If you’ve spent hours grinding for better gear or trying to reinforce your base against enemy raids, you’ve probably hit the point where you need to figure out how to get steel bars enshrouded. Iron bars only get you so far, and steel is the backbone of almost every high-tier tool, weapon, and building upgrade in the game. I wasted three separate play sessions early on chasing the wrong materials and using the wrong crafting stations, so I put together this guide to help you skip those frustrations. We’ll cover every reliable method to get steel, what you need to prepare first, and how to farm it as efficiently as possible.
What You Need Before You Start Working Out How to Get Steel Bars Enshrouded
You can’t craft steel right out of the starting zone, so you’ll need to hit a few key milestones first. The most important is unlocking and upgrading your Smelter to level 3, which requires progressing through the Iron Age tech tree and completing a small quest for the Blacksmith NPC. You’ll also need at least a copper pickaxe to mine iron ore, and access to mid-tier shroud zones where coal spawns regularly.
Each steel bar requires a fixed set of materials to craft, so it’s smart to stock up on these before you start a large production run:
- 2 Iron ore: mined from large dark grey rock nodes found in mid to high elevation zones across the map
- 1 Coal: found in underground cave systems and deep shroud biomes, or dropped by armored raider enemies
- 1 Empty slot in a level 3 Smelter, with enough fuel (wood or extra coal) to run the 30-second crafting cycle
I used to carry extra coal in my inventory whenever I went mining, so I wouldn’t have to make a separate trip just to restock my smelter when I got back to base. That small hack cut my total crafting time by almost 30% in my last playthrough. Crafting is the most reliable way to get steel, but we’ll cover alternative loot and trade methods later for players who hate mining.
Best Locations to Farm Steel Bar Ingredients Fast
The fastest way to stock up on steel materials is to find a spot with overlapping iron and coal nodes, so you don’t have to travel long distances between farms. For iron ore, the best early-game spot is the mountain range north of the starting Springlands biome. The nodes here are easy to access, only guarded by low-level wolves and raiders, and there are 12+ nodes clustered within a 2-minute walk of each other. Iron nodes respawn every 7 to 10 minutes, so you can loop around the cluster nonstop without waiting for spawns.
For coal, the most beginner-friendly spot is the abandoned mine system in the western edge of the Revelwood biome. The caves here have almost no dangerous enemies, just a few stray slimes, and you can find 8+ coal nodes per run. You’ll also find small chests scattered through the caves that occasionally have pre-crafted steel bars inside. Don’t skip looting raider supply wagons you find along roads near these zones – I’ve gotten as many as 12 steel bars from a single wagon near the Revelwood mountain pass, which saved me hours of crafting that day.
If you’re playing in a group, split up to cover both nodes at the same time. Have one player farm iron while the other collects coal, and you’ll have enough materials for 50+ steel bars in less than 20 minutes of playtime.
Alternative Methods to Get Steel Bars Without Crafting
Mining isn’t for everyone, and there are plenty of ways to get steel without ever touching a pickaxe if you prefer questing or combat. The first option is trading with the Blacksmith NPC once you unlock them at your base. They usually trade 1 steel bar for 5 iron ore or 10 pieces of raw leather, which is a great deal if you have a surplus of those materials from hunting or clearing raider camps. The trade stock resets every in-game day, so check back regularly if you need a lot of steel.
You can also get steel bars as loot from high-tier chests in shroud towers and small dungeons. Level 2 and 3 shroud towers almost always have 3 to 5 steel bars in their final reward chest, plus other rare materials like amber and cobalt. Side quests from the Carpenter and Blacksmith also frequently give steel bars as a reward, especially quests that involve clearing raider camps or building specific base upgrades. Always check quest rewards before you accept them – if you’re short on steel, prioritizing quests that give it as a reward can help you skip a lot of grinding.
These methods are great for supplementing your steel supply, but you’ll still need to craft most of your stock if you’re building large bases or making full sets of steel gear for your whole party. It’s a good idea to mix both crafting and loot methods to keep your supply steady without burning out on any one activity.
Pro Tips to Maximize Your Steel Bar Production
Once you have a steady source of materials, you can optimize your production to get twice as much steel in half the time. The first trick is to build a small outpost with a level 3 Smelter right near your mining spot. That way you don’t have to carry heavy ore all the way back to your main base, which saves you inventory space and travel time. You can store extra materials in chests at the outpost, so you don’t have to carry everything with you on every run.
Upgrade your pickaxe to a steel pickaxe as soon as you have enough bars to make one. It mines iron and coal twice as fast as an iron pickaxe, so you can farm way more materials in the same amount of time. If you’re playing solo, never let your smelter run idle – if you’re leaving base to go questing, fill all the smelter slots with iron and coal before you leave, so it’s crafting steel while you’re gone and you have a full stack waiting for you when you get back.
If you’re short on coal, you can use charcoal as a substitute, but it takes 2 charcoal per steel bar instead of 1 coal, so it’s less efficient long term. Only use this trick if you’re in a pinch for steel and can’t make it to a coal mine right away. You can make charcoal by putting wood in a charcoal kiln, which you unlock around the same time as the level 3 Smelter.
Figuring out how to get steel bars enshrouded doesn’t have to be a frustrating grind, as long as you know what materials you need, where to find them, and how to optimize your production. Whether you prefer mining, questing, or trading for your materials, there’s a method that fits your playstyle, so you don’t have to force yourself to do content you don’t enjoy. Once you have a steady supply of steel, you’ll be able to unlock almost every endgame item and build a base that can stand up to even the hardest raids, so it’s well worth putting in the time to set up a reliable production chain early on. If you have your own favorite way to farm steel, drop it in the comments below to help other players out.