Shahrukh Sial is a gaming content writer at Sparked Host. He covers game guides, tips, and updates to help players improve their skills and enjoy a better gaming experience.

If you want to survive the zombie apocalypse for the long term, you need to upgrade your tools and weapons to steel. Steel is the strongest material in 7 Days to Die. To make anything out of steel, you first need to obtain a special tool called the Crucible. The Crucible is not something you find commonly. It is a very rare and important item that marks the shift from the early game to the endgame.

This Crucible is essential for all high-level crafting, especially for making advanced ammo and powerful base-building parts. Many players spend a long time trying to figure out how to get one. Luckily, as of today, there are reliable methods to obtain the Crucible recipe or the Crucible itself.

This blog will guide you through all the steps. We will cover what the Crucible does, how to gather the right materials to craft it, and the important skills you need to unlock its recipe. Get ready to upgrade your forge and start dominating the wasteland.

What Does A Crucible Do In 7 Days To Die?

The Crucible is not a simple tool; it is an upgrade item that must be placed inside your existing forge. Without the Crucible, your forge can only process basic materials like iron and stone. Once the Crucible is placed in the forge, your forge gains the ability to make two key things:

  • Melt Iron into Steel: The most important thing the Crucible does is allow the forge to turn forged iron into forged steel. Steel is the material needed to craft Quality 6 weapons, steel tools, and top-tier armor. This unlocks a whole new level of strength for your gear.

  • Increased Efficiency: The Crucible also greatly increases the speed and efficiency of your forge. It helps you craft things much faster, saving you valuable time in the game.

If you want to make steel tools, steel ammo, steel spikes for base building, or the strongest steel armor, the Crucible is a non-negotiable tool. It is a must-have for players who want to master base building and fight the toughest zombies in the late game.

There are two main ways to obtain the Crucible: craft it yourself or buy it from a trader. We will review both methods below.

Getting Materials For A Crucible

If you decide to craft the Crucible yourself, you will need a special recipe book, and you will need to spend skill points to unlock the recipe. The recipe for the Crucible is found in the Advanced Engineering skill tree.

To get the recipe and start crafting, you must read a specific series of magazines or spend several skill points. This is the hard path.

Read Advanced Engineering Magazines

The most common way to unlock the recipe is by reading the Advanced Engineering magazines. Players need to read several magazines in this series to fully unlock the ability to craft a Crucible.

  • How to Obtain Magazines: You can find these magazines through general looting, especially when you search for loot in locations that match the theme, like factories or scientific labs.

  • Alternative: You can always try to buy any Advanced Engineering magazines you find at a trader location.

Spend Skill Points

The Crucible recipe is tied to a high level in the Advanced Engineering skill. You must invest a lot of skill points to get to the level that unlocks the Crucible. Since this requires many points, most players will try to find the magazines instead.

Collect The Required Crafting Items

Once the recipe is unlocked, you need the following items to craft the Crucible at your workbench:

  • Forged Steel: This is the most difficult material to obtain because you usually need a Crucible to make it. However, you can find forged steel in very rare loot containers or sometimes buy it from a trader.

  • Forged Iron: This is easier to obtain since your basic forge can make forged iron from scrap iron.

  • Clay and Stone: These are common materials that are easy to collect.

Because the recipe requires forged steel, many players decide it is easier to buy the Crucible directly from a trader instead of crafting it.

Crafting A Crucible

Since the Crucible recipe requires you to already have some forged steel, most beginners will focus on getting the Crucible itself from a trader.

However, if you are a dedicated player who has collected enough magazines and forged steel items from rare loot, here is the crafting process at your workbench:

  • Unlock the Recipe: You must fully unlock the Crucible recipe by reading the Advanced Engineering magazines or spending skill points on the skill.

  • Gather Materials: Collect the necessary stacks of forged steel, forged iron, clay, and stone. The recipe requires a large number of materials.

  • Use the Workbench: Go to your workbench and select the Crucible recipe from the crafting menu.

  • Craft the Crucible: Press craft and wait for the Crucible to be made.

The Trader Method: The Easier Way to Obtain a Crucible

For most players, the easiest path to the Crucible is to buy it directly from a trader. This requires two things: luck and the Better Barter skill.

Daring Adventurer and Better Barter

The Crucible is a high-quality item, and it is one of the rare things that traders sell. To get a better chance of seeing it in the trader's inventory, you need to invest points into the Barter skill tree, specifically the Better Barter skill and the Daring Adventurer skill.

Both the Better Barter skill and the Daring Adventurer skill are important. They increase the quality and quantity of items a trader carries, giving you a much higher chance to find the Crucible for sale.

Visit All Traders

You must run to every trader in the town and on the map during the day. Trader inventories reset every few days, so you need to check them often.

Buy the Crucible

When you find the Crucible for sale, you must buy it immediately. It will be expensive, so make sure you have a big stack of Dukes (in-game money).

This is why many players focus on completing trader missions and selling valuable items. This turns into Dukes that can be used to buy the Crucible or other rare items.

How To Use A Crucible

Once you successfully obtain the Crucible, either by crafting it or by buying it from a trader, the next step is to install and use it.

Install the Crucible in the Forge

The Crucible is not used on its own. It is a mod for the forge.

  • Place the Forge: Make sure you have a forge set up in your base building area.

  • Access the Forge: Open the forge interface.

  • Install the Crucible: Place the Crucible in the special mod slot, which is usually found on the left side of the forge menu.

The forge is now upgraded. You should see new recipes available, especially those for steel materials.

Craft Forged Steel

With the Crucible installed, you can now craft forged steel. This is the main material you will use for all high-level crafting.

  • Needed Materials: To make one stack of forged steel, you require five forged iron and some clay.

  • Process: Place the forged iron and clay in the input slots of the forge. Select the forged steel recipe and let the forge run.

  • Importance: Making forged steel lets you craft the strongest steel tools, weapons, and armor in the game. This is a big unlock for your base-building efforts, too.

Use the Chemistry Station (Advanced Ammo)

The Crucible's unlocks go beyond the forge. Once you have a steady supply of forged steel, you can craft a chemistry station. The chemistry station is needed for making advanced things like high-damage ammo. This is a huge advantage for players in late-game combat.

  • Chemistry Station Recipe: This requires a lot of steel and other materials.

  • Advanced Ammo: Use the chemistry station to make advanced ammo like AP (Armor Piercing) rounds, which are essential for taking down tougher zombies and other players in local multiplayer or online co-op games.

Conclusion

The Crucible is a highly valuable, rare item in 7 Days to Die. It unlocks the entire steel tier of gear, which is essential for survival in the later game. The easiest way for most players to obtain a Crucible is to save up their Dukes and buy it directly from a trader. Make sure you invest points into Better Barter and Daring Adventurer to increase the chance a trader will sell one.

If you choose the harder path to craft it, focus on reading the Advanced Engineering magazines to unlock the recipe. Just note that crafting requires a stack of forged steel itself, making it a truly late-game option.

Once you have the Crucible, install it in your forge to start making forged steel. This new material lets you craft the best weapons and strengthens your base building. The Crucible truly marks your arrival as a master survivor in 7 Days to Die.