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Steel Bars are often one of the first stumbling blocks within Conan Exiles. Many new players will fall victim to the riddle of Steel, wondering exactly how they can create harder, superior weapons. That’s where we come in. Today we’re looking at how you can make the jump from Iron to Steel and thrive in Conan Exiles!
What are Steel Bars?
Appearing as rectangular metal strips made from Steel, these bars are composed using the best metal alloy available in weapon crafting. These bars weigh 0.25 units and have a maximum stack of 1,000 units in a single slot, meaning each weighs a hefty 250 units. Steel Bars are heavy and can be hard to collect, but they play a vital part in progressing through the world of Conan Exiles.
Without a Conan Exiles Steel Bar, you’ll find regular tasks arduous, more so than they should be. At some point, it will severely hamper your progress. It is critical to acquire Steel as soon as possible to move away from Iron and continue to improve your arsenal.
What are Steel Bars used for?
Steel Bars are used, most predictably, in manufacturing new weapons. Aside from your swords and spears, you can also employ steel bars in the creation of decorations, armors, ammunition, and Hardened Steel bars. Hardened Steel is the next stepping stone after Steel, so if you’d like to discover more about that, you can check out our guide about it here.
Improving your weapons and armor may not seem as critical as establishing your base. This pitfall is one plenty of players fall into, and it rapidly stunts their progression. The allure of creating a nice base can be powerful, but resist! Gathering resources to construct your home will be smoother after upgrading your weapons and tools. Crafting improved tools, weapons & armor will make your struggle to survive Conan Exiles a little more painless, both literally and metaphorically, and proves a massive boon for combat and productivity.
How can I make Steel Bars?
Crafting Steel Bars isn’t as simple as Iron, and thus it can prove a stumbling block for the uninitiated. Fortunately, we have all the information you need to get started smelting your first Steel Bars. So, let’s get right into it.
Pre-requisites
Smelting Steel Bars have a few requirements that must be met before you can fire up the furnace to begin crafting. The first is being able to create a furnace, which is locked behind the Blacksmith feat. This costs two feat points and is available for purchase at Level 10. It’s a must-have for pretty much everyone, so you likely already have it.
The second required feat is Firebowl Cauldron. It costs three feat points and is available at Level 15, meaning that Steel Bars have a soft level lock of 15.
Components
Iron Bars
If you’re here, you probably already have Iron Bars. That being said, prepare to need even more to begin smelting Steel, more than you probably realize. Iron Bars are created by smelting two Ironstone together in a Furnace, resulting in a single Iron Bar. At the base level, you’ll need 5 Iron Bars for a single Steel Bar, so you should prepare by gathering as much Ironstone as you can muster.
Iron Ore is located all across the desert in various pockets. I recommend farming just southwest of The Tower of Bats, as this area is overflowing with Iron Ore and can easily provide hundreds if not thousands of Ironstone per trip. There are some other locations where you can find Iron Ore, including a wealth of nodes around the eastern border of Sepermeru, south of The Black Galleon, and northeast of Muriela’s Hope. These deposits are plentiful, so only you can decide which one is best for you, depending upon where your base is. Consult this map to help make that decision easier.
Steelfire
Steelfire itself is the proverbial ‘Riddle of Steel’. The lucky result of an unfortunate blacksmith in Khoraja who inadvertently burned his workshop to the ground, it was discovered that Steelfire could be used to harden otherwise imperfect metals like Iron.
Steelfire is crafted within a Firebowl Cauldron and requires two ingredients to be mixed to create this wondrous substance. Those two substances are Tar and Brimstone, both of which can be acquired smoothly if you’re prepared.
Tar
The optimal way to acquire a large amount of tar is by tanning hides. Tar is a byproduct of the tanning process, so as long as you continue to cure hides into leather, you will have Tar.
There are many differing opinions on the best way to handle this task. My recommendation is to farm Rhinoceros and Elephants in the Savannah, take their hides, and tan them at home. Fighting these massive beasts may be difficult with only Iron weapons, so you may instead wish to hunt Gazelles and Crocodiles in the relative safety of the southern desert. Either option will work, so long as you can collect a vast quantity of hides to ensure your tannery is consistently curing hides and producing Tar.
You’ll need two pots of Tar for each pot of Steelfire, so take that into account ahead of time and make sure you’re stocking up. You’ll be happy to hear that Tar also has a lot of other implementations, and it’s one of the most desirable resources to have consistent access to. If you over-produce and end up with excess Tar, no worries. You’ve saved yourself work in a different facet of the game.
Brimstone
Brimstone is a stinking, sulfurous stone that plays a critical part in the creation of Steelfire. One of the most desirable Alchemical Components due to its flexible use, Brimstone can be difficult to attain in safe and sustainable quantities.
Outside of the Shattered Springs, which requires a Sandstorm Mask to traverse, there are a few good spots in The Exiled Lands and The Isle of Siptah to collect Brimstone. Most spots on The Exiled Lands can be found in the desert, in caves scattered around The Unnamed City. Siptah has a harder time, as you’ll need to travel to the center of the map, certain Leyshrines, or the far south to gather Brimstone.
