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A Compendium of Metals

Credit to Goldenblood, Dulgrun, and Yatanokogami

In all my years of Adventuring, smithing, and wandering the worlds, the magnificence of metals in Azeroth, Outland and Draenor never cease to amaze me, and I hope the information I have gathered here in this small compendium will help those who are in need of the knowledge. -Ashton Ironblood

Azerothian, Outlandish and Draenor Metals.

Azerothian Metals Pre-Cataclysm, or “Second Sundering”

Copper: An extremely common metal used on all continents for its high conductivity of electricity and heat, it is not an extremely strong metal, and is a poor material for weaponry and armor, but this only saves to make it cheaper and more widespread for Engineers, it is considered one of the first metals to be discovered.

Tin: Often used for creating the alloy Bronze in combination with Copper, Tin nonetheless plays a heavy hand in the training of beginner smiths, black or silver, and is required for the creation of Pewter. Due to how often they were used together, and the creation of Bronze, Tin and Copper are often considered the “Brother and Sister” of metals.

Pewter: An extremely malleable alloy that is comprised almost entirely of tin, with copper, antimony or bismuth added to increase its hardness. Pewter is commonly used for eating utensils and plates, and has deep historical significance to the dwarves of the Wetlands, as the Wetlands produce nearly all of the pewter used by the Ironforge Crafting Guilds, and is used in the Ironblood Thane’s Crown and Signet Ring.

Brass: an alloy of copper and zinc, Brass is well-known for its acoustic properties and its ability to cause loud reverberations across long distances, which is why it is commonly used for musical instruments. However, with the recent uncovering of Pandaria and the Mantid’s use of vibrational and harmonic technology, the usefulness of Brass as an engineering and weaponry component is coming back into question.

Bronze: An alloy composed of Copper and other metals (Almost always tin), Bronze is a staple in the history of Azeroth’s younger, Titanic races. While its strength is less than properly forged Iron, it is more pliable, and its use was extremely widespread hundreds of years ago by the human tribes before their coalition together under the Stromic Banner. Its usefulness has been phased out to the weaponry and armor of “lesser races”, such as gnolls and murlocs, but it will forever hold a place of cultural significance to those who remember days before the Troll Wars.

Silver: Considered by many to be a mostly-ornamental metal, used to display wealth and symbolizing longevity. Silver can nonetheless be mixed with certain key metals to enhance its innate magically-sensitive nature, as well as being used as currency accepted nearly everywhere (Even goblins accept silver, begrudgingly).

Iron: The staple metal of Azeroth, it comes in many extreme forms and qualities and quantities. Mined and consumed in massive quantities every day, this metal found its first major usage by the Titans, who created Iron and Steel constructs, temples and Golems at the apex of their work upon Azeroth. This metal, when properly forged, is strong and stable, and has been the point of interest in many epic sagas, poems, and dwarven liturgies. Not all Iron is created equal, and comes in forms ranging from borderline useless, such as in the Badlands, to the stuff of legends, such as in Dun Morogh.

Steel: An alloy of Iron and Carbon, Steel has found its most major usage in its usefulness in weaponry and armor, being the “Tried and True” metal of warfare, it is just as varied in terms of its strength and quality as Iron is, but the quality is more dependent upon the correct smelting of the alloy rather than where it comes from (But Ancestor’s help you if you have to fight someone who has a Warhammer made of Iron from Dun Morogh and Smelted in the Great Forge).

Gold: “The King’s Metal”, famed everywhere for its commercial value in making things pretty and half-handedly known for its usefulness in transmutation. As for its usefulness, if someone compares an item to “A sword of gold”, that means it’s completely and totally useless. Don’t use Gold for weapons and armor, just don’t.

Mithril: “The magician’s metal”, Mithril is revered by craftsman of all trades for its extremely magical properties and light weight. While it is not as easy to work with, and is slightly less brittle than steel or steel-substitutes, those who have the time and patience to work with this beautiful metal are rewarded with works of art that can double as efficient and magical tools.

Truesilver: “The Archmage’s Metal” Rarer than Mithril or Silver, Truesilver combines the best perks of both metals, creating a metalloid that seems to have otherworldly, almost divine properties. These properties have been so over exaggerated, in fact, that it is believed that Truesilver is the bane of all worgen, and searing a worgen bite with a heated truesilver dagger can prevent the Curse from taking hold, as is expected, nobody has tried to prove this theory true or false.

