Question 1

How do I get Tempered Steel in Echoes of Aincrad?

Accepted Answer

Tempered Steel comes from three reliable sources: treasure chests scattered across the overworld (explore off the main roads), dungeon runs (more chests plus elite enemy drops), and side quest rewards — many early side quests pay out Tempered Steel x1 on completion. It is the main bottleneck for weapon enhancement, so loot every chest you pass and clear side content as you go.

Question 2

Where is the best place to farm Tempered Steel in Echoes of Aincrad?

Accepted Answer

There is no single best monster — Tempered Steel has 98 enemy drop sources and every one of them sits in the same 1 to 6 percent band, so no target is meaningfully better than another. The named sources are all Rank 4 to 6 enemies fought on Hard, Normal and Story difficulty in both Field and Dungeon encounters: Mama Boar, Snowcap Boar, Raging Boar, Unshorn Mountain Spirit, Thorncrown Mountain Spirit, Fanged Mountain Spirit, Scarred Dagun, Frenzy Beryl, Fierce Takeki and Cunning Sakaki. Because the monster rate is that flat, quest rewards are the dependable route instead: more than 40 main and sub quests list Tempered Steel x1 at roughly a one-in-six reward rate, including The Violet Fencer II, Dawning Fear, Labyrinth, Proof of Mettle, Legend of the High Elves, Que's Sanctuary, The Diva II, Cati's Sanctuary, Founding of the Order, Heartbeat, Years Together and Bride-to-Be. Clear side content in bulk rather than grinding one enemy, and only farm boar and mountain-spirit packs in Rank 4 to 6 zones when you have quests left to turn in.

Question 3

Where can I mine Black Iron Ore in Echoes of Aincrad?

Accepted Answer

On Floor 1, the best spots are the Black Iron Palace outskirts (nodes hidden in the northern rock formations), the dedicated Mining Site landmark (highest node density, guarded by monsters), and the hidden waterfall cave unlocked through optional quests. On Floor 2, the western mountain ridge paths have frequent cliff-edge deposits with teleport points nearby for fast farming loops.

Question 4

How do I farm Gold Crystals in Echoes of Aincrad?

Accepted Answer

Gold Crystals normally drop from floor bosses and golden treasure chests, but two farming methods are faster: hunt Golden Gem-Bugs — rare fleeing creatures that spawn in dark dungeon areas and drop 1–3 Gold Crystals if killed before they burrow — and open Golden Gates in the overworld using Gold Crystals to reach chambers that often pay back more than they cost.

Question 5

What is the fastest early farming route for materials?

Accepted Answer

The Grasslands wolf loop outside the Town of Beginnings main gate is the best early route: constant wolf spawns drop Col, Wolf Fangs, and Animal Hides while giving strong XP. Unlock the nearby checkpoint first so you can reset the area quickly, pull several wolves at once, and clear them with wide-arc weapons like One-Handed Swords or Two-Handed Swords.

Question 6

Should I sell crafting materials for Col?

Accepted Answer

Sell common drops like surplus Wolf Fangs and Animal Hides in bulk after stacking them, but never sell rare upgrade materials. A missing Tempered Steel or High-Grade Tempered Steel later costs far more to replace than it ever sold for — enhancement demand rises steeply from +4 onward.

Question 7

How do I get High-Grade Tempered Steel?

Accepted Answer

High-Grade Tempered Steel is required for +7 to +10 weapon enhancement. It drops from mid-game enemies starting around Floor 5, appears in high-tier dungeon chests, and can be synthesized at the Smithy from lower-grade materials. Raise your Cardinal Rank to unlock the higher enhancement tiers that consume it.

Question 8

Where do I find Coarse Fur in Echoes of Aincrad?

Accepted Answer

Coarse Fur is a drop-only material — it never comes from mining nodes or treasure chests. Plant monsters, giant spiders and wasps drop it inside quest instances, and elite variants drop it far more often than normal ones. The best spot is the Secret Medicine of the Forest quest: clear the plant creatures and wasps around the Doltir Road checkpoint (plants drop more reliably than wasps). Then sweep the spider caves in Dawning Fear and Kit for Tat, and kill the Scream Hornet boss in Onward to Tolbana — it drops Coarse Fur as well.

