Okay, let’s talk about getting that iron smelting going in V Rising. I remember hitting that point myself, stuck with copper stuff and seeing all the cool recipes needing iron. It was a bit of a grind, but here’s how I managed it.
Figuring Out the First Step
First thing I realized was, you don’t just find iron smelting. Like most key stuff in this game, it’s locked behind a boss. I spent some time looking through the V Blood menu, you know, that list of bosses you gotta hunt down. Scrolled through the early ones I hadn’t beaten yet.
Pretty quickly, I spotted Quincey the Bandit King. Read his description, and yep, it mentioned unlocking iron smelting capabilities. Right, target acquired. He was hanging out somewhere in the Farbane Woods, the starting area.
Gearing Up and Finding the Guy
So, knew who I needed to beat. Couldn’t just run in there naked, though. Quincey’s not the first boss, so he packs a bit more punch. I made sure my gear was decent, all copper stuff repaired. Sharpened my copper spear, topped off my armor. Grabbed a stack of Vermin Salves for healing, maybe some rats for blood.
Then I actually had to find him. Opened the map, looked for the Bandit Stronghold. It’s a pretty big place on the north side of Farbane Woods, hard to miss once you know where to look. I started tracking his blood from the V Blood menu, followed that red wisp trail. Led me right to the stronghold gates.
The Fight and the Payoff
Getting in wasn’t too bad, just some regular bandits patrolling. Cleared them out bit by bit. Then came Quincey himself. He’s this big dude, hits pretty hard, and has this annoying shield block and a charge attack you gotta watch out for.
Took me a couple of tries, not gonna lie. First time I got cornered. Second time, I think I messed up my dodges on his charge. But I learned his moves. Kept my distance, poked him with my spear, used my travel skill (Veil of Blood, I think?) to dodge those big swings. Finally wore him down.
After beating him, I drank his V Blood. Felt that power surge, and bam! Checked my build menu right away. Under the ‘Production’ and ‘Refinement’ tabs, there it was: the Smithy structure and the recipe for Iron Ingots.
Making it Happen: Building and Smelting
Okay, sweet relief. Unlocked! But that’s just step one. I needed to actually build the Smithy. Headed back to my castle base. Gathered the materials needed – think it was stone, planks, maybe some copper ingots? Got that built pretty quick.
Next problem: needed Iron Ore. The recipe in the Smithy showed me what I needed. Where to get it? I remembered seeing some different-looking rocks, shinier than copper nodes, when I was exploring earlier. Headed out towards the Haunted Iron Mine, also in Farbane Woods, but kinda central-north. Sure enough, found plenty of those rugged, greyish-silver Iron Ore nodes.
Whacked away at them with my mace (remember you need a merciless copper mace or better to even damage iron nodes!). Hauled a bunch of ore back to my base.
Fired up the Smithy, loaded the Iron Ore inside. It takes a little while to cook, just like the furnace does for copper. Stood there watching it… and finally, out popped my first Iron Ingots.
Man, that felt good. A real step up. Suddenly, I could craft way better weapons, armor, and even improve my castle more. Getting that iron unlocked really opens up the mid-game. It was a bit of work tracking down Quincey and getting the ore, but totally worth it.