Thorium: One of the strongest naturally-forming metals on Azeroth, Thorium is renowned worldwide for its weight and it’s resistance to heat. While this makes it extremely difficult to forge and rather unwieldy for those who are not accustomed to its weight, when properly mastered, Thorium weapons can have the grace of a glaive, with the crushing power of a Warhammer, and fire mages hate shields made of the stuff.

Dark Iron: “The Lifeblood of Blackrock Mountain”, Dark Iron, named after the Dark Iron Clan (Or the other way around, the records really aren’t clear) is the –most- fire-retardant, fire-resistant metal that forms naturally on Azeroth. It’s so resistant to heat, in fact, that only the Black Forge near the heart of the Molten Core, where Ragnaros once laid his fiery head, can properly smelt the metal into a useable form, and it is customary that weapons and armor made of Dark Iron only be forged upon the Black Anvil, and a great deal of ore is lost as slag, making the process long-winded and very expensive, but for those who have the time and patience, legends tell that one Mountain King in Dark Iron Armor can defeat a dozen fire mages at once and not even singe his beard.

Arcanite: “The Alchemist’s First Metal”, Arcanite is a strange creature, as it is the creation of arcane crystals and Thorium combined to create something completely alien to their reagents. Arcanite is a strong, heavy metal that is rumored to hold the sharpest edge in all of Azeroth, and is also magically attuned, allowing for enchantments and inscribing with Truesilver. There was controversy over the safety of using Arcanite for a period of time after demons in the Blasted Lands were found to use the metal, bringing up conversations of Arcane and Fel corruption. These questions and concerns were quickly silenced by the mining operations in Silithis, where “Natural” deposits of Arcanite were found underneath dead silithid hives, covered in a strange resin that acted as a catalyst for the reaction. Even to this day, one is more likely to find arcane crystals and Thorium together in hive clusters such as these.

Elementium: A Pseudo-Azerothian Metal that resides within the elemental plane, no metal reacts as readily or as violently to the natural forces of Azeroth more. This metal is unnaturally strong, unnaturally resistant, and STUPIDLY hard to work with without causing a forge-wide explosion from the magical catalytic reaction. Only the most experienced of smiths should even consider working with Elementium, and though weapons made of Elementium are powerful beyond recompense, they are also dangerous beyond recompense, and one must always keep wary that the elements do not take kindly to being warped for mortal’s uses.

Lightforge Iron: A strange and divine material that is both rare and –extremely- difficult to work with, due to its tendency to fracture and crack under certain conditions, Lightforge nonetheless is considered Divine by those who wield it and revere both weaponry and armor created of this strange, touched material. Lightforge is well-known for its tendency to always absorb and reflect light, giving armor a shiny appearance at all times, and making blades and other weaponry of Lightforge glow with a holy energy. Despite the rumors, some demons use Lightforged weapons simply out of spite, and not some hidden higher purpose.

Bloodstone: Bloodstone ore, occasionally used by the Burning Legion in their weaponry of lesser demons, has earned a bad reputation over the years, and is almost completely ignored. While it is nowhere as strong as Steel, it is more magically sensitive, unfortunately, this sensitivity to the arcana often points towards Fel, hence why the Legion uses the metal so readily for the more disposable of their great empire. On one “Positive” note for Bloodstone, when taken to a proper alchemist and treated, it can be distilled into Essence of Agony, which was used for the most powerful debilitating or pain-inducing poisons pre-Cataclysm.

Indurium: Another footnote in Azeroth’s past, before the massive shift to titanium for use in mechanical parts for goblin racers and choppers, Indurium was originally used for parts such as the muffler, and was only found in Uldaman, making it a point of conversation for the Exploration League, Indurium was no longer used after it was found it was extremely toxic to the racers over long periods of time, such as the Badlands 5000 Grand Prix.

Incendicite: A powerful and rare metal, the Wetlands is proud to be the only source of this extremely dangerous and explosive material. Though Seaforium can get most jobs done by itself, if something –REALLY- needs to blow up, an ounce of Incendicite will do what ten ounces of Seaforium do! It’s extremely difficult to process and manufacture safely, as one could expect, so those brave enough to do the job are handsomely rewarded (They don’t have good insurance though).

