v50 Steam/Premium information for editors
  • v50 information can now be added to pages in the main namespace. v0.47 information can still be found in the DF2014 namespace. See here for more details on the new versioning policy.
  • Use this page to report any issues related to the migration.
This notice may be cached—the current version can be found here.

Metal

From Dwarf Fortress Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This article is about the current version of DF.
Note that some content may still need to be updated.

Metal sprites preview.png

Metal is a material extracted from ore at a smelter, turning the ore into bars of pure metal. (One special metal becomes wafers instead of bars.) The metal bars resulting from smelting are used to make items such as weapons, armor, furniture, and crafts at a forge.

Metals may sometimes be combined to form an alloy metal (see below), which is also measured by the bar. An alloy usually improves on the properties of its components to give more uses or increased value.

Smelting pure ores into the corresponding bars raises the base value from that of stone (3) to that of bars (5). This value is then multiplied against the material multiplier of the metal to give the final value for the bar.

Alloys[edit]

There are eleven pure metals in Dwarf Fortress, plus a twelfth special metal, many of which can be mixed together to create another fourteen alloys of one type or another. In some cases, making alloys will result in an overall increase in value, or the resultant alloy will be more powerful when used to forge weapons or armor, though many alloys result in no overall increase in utility or created wealth. (These increases in value can be compared in the "Difference" column of the table below.)

There are many uses for alloys:

  • Increased performance for armor or weapons.
  • Increased value (particularly when a silver-bearing ore is substituted for silver)
  • Stretching your supply of scarce metals.
  • Creating items with distinct colors (for instance, rose gold is magenta) for furniture, color-coding rooms or levers, or artistic constructions (including floor mosaics).
  • Increasing happiness or perceived room value for a dwarf who particularly likes a given alloy.
  • Decreased fuel consumption if making the alloy directly from ores (e.g. bronze requires only one smelter task to make 8 bars from 2 stones of ore).

The number of bars used to create an alloy always equals the number of bars produced: the number of bars input equals the number of bars of output. However, the number of bars produced from smelting ores is four times greater (X ores in = 4X bars out).

List of metals[edit]

Pure metals[edit]

Metal
Name
Tile Color Source Ore(s) Density (g/cm3) Melting point Material
value
Value difference Notes and
Other Uses
(ASCII) (Tileset)
Aluminum 7:7:1 AluminumSwatch.png Native aluminum 2.70 11188 °U 40 +0
Bismuth 5:5:1 Bismuth Swatch.png Bismuthinite 9.78 10488 °U 2 +1 Only useful for alloying into bismuth bronze
Copper 6:4:0 Copper Swatch.png Native copper, Malachite, Tetrahedrite 8.93 11952 °U 2 +0, +0, -1* Can be used to forge all weapons, armor, ammunition, and picks
Gold 6:6:1 Gold Swatch.png Native gold 19.32 11915 °U 30 +0
Iron 0:7:1 Iron Swatch.png Hematite, Limonite, Magnetite 7.85 12768 °U 10 +2 Can be used to forge all weapons, armor, ammunition, picks, and anvils
Lead 0:7:1 Lead Swatch.png Galena 11.34 10589 °U 2 -3*
Nickel 7:3:0 Nickel Swatch.png Garnierite 8.80 12619 °U 2 +0
Platinum 7:7:1 Platinum Swatch.png Native platinum 21.40 13182 °U 40 +0
Silver 7:7:1 Silver Swatch.png Native silver, Horn silver,
Galena (50%), Tetrahedrite (20%)
10.49 11731 °U 10 +0, +0,
+5*, +7*
Can be used to forge melee weapons and ammunition
Tin 7:3:0 Tin Swatch.png Cassiterite 7.28 10417 °U 2 +0
Zinc 7:3:0 Zinc Swatch.png Sphalerite 7.13 10755 °U 2 +0

Legend:

