Welding and metalwork

If you are coming from Build 41, the skill you knew as Metalworking is now called Welding. The crafting menu category is still labelled "Metalworking", which is why guides mix the names. One fan guide uses "Metalworking" to mean blacksmithing; the skill list itself says Welding plus Blacksmithing, and that is what we follow.

Item names changed too:

• The propane torch is now the Welding Torch (some guides still say propane torch or blowtorch).
• The mask appears as Welder Mask in the game; you will also see "welding mask".
• Sheet metal is now Steel Sheet and Steel Sheet - Small.
• Build 42 adds Welding Rods, a consumable that build recipes use up.

A full welding torch holds 10 uses. Refill it by combining it with a propane tank, which you keep. A full tank holds 5,000 units (game files). One guide puts a torch use at 70 units, so one tank refills about seven empty torches (one source). You can take a propane tank off a barbecue grill.

One report says a completely empty torch may refuse to refill on 42.20, so top up before it runs dry (one source).

The mask is required for torch work but is never used up. It narrows your view while worn, so take it off before walking around. A pack of welding rods holds 20 uses (game files).

1. Read Welding Vol. I before you start so the XP multiplier is active (see skill books).
2. Wear the mask and dismantle burnt or smashed car wrecks. It gives XP even at level 0 and needs a torch with at least 10 uses.
3. At level 3, weld metal sheet barricades on weak windows and doors. They need no magazine (one source).
4. Read Welder Monthly magazines to unlock walls, crates and fences, then build what the base needs.

XP from dismantling furniture is off by default (the sandbox option "Maximum Dismantling XP Level"). The five welding VHS tapes give about 1,650 XP but by default stop helping at level 3 (one source). Starting skill: Welder +4, Mechanic +1.

The two wall levels reportedly have 700 and 800 health (one source). Big lockers sit at the top of the tree. Scrap-metal armour is listed at Welding 7 to 8 by one guide and at Welding 5 with Tailoring 1 by another, so check your menu. Welding repairs on car panels also need Mechanics 2 (one source).

Materials: steel sheets, iron pipes, iron bars, steel rods, scrap metal, hinges and wire, mostly from wrecks and metal furniture. See base building for how metal walls compare with wood.

Opinion A level 3 welder with a stack of steel sheets turns any house into a fortress in an afternoon. It is the best defensive skill in the game.