The Fellhollow update introduced steel as a major progression resource, unlocking stronger gear and an entirely new castle-style building set. Many players get stuck at this stage, so this guide breaks down the full process clearly, from your first coal node to placing stone walls and roofs.
RuneScape Dragonwilds Steel & Stone Blocks (Castle Building Set)
Before steel becomes available, you must progress far enough to access the Fell Lands. This requires completing the earlier main quests and speaking with the wizard, who marks the mysterious northern door on your map. Once you pass through and finish the Fell Lands tutorial, steel progression becomes available.
How to Find Coal in Fellhollow
Coal is a brand-new resource and is required for steel crafting. It is not the same as charcoal.
Coal nodes are scattered throughout the Fell Lands and can be mined directly from the ground. Some nodes are positioned in hard-to-reach spots, so make sure you have the mining spell unlocked, as it allows you to extract ore at range.
Mining your first coal node automatically unlocks the Blast Furnace recipe.
Building the Blast Furnace
The Blast Furnace is essential for steel production and must be placed at your base.
To craft it, you will need:
- Granite
- Iron bars
- Fire runes
- Vault cores
All of these resources should already be familiar at this stage of the game if you have explored the Fell Lands properly.
Once placed, the Blast Furnace allows you to combine iron and coal into steel.
How to Craft Steel Bars
There are two ways to create steel:
Using iron ore:
- 3 iron ore
- 3 coal
- Produces 1 steel bar
Using iron ingots:
- 1 iron ingot
- 3 coal
- Produces 1 steel bar
If you still have iron ore available, it is more resource-efficient to use ore instead of ingots. If you already converted most of your iron into ingots, do not worry, both methods work.
Fuel Bricks (Pellets) Explained
Steel crafting also introduces a new fuel type called fuel bricks or pellets.
Fuel bricks are crafted at a standard crafting bench using:
- 1 charcoal
- 1 adhesive
- 1 fur scrap
Using fuel bricks improves efficiency, allowing you to produce more steel per crafting cycle. As steel is required in large quantities for gear and building, fuel bricks become very important for long-term progression.
How to Get Draconic Leather
Draconic leather is one of the more confusing requirements tied to steel crafting and related gear.
You can obtain it in two main ways:
Killing Dragon Wolves:
- Drops dragon blood
- Drops dragon wolf hide
Dragon wolf hide can be processed directly in a tannery to create dragon leather.
Alternatively, you can combine:
- 1 dragon blood
- 3 hard leather
- Produces 1 draconic leather
Dragon Wolves are commonly found while exploring the Fell Lands, making this the most reliable farming method.
How to Make Hard Leather
If you are short on hard leather, there are multiple ways to obtain it:
- Undead cows drop hard leather scraps
- 4 scraps combine into 1 hard leather
You can also craft hard leather using:
- Regular leather
- Adhesive
If you do not see these recipes, make sure you have built the tanning kit, which expands available tanning recipes.
How to Unlock the Stone Cutter
Crafting your first steel bar automatically unlocks the Stone Cutter, which is required for castle building pieces.
To craft the Stone Cutter, you need:
- 18 oak logs
- 4 steel bars
- 8 fine thread
- 1 vault core
Once placed, this station allows you to create stone blocks and advanced structural pieces.
How to Get Fine Thread
Fine thread comes from Fine Linen, which is made using corpse cotton.
Corpse cotton is found throughout the Fell Lands, especially in swamp areas. When harvested, it explodes, but usually without dealing damage if you keep a small distance.
You will need:
- 4 corpse cotton
- Processed through a spinning wheel
- Produces fine linen, which converts into fine thread
Corpse cotton also has a chance to drop seeds, allowing you to farm it later once you unlock advanced crop plots.
Crafting Stone Blocks
With the Stone Cutter built, stone blocks are simple to produce.
- 2 stone
- Produces 1 stone block
These blocks are used for all castle-style building pieces, including walls, foundations, beams, and roofs.
Castle Building Set
The castle building set introduces a major visual upgrade over earlier structures.
Stone walls are thinner and cleaner than wood-based foundations. Stone beams come in multiple styles, including darker accent beams that contrast nicely with lighter stone walls and ceilings.
Roofs feature a proper shingle design instead of the older wooden look. Foundations use larger brickwork and remove the visible wooden inlay, giving builds a more realistic stone fortress appearance.
These pieces allow for far more detailed and visually impressive base designs.
Steel is a core progression resource, not just a crafting upgrade. Expect to need large quantities for armor, weapons, tools, and building.
If steel feels slow at first, focus on coal farming and fuel brick production to improve efficiency. Once your Blast Furnace setup is optimized, progression becomes much smoother.