Wetlands and Forests (T5 to T7)

The Wetlands and Forests are the Iron tier, T5 through T7, and they are the first regions that punish you for arriving in jungle clothes. The band runs from the Wetland, Lakeside Forest, and Jungle Cave at T5, up through Table Mountain and Plateau Woodland at T6, and on to the Great Prairie and Giant Wood Forest at T7. Iron is the reward and the reason to be here. The challenge is twofold: a poison hazard in the wetlands, and a climate that swings from Severe Cold to heat across these tiers, so for the first time you need clothing built for both ends.

Where it sits in progression

This is the Glow of Iron stretch of the crafting spine, the step up from bronze. You come here once you are comfortable working bronze and have a base and a few tribesmen running production, and you leave geared in iron with a wider tech tree. Iron is the through-line ore across all three tiers, joined by Phosphate, Coal, Nitrate, and Salt as you climb. For how the tiers anchor to the metal ladder, see region tiers and tech tiers.

What lives here

The fauna jumps in size. The Bear prowls the T5 wetlands alongside Elite Alligators, the Bison and the Horned Eagle appear around Table Mountain and the Plateau Woodland at T6, and the Elephant ranges the Great Prairie at T7 with Wasteland Wolves. The Fang Tribe holds territory at T6 and the Claw Tribe at T7, so the human factions are still both threat and recruiting pool. Many of these animals have Elite variants with more health and damage, so a follower you bring along needs to be properly equipped and supplied.

The wetlands carry a Poison hazard that the jungle never had. Going in without the right protection will wear you down on top of the Bears and Elite Alligators already there, so treat poison as a gear check, not an inconvenience, and prepare for it before you wade in for iron.

What you gather

Iron is the headline. It runs through the Wetland and Lakeside Forest at T5, Table Mountain and Plateau Woodland at T6, and the Great Prairie and Giant Wood Forest at T7. Along the way you pick up the supporting materials that later crafting and gunpowder-era tech lean on.

Tier	Zones	Notable ore
T5	Wetland / Lakeside Forest / Jungle Cave	Iron, Phosphate, Coal
T6	Table Mountain / Plateau Woodland	Iron, Coal
T7	Great Prairie / Giant Wood Forest	Iron, Nitrate, Salt

As always, the tool tier gates the return. Iron-grade tools pull iron efficiently where bronze ones waste the node, so upgrade your pickaxes and your tribesmen’s gear before committing to a long mining run.

Surviving the cold-to-heat swing

The defining survival problem of this band is range. T5 spans Cold to Severe Heat, T6 sits Cold to Comfort, and T7 stretches from Severe Cold to Mild Heat. That means a single trip can take you from a freezing prairie morning into heat, and one outfit will not cover both ends. Carry clothing for cold and for heat, watch the regional temperature band before you set out, and keep food and water stocked, since the body works harder at both extremes. See survival and temperature for managing the swing.

When to move on

You are ready for the next step when you are geared in iron, your base or a forward camp is producing reliably, and your tribe is large and specialized enough to mine and craft without constant babysitting. The Iron tier is the platform for Steel, and Steel lives in much harsher country: the Wasteland and Volcano introduce Radiation, Sandstorm, and Searing Heat, hazards that make the wetland poison look gentle. Bank your iron, level your masks through exploration, and push on only when your gear and your climate protection are ready.

Next: Wasteland and Volcano (T8 to T10). Related: survival and temperature.