Forging
formerly known as Smithing
Smelt ores into bars, hammer bars into gear. The metal economy in one skill.
Forging is Tideward's smithing trade, renamed from "Smithing". Smelt ore into bars, then hammer the bars into weapons, armour, arrowtips and tools. It is where most of the game's metal gear comes from, from a Bronze Dagger at level 1 to a Dragon Platebody at 99.
How Forging works
Bars smelt from ore: Bronze (level 1) from Copper and Tin, Iron (10), Steel (25) from Iron and 2 Coal, Silver (30), Silvern (40) with 4 Coal, Gold (40), Adamantite (55) with 6 Coal, Runesteel (70) with 8 Coal, and Dragonite (85) from Dragonite Ore, 2 Runesteel Ore and 12 Coal.
Each metal has its own gear section, from Bronze Gear to Dragon Gear: daggers, swords, scimitars, battleaxes, 2H swords and armour, plus throwing knives, arrowtips, crossbow heads and javelin heads for Bowcraft, and the combing rakes and carving knives the Tidal Trades use. The Dragon pieces take Dragonite Bars.
Forging has a Toolbelt slot, with the Sledgehammer and the Smith's Tongs as two ways of working the anvil, and a quest that earns Dilys's Long Tongs. Alt. Magic's Quickforge spells make bars from ore without a furnace.
Inputs
- Ore from Mining
- Coal for every bar from Steel up
- Bars, to hammer into gear
Outputs
- Forging XP
- Bars from Bronze to Dragonite
- Weapons, armour, ammunition parts and tools
Tips for training Forging
- Coal is the bottleneck. Stockpile it before any serious Forging session.
- Forging feeds Bowcraft: arrowtips, crossbow heads and javelin heads all come off your anvil.
- Equip the Salamander familiar from Binding for a 5% chance to keep your materials.
- Quickforge IV in Alt. Magic (Magic 95) makes three bars from one set of ore and ignores the Coal.
Skills that pair with Forging
The 28 trades aren't isolated. Forging works best alongside these:
Frequently asked about Forging
Why renamed from Smithing?
"Smithing" is RuneScape's name for the skill. Tideward renamed it Forging in the May 2026 rebrand to give the trade a name of its own; the loop is the same idea.
What's the fastest Forging XP method?
Work the highest gear section your level and your bars allow. The higher metals pay more XP per action, and the Coal they need is usually what sets the pace.
Do I need to mine my own ore for Forging?
Mining is the main source, and Kindling adds Coal on the side: four burns in ten bring a Coal Ore. Alt. Magic's Quickforge turns ore into bars too.
Train Forging wherever you play.
Tideward is free in beta, no account needed: on TestFlight for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro, and Apple Watch, and on Google Play for Android phones and tablets. Join before launch and you are a Founding Tester: first crack at every build and a vote on the roadmap, plus the Founder's Mark profile icon on TestFlight.