Brimstone can be farmed using any Pick, and seeing as you only need one piece of Brimstone per Steelfire, a few hundred stones should keep you stocked up for a while. If you’re looking for more information, check out our Brimstone guide here.
Creating Steelfire
So you’ve got your Tar and Brimstone, and you probably want to wash your hands. Before that, let’s start crafting your Steelfire. Place two pots of Tar and one piece of Brimstone into your Firebowl Cauldron. Simply wait around for 20 seconds and you’ll find a wonderful pot of Steelfire waiting for you!
If you upgrade to the Improved Steelfire Cauldron at Level 30, you’ll only need 1 Tar and 1 Brimstone, also shaving 5 seconds off your crafting time, so this upgrade is worth your time to invest in. The only other worthwhile upgrade is the Giant’s Firebowl Cauldron, which produces Steelfire in 8 seconds, though Steel requires 2 Tar and 1 Brimstone. Generally speaking, stick with the Improved Firebowl Cauldron, as it provides a comfortable balance of both cost reduction and crafting time improvement.
Smelting The Bars
So you’ve got your Steelfire and Iron Bars, it’s time to make some Steel Bars. Stoke your furnace with a fuel of your choosing, I recommend Dry Wood and then place 5 Iron Bars and 1 Steelfire inside. After 15 seconds, the Steelfire will drip over and infuse the Iron, hardening it into Steel. As you get further into the game, you may wish to upgrade your Blacksmith’s Bench. Regarding Steel Bars, upgraded furnaces will either increase your crafting speed or improve the duration of your chosen fuel. It’s a tough choice between the two, but I’d always opt for the improved fuel duration rather than the improved crafting speed.
Unfortunately, there is no way to reduce the cost of each Steel Bar, but by preserving your fuel, you can keep your costs down in at least one area. For this purpose, I would recommend moving to the Improved Furnace at Level 30. You can then upgrade to the Improved Furnace (Kiln) when you acquire the recipe from the Archives. Finally, at level 55, you can upgrade to the Fuel-Efficient Furnace, which provides a massive 300% boost to the duration of your fuel, alongside a modest 42.9% increase to your crafting speed.
Maybe it’s just me but I always find that, whilst trying to produce Steel, I underestimate exactly how many Iron Bars I’ll need. This may be a pitfall you find yourself falling victim to. Don’t be like me, it’s better to over-prepare than be underprepared. Gather more Iron than you think you’ll need, it’s always better to have some left over.
So now you have your Steel Bars! There is a myriad of uses for this fancy new metal, and I’d recommend firstly upgrading your tools. It can be tempting to craft that fancy new sword or helmet, but having better tools helps you to gather more of the resources you need, thus making subsequent crafting easier. Grab yourself a Pick, Skinning Knife, and Hatchet, and maybe some other tools too if you need them.
Recommended Crafting Order
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the new crafting options that are available when you acquire Steel, so below I’ll include a small list of recommendations as to what you should create and the order in which you should create them.
- Pick
- Hatchet
- Skinning Knife
- Weapon of your choice
- Armor of your choice
- Sickle
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Is it possible to skip from Iron straight to Hardened Steel?
Answer: Yes, and more experienced players will likely not spend much time in the Steel age.
That being said, if you’re a newer player, I advise you not to rush straight towards the end-game. Half of the fun of your first playthrough comes from struggling and succeeding against the odds, so take your time in the Steel age to get comfortable with different weapons and discover which combat style you enjoy most.
Question: Is it possible to receive Steel Bars from enemies?
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Answer: Yes. It’s rare and not sustainable, but you can.
You can also acquire Steel weapons and tools from certain enemies, which is a much better option. They can provide a short-lived boost to productivity until the tool breaks, or can save you a little bit of Steel if you know how to repair them. You could also dismantle them, though you may not receive much Steel back.
Question: Aside from weapons, armor, and tools, what else can I use Steel Bars for?
Answer: Steel Bars are a critical component of many important workbenches that you may find yourself wanting or indeed needing in the later stages of the game. You also use Steel Bars in the Sandstorm Mask, which allows you to survive noxious fumes and of course, the Sandstorm.
Perhaps most importantly, Steel Bars are used to create Steel Reinforcements, which are vital and highly sought-after components of Tier 3 buildings. If you want to access Black Ice, Yamatai, Turanian, and many other indomitable structures, Steel Reinforcements are critical.
Conclusion
Steel Bars can often trip up an inexperienced Conan Exiles player. They are the first deviation from the standard smelting format and can prove troublesome to the uninitiated. With this guide, I’ve taught you how to make Conan Exiles Steel Bar and harness the power within them. Now you can go forth and craft better weapons, tools, and armors to dominate The Exiled Lands or The Isle of Siptah. Enemies shall fall before you, in death or fear. Grab your gear Exile, it’s time to farm!
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