  • Tile Color corresponds to how items made from that metal are displayed in game, foreground and background colors.
  • Source Ore(s) indicates the specific ores that can provide a metal. If production of the metal is not guaranteed, a percent chance is indicated following the ore.
  • Density is used to determine the different weight of finished objects.
  • Melting point is used to determine if a material is magma-safe or not: magma is 12000°U.
  • Material value is what the base value of an object made of this metal is multiplied by to determine its worth.
  • Value difference indicates the difference in material value between the metal and the ore, separated with commas in cases where multiple ore values differ. Also keep in mind that multiple bars are produced for each ore boulder smelted, increasing the value difference even further.
* - Values marked with an asterisk denote ores that can yield multiple metals. On average, the expected difference in value from smelting tetrahedrite is +1 and galena is +2.

Alloys[edit]

(Unless specified, ores of the ingredients may be used instead of bars for alloy reactions)

Metal
Name
Tile
Color (ascii)
Tile
Color (tileset)
  Reaction   Density (g/cm3) Melting point Material
value
Value difference Notes and
Other Uses
Billon 7:3:0 Billon Swatch.png Silver
+ Copper
8.93 11952 °U 6 +0 see note 1)
Bismuth bronze 6:6:1 BismuthBronze Swatch.png 1 Tin
+ 2 Copper
+ 1 Bismuth*
8.25 11868 °U 6 +4 Can be used to forge all weapons, armor, ammunition, and picks. Combat relevant stats are identical to standard Bronze
Black bronze 5:6:0 BlackBronze Swatch.png 2 Copper
+ 1 Silver
+ 1 Gold*
8.93 11952 °U 11 +0 Unique color
Brass 6:6:1 Brass Swatch.png Zinc
+ Copper
8.55 11656 °U 7 +5 Value difference is +4.5 if tetrahedrite is used instead of copper
Bronze 6:4:0 Bronze Swatch.png Tin
+ Copper
8.25 11868 °U 5 +3 Value difference is +2.5 if tetrahedrite is used instead of copper. Can be used to forge all weapons, armor, ammunition, and picks
Electrum 6:6:1 Electrum Swatch.png Silver
+ Gold
14.905 11828 °U 20 +0 see note 2)
Fine pewter 7:7:1 FinePewter Swatch.png 3 Tin
+ 1 Copper
7.28 10417 °U 5 +3 Value difference is +2.75 if tetrahedrite is used instead of copper
Lay pewter 3:7:0 LayPewter Swatch.png 2 Tin
+ 1 Copper
+ 1 Lead*
7.28 10417 °U 3 +1 Unique color
Nickel silver 7:7:1 NickelSilver Swatch.png 2 Nickel
+ 1 Copper
+ 1 Zinc*
8.65 11620 °U 3 +1
Pig iron 0:7:1 PigIron Swatch.png Iron
+ flux stone
+ fuel*
7.85 12106 °U 10 +0 Only used to make steel
Rose gold 5:5:1 RoseGold Swatch.png 3 Gold
+ 1 Copper*
19.32 11915 °U 23 +0 Unique color
Steel 7:3:0 Steel Swatch.png Iron
+ Pig iron
+ flux stone
+ fuel*
7.85 12718 °U 30 +20 Can be used to forge all weapons, armor, ammunition, picks, and anvils
Sterling silver 7:7:1 SterlingSilver Swatch.png 3 Silver
+ 1 Copper*
10.49 11602 °U 8 +0
Trifle pewter 7:3:0 TriflePewter Swatch.png 2 Tin
+ 1 Copper
7.28 10417 °U 4 +2 Value difference is +1.67 if tetrahedrite is used instead of copper
Notes
1) Billon can be made with tetrahedrite or galena ore (instead of silver bars) for increased value: (Copper ore + Tetrahedrite: +3.5; Tetrahedrite + Tetrahedrite: +3; Copper ore + Galena: + 2.5; Tetrahedrite + Galena: + 2).
2) Electrum can be made with tetrahedrite or galena ore (instead of silver bars) for increased value: (Gold + Tetrahedrite: +3.5; Gold + Galena: +2.5).

