When you first spawn into Enshrouded’s post-apocalyptic fantasy world, you’ll rely on crummy wooden tools and stone gear to get by. That works for the first few hours, but you’ll quickly hit a wall when you run into higher-level shroud enemies or try to build sturdier base structures. Stone can only take you so far, and if you’re wondering how to get metal in Enshrouded, this guide breaks down every step you need to start farming and crafting with this high-value resource quickly.
How to Get Metal in Enshrouded: Core First Steps
You can’t just run out and start digging for metal five minutes after creating your character. There are two non-negotiable requirements you need to hit first, or you’ll either be unable to mine the ore or die from shroud exposure before you fill half your backpack. First, you need to upgrade your Flame Altar to level 2. Level 1 Flame Altars only let you stay in low-level shroud zones for 5 minutes at most, and those zones have zero metal ore spawns. Upgrading to level 2 extends your shroud timer and unlocks access to areas with copper and tin, the first two metal types you’ll use.
The second requirement is a stone pickaxe. Wooden pickaxes are only strong enough to break apart stone and wood nodes, and they’ll do zero damage to metal ore rocks. Crafting a stone pickaxe only requires 4 stone and 2 wood, so you can make one almost immediately after you build your first workbench. Don’t waste time trying to hit metal nodes with anything weaker, it just won’t work. This is the fastest way to get metal in Enshrouded early on, without having to venture into dangerous high-level areas before you’re ready.
Best Locations to Farm Different Metal Types
Once you’ve hit those two core requirements, you can start hunting for metal ore nodes across the map. Different metal types spawn in specific regions, and most require higher Flame Altar levels to access safely. I’ve spent dozens of hours running across the map testing spawn rates, so these are the most reliable spots I’ve found so far:
- Copper Ore: Spawns in rocky outcrops around the Springlands and western Revelwood, no high-level shroud access required once your Flame Altar is level 2. Look for orange-brown speckled rocks that stand out from regular gray stone.
- Iron Ore: Found in mountainous areas of northern Revelwood and the Lowlands, requires Flame Altar level 3 to survive the surrounding shroud exposure. Nodes are dark gray with silver flecks, and they’re usually guarded by low to mid-level shroud enemies.
- Tin Ore: Spawns alongside copper in most Springlands rock formations, used to craft bronze when combined with copper ingots. You’ll usually find 1-2 tin nodes for every 5 copper nodes in the same area.
- Steel Scraps: Looted from enemy camps, abandoned chests, and destroyed metal structures in mid to high-level zones, can be smelted into steel ingots once you unlock the advanced smelter blueprint.
Don’t make the same mistake I did on my first iron run. I upgraded my Flame Altar to level 3, grabbed my pickaxe, and ran straight for the nearest iron spawn without bringing any healing potions. A shroud stalker ambushed me halfway through my mining run, and I lost all 32 iron ore nodes I’d just dug up. Bring at least 5 health potions any time you head into mid-level shroud zones, even if you think you’re strong enough to take on whatever’s there.
Smelting Ore Into Usable Metal Ingots
Raw ore doesn’t do you any good on its own. You need to smelt it down into ingots before you can use it to craft weapons, armor, or building parts. The first thing you need to build is a Smelter crafting station, which you unlock automatically once you collect your first piece of copper ore. The smelter costs 40 stone, 12 wood, and 5 pieces of cloth to build, so you can put one together as soon as you get back from your first copper run. This is the only permanent way to get metal in Enshrouded for crafting, as looted scraps are rarely enough for large building or gear projects.
Once your smelter is placed, you need to add fuel to get it running. You can use regular wood logs if you’re just starting out, but coal as fuel cuts smelting time by almost 50% and lasts three times longer. You can find coal in underground caves scattered across the Springlands, or loot it from enemy camp chests. Each copper ore takes 30 seconds to smelt into a copper ingot, while iron takes 1 minute per ingot. If you want to speed things up even more, build 2-3 smelters and run them all at the same time. I have 6 smelters set up at my base, and I can process a full backpack of iron ore in 10 minutes flat instead of waiting an hour for a single smelter to finish.
That means you don’t have to spend all your time waiting around for smelting to finish. You can go out and farm more ore while your existing stock is processing, and you’ll never run out of ingots for crafting projects.
Pro Tips to Farm Metal Faster Without Wasting Resources
After dozens of metal farming runs, I’ve picked up a few tricks that cut my farming time in half and help me avoid wasting resources on unnecessary trips. First, invest in a mining speed perk for your pickaxe as soon as you unlock weapon and tool enchanting. A level 1 mining speed perk makes you dig up ore 25% faster, and a level 2 perk bumps that up to 40% faster. That adds up to a lot of saved time over dozens of mining runs. These tips will help you get metal in Enshrouded twice as fast as you would otherwise, without wasting time on low-yield runs.
Second, don’t waste time digging up single ore nodes. Look for large rocky outcrops that have 10+ nodes clustered in the same small area. The western Springlands has a giant rock formation that has 22 copper and tin nodes, and I can fill half my backpack in 5 minutes flat when I mine there. You don’t have to run across the entire map looking for single nodes if you find a good cluster spawn.
Third, grab backpack storage upgrades before you head out on long farming runs. The default backpack only has 12 slots, and you’ll fill up with ore, stone, and random loot in 10 minutes flat. A small backpack upgrade adds 8 extra slots, and a medium upgrade adds another 12. You won’t have to throw away valuable ore to make room for other loot if you have enough storage space.
If you play with friends, split up roles for even faster farming. Have one player with strong combat gear pull and kill any enemies in the area, while the other players focus entirely on mining. My friend group does this for iron runs, and we can fill 4 full backpacks of iron ore in 20 minutes, which is way faster than any of us could do alone.
Whether you’re gearing up to take down your first Warden or build a fortified base that can survive even the worst shroud attacks, learning how to get metal in Enshrouded is one of the most impactful early to mid-game milestones you can hit. Don’t rush into high-level zones before you’ve upgraded your Flame Altar and gear, take time to set up multiple smelters at your base, and you’ll be swimming in metal ingots before you know it. If you have any favorite metal farming spots we missed, drop them in the comments below to help out other players.