Vintage Story: Complete Metallurgy Guide
Metallurgy is the key to technological progression in Vintage Story. This guide covers ore prospecting, smelting techniques, alloy creation, and the path from copper tools to steel production.
Metal Age Progression
| Age | Primary Metal | Tool Durability | Mining Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stone Age | None (Flint tools) | Low | Tier 1 |
| Copper Age | Copper | Medium | Tier 2 |
| Bronze Age | Bronze (Copper + Tin) | High | Tier 3 |
| Iron Age | Iron | Very High | Tier 4 |
| Steel Age | Steel (Iron + Carbon) | Extreme | Tier 5 |
Ore Prospecting
Prospecting Pick Usage
Essential tool for finding ore deposits:
- Craft Prospecting Pick: 1 stick + 3 copper/bronze ingots
- Take a density reading: sample three rock blocks within 16 blocks of each other. The result belongs to that position — it is not a reading for a radius or for the chunk you are standing in.
- Read Results: "Miniscule" through "Very Poor", "Poor", "Decent", "High", "Very High" to "Ultra High", reported per ore as a probability in parts per thousand
- Survey, then switch modes: several density readings show you which part of the world generates an ore well. They do not point at a vein — that is what Node Search mode is for, once you are digging.
Because each reading belongs to a position rather than an area, a set of readings is worth far more than any one of them. Our prospector atlas maps a group's readings, ranks the strongest places to dig per ore, and shows where one more reading would remove the most uncertainty. The prospecting guide covers both pick modes in full.
Ore Density Readings
| Reading | What it means | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Miniscule | Effectively no chance of a vein here | Move on |
| Very Poor | Lowest useful band | Move to a new location |
| Poor | Rarely worth the digging | Keep searching |
| Decent | The threshold where an ore has genuinely generated well | Worth investigating |
| High | Strong for this ore | Good place to sink a shaft |
| Very High | Among the best you will read | Dig here and switch to Node Search |
| Ultra High | Top of the scale | Establish a mine |
These are relative, not percentages. The game reports a probability per ore in parts per thousand and buckets it into these words, but it does not publish the boundaries between the buckets — so any table giving "Decent = 10-20% ore" is inventing the numbers. Two further caveats that matter more than the exact figure: the reading is a probability that this part of the world generates the ore, not a measurement of ore under your feet; and some ores only ever read low even in their best rock, so compare an ore against itself across your own readings rather than against the other ores in the same list.
Pro Tip: Ore veins run horizontally, not vertically. Once you find ore, mine sideways at the same Y-level for maximum yield.
Smelting Basics
Firepit Smelting (Early Game)
First method for processing ores:
- Setup: Firepit + 4 dry grass + fuel
- Capacity: 4 ore chunks per smelt
- Time: 45 seconds per smelt
- Efficiency: 100% (no loss)
- Limitation: Only native copper and gold
Bloomery (Mid Game)
Advanced smelting for iron:
- Construction: 8 fire bricks + chimney
- Fuel: Charcoal (more efficient than wood)
- Capacity: 8 ore chunks
- Output: Iron bloom (requires further processing)
- Time: 15 minutes real-time
Crucible Smelting (Late Game)
Precision alloy creation:
- Material: Ceramic or metal crucible
- Capacity: 100 units of metal
- Precision: Mix exact alloy ratios
- Casting: Pour into molds for tools/ingots
Alloy Recipes
Bronze Alloys
| Alloy | Recipe | Properties |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 90% Copper + 10% Tin | Standard tools, good durability |
| Tin Bronze | 92% Copper + 8% Tin | Slightly harder than bronze |
| Bismuth Bronze | 50% Copper + 30% Zinc + 20% Bismuth | Best bronze variant |
| Black Bronze | 70% Copper + 20% Silver + 10% Gold | Decorative, expensive |
Steel Production
Most advanced metal in the game:
- Smelt Iron Ore: Create iron blooms in bloomery
- Work Bloom: Hammer on anvil to create wrought iron
- Add Carbon: Heat wrought iron with charcoal
- Cementation: 24-hour process to create blister steel
- Refine: Hammer and fold to create steel ingots
Smithing Mechanics
Anvil Working
Voxel-based metalworking system:
- Heat Metal: Forge to working temperature (orange-yellow)
- Place on Anvil: Right-click with heated ingot
- Hammer Voxels: Shape metal by removing/adding material
- Follow Recipe: Match target shape exactly
- Quench: Cool in water to set shape
Smithing Tools
🔨 Hammer
Primary shaping tool. Removes voxels.
⚒️ Tongs
Rotate and manipulate hot metal safely.
🔥 Forge
Heat metal to working temperature.
⚙️ Anvil
Work surface for shaping metal.
Ore Locations by Type
Copper Ores
| Ore Type | Depth Range | Biome |
|---|---|---|
| Native Copper | Y: 10-60 | All biomes |
| Malachite | Y: 20-80 | Temperate |
| Chalcopyrite | Y: 15-70 | Mountains |
Tin & Bronze Component Ores
- Cassiterite (Tin): Y: 40-100, rare in all biomes
- Sphalerite (Zinc): Y: 20-60, common in limestone
- Bismuthinite (Bismuth): Y: 30-80, rare
Iron Ores
- Limonite: Y: 10-50, swamps and wetlands
- Hematite: Y: 5-40, mountains
- Magnetite: Y: 0-30, deep underground
Advanced Metallurgy
Charcoal Production
Essential fuel for bloomery and forge:
- Build Charcoal Pit: 16+ logs in 4x4 pile
- Cover with Dirt: Seal all sides except ignition hole
- Light Fire: Ignite through small opening
- Wait 24 Hours: Real-time for conversion
- Harvest: Break dirt to collect charcoal
Tool Durability Comparison
| Material | Pickaxe Uses | Mining Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Flint | 50 | 1.0x |
| Copper | 150 | 1.2x |
| Bronze | 400 | 1.5x |
| Iron | 800 | 2.0x |
| Steel | 1600 | 2.5x |
Important: Steel tools last 4x longer than bronze and mine 67% faster. The investment in steel production pays off quickly.
Common Metallurgy Mistakes
| Mistake | Why It's Bad | How to Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Mining Without Prospecting | Waste time on poor veins | Always prospect before establishing mine |
| Vertical Mining | Miss most of the vein | Mine horizontally at same Y-level |
| Skipping Bronze | Iron requires bronze tools to mine | Progress through metal ages in order |
| No Charcoal Production | Can't smelt iron efficiently | Build charcoal pit early |
Master metallurgy and forge your path to the Steel Age. Host your Vintage Story server with Supercraft for multiplayer metalworking and trading.