One of the most basic and common crafting resources in Dwarf Fortress is wood. Wood is one of the easiest to source and is useful for a great range of purposes. This guide will show you how to get wood in Dwarf Fortress. I will go through the process step-by-step for those new to the game.
How to Get Wood in Dwarf Fortress
Getting wood logs is one of the first things you will learn how to do in the Dwarf Fortress tutorial. For those insane people that skipped going through the tutorial on one of the most infamously difficult games to learn of all time, this guide is for you.
To get wood logs follow these steps:
- Move through the Z layers of the game using the mouse scroll wheel until you reach the surface.
- Select the Tree chopping orders button at the bottom left of the UI. This is the icon with the stump and axe. Alternatively, press the L key.
- Wait for one of your woodcutting dwarves to cut down the trees.
- (Optional) Create a stockpile specifically for wood storage
It’s important to note that different trees will provide different types of wooden logs.
What to Use the Wood for…
Wood is one of the most versatile resources in the game. You will use wood for most of the furniture in your fortresses. One of the most important places that wood is used is at the Carpenter’s Workshop. This is where all furniture such as beds and tables are made. Once you have harvested wood and it has been taken to a stockpile you will be able to order items to be crafted wherever you wish. Though, it may be a good idea to keep your wood stockpile close to the carpenter’s workshop and other crafting stations. That way your dwarves won’t have to run around a lot.
Once you’ve build a carpenters workstation, get started crafting with wood by left-clicking on it. Here, you can add tasks. This is how furniture and items are built with wood. You should try to get started crafting beds for your dwarves as soon as possible, along with some tables and chairs for them to eat their meals.