Question 9

Where do I get Thick Fluid in Echoes of Aincrad?

Accepted Answer

Thick Fluid is a drop-only material — a potent mucus that comes from plant-type monsters, never from mining nodes or chests. By far the best source is the Large Nepenthes, with Sprouting Nepenthes close behind; both appear in Field and Dungeon encounters from Cardinal Rank 3 to 6. If you are not meeting Nepenthes yet, wasps, hornets and spiders also drop it at a much lower rate — Filthy Wasp, Scream Hornet, Storm Hornet, Wind Gigi, Coiling Threadmaker, Grand Orbweaver and Woodland Demno all appear on its drop table. You need three Thick Fluid for a large batch of Smithy recipes, including the S-Tier dagger Cosmic Orbit, so it is worth topping up before a crafting session.

Question 10

Where do I find Hexstone in Echoes of Aincrad?

Accepted Answer

Hexstone is a drop-only material — a stone enchanted by demi-human shamans that absorbs magic energy and stabilises enchantments on equipment. It has 39 drop sources, and the best by a wide margin is Illfang the Kobold Lord, which drops it at a 10 to 80 percent rate. The whole kobold family is your farm: Ruin Kobold Warrior, Kobold Champion, Ruin Kobold Sentinel and Ruin Kobold Chieftain all sit at roughly 10 to 70 percent, with Elite Kobold, Kobold Kagu, Ruin Kobold King, Cursed Shrewman, Wrathful Shrewman and Shrewman Queen below that. Every one of them appears on Hard, Normal and Story difficulty at Cardinal Rank 2 to 6, in both Field and Dungeon encounters. If you would rather not fight bosses, quests pay it out too: Dawning Fear, The Violet Fencer II, Labyrinth, Que's Sanctuary, Cati's Sanctuary, Founding of the Order, Underground, Black Iron Palace and Heartbeat each list Hexstone x1 at about a one-in-six reward rate.

Question 11

What is Hexstone used for in Echoes of Aincrad?

Accepted Answer

Hexstone goes into twelve Smithy recipes, always three at a time. The list splits between armor — Guardian Jacket, Hunter's Shirt and Earthly Jacket — and weapons: Thirteen Ordeals, Noxious Malice, Iron Scythe, Battlewise Sledgehammer, Final Judgment, Annealed Rod, Steel Hatchet, Mithril Rod and Big Bopper. Since every blueprint asks for exactly three, an hour of kobold looping before a crafting session normally covers a full armor set plus a weapon.

Question 12

Where do I find Glowing Fiber in Echoes of Aincrad?

Accepted Answer

Glowing Fiber is a drop-only material — a strand of plant fiber so fine it is almost invisible, though it glows in the dark. It has 23 monster drop sources, all at Cardinal Rank 5 to 6 on Hard, Normal and Story difficulty in both Field and Dungeon encounters. One source stands far above the rest: Storm Hornet drops it at a 10 to 52 percent rate, roughly four times better than anything else on the table. Everything else sits in the same 10 to 12.5 percent band — Filthy Wasp, Scream Hornet, Wind Gigi, Wobbling Araba, Coiling Threadmaker, Grand Orbweaver, Thicket Visgo, Woodland Demno and Flowering Nepenthes. Since Storm Hornet is the outlier, route your farming around hornet and wasp packs first, then sweep spider and plant creatures on the same loop. If you would rather not fight, the Proof of Mettle quest also pays out Glowing Fiber x1 at a 10 to 12.5 percent reward rate.

Question 13

What is Glowing Fiber used for in Echoes of Aincrad?

Accepted Answer

Glowing Fiber goes into eight Smithy recipes, always three at a time: the armor pieces Metal Knight Boots and Shadowless Pants, plus the weapons Assassin's Knife, The Faceless, Vanguard, Aerial Stinger, Honor Blossom and Lost Time. Because every blueprint asks for exactly three, a single hornet loop is usually enough to cover one full craft, and the material shares its enemy pool with Thick Fluid and Coarse Fur, so one run top up all three.