Ahn’Qiraj Obsidian: While not chemically different than regular obsidian, the druids of the Cenarion Circle have found ways of augmenting this glasslike material into heavy suits of armor, light harnesses comparable to chainmail, and even a shield rumored to be the rival of The Immovable Object, a legendary shield that is given to defenders of both the Alliance and Horde for bravery in the battle of Alterac Valley.

Cobalt: A metal found most commonly in the frozen expanses of Northrend, this metal is often praised as “The rock that saved a campaign”, as the Alliance and Horde were heavily dependent upon mining and forging the metal into weaponry and armor for the Northrend Campaign, and were fortunate to learn that the metal was just as strong as Steel and was easily smithed. Its usefulness in Engineering, combined with its natural strength and ease-of-use has brought up the question of replacing steel’s usage in the military with Cobalt, this will not happen for some time, however, as major Cobalt in mining in Northrend is difficult, due to the large number of Undead still roaming those lands.

Saronite: “The Damned Metal”, those who were unfortunate enough to use Saronite before it’s almost universal ban have been lost to madness, and many who do not know the History of Saronite may be confused by the horror stories told about the Northrend Campaign. Saronite is the coagulated blood of Yogg-Saron, the Old God of Death, and its strength, resistant to elements, and even the Light, are legendary, however, those who are in contact with it, even for but a moment, are damned to insanity, be it partial, temporary, or permanent. There are tales of whole battalions of men lost within the blizzards of Icecrown for simply treading on veins of the metal, their minds deteriorating to dribbling messes within minutes, if not seconds. Only the Death Knights of Acherus and Undead can use the metal without ill effect.

Titanium: An extremely strong metal with a low density and resistance to corrosion, both magical and natural, Titanium was “Rediscovered” in Northrend during the Campaign against the Lich King, and has been used ever since for the aforementioned properties, and while it is a bit impractical to use this in forging weaponry and armor (As it is surprisingly sparse), it has a more powerful, more hidden and more sacred use.

Titansteel: The Magnum Opus of Alchemy and Smelting, Titansteel is considered by many to be one of the strongest, if not the strongest, metal on Azeroth. Its creation is difficult, and is held in secret by circles of Alchemists and Master Blacksmiths. The one trait that makes it so sought after, however, is it’s resistance against corruption in all forms, Fel or otherwise. There is little shared about this metal to the public for the safety of the Alchemists that forge this creation of the Gods. The one thing they share to the public is that Titanium is the base metal used for the reaction.

-Post Cataclysm Azerothian Metals-

Pyrite: Commonly known as “Fool’s gold” by many for its similar luster and texture to the valuable commodity, Pyrite, in its normal form, is nothing of utmost importance, however, it is essential in the creation of Truegold, a new and still somewhat unknown material that was discovered by Alchemists during the Cataclysm.

Truegold: A strange and wondrous new metal that does not form naturally on any known plane of existence, but is transmutable through raw unbound elemental power and Pyrite. The abilities of Truegold are still under controversy, and it has been speculated the Royal Stormwind Treasury will be considering creating a Truegold coin to count as a hundred gold coins, though this seems impractical, as the materials required to create even one coin worth of Truegold are far more than one-hundred golden coins. Though it cannot be the base of weaponry and armor, it is extremely sensitive to magic, and has been considered for use in enchanting items, aswell as already being used by engineers in their attempts to create longer-lasting and power-efficient parts.

Ghost Iron: One of the oddities of Pandaria, all Ghost Iron originated as standard iron, before being transmuted by the wondrous nature of Pandaria, as the land is overflowing with spiritual energy, some of that power “Leaked” into veins of iron, transmuting it into the strong, wondrous material we see today. Ghost Iron strong, dependable, extremely easy to forge, and, due to the recent events in Pandaria, is in un-surmounted supply, countered only by its un-surmounted demand, as Seers, historians, architects, engineers, smiths, alchemists, and every profession from A-to-Z has found a use for this strange metal.

Lightning Steel: The creation of Lei Shen and his Mogu Empire, this metal can only be forged under the most difficult and dangerous of conditions, using large amounts of Ghost Iron and super-condensing them with magnetic forces directly from the Isle. Of Thunder, this metal is costly to work with, as much of the metal turns to slag in the forging creation. Despite this, Lightning Steel remains one of the strongest and most resistant materials ever recorded to-date, while not sacrificing its weight.

