Everwind Material Progression Guide: From Wood to Endgame

Understanding the Material Tier System

Everwind's gear and crafting system is built on a strict material tier ladder. Each tier unlocks new weapon and armor recipes, enables new crafting station functionality, and represents a meaningful power increase over the previous tier. The full progression is: Wood, Stone, ScrapSteamer/Copper/Pyrite, Bronze, Iron, Mechanical, and Unique/Ancient tiers. Skipping tiers is occasionally possible through lucky loot drops or Merchant purchases, but crafting your way through each tier is the intended and most reliable progression path.

Material tiers are zone-gated. Zone 1 (0-400m) provides Wood, Stone, Copper Ore, and Tin Ore. Zone 2 (400-900m) provides Iron Ore, Coal, ScrapSteamer components, and Forest Ancient Metal pieces. Zone 3 (900-1800m) provides Gold Ore, advanced mechanical components, and the rare Ancient Metal Scraps. You cannot access Zone 2 or Zone 3 materials without an appropriate Airship Core tier, making airship construction the physical gate between material tiers.

Some materials in Everwind are non-renewable: they exist in fixed quantities on specific islands and do not respawn after harvesting. Ancient Metal Scraps is the most important non-renewable material. It appears only in specific Zone 3 locations and is used in the highest-tier Unique crafting recipes. Do not waste Ancient Metal Scraps on experimental or sub-optimal builds. Plan what you want to craft with them before collecting them.

Wood and Stone: Zone 1 Starting Materials

Wood is harvested from trees throughout the Starting Meadows and Jungle biomes using axes. It processes into planks at the Crafting Station and into structural beams at the Carpenter. Wood-tier gear is purely a temporary stepping stone: a Wood Sword, Wood Shield, and basic Wood armor provide enough stats to survive the starting tutorial enemies but will be replaced within the first few hours of play. Do not over-invest in Wood-tier crafting beyond what you need for immediate survival and airship frame components.

Stone is mined from rock outcroppings and cliff faces using pickaxes. Stone-tier gear is a modest step up from Wood: Stone Sword and Stone Pickaxe are noticeably more efficient than their Wood counterparts. More importantly, Stone is a required ingredient in the Furnace and Crafting Station construction, making it an infrastructural material as much as a gear material. Mine Stone in large quantities early to ensure you have enough for both gear and station building without needing a second gathering trip.

Pyrite is a Zone 1 ore that serves as a transitional material between Stone and Copper. Pyrite tools are slightly more durable than Stone tools and process into an intermediate tier of Smithing output. It is found in small clusters in the Starting Meadows cave systems. Pyrite is worth collecting when you encounter it but does not warrant dedicated farming runs since Copper Ore appears in similar locations and is more broadly useful.

Copper, Tin, and Bronze: The First Real Tier

Copper and Tin Ore are the first materials that require Furnace smelting. Both are found in the same Zone 1 cave systems and hillside ore veins. Copper smelts 1:1 into Copper Bars. Tin smelts 1:1 into Tin Bars. Combined at the Furnace in an approximate 2:1 Copper to Tin ratio, they produce Bronze Bars, the mid-tier crafting alloy. Bronze is a significant jump over Stone in both weapon damage and armor rating and represents the gear floor for entering Zone 2 content comfortably.

Copper-tier gear made from Copper Bars alone (without combining into Bronze) is an intermediate step. Copper Sword and Copper armor are adequate for mid-Zone 1 content but feel underpowered in Zone 2. Prioritize rushing to Bronze as quickly as possible by mining both Copper and Tin together during Zone 1 mining runs. A full Bronze kit, produced at the Smithing station once you have sufficient Bronze Bars, is the recommended minimum gear set before your first Zone 2 excursion.

ScrapSteamer material is found on Rotten Island in Zone 2 as a byproduct of fighting and scavenging Steamer units. It is used to craft a unique Scrap-tier of armor and weapons that sits between Bronze and Iron in power level. ScrapSteamer gear is worth crafting if you reach Rotten Island before you have Iron materials, providing a bridge tier. However, once Iron Ore becomes available in Zone 2 mining locations, ScrapSteamer becomes obsolete and is primarily a Smithing Station fodder material.