Question 14

What is Thick Fluid used for?

Accepted Answer

Thick Fluid is an adhesive crafting material used in seventeen Smithy recipes, always three at a time. It covers armor pieces such as Journey Pants, Gale Leggings, Chrome Greaves and Idaten Greaves, and weapons including Cosmic Orbit, Hand Stiletto, Obsidian Stiletto, Onyx Edge, Swift End, Anathema and Noble Rapier. Because so many blueprints ask for three at once, Thick Fluid is one of the materials most likely to stall a crafting session — farm it alongside Coarse Fur, since the plant, wasp and spider monsters that drop one usually drop the other.

Question 15

Where do I find Polished Slab in Echoes of Aincrad?

Accepted Answer

Polished Slab is a drop-only material — a fragment of metal polished to obsessive thoroughness by demi-humans, used as a base for inscriptions and for weapons that need accuracy. It has 43 monster drop sources, and unlike most materials the top of the table is broad rather than a single outlier: Wrathful Teeth drops it at 10 to 80 percent, Defender Golem at roughly 70 percent, Troll Gladiator at 10 to 70 percent and Tezca Death Wielder at about 56 percent. Pawn Golem sits at roughly 17 percent, while Elite Kobold, Ruin Kobold Warrior, Kobold Champion, Ruin Kobold King, Wrathful Shrewman and Shrewman Queen all sit at 10 percent. The named sources are Rank 6 enemies fought on Hard, Normal and Story difficulty in both Field and Dungeon encounters, so golem and troll routes are the fastest way to stock up. The Proof of Mettle quest also pays out Polished Slab x1.

Question 16

What is Polished Slab used for in Echoes of Aincrad?

Accepted Answer

Polished Slab goes into eight Smithy recipes, each costing 32,500 Col: the one-handed swords Mistseeker and Dreamgale, the two-handed axes Titan Sledgehammer, Transgressor and Ohg Mohg, and the maces Sigrun, Fortune Mallet and Mortal's Bane. Those are all late-tier weapons, so Polished Slab is a material you accumulate passively from golem and troll fights long before you actually need it — do not vendor it just because you have no immediate recipe.

Area	Difficulty	Yield	Notes
Black Iron Palace Outskirts	Easy	Medium	Nodes hidden in the northern rock formations most players sprint past. Safest opening route — start every session here.
Mining Site Landmark	Medium	High	The best early farm: multiple deposits close together, quick full-clear loops. Monsters guard the nodes — bring a partner to draw aggro.
Hidden Waterfall Cave	Easy	Medium	Unlocked via optional quests. Quiet, safe nodes tucked behind the waterfall — ideal when you only need a few more ore.
Grasslands Wolf Route	Easy	Drops	Not a mining spot but the best drop loop: Col, Wolf Fangs, Animal Hides, and XP from constant wolf spawns near the main gate.

Materials Farming Guide

Every Upgrade Material & Where It Comes From

Tempered Steel

High-Grade Tempered Steel

Black Iron Ore

Gold Crystals

Wolf Fangs & Animal Hides

Quest-Reward Materials

Coarse Fur

Hexstone

Glowing Fiber

Thick Fluid

Polished Slab

Floor 1 Farming Spots Ranked

Floor 2: The Mountain Ridge Loop

Spotlight: Farming Gold Crystals

Golden Gem-Bugs

Farming Habits That Compound

Stack Side Quests Before Farming

Use Analyze While You Travel

Mine With a Bodyguard

Fast Travel Resets Are Your Loop

Difficulty Raises the Payout

Sell in Bulk, Never Sell Rare

Spend Your Materials Wisely

Smithy Guide

EX-Mods Guide

Col Farming Guide

Blueprint Locations

Materials Farming FAQ

How do I get Tempered Steel?

Where is the best Tempered Steel farm?

Where do I mine Black Iron Ore?

What is the fastest Gold Crystal farm?

Where do I find Hexstone?

Where do I find Glowing Fiber?

Where do I find Polished Slab?

Should I sell my crafting materials?