How to get Flux Stone in Dwarf Fortress?

The depths of Dwarf Fortress are matched only by its vague systems, with hundreds of mechanics linked together by means that can only seem to be found by a vigorous internet search or two. One such mechanic is the smelting of metals into steel, which involves an item called the Flux Stone. However, this is not really a specific element, but a classification of stone itself. How to get Flux Stone in Dwarf Fortress.

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What is flux stone?

Flux Stone is a classification of materials that can be used to melt metals, especially the brittle pig iron and steel. Both metals are vital to a happy and healthy fortress, so it’s ideal for your crafters to stock up on river stones to continue production lines. Flux stones, or the flux itself, is a classification of the following five stone types:

• calcite
• chalk
• dolomite
• limestone
• marble

You cannot use flux blocks in smelting – only the raw material. Therefore, make sure that your stonemason workshop omits the types of flux when building stone blocks.

If a location contains Flux, players can identify this on the pre-embarkation screen that appears before players select a location to begin crafting. If your site doesn’t have flux layers, which is more common than many would prefer, players can trade it in from contacts with requests at a reasonable premium. However, it may be appropriate for players to simply order Steel Ingots or Pig Iron at this point.

When you consider that traders will bring very little flux, along with the trade markups and estimated duty cycles to purchase and process the flux into steel or pig iron in-house, areas without flux make certain jobs difficult to produce. Ordering steel items like toys and instruments can be a good play here if they are melted down at the smelter to reuse the steel for something more substantial.