Living Steel: A transmutation of Ghost Iron, Living Steel is purely condensed spiritual energy that is reactive to any form of enchantment, enhancement, and tinkering, and is considered by many Alchemists to be the Magnum-Opus-Opus. It should be noted with the name, however, that there is speculation to if the steel retains some form of sentience from the highly condensed spiritual energy, and though we have not been able to learn a definitive answer, legends in Pandaria tell of self-aware, speaking blades and weapons of differing personalities, though it is often the case that those weapons that bathe in blood frequently are more prone to violent “Mindset.”

Trillium: A strange metal that comes in two forms: Black Trillium, which is naturally smoother and rounded, and White Trillium, which is more gritty and jagged. These two metals can be combined by expert blacksmiths and smelters into singular bars containing both Black and White, which increases its strength several-fold, though it is slightly imbalanced. Rumors speak of Blacksmiths who have learned to balance the opposing forces of the metals to create a metal that always feels perfectly balanced in the hands of whoever holds it.

-Outland Specific Metals-

Fel Iron: An accursed metal created from the residual fel energies that tore Draenor apart, this malevolent metal is nonetheless stronger than steel, though it is costly to work with, and is also extremely dangerous to wield, as the fel corruption can bleed into the wielder of anyone who holds weapons or armor made of the material, even when they are not wielding it.

Fel Steel: This is Fel Iron times-ten, Stronger than even Thorium, it nonetheless bleeds fel energy wherever it goes, and does not lose this corruption over time, nor do the weapons or armor of this metal corrode. The creation of this metal is kept secret from general public for safety reasons, for those who hold Fel Steel are dangerous in more than one regard.

Adamantine: A strong and wondrous material, at one time, all the Adamantine in Azeroth could be fit into a small room, and was worth more than an entire keep’s value. Nearly indestructible, magically attuned, and revered by the Knights of the Silver Hand for creating magnificent warhammers, this metal is not from Azeroth, and is actually an odd rarity that occurs in the chaotic forces of Outland. Though the price of Adamantine has slightly lowered over recent years, it is still by no means a common commodity.

Hardened Adamantine: Good luck breaking this, while it’s even rarer and more valuable than regular Adamantine, the creation of Hardened Adamantine relies upon its ability to super-condense, and due to this is super-heavy, and borderline unbreakable, to the point where it is theorized it could break even Saronite, which has drawn Knights of the Silver Hand to the metal to create even more powerful warhammers, should they ever cross blades with the Rogue Death Knight.

Khorium: While Khorium itself is not very strong, and is comparable to being the Outland version of Bronze, it is required for the proper reforging and smelting of fel Steel, Eternium, and Adamantium into stronger metals.

Eternium: Not originally used for creating weaponry and armor, Eternium is a very flaky, if beautiful, metal with a luster that does not decay or diminish, hence its name holding eternal in it. During the height of the war against Illidan, however, the Blood Knights under the command of Lady Liadrin, in combination with the work of the Scryers and Aldor, managed to create weaponry that used Eternium in such a way that the weapons could constantly be reforged and re-empowered, making Eternium a staple metal in the final assaults against the Legion at the Sunwell.

-Draenor Specific Metals-

True Iron: A strange and wondrous metal that has quickly been accepted by the inhabitants of Azeroth, this plentiful metal is much stronger than natural Iron, and, when properly smelted with Blackrock, is capable of becoming Truesteel, an extremely dexterous and light material that is rumored to hold an edge just as sharp as Arcanite, and is as lustrous as silver, making it the envy of common-soldier and Noble alike. There is little to fear for them, however, as True Iron is as plentiful on Draenor as iron is on Azeroth. There is speculation to what caused all of the True Iron to disappear from our Draenor, Outland, though the general consensus is that the powerful nether forces that warped the planet transmuted the metal either to Fel Iron or Adamantine.

Blackrock: A borderline flame retardant material that comes in two common forms, Blackrock metal is a strange commodity, while being very common all across Draenor, there are not many uses for it that we are aware of, and only the Blackrock Clan truly know how to properly forge the black metal by itself. When forged correctly, the Blackrock metal can repel flame or create flames, depending on the wishes of the smith that forges is, assuming they are capable of understand the intricate complexities of forging that strange, strange metal.

Jovite: A strange bluish metal found commonly in strip mines in Talador, Jovite is commonly used as artillery shells for its ability to retain its temperature at a stable point for long periods of time, though it is most-likely useless for creating weapons and armor, as it is naturally very brittle, however, it could make leaps and bounds in the world of Engineering in new cooling technology.

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