Learn how to get Forged Steel and what it can be used for
Wood, cobblestone, scrap metal, and concrete. You’ve tried them all, and still, you want something stronger. To begin crafting the strongest equipment and reach the highest tier of base materials in 7 Days to Die, you will need to begin acquiring Forged Steel. This extremely durable resource is vital to the progression of mid to late-game players.
This guide will teach you everything you need to know about finding, salvaging, and crafting Forged Steel in 7 Days to Die and how it can be used to improve your base and equipment.
How to get Forged Steel in 7 Days to Die
Forged Steel is a rare and valuable resource that is extremely difficult to come by without the use of a proper Forge. While forging is the fastest and most direct way to procure steel, there are other ways to get your hands on it in small amounts.
1. Scavenging
We highly discourage players from relying on scavenging when collecting this resource. It will never appear in standard loot containers; even those it can be found in rarely spawn. Moreover, these chests can only be found at the end of long and extremely dangerous scavenging sites like the hospital, Shamway plant, and Red Mesa lab. Nonetheless, it can technically be found inside hardened military chests and similar high-value containers.
2. Salvaging
Salvaging is your best bet for gathering strong metals early if you don’t have a properly equipped forge. The devices you can salvage this material from can be difficult to reach, but we wouldn’t necessarily say they’re rare. Breaking down vending machines, gun safes, and even street lamps with a wrench, ratchet, or impact driver can all net you some of this valuable metal. Don’t expect to get more than a few bars at a time.
3. Forging
If you want to use steel in any real capacity, you’ll need to learn how to forge your own. It simply isn’t viable to try and upgrade your base with only materials you’ve salvaged. However, to produce your own, you will need a crucible to attach to your forge. Crucibles can be purchased, scavenged, or forged with the correct recipe.
Tips and tricks for forging your own Steel
Once you have built a forge, you’ll find you have access to new recipes and ways to make the crafting process more efficient. To create steel, you’ll need clay for molds, Wood or Coal for fuel, lots of Iron, and a crucible to melt it down in.
1. Forge Upgrades
You’ll need a Crucible attached to your forge to make this metal, but two more slots are also available to improve the process. Adding a set of Bellows will keep your forge hot and speed up smelting. Equipping your forge with an Anvil will give you a better working surface and increase the speed at which the forge produces new items.
2. Smelting Scrap
The forge can be loaded with more than just pure metal. If you don’t have raw iron handy, you can also melt down objects made of it. Springs, pipes, nails, and even old weapons, armor, and mods can be smelted in the forge. In fact, smelting these items rather than scrapping them produces much more iron.
3. Smelt Lots of Clay
Pretty much everything you make at the forge will require clay to make the mold. Fortunately, most of the dirt in Navezgane is Clay Soil. Scoop up lots of this dirt early on to stock up on the clay your forge will need to make materials.
Tips and tricks for using Forged Steel
This material is used in just about every advanced crafting recipe. If it doesn’t require Forged Iron, it probably requires steel. There are so many potential uses for this resource that we couldn’t possibly cover them all here. Instead, here are just a few of the general uses you can find for this impressively strong metal.
1. Weapons
The strongest tier of every kind of weapon is made from Forged Steel. Machine Guns, Rocket Launchers, Machetes, Steel Sledgehammers, and automatic shotguns are just a few of the devastating weapons available to you with the right schematics and plenty of high-quality metal. You’ll need steel weapons to survive late-game encounters with juggernauts and mutant enemies.
2. Tools
Why settle for iron tools when steel tools harvest more resources and deal more damage to blocks? While this metal can be used to create powerful manual harvesting tools, it can also be used to craft the coveted motorized tools you’ve been chasing after since the beginning. While they’re louder and usually require fuel, motorized tools make mining and woodcutting a breeze.
3. Construction
Most of the metal produced by players will probably be going towards improving their base. Forged Steel is the highest tier of building block, sporting an incredible 10,000 hit points for standard blocks and over 30,000 for vault doors, window shutters, and garage gates. Even more impressive is that players can create powered versions of these structures, allowing them to be connected to an electrical grid and controlled remotely or even automatically.
4. Vehicles
Late-game vehicles with the highest durability, speed, and cargo capacity are all crafted from components made with Forged Steel. The Motorcycle, 4×4 Truck, and Gyrocopter are all made from copious quantities of refined metal, among other components. These vehicles are extremely useful for getting around and transporting all your valuable loot from the other side of the map back to your base.
5. Armor
If heavy armor is your preference, then you can make use of a suit of extremely durable Steel Armor. In addition to its incredible durability, a well-made suit of this armor can reduce incoming damage by more than half with the proper level of the Heavy Armor perk. You will need this perk or the armor’s schematic and steel armor parts to craft it.
6. Ammunition
Steel arrows, crossbow bolts, and other specialized ammo like breaching slugs can be crafted with Forged Steel. The arrowheads used for arrows and bolts are crafted directly from the forge, while other ammo can be produced at a Workbench with the proper schematics and some other materials like Scrap Polymers and Gun Powder.
7. Robotics
Several robotic turrets and drones are crafted within frames reinforced by Forged Steel. These automated drones are vital to advancing Intelligence Builds and can make defending your base from multiple angles much easier.
FAQs
Yes. Investing in the Advanced Engineering perk can significantly reduce the resource costs of forging.
Yes. Traders will occasionally sell small quantities of this material at high prices.
Forged Steel can be collected into stacks of up to 500 ingots.
Final thoughts on getting and using Forged Steel
Forging your own steel and making use of it is the pinnacle of survivalist crafting. The Fun Pimps set up this metal as the strongest material in the game, and we feel that it serves its purpose well. Surrounded by walls of solid steel and wielding masterfully made weapons, you’ll finally be ready to face the endgame and take on anything the Wasteland throws at you.
If you’re looking for some more tips to make your life in Navezgane easier, check out our 10 Tips for Getting Started or our 7 Days to Die Beginner’s Guide.
