I missing something.

[ATSMABBO]

So, to create steel i need to have iron ore, to get iron ore i need a steel pickaxe? how do i get iron ore without a pickaxe?

Thanks

[SeVeN]

can you not pick up iron ore bits from ground piles with iron?

[RickRobs]

You can find big chunks of iron inside caves that you can break down into smaller pieces, if you right click on things you can go to info, everything is detailed and tells you where to find things... you'll find caves near cliff faces and possibly near rocky outcrops

[ATSMABBO]

Ya, i have found a cave, but there were no lose iron laying around. all in large boulders that needed a pixeaxe to mine. i guess ill keep looking.

[Werewolf]

I have the same problem. I have searched 4 caves already and there were only big piles that can be mined only with a pickaxe. I hope I didn't get a bug...

[EN16M471C]

Do you have torch with you? It's really easy to miss iron chunks. I found 6 pieces in total in one cave. There were few pieces just lying around away from outcrops.

[ATSMABBO]

I was able to find 3 with a torch between 2 caves. so only need 7 more to be able to make a pick ax. so i figure another 6-7 hours of game play till maybe i get enough. Sarcasm, the game pretty much grinds to a halt if you do not get lucky enough. i am having to make a new bronze ax head every 3 tree at this point just to keep things going in between hunts. I think i am done till this is fixed, this cant be the intended mechanic. really want to play this game, but i just cant keep banging my head up against a wall.

[Salvatos]

You should probably repair your axe instead of making a new one every few trees. Hit R to bring up the Repair window.

Personally I prefer to scout for abandoned houses when it comes to getting steel tools. It all comes down to luck, but in my first hour with the EA release I got 2 pickaxes and 1 axe I think, not to mention all the nails from breaking down furniture. Spares me a lot of smelting.

[Salvatos]

Unprocessed sandstone chunks can be used as a rudimentary sharpening stone.

[n4rcotic007]

Originally posted by ATSMABBO:

So, to create steel i need to have iron ore, to get iron ore i need a steel pickaxe? how do i get iron ore without a pickaxe?

Thanks

Explore the map. There are old buildings with things inside dotted all over the place. My current playthrough ive found 2 steel pickaxes and a steel axe before ive even set up a working camp.

It will take a while to mine as they are found in a low durability state however you can mine what you need from the nodes and make a new one.

[RickRobs]

Not every cave might have loose iron, but some will, you can even find them near rocky outcrops out in the open.