If you’ve spent any time grinding through mid-game Enshrouded content, you’ve probably hit the point where iron tools and flimsy wood base reinforcements just aren’t cutting it anymore. You might have found a cool late-game armor recipe or a blueprint for a reinforced storage chest, only to see steel bars listed as a required material with no clue how to get them. I spent three hours wandering around the Nomad Highlands my first playthrough looking for answers for how to make steel bars enshrouded, and I wasted a stack of coal trying to craft them in a basic smelter before I figured out the exact process. This guide will walk you through every step, so you don’t have to waste the same time I did.
What You Need to Make Steel Bars in Enshrouded
Before you start hoarding every piece of ore you find, there are a few non-negotiable requirements you need to check off first. You can’t craft steel bars with early-game gear, so you’ll need to progress a bit past the starting Springlands biome to unlock all the necessary pieces. Here’s the full list of what you’ll need to get started:
- 1x Smelter upgraded to at least Tier 2
- 2x Iron ore per individual steel bar
- 1x Coal per individual steel bar
- Access to either the Nomad Highlands or Kindlewastes biome for consistent coal deposits
You can’t craft steel bars with a basic Tier 1 smelter, so don’t waste time tossing coal and iron into your early-game station expecting results. The Tier 2 smelter upgrade unlocks automatically once you first enter the Revelwood biome, so you don’t have to complete any special quests to get the blueprint. Each steel bar takes 20 seconds to craft, so if you’re planning a big build or armor upgrade, you’ll want to queue up multiple batches instead of waiting for each one to finish individually.
Step-by-Step Process to Craft Steel Bars
Once you have all your required materials and stations ready, the actual crafting process is pretty straightforward. I recommend gathering all your supplies first before you head back to your base, so you don’t have to make multiple trips back out to the biomes mid-craft. First, you’ll need to upgrade your smelter to Tier 2, which requires 10 bronze bars, 5 wooden planks, and 3 iron nails. You can get all of these materials from the Springlands and early Revelwood areas, so you don’t have to venture into high-level shroud zones for the upgrade itself. Next, gather enough iron ore for the number of steel bars you want to make. The best iron ore deposits are in the cave systems scattered across Revelwood, and you can usually get a full stack of ore in 10 to 15 minutes of farming if you have an iron pickaxe. Then, gather your coal. If you’re not ready to head into the dangerous Kindlewastes biome yet, you can find small coal deposits in burnt tree stumps across the Nomad Highlands, or from mining rock nodes near shrouded areas. Always keep extra coal in your smelter inventory if you’re crafting large batches, nothing is more frustrating than coming back to a half-finished stack of steel because you ran out of fuel halfway through. Once you have all your materials, just add the coal to the smelter’s fuel slot, add the iron ore to the material slot, and wait for the bars to finish processing. I usually set up a small crafting bench next to my smelter so I can craft nails or other small materials while I wait for steel bars to finish, to save time.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Making Steel Bars
Even though the process is simple, I’ve seen dozens of new players make the same mistakes over and over when they first try to craft steel bars. These mistakes waste time and resources, so it’s worth noting what to watch out for before you start. The most common mistake is forgetting to upgrade your smelter first. I’ve had friends message me panicking that their game is bugged because their smelter won’t make steel, and 9 times out of 10 they just never bothered to check for the Tier 2 upgrade. Another common mistake is trying to use wood or other basic fuels instead of coal. Early game you can get away with using wood to smelt copper and iron, but steel requires the higher heat from burning coal to craft. A lot of players also waste time looking for iron ore in the starting Springlands biome, which barely has any iron deposits at all. You’ll save hours of time if you just head straight to Revelwood for iron ore instead of digging around the starting area. You don’t need to defeat any bosses to unlock steel bar crafting, which is a common misconception floating around community forums. You just need to walk into the Revelwood biome to unlock the smelter upgrade blueprint, no combat required. Steel bars don’t spoil or take up extra storage space compared to raw ore, so it’s always better to craft extra when you have the materials handy. You’ll end up needing them for random recipes later, so having a stack of steel bars in storage will save you a lot of last-minute farming trips.
Best Uses for Steel Bars in Your Playthrough
You might be tempted to hoard all your steel bars once you start crafting them, but there are a few priority uses that will make your playthrough way easier right away. Prioritize making steel tools before anything else once you unlock the recipe. Steel pickaxes, axes, and swords have twice the durability of iron tools, and they deal 40% more damage to both resources and enemies. You’ll cut your farming time in half almost immediately, and you won’t have to repair your tools every 10 minutes when you’re out exploring. Next, use steel bars to add reinforced reinforcements to your base if you live near a high-level shroud zone. Steel reinforcements make your base walls almost impervious to shroud monster attacks, so you won’t have to repair your base every time you come back from a long trip. You can also use steel bars to craft the steel armor set, which gives you 30% more physical damage resistance than iron armor, plus a small bonus to cold resistance that makes exploring the northern mountain biomes way more manageable. Steel bars are also required for almost all late-game crafting station upgrades, including the blacksmith’s forge, the advanced alchemy lab, and the agricultural workbench. If you like building decorative bases, you can also use steel bars to craft steel railings, light fixtures, and storage shelves that look way cleaner than their wooden or iron counterparts. I usually keep at least 50 steel bars in my inventory at all times for emergency tool repairs and last-minute building tweaks when I’m out exploring.
Once you get the hang of how to make steel bars enshrouded, the entire late game opens up a lot faster than you might expect. You’ll be able to take on higher-level shroud zones, build sturdier bases, and craft gear that makes even the toughest enemies feel manageable. Don’t be afraid to team up with other players to farm coal and iron ore if you’re still struggling to get enough materials, group farming cuts down the grind time by a huge amount. I still keep a dedicated Tier 2 smelter right next to my main storage chests just for crafting steel bars, so I never run out when I need them for a new build or recipe.