Legend:

  • Tile Color corresponds to how items made from that metal are displayed in game, foreground and background colors.
  • Reaction indicates the basic recipe for an alloy - this does not include any fuel necessary to operate the smelter. See the article for that alloy or smelting for possible alternatives.
* - You can use only bars of metal in this reaction, not ores.
  • Density is used to determine the different weight of finished objects.
  • Melting point is used to determine if a material is magma-safe or not: magma is 12000°U.
  • Material value is what the base value of an object made of this metal is multiplied by to determine its worth.
  • Value difference indicates the difference between the average value of the required bars of metals vs. the value of the resulting bars of alloy - what went in vs. what comes out, measured per bar. "+0" indicates that the resulting alloy is a perfectly average value of the component metals. Note that substituting tetrahedrite for copper ore always results in a value decrease, while substituting tetrahedrite or galena for silver bars always results in a value increase.

Special metals[edit]

Dwarf head pixel.png  This article or section contains minor spoilers. You may want to avoid reading it.
Metal
Name
Tile Color Source Ore(s) Density (g/cm3) Melting point Material
value
Value difference Notes and
Other Uses
(ASCII) (Tileset)
Adamantine Raw adamantine 0.200 25000 °U 300 +50 (see
below)
Divine metal none 1 none 300 (see
below)

Adamantine * cannot be smelted directly, and must be extracted first.

  • Can be used to forge anything except beds
  • Blades are 10× sharper than standard metals, which when combined with its very high shear fracture/yield makes it more than 100x as effective as steel for bladed weapons
  • Too light to make effective blunt weapons despite nearly unsurpassed yield and fracture values.

Divine metal has procedurally generated (i.e. semi-random) names associated with deities.

  • Blades are 1.2× sharper than standard metals
  • Low density makes it worse than all conventional metals for blunt, although it's still better than adamantine
  • Overall stats make it stronger than steel but weaker than adamantine.

Weapon and armor quality[edit]

Metal Value Density Impact yield Impact fracture Impact elasticity Shear yield Shear fracture Shear elasticity Notes
Adamantine 300 0.200 5000 5000 0 5000 5000 0 Can be used to forge anything except beds
Divine metal 300 1.0 1000 2000 0 1000 2000 0 Can be used to forge all weapons, armor, ammunition, picks, and anvils
Steel 30 7.85 1505 2520 940 430 720 215 Can be used to forge all weapons, armor, ammunition, picks, and anvils
Bismuth bronze 6 8.25 602 843 547 172 241 156 Can be used to forge all weapons, armor, ammunition, and picks
Bronze 5 8.25 602 843 547 172 241 156 Can be used to forge all weapons, armor, ammunition, and picks
Iron 10 7.85 542 1080 319 155 310 189 Can be used to forge all weapons, armor, ammunition, picks, and anvils
Copper 2 8.93 245 770 175 70 220 145 Can be used to forge all weapons, armor, ammunition, and picks
Silver 10 10.49 350 595 350 100 170 333 Can be used to forge melee weapons and ammunition
Platinum 40 21.4 350 700 152 100 200 164 Only available as artifact weapons.
  • Combat information is used internally by the game to determine the combat properties of weapons and armor made from this metal:
    Density: Used in conjunction with other factors - heavier weapons (higher numbers) hit with more force, light weapons tend to have less penetration. Denser armor absorbs more force from being transmitted through it as well, though low elasticity is much more reliable protection. Value shown here is g/cm3, which is the raw value divided by 103
    Impact yield: Used for blunt-force combat; higher is better for weapons, but lower is better for armor. This is the raw value divided by 103 (i.e., kPa).
    Impact fracture: Used for blunt-force combat; higher is better. This is the raw value divided by 103 (i.e., kPa).
    Impact elasticity: Used for blunt-force combat; lower is better. This is the raw value.
    Shear yield: Used for cutting calculations in combat; higher is better. This is the raw value divided by 103 (i.e., kPa).
    Shear fracture: Used for cutting calculations in combat; higher is better. This is the raw value divided by 103 (i.e., kPa).
    Shear elasticity: Used for armor protection vs cutting weapons in combat; lower is better. This is the raw value.
  • General Term Explanations (From Wikipedia)
    Yield Strength - The stress at which material strain changes from elastic deformation to plastic deformation, causing it to deform permanently.
    Fracture Strength - The stress coordinate on the stress-strain curve at the point of rupture.
    Stress - Force per area = F/A
    Strain - Deformation of a solid due to stress = Stress/Young's Modulus

So...

