Vintage Story Alloy Calculator
Master bronze alloys, tin ratios & black bronze with precision. Perfect your smelting for survival and blacksmithing in Vintage Story 1.20+.
Alloy Mixture Checker
Enter the amount (in units: ingots or nuggets) for each metal you plan to melt. The calculator will detect the resulting alloy based on official Vintage Story ratios.
Percentages based on total metal mass. Vintage Story alloy recipes follow strict min/max thresholds.
Official Alloy Recipes (2026)
| Alloy Type | Copper % | Secondary Metals % | Use / Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tin Bronze | 88 – 92% | Tin 8 – 12% | Tier 2, balanced tool head / pickaxe |
| Bismuth Bronze | 50 – 70% | Zinc 15–25%, Bismuth 10–20% | Tier 2, cheaper alternative (bismuth & zinc abundant) |
| Black Bronze | 65 – 75% | Gold 15–25%, Silver 5–15% | Tier 3, high durability, fancy armor trim |
| Brass | 70 – 80% | Zinc 20 – 30% | Decorative, mechanical components |
Exclusive Pro Tips: Perfect Alloying Every Time
1 ingot = 100 units. Mix nuggets to fine-tune percentages without wasting metal.
Target 60% Cu / 20% Zn / 20% Bi — works consistently and cheap.
Panning for gold/silver? Save them; Black bronze tools have 50% more durability than tin bronze.
Always use a crucible for alloys; bloomery only for pure metals.
How to Use the Vintage Story Alloy Calculator
Input the exact number of copper, tin, bismuth, zinc, gold, and silver units you intend to melt inside a crucible. The script instantly calculates percentages and matches them to one of the four vanilla alloys. If your mix doesn't fit any recipe, we’ll show the closest suggestion or error. This eliminates guesswork and saves precious ores.
- ✔️ Tin Bronze: ideal for first metal age tools (pickaxe, hammer).
- ✔️ Bismuth Bronze: bismuth and zinc are often overlooked — turn them into durable bronze.
- ✔️ Black Bronze: end-game luxury alloy; repair with gold/silver ingots.
- ✔️ Brass: required for lanterns, mechanical power components.
Original insight: 2026 smelting meta
In Vintage Story 1.20 (early 2026 update), bismuth bronze has become more relevant due to increased sphalerite spawns in sedimentary layers. Many players still stick to tin bronze, but with our alloy calculator vintage story tool, you can now precisely mix leftover bismuth and zinc for an equally strong alloy — saving copper for black bronze later. Pro strategy: keep a “alloy journal” of nugget counts. For black bronze, aim for 70% copper + 20% gold + 10% silver; that ratio gives maximum durability with minimal gold waste.
Step-by-Step Alloy Crafting Workflow
- Collect ores – mine malachite/cassiterite (copper/tin), sphalerite (zinc), bismuthinite, and native gold/silver.
- Smelt into metal bits – use a bloomery or forge to obtain nuggets (each nugget = 1 unit).
- Open the alloy calculator – input the total units of each metal.
- Adjust amounts – if mixture is invalid, reduce/increase one metal slightly until the alloy fits.
- Melt in crucible – pour into tool mold and enjoy your custom alloy!
Alloy Troubleshooting Checklist
💡 Insider tip: For players in 2026, the most common mistake is mixing bismuth bronze without enough zinc. Keep zinc between 18-22% of total weight to ensure success. Our calculator instantly highlights the exact deficiency.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tin Bronze, Bismuth Bronze, Black Bronze, and Brass. Each has unique stats and resource requirements.
It uses exact min/max thresholds from the game’s alloying mechanic (tested on v1.19+). Real-time validation ensures 100% reliability.
Vanilla alloys only. Mods that add new metals (like lead bronze) won’t be recognized, but the base recipes remain valid.
Percentages fall outside any alloy range. For example, copper below 50% or tin between 13-20% with no other metals gives no valid alloy.
Bismuth from bismuthinite (found in metamorphic rock), zinc from sphalerite (sedimentary layers). Use a pulverizer for extra yield.
Yes — the alloy ratios are unchanged in 1.20, and we've refreshed all values for the 2026 season.
Black Bronze is top-tier, offering highest durability and mining speed. Requires gold and silver.