If you’ve spent a few hours exploring Enshrouded’s open world, you’ve likely hit that frustrating wall where stone and bronze tools just don’t keep up anymore. They break mid-mining run, barely scratch late-game mobs, and can’t support the reinforced base structures you need to survive the Shroud’s most dangerous hazards. That’s exactly why learning how to get steel enshrouded is one of the most impactful milestones you’ll hit in any playthrough. I wasted three hours running in circles looking for the right materials and NPCs the first time I tried to craft steel, so I put this guide together to help you skip that unnecessary frustration.
Prerequisites to Unlock Steel Crafting First
You can’t craft steel as soon as you spawn on the map, no matter how many resources you hoard early on. There are a few core boxes you need to tick first to unlock the recipe and access the right materials. The first non-negotiable step is rescuing the Blacksmith from the collapsed mine in the starting meadow region. If you don’t have the Blacksmith living at your base, you won’t get access to the steel crafting recipe at all, even if you have all the required materials on hand.
Next, you’ll need to upgrade your Flame Altar to at least level 3. This unlocks access to the mid-game mountain regions where iron ore and coal spawn, and removes the level cap that would otherwise stop you from interacting with higher-tier resources. Upgrading your Flame Altar to level 3 requires 10 burnt wood, 5 bones, and 3 Shroud roots, all of which you can collect in the starting region’s low-level Shroud areas, so you can knock this out early if you plan ahead.
You’ll also need to build a Smelter at your base, which the Blacksmith will give you the recipe for as soon as you complete his first side quest. Finally, make sure you have a steady supply of fuel for the Smelter, whether that’s raw wood, charcoal, or coal. Each steel bar takes around 30 seconds to craft, so you’ll burn through a decent amount of fuel for large batches.
How to Get Steel in Enshrouded: Core Crafting Steps
Once you’ve checked off all the prerequisites, making steel is a straightforward process that only takes a few steps once you get the hang of it. This is the most reliable method for how to get steel enshrouded, as it gives you full control over how much you make at any time, no luck with loot required.
First, you’ll need to smelt raw iron ore into iron bars using your Smelter. Raw iron ore spawns in large veins in mountainous regions north of the starting meadow, and you’ll need at least a bronze pickaxe to mine these veins. Stone pickaxes won’t damage iron veins at all, so don’t waste your time trying to harvest them with lower-tier tools. You need 2 raw iron ore to make 1 iron bar, so plan your mining runs accordingly.
Next, gather enough coal to turn your iron bars into steel. Coal spawns in underground caves and abandoned mines across mid-game regions, or you can make it by burning large stacks of wood in a Charcoal Kiln. For every 1 steel bar you want to make, you need 2 iron bars and 1 coal, so the ratio of iron to coal you need to farm is 2:1.
If you’re planning to craft a large batch of steel at once, here’s a full list of materials you’ll need for 10 steel bars to make your run easier:
- 20 raw iron ore (to smelt into 20 iron bars)
- 10 coal (one per steel bar you craft)
- 25 pieces of charcoal or 50 pieces of raw wood to fuel the Smelter
- 1 fully repaired bronze or better pickaxe to mine all required resources
Once you have all your materials, just place them in the Smelter, wait for the crafting timer to finish, and collect your steel bars. 2 iron bars per 1 steel bar is a ratio many new players mix up, so double check your material counts before you start smelting to avoid running out halfway through a batch. For context, a full set of steel tools takes 12 steel bars total, while a full steel armor set takes 20, so it’s smart to farm 10-20% more materials than you think you need to account for mistakes.
Fastest Ways to Farm Steel Materials Without Wasting Time
If you don’t want to spend half your play session running back and forth across the map looking for iron and coal, there are a few tested shortcuts that cut my farming time by almost 60% once I started using them. First, head to the abandoned coal mine northeast of the first Farmer’s outpost in the mid-game region. This cave is packed with both coal veins and iron veins, so you can farm both materials in the same run instead of traveling to two separate locations. Just watch out for the level 15 Shroud mobs that spawn near the back of the cave, they hit hard, so bring a decent weapon and a few healing potions with you.
Another trick I swear by is building a small outpost with a bed, a chest, and a basic Smelter right outside the mine entrance. The outpost doesn’t need to be fancy: a small 2x2 wood structure with a roof to keep rain from putting out your Smelter fire is all you need. That way you can dump your materials, smelt them on site, and respawn nearby if you die, instead of running all the way back to your main base every time your inventory is full. I saved almost 2 hours of travel time in my last playthrough using this trick alone.
You can also get bonus steel from looting abandoned guard towers and bandit camps in mid-game regions. Many of these structures have chests with 3-5 pre-made steel bars, plus steel tools and weapons you can either use or scrap for extra materials. I once found 12 steel bars in a single tower chest, which saved me almost an hour of farming that day. Don’t skip looting these structures if you pass them on your travels, the reward is almost always worth the few minutes it takes to clear the mobs inside.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Making Steel
Even if you follow all the steps correctly, it’s easy to make small mistakes that cost you a lot of time and resources. The most common mistake new players make is trying to mine iron ore with a stone pickaxe. It won’t damage the vein at all, so you’ll just waste durability on your pick for no reward. Always double check that you have at least a bronze pickaxe in your inventory before you head out to farm iron.
Another mistake is not stockpiling enough fuel before you start smelting. There’s nothing more frustrating than getting halfway through a batch of 20 steel bars and realizing you ran out of coal to fuel the Smelter. I always keep a chest full of charcoal next to my Smelter so I never run out mid-craft. If you find steel weapons or armor that you don’t want to use, you can scrap them at the Blacksmith’s bench to get half of the steel bars used to make them back, which is a great way to get extra steel without farming.
If you’re playing on a PvP server, don’t leave your steel unattended while it smelts. Other players can and will steal your smelted steel if you leave your base unguarded, so either stay nearby while it crafts or build strong, locked walls around your crafting area to keep intruders out. The last big mistake is making more steel than you need right away. Steel doesn’t weigh more than iron, but if you’re carrying 100 steel bars with you when you die in the Shroud, you’ll lose all of it if you can’t get back to your body in time. Only craft what you need for your next project, and store the rest in a locked chest at your base to avoid losing it.
At the end of the day, learning how to get steel enshrouded isn’t nearly as complicated as it looks the first time you hit that crafting wall. Once you have the right prerequisites unlocked, know where to farm your materials, and avoid the common mistakes most new players make, you’ll be cranking out steel tools, armor, and building parts in no time. Steel will make every part of your Enshrouded playthrough easier, from mining rarer resources to surviving the toughest Shroud encounters, so it’s worth taking the time to get the process right. If you have your own tricks for farming steel faster, drop them in the comments below to help other players out.