RimWorld Steel Node
Screenshot by The Guide Hall

RimWorld: How to Get Steel

Before you spend all your Steel in RimWorld crafting one-handed swords to reenact Gladiator, you might want to learn how to get more. Let us teach you how to get Steel, what it’s for, and how to acquire renewable sources for the late game!

Where to Get Steel in RimWorld

Steel in RimWorld is extremely limited and highly coveted. It’s a common resource used to construct a stalwart base or numerous crafting recipes. The best way to get Steel, especially in the early game, is to mine ore found throughout your landing zone, deconstruct ship chunks and left-behind pieces of machinery, or buy some from a bulk goods trader.

You’ll likely wind up mining most of your Steel. Eventually, as you progress through the tech tree, you’ll unlock the use of Smelters, which allow you to smelt Compacted Steel from Steel Slag Chunks. Chunks spawn upon destroying buildings, drop pods, and particular events.

In the late game, once you’ve established a thriving and functional colony, along with unlocking plenty of technology, you’ll have renewable methods to farm Steel. For instance, deep drills, ground-penetrating scanners, and long-range mineral scanners will help you to acquire additional resources.


Related: Is RimWorld Multiplayer? – Answered

Why You Need Steel For in RimWorld

RimWorld Compacted Steel
Screenshot by The Guide Hall

Steel in RimWorld offers countless possibilities. Suppose you don’t want to build out of Wood due to the potential for fire hazards. In that case, Steel provides a viable alternative until you can access Granite or other naturally spawning resources.

Furthermore, you require Steel to craft countless pieces of art, furniture, miscellaneous items, weapons, armor, production facilities, ship modules, mortar shells, prosthetics, biotech structures, and mechanoids; honestly, the list goes on.

I could never get enough Steel for my colony, so I spent a lot of Silver with various traveling merchants!


The Guide Hall built an entire colony dedicated to farming Steel in RimWorld to feed the insatiable hunger across the planet. We’ll have new guides for you soon!