can see, our steel war hammer is ready within minutes. Now you can always be one step ahead of your enemies with steel armor and weapons in battles. Also, with steel furniture, you can make your dwarves have richer and wealthier rooms. In this way, your dwarves can be happier and leave depression.
Dwarf Fortress How to Make Steel – Tips and Tactics
Although we have explained steelmaking in a simple way, it can still be complicated for most beginners. We would like to tell you some tips to eliminate all these second thoughts.
- Our first tip is about flux stone. Flux stone is an item that you should pay attention to when determining the map at the beginning of the game. If you live in an area where there is no flux stone, your job can be really difficult. However, if you still need it, you can buy flux stones from the caravans that come to trade.
- The ores you need to produce steel are as follows; Calcite, Chalk, Dolomite, Limestone and Marble. If you have any of these resources on your map, it’s wise to stock up on plenty.
- It’s pretty easy to use chalk stones for Pig Iron bars, which is the main focus of producing steel. Because you can usually find chalk stones without digging too deep in the mine.
- For fuel needs, you do not need to deal with magma smelter if you have just started the game. Instead, it will be sufficient to produce charcoal by cutting wood.
Finally, don’t put all your effort into producing steel right away at the start of the game. Producing stone first, then iron, and then steel in mid-game will provide you with a better gaming experience. Otherwise, you may tire your colony unnecessarily and stay behind your enemies.
