Dwarf Fortress Metal Value Comparison (Material Multipliers)
Compare 17 Dwarf Fortress metal values, from copper x2 to adamantine x300. Bay 12 material multipliers for trade, furniture and weapons, with alloy recipes.
Visual comparison
All values
Click any row to load it as Entry A.
| Name | Value | Context | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper Base for bronze, brass and billon. | 2 material value | Smelted from native copper, malachite, tetrahedrite | DF Wiki Copper page: material value 2 |
| Tin Bronze needs one tin plus one copper. | 2 material value | Smelted from cassiterite, pairs with copper | DF Wiki Item value page: tin x2 |
| Lead Heavy but cheap furniture metal. | 2 material value | Smelted from galena, often with silver | DF Wiki Item value page: lead x2 |
| Bismuth Bismuth bronze ingredient. | 2 material value | Smelted from bismuthinite | DF Wiki Item value page: bismuth x2 |
| Bronze Near iron for weapons and armor. | 5 material value | Copper plus tin at the smelter | DF Wiki Item value page: bronze x5 |
| Bismuth bronze Best cheap weapon metal run. | 6 material value | Two copper, one tin, one bismuth | DF Wiki Item value page: bismuth bronze x6 |
| Brass Largest value jump of the plain alloys. | 7 material value | Copper plus zinc | DF Wiki Item value page: brass x7 |
| Sterling silver Cheaper than silver, still mid tier. | 8 material value | Three silver plus one copper | DF Wiki Item value page: sterling silver x8 |
| Iron Steel ingredient, magma safe. | 10 material value | Smelted from hematite, limonite, magnetite | DF Wiki Item value page: iron x10 |
| Silver Blunt weapons and furniture. | 10 material value | From native silver, horn silver, galena, tetrahedrite | DF Wiki Silver page: material value 10 |
| Black bronze Small step over iron and silver. | 11 material value | Two copper, one silver, one gold | DF Wiki Item value page: black bronze x11 |
| Electrum High trade value, weak arms. | 20 material value | Silver plus gold | DF Wiki Item value page: electrum x20 |
| Rose gold Decorative high value alloy. | 23 material value | Three gold plus one copper | DF Wiki Item value page: rose gold x23 |
| Gold Ties steel for value. | 30 material value | Smelted from native gold | DF Wiki Item value page: gold x30 |
| Steel Second best arms metal in the game. | 30 material value | Iron plus pig iron, flux and fuel | DF Wiki Item value page: steel x30 |
| Platinum Ties aluminum at the top of mintables. | 40 material value | Smelted from native platinum | DF Wiki Item value page: platinum x40 |
| Adamantine Highest multiplier of any material. | 300 material value | Strands from raw adamantine veins | DF Wiki Adamantine page: material value 300, raw ore 250 |
About this converter
Every item in Dwarf Fortress multiplies a base form value by the material it is made from. A copper throne and a gold throne share the same shape value, but copper rates x2 and gold rates x30, so the gold one trades for fifteen times more. This table ranks 17 Bay 12 Games metal multipliers on one scale, from copper at x2 to adamantine at x300. Cheap metals cover tools and furniture, mid metals cover the military, and the precious three of gold, platinum and adamantine exist to make the fortress rich.
How to use it
Pick two metals and the unit in the top row, for example steel and copper. The three boxes below stay linked, so editing any number updates the other two. One box holds bars of the first metal, one holds bars of the second, one holds total material value. Try 1 adamantine bar against copper bars to see the 150 times gap.
Weapons restrict the list more than value does. Only copper, bronze alloys, iron, steel, silver and adamantine can forge arms and armor, so gold and platinum stay decorative despite rating x30 and x40. Raw adamantine ore rates x250 and refined metal x300, the only material with split values. Left out of the rows but worth knowing: pig iron matches iron at x10, aluminum matches platinum at x40, and nickel, zinc, lay pewter, nickel silver, trifle pewter, fine pewter and billon run x2 to x6.
FAQ
What is the most valuable metal in Dwarf Fortress?
Adamantine at x300 refined, x250 as raw ore. Platinum and aluminum tie for second at x40.
Is steel better than bronze?
For value, steel at x30 beats bronze at x5 six times over. For arms, steel is second only to adamantine, with bronze near iron.
Why do players make brass?
Brass at x7 gives the largest value jump of the plain alloys from a x2 copper base, so it turns cheap copper into trade goods.
How is item value calculated?
Base form value times material multiplier times quality and decoration bonuses. A statue has a higher form value than a bar, so metal choice multiplies further.
Sources
- Dwarf Fortress Wiki, Item value page (full metal multiplier table: copper x2 through adamantine x300)
- Dwarf Fortress Wiki, Copper page (material value 2, smelter alloy recipes)
- Dwarf Fortress Wiki, Silver page (material value 10, ore sources)
- Dwarf Fortress Wiki, Raw adamantine page (raw x250) and Adamantine page (refined metal x300)
- Dwarf Fortress Wiki, Non-Dwarf's Guide to Rock (low, mid and high value metal bands)
Last verified: 2026-10-15 · 17 entries
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