Where To Find Iron Ore

Iron ore is one of the most important crafting materials you’ll need in the early hours of Crimson Desert, but until you know where to look for it, it can be difficult to come by. Perhaps unsurprisingly, iron ore is primarily used to upgrade your weapons and armor in Crimson Desert, although other uses do come up.

If you run up against a difficult boss and feel the need to improve your loadout, but you don’t have the materials you need, you can set out on a cross-continental odyssey to attempt to find them, or, you can just read this guide and discover a few places to find iron in the early game.

Where To Find Iron Ore In Crimson Desert

Look For Cliffs

There are many iron ore veins scattered throughout Pywel, but a few of the easiest ones to find in the early game can be seen above.

Two veins dotted on the cliffs northeast of the fast travel point east of Hernand
One just southeast of Howling Hill
One a little further southeast of town, right below the words “Unicorn Cliff” on the world map

The interactive map below also highlights some iron ore locations:

Once you get to the aforementioned locations, you’ll want to search for a part of the cliffside that looks like this:

These craggy, gray rocks that shine under light are iron ore. Hold left on the D-Pad and equip your pickaxe, aim at them with LB, then press RB to pick. The ore you mine will fall to the ground, and may roll down the terrain slightly if you’re in a hilly area. Be prepared to chase after it.

The in-game encyclopedia explains that iron ore is usually found near cliff faces and quarries, like in the hills that surround Hernand. If you’re in unfamiliar territory looking for iron, look for climbable cliffs, and you may come across a few veins.

What To Do With Iron Ore

Take It To The Smithy

If you have a bunch of iron ore that you’re not sure how to use, the answer is simple: head to the local smithy. Select either “Refinement” or “Crafting,” and you’re likely to find a variety of recipes that require iron ore.

Perhaps most importantly, you can use iron ore to upgrade most metallic weapons and armor in Crimson Desert, at least at early levels. Further upgrades may require rarer, higher-value materials, including copper ore.

With that, though, you should be able to find all the copper you need to carry you through early equipment upgrades. We may update this guide later with further mid- and late-game copper locations in Crimson Desert.