Explanations!
Yield Strength is the amount of stress required to permanently deform (bend) a material (plastic deformation)
Fracture Strength is the amount of stress required to permanently break (rupture) a material
Elasticity (or IMPACT_STRAIN_AT_YIELD in RAWs) is the amount of deformation (bending) that occurs at the yield point, in parts-per-100,000
Implications to Dwarf Fortress Combat
Yield combined with Elasticity can tell what a material will do under stress (be it from a hammer, axe, or arrow)
Higher yield means that it takes more stress to deform
Lower elasticity means that it will deform less when stress is applied

Preliminary combat testing and analysis[edit]

For edged weapons and armour, adamantine and steel take first and a very distant second place respectively, with iron the third best material in the game. Beyond this, bronze is in a close tie with copper as the second worst material. As in older versions, silver continues to hold steady as the worst material available (no longer beneficial with wooden training weapons being available now) in regards to edged weaponry.

For blunt weapons, all of the standard materials (so, not adamantine or divine metal) perform respectably well, with a very slight edge towards steel and silver. Here is the thread with the details:

http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=53571.0

Keep in mind how unbelievably complicated this system is; nothing here should be taken as word of law. These results also ignore the impact of the weight of equipment on your dwarves. Dwarves, especially weak ones without high Armor User skill, will move much more slowly when wearing heavy armor and carrying heavy weapons and ammunition. This may be a more important consideration than a marginal improvement in protection.

Best Better Good Fair Poor Terrible Notes
Armor Adamantine Divine metal, Steel Iron, Bronze, Bismuth Bronze Copper
Edged Weapons Adamantine Divine metal, Steel Iron Bronze, Bismuth Bronze Copper Silver For piercing iron armor, copper is better than bronze. For piercing copper or bronze armor, bronze is better than copper. Adamantine is over 20x as good as divine metal, and is the only metal that can reliably cut through armor even for slashing attacks.
Ammunition Steel, Divine metal Adamantine Iron Bronze, Bismuth Bronze, Copper Silver Adamantine bolts deflect off of adamantine armor due to their low momentum, but this is an unusual circumstance. Density does not matter for bolts above 1.333 g/cm3, which all ordinary metals exceed at least 5-fold.
Blunt Weapons Platinum (artifact only) Steel, Silver Copper, Bismuth Bronze, Bronze Iron Divine metal Adamantine All six standard weapon metals perform nearly identically. Steel has a slightly higher rate of critical wounds, while silver is slightly more likely to penetrate armor. Platinum (only available as artifact weapons) has twice the density of silver and several other improved properties, making it the best metal for impact weapons, though very limited in production.

Cross referencing this table with the table at the top of this section seems to indicate that low densities, high impact fractures, and high shear fractures contribute to the killing power of edged weapons

Different types of pure metals.

See also[edit]

"Metal" in other Languages Books-aj.svg aj ashton 01.svg
Dwarven: kel
Elven: lethi
Goblin: snusm
Human: rigu
More: GemsMetalsStones
Creature
BloodBoneCartilageCheeseChitinEggFatFeatherHair (WoolYarn) • HoofHornIchorLeatherMilkMeatNailNervous tissueOrgansParchmentPearlScaleShellSilkSkinSpitSweatTallowTearsToothWax
Plant
Fiber (PaperSlurry) • FlowerFruitLeafOil • Plant powders (DyeFlourSugar) • Seed (Press cake) • Wood
Creature/Plant
Inorganic
Hardcoded
AmberAshCoralFilthFuelGlassGrimeIceLyeMagmaMudPearlashPotashSaltUnknown substanceVomitWater
See also: Material science