Smithing Skill Guide
November 21, 2025
Dedicated page for optimizing the Smithing skill.
Smithing Skill Guide
Smithing is a unique skill in Bannerlord because it is limited by Stamina, not just gold or time. To master it, you need a strategy.
The Stamina System
You have 100 Stamina.
Refining/Smelting costs stamina.
Forging costs stamina (more for higher tier).
Resting in a settlement recovers stamina.
Tip: Leave your smithing character in a town while you travel with a separate party if you want to passive-farm stamina (requires switching parties), but usually, it's best to just rest ("Wait here for some time") with your main party.
The Charcoal Loop
Charcoal is the lifeblood of smithing. You need it for everything.
Buy Hardwood (Battanian villages like Seonon are swimming in it).
Refine Hardwood into Charcoal.
Essential Perk: Take the Efficient Charcoal Maker perk (Level 25). It changes the ratio from 2:1 to 2:3, effectively tripling your charcoal efficiency.
Key Perks Analysis
Level 25: Efficient Charcoal Maker vs Iron Maker.
Pick: Efficient Charcoal Maker. Always. The Iron Maker perk is useless by comparison because charcoal is the bottleneck.
Level 50: Steel Maker.
Allows refining Steel. Essential for high-tier crafting.
Level 75: Curious Smelter vs Curious Smith.
Pick: Curious Smelter. You learn new parts faster by smelting high-tier weapons than by forging them. This accelerates the "unlock grind" significantly.
Level 100+: Focus on perks that give a chance to create "Fine" or "Masterwork" weapons if you are the crafter, or refining efficiency if this is a companion.
Unlocking Parts Efficiently
Don't forge Tier 1 swords repeatedly. You get part unlocks based on the difficulty of the item processed.
Smelt the high-tier weapons you win in battles.
Forge the highest difficulty weapon you can (even if stats are bad), then smelt it back down.
For a full overview of all skills, check the Skills & Perks Overview.