How to Grow Iron (and Why It’s Important)
Farming for resources wasn’t always a standard feature in an adventure role-playing game, but the addition of MMOs to the scene has made it commonplace. Diablo 4 has added a few interesting new features to one of Blizzard’s most loved IPs and the concept of a resource farm is one of them.
The game still has no professions, so players don’t need to be miners or train as blacksmiths or jewelers to craft resources. Iron is one of the most important materials players need to stockpile. Fortunately, they can collect as many of them as possible without worrying about luggage space, mining skills, or character level.
Why farmhouse iron?
Diablo 4 may be the first game in the franchise to feature resource farming, but that doesn’t mean it has the same wide variety as other games. There are only two types of ore players can find in Sanctuary: iron and silver. These resources are not used by the player, but are given to an NPC along with an amount of gold for various purposes.
It’s not the most creative system, but at least it’s simple, in keeping with the spirit of Sanctuary. This is a game focused on hack and slash rather than cut and melt, so resource gathering is an important endeavor, but it’s not the only one. Players who keep their eyes peeled can find a decent amount of iron and silver while slaying demons.
Use for iron
Ore veins And Glistening ore veins are the nodes in the wilderness where players can pick up Chunks of ore And Chunks of silver. These are stored in the Resource section of the character’s inventory and can then be refined or used for upgrades.
- Refinement: Alchemists can refine a variety of materials, mainly herbs and plants, but they can also turn iron into silver if the character needs extra.
- Upgrade: Iron and silver are used to refine almost every weapon and accessory, with some armor pieces also requiring some metal parts in addition to rare materials with magical properties.
Glistening ore veins are always richer nodes that often contain gems. Take these to a jeweler to be trimmed, upgraded and used to enhance any appliance with a power outlet.
Where to work iron
There are a few ways to find iron for players who don’t mind staying in the wild for a while and can keep their eyes peeled. Some locations are better than others for finding nodes, while ore can also be found through quests or looted in specific locations.
For those players who prefer to travel on horseback, it is possible to clear a node without dismounting. However, the character must be stationary to do this.
- salvage: The easiest way to find iron is to take equipment to the blacksmith, who can salvage iron from the plethora of equipment that players will inevitably pick up on their travels. The only problem is that inventory space is extremely limited, so there’s only so much a character can drag back to town.
- Iron Buttons: Silver also comes from iron buttons when a character explores the wilderness to find precious resources. They are randomly placed in Sanctuary’s wilds, but are more prevalent in mountainous or rocky areas, though swamps seem to have more than average.
- Ore caches: Quest rewards often include an amount of gold and some sort of cache. These caches can be filled with supplies of equipment, herbs, potions or precious ore. A repaid debt, which can be found in Backwater, is an example.
- Cellars and dungeons: Any cellar or dungeon that is underground or in or near the ruins of a mine contains nodes, caches, chests, and enemies, all of which have an increased potential to drop iron or silver chunks.
- Dead miners: Loot any dead miners you encounter on your journey through the wilderness. That means not only in mines, but also near their entrances or trade connections, as well as old campsites or ruined transport and trade vehicles.
- Chests, traveler caches and lockboxes: Players will find hidden treasures while exploring the wilderness, dungeons, and other distractions in Sanctuary. Any of these may contain iron or silver, with a higher probability for those found in mountains, ruined mines, or in former mining towns.