If you’ve spent hours grinding copper and iron bars to build your first base in Enshrouded, you’ve probably hit the point where your old gear just doesn’t cut it against mid-game Shroud creatures and raider camps. That’s where steel bars come in — this high-tier crafting material unlocks everything from fire-resistant armor to reinforced chests that hold twice as much loot as your old wooden storage. Figuring out how to get steel bars in Enshrouded can feel confusing at first, especially if you haven’t unlocked the right crafting stations or explored the northern parts of the map yet. I spent three runs wandering the wrong biomes wasting pickaxe durability before I nailed the most efficient route, so I’m breaking down everything you need to know to skip the frustration.
What You Need Before You Learn How to Get Steel Bars in Enshrouded
You can’t start farming or smelting steel bars the second you spawn into the map, and trying to do so will just waste your time. There are three non-negotiable prerequisites you need to check off first, and none of them require grinding super rare loot to unlock. First, you need to rescue the Blacksmith NPC from the Ancient Spire in the Revelwood biome. He’s the only NPC that unlocks the steel bar recipe, and he also gives you the blueprint for the upgraded Furnace you need to smelt the material.
Second, you need to build a level 2 Furnace for your base. Basic level 1 Furnaces only work for copper and iron bars, so you’ll need to upgrade yours with 20 iron bars, 10 clay, and 5 wood planks before you can process steel ingredients. If you’re still learning how to get steel bars in Enshrouded, don’t skip this step — I once spent 20 minutes farming all my steel materials only to realize I hadn’t upgraded my Furnace yet. Third, you need an iron or better pickaxe. The iron and coal nodes you’ll need for steel are in mid-tier biomes, and stone pickaxes break after one or two hits on these nodes, so they’re not worth bringing along.
Efficient Routes for Farming Steel Bar Ingredients
Each steel bar requires 2 iron ore, 1 coal, and 1 flux to craft, so you’ll need to farm all three materials to make a steady supply. The best spots for each material vary depending on your player level, and you don’t have to venture into the dangerous end-game biomes to get your first batch of steel. For iron ore, the best early-game spot is the abandoned mine north of the Revelwood fast travel point. There are 12+ iron nodes clustered in a small, Shroud-free cave, and I usually get 40+ iron ore per 10 minute run there without running into any high-tier enemies.
Coal is easiest to farm early at the old raider fort west of the Farmer NPC’s house. You don’t have to go into the Kindlewastes biome to get coal until you need to farm in bulk, and the 8 coal nodes at the fort respawn every 7 minutes. Flux is the trickiest ingredient to find, as it doesn’t spawn as a node you can mine. It drops from Shroud Alchemists and can be found in rare chests in Ancient Spire dungeons. I prefer farming Shroud Alchemists near the Revelwood Spire because they respawn every 5 minutes, and you get 2-3 flux per kill with very little risk.
If you’re new to learning how to get steel bars in Enshrouded, stick to one of these level-aligned routes to maximize your time per run:
- Beginner (level 15-20): Farm iron at the Revelwood mine, coal at the western raider fort, and flux from low-tier Shroud Alchemists near the first Ancient Spire to make your first 20 steel bars.
- Mid-game (level 20-25): Run the Kindlewastes coal mines paired with the northern Revelwood iron nodes to make 50+ steel bars per hour with minimal travel time.
- End-game (level 25+): Farm all three ingredients in the Kindlewastes, where iron, coal, and flux drops from high-tier mobs are all within 500 meters of each other for maximum efficiency.
Step-by-Step Smelting Process for Steel Bars
Once you have all your ingredients gathered, smelting steel bars is a straightforward process, but there are a few small tips that will save you a lot of waiting time. First, make sure your level 2 Furnace is stocked with the right fuel. Dry wood or coal works best for smelting steel, because regular wood burns too slowly and will double your smelting time per bar. I always keep a chest full of coal next to my Furnaces specifically for steel smelting runs, so I don’t have to run around looking for fuel halfway through.
Put your iron ore, coal, and flux into the Furnace input slots, and make sure you leave enough empty space in the output slot for all the bars you plan to make. Each steel bar takes 30 seconds to smelt, so you can do other base tasks while you wait, like upgrading your workbench or organizing your storage. If you have multiple level 2 Furnaces running at the same time, you can cut your smelting time in half. I usually run 3 Furnaces when I’m crafting steel for a full set of armor, so I don’t have to wait around for hours to get all the bars I need.
If you’re still learning how to get steel bars in Enshrouded, don’t worry if you mess up your first few runs. The most common mistake new players make is forgetting to stock up on flux first. It’s easy to get carried away mining iron and coal, but you won’t be able to make a single steel bar without flux, so always farm that first before you start gathering the other materials.
Best Uses for Steel Bars in Enshrouded
Steel bars are used in dozens of crafting recipes, but you should prioritize a few key upgrades first to get the most value out of your first batch. The first thing I always make is a full set of steel armor, which gives 30% more defense than iron armor and adds a 10% stamina regeneration bonus that makes exploring the Shroud way easier. This armor will also protect you from the mild heat in the lower parts of the Kindlewastes, so you don’t have to craft special heat resistance gear just to farm coal there.
Next, craft a steel sword and axe if you have extra bars left over. Steel weapons deal 40% more damage than iron versions, so they make fighting mid-game bosses like the Wraith of the Shroud way faster and less risky. You can also use steel bars to upgrade your base with reinforced doors, chests, and walls. These reinforced structures are almost impossible for raider NPCs to break through, so your base stays safe even when you’re off exploring for hours at a time. You’ll also need steel bars to build advanced crafting stations like the Alchemy Lab and the Forge, which unlock even higher tier materials like adamantite later in the game.
Once you’ve mastered how to get steel bars in Enshrouded, you’ll want to prioritize the upgrades that give you the biggest quality of life boost first. Don’t waste 20 steel bars on decorative base items before you have a full set of armor and weapons, because you’ll regret it the second you run into a high-tier Shroud creature outside your base.
You don’t have to spend hours wandering the map wasting resources to get the high-tier gear you need to progress. Once you know how to get steel bars in Enshrouded, you can skip the frustrating trial and error and jump straight to crafting the gear and base upgrades that make the mid-game so much fun. If you test out the farming routes we shared, let us know how much time you save compared to your old runs.