Iron Ore: the eastern Stormtouched Highlands route

Finish the tool before leaving

A Bone Pickaxe gets you into copper and tin progression. Iron needs the next tool: the Bronze Pickaxe. Its listed recipe is five Bronze Bars, four Oak Logs and two Leather at the Smithing Anvil; some records also list the Blacksmith’s Bench.

Check the station name and available recipe in your build. Oak harvesting needs a Bronze Logging Axe, so a bag of Bronze Bars alone may not finish the pickaxe.

Fractured Plains → Highlands border → return

1. Head west from the Fractured Plains until you enter the Stormtouched Highlands. Stop and assess the approach before committing to a long climb.
2. Scout the eastern border for Iron Ore deposits. PC Gamer’s route identifies this edge as an ore-rich approach, with sheep and rams nearby. Lightning and stronger enemies remain hazards.
3. Mine the deposits you can reach without exhausting your supplies. Return along the same border approach when your target is met. A repeatable short journey is our recommendation for the first iron upgrade.

Convert the haul into a planned upgrade

The recorded conversion is three Iron Ore per bar. Read your intended tool or armour recipe, multiply its bar requirement by three, and budget its non-metal ingredients too.

The Highlands also feature in the Dragon Slayer material hunt. Mining ordinary Iron Ore and extracting a Dragon Tooth are separate tool checks; prepare an Iron Pickaxe before the quest’s tooth route.