Iron, Steel, and Zone 2 Progression

Iron Ore is found in Zone 2 mining deposits across the Russet Forest and Rotten Island biomes. It smelts into Iron Bars at the Furnace. Iron-tier gear is a major step above Bronze: Iron Sword has substantially higher base damage, and Iron armor provides enough defense to comfortably handle Zone 2 dungeon enemies. Iron is the material tier associated with the mid-game skill investment paying off: an Iron Long Sword wielded by a Warrior with Advanced Weapons and Crushing Blow active is a formidable combination.

Steel is an Iron alloy produced by combining Iron Bars and Coal in the Furnace. Coal is mined from darker rock seams in Zone 2 caves, usually found near Iron deposits. Steel Bars are used in advanced Smithing recipes that produce weapons and armor beyond basic Iron quality. The Wardstreet Watch sword, one of the best non-unique one-handed swords in the game, is crafted from Steel at an upgraded Smithing station. Prioritize Coal mining alongside Iron to ensure you always have Steel production capacity.

Forest Ancient Metal is a Zone 2 material found as drops from Forest Ent encounters and occasional dungeon chests in the Russet Forest. It is a step below full Mechanical-tier but above standard Iron in quality. Forest Ancient Metal armor pieces bridge the gap between Zone 2 Iron gear and Zone 3 endgame equipment. Collect Forest Ancient Metal whenever it appears rather than treating it as vendor trash: it is part of a crafting chain that eventually feeds into the Mechanical-tier recipes at the Fabricator.

Mechanical, Ancient, and Endgame Materials

Mechanical-tier materials are Zone 3 crafting inputs that require the Fabricator station (Blueprint from Steamer Mines dungeon). Mechanical Long Swords, Mechanical armor sets, and Mechanical tools represent the highest craftable tier in Everwind at Early Access launch. The material inputs for Mechanical items come from Zone 3 enemy drops, mining in the Desert biome, and rare loot from Desert Dungeon chests. Building a full Mechanical set is a lengthy project requiring dozens of Zone 3 island runs.

Desert Skeleton Iron is a variant of Skeleton Iron specific to Zone 3. It drops from skeleton enemies in the Desert biome and provides better stats than the Zone 2 Skeleton Iron while being obtainable through combat rather than crafting. Desert Skeleton Iron armor is an excellent mid-progression Zone 3 set that many players wear during the period between having basic Zone 3 access and having enough Mechanical materials for a full Fabricator-crafted set.

Ancient Metal Scraps are the rarest non-renewable material in the game. They appear in specific fixed locations in Zone 3 Underground Cities and occasionally as very rare drops from elite Desert enemies. Ancient Metal Scraps feed into Unique-tier recipes at the Fabricator, producing items with special properties not achievable through any other material path. Before collecting Ancient Metal Scraps, decide which Unique recipe you intend to craft. Check all available Unique recipes at your Fabricator and choose the one that most benefits your specific build. Wasting non-renewable materials on a sub-optimal choice is a significant setback.

Gold Ore and Magic Liquid

Gold Ore is found in Zone 3 mining deposits across the Desert and Savannah biomes. Unlike most metals which are primarily used for weapon and armor crafting, Gold Ore in Everwind has a dual purpose: it contributes to certain Fabricator recipes for Mechanical-tier jewelry and rare armor components, and it is also a significant Merchant trade currency. Gold Bars fetch high prices at the Merchant and can be sold to fund purchases of rare items or crafting components you cannot otherwise obtain.

Magic Liquid is not technically a material tier but functions as the essential limiting reagent for the entire Alchemy system. It drops only from the Massive Golem Boss in the Desert Dungeon and appears in no other location. Every high-tier potion recipe requires Magic Liquid, making Desert Dungeon farming a recurring activity for endgame players who rely on the potion system. Stock Magic Liquid carefully and do not consume it on low-priority potion recipes when Last Chance and Stone Skin production should be the priority.

The overall material progression arc in Everwind can be summarized as follows: survive Zone 1 with Wood and Stone, transition to Bronze as quickly as possible, reach Zone 2 with Bronze gear, upgrade to Iron/Steel during Zone 2 exploration, collect Forest Ancient Metal as a bonus, build a full Iron or ScrapSteamer kit before the Forest Dungeon, push to Zone 3 with Skeleton Iron gear, and then grind toward full Mechanical through Fabricator crafting. Each transition point requires a dedicated effort to gather and process the new tier's materials.