The best Ores in the Forge is the Darkryte due to its excellent multiplier along with a defensive Dodge trait, as well as Demonite, the best offensive Trait with additional burn damage.
While not all Ores in The Forge have Traits, many of them do come with passive abilities designed to make your build stronger and more effective. However, the game doesn’t clearly show what these Traits do, or even which Ores have them. In this Trait tier list, I rank every The Forge Ore Trait, with its buffs and debuffs, from best to worst.
Best Ore Traits in The Forge Ranked
Out of the 40+ Ores currently available in The Forge, 11 have unique Traits. These Traits are passive abilities that provide various bonus effects. They can be passive stat buffs (or even debuffs), area-of-effect auras, or on-trigger effects. Some Ore Traits work only on armor, some only on weapons, while others apply to any gear type.
For our best Ore Traits tier list in The Forge, I consider not only what each Trait does, but also the multiplier value of the Ore that carries it. This is an equally important factor when choosing which Ores to use for crafting a weapon or armor piece. With that said, let's jump straight into the tier list.
Important information: In order to even active an Ore's trait, that Ore must compile more than 10% of your forging materials. It has to be more, as we've tested it multiple times at 10% with no Traits. The lowest percentage we managed to get an active Trait is 14%. I suggest going for at least 20% just to be sure, or higher if you want better Trait stats.
S+ Tier Ore Traits
| Trait | Stats | Pros & Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Shadow’s Phantom Step (Armor): A 15% chance to turn into a shadow and dodge attacks (invulnerability frame) Ore: Darkryte | Rarity: Mythical Area: Forgotten Kingdom Rock Type: Volcanic Rock Drop Chance: 1/6655 Multiplier: 6.3x Price: 94.5 | + Highest multiplier on an Ore with a Trait + Strong defensive Trait - Ultra rare, very hard to get |
S Tier Ore Traits
| Trait | Stats | Pros & Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Demon's Backfire (Armor): +25% chance to burn enemies when you take damage. Trait 2 (Armor): 20% burn for 2 seconds with a 15% chance on-hit Ore: Demonite | Rarity: Mythical Area: Forgotten Kingdom Rock Type: Volcanic Rock Drop Chance: 1/3336 Multiplier: 5.5x Price: 82.5 | + It's an offensive/defensive hybrid passive, which works great for almost any playstyle - Very hard to get from mining |
| Trait 1 (Weapons): 50% AoE explosion with 35% chance on-hit. Ore: Magmaite | Rarity: Legendary Area: Forgotten Kingdom Rock Type: Volcanic Rock Drop Chance: 1/3003 Multiplier: 5x Price: 75 | + The best AoE Ore Trait in the game + Works great with fast weapons as it procs on hit - Doesn’t work well with some slower, otherwise solid weapons |
| Swiftness (Armor): 15% extra movement speed Ore: Lightite | Rarity: Legendary Area: Forgotten Kingdom Rock Type: Basalt Vein Drop Chance: 1/3333 Multiplier: 4.6x Price: 69 | + Excellent for dodging and moving around quickly + Great for a hit-and-run fighting style - Not particularly strong when it’s the only Trait in your build |
A Tier Ore Traits
| Trait | Stats | Pros & Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Radioactive (Armor): 5% of the player's max health as AoE damage while in combat Ore: Uranium | Rarity: Legendary Area: Forgotten Kingdom Rock Type: Basalt Vein Drop Chance: 1/777 Multiplier: 3x Price: 66 | + It can melt enemies surprisingly fast simply by being near them - Multiplier is not as good for a Legendary Ore |
| Trait 1 (Weapons): 20% burn for 2 seconds with a 30% chance on-hit Ore: Fireite | Rarity: Legendary Area: Forgotten Kingdom Rock Type: Volcanic Rock Drop Chance: 1/2187 Multiplier: 4.5x Price: 67.5 | + Great DoT (damage-over-time) passive if you can maintain it. - Outclassed by Demonite |
| Critical Chance (Weapons): +20% critical strike chance Ore: Rivalite | Rarity: Epic Area: Forgotten Kingdom Rock Type: Basalt Vein, Volcanic Rock Drop Chance: 1/569 Multiplier: 3.33x Price: 49.95 | + Best Ore Trait if you wanna go for pure DPS build - Lacks utility |
| Negative Vitality (Weapons or Armor): -10% max health Lethality (Weapons or Armor): +15% damage boost Ore: Eye Ore | Rarity: Legendary Area: Forgotten Kingdom Rock Type: Basalt Rock, Basalt Core, Basalt Vein, Volcanic Rock Drop Chance: 1/1333 Multiplier: 4x Price: 37.5 | + Glass Cannon build, risky but good if you can dodge attacks - Not sure if the risk is worth the reward |
B Tier Ore Traits
| Trait | Stats | Pros & Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Vitality (Armor): 15% extra defense Ore: Mythril | Rarity: Legendary Area: Forgotten Kingdom Rock Type: Basalt Vein Drop Chance: 1/813 Multiplier: 3.5x Price: 52.5 | + Solid trait for tanky builds + Better multiplier compared to Obsidian - Obsidian provides a better flat defense bonus |
| Trait 1 (Armor): 30% extra defense Ore: Obsidian | Rarity: Legendary Area: Forgotten Kingdom Rock Type: Volcanic Rock Drop Chance: 1/333 Multiplier: 2.35x Price: | + Great defense boost + Not as hard to get as other Legendary Ores - Very weak multiplier |
C Tier Ore Traits
| Trait | Ore | Stats | Pros & Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bad Smell (Weapons or Armor): Deals 15% poison for 5s when below 35% Health. Casts Fear on Enemies. 15 seconds cooldown Ore: Poopite | Poopite | Rarity: Legendary Area: Forgotten Kingdom Rock Type: Volcanic Rock Drop Chance: 1/333 Multiplier: 2.35x Price: | + Good early game Trait - Too situational with a limiting condition - Weak multiplier |
The Forge Ore Traits FAQ
You’ll need to add one of the ores listed above to your crafting recipe mix. The ore with the desired Trait must make up at least 20% of the recipe for the Trait to transfer. The more of that ore you include, the stronger the final Trait value will be, up to its maximum cap.
Yes, you can mix multiple ores with Traits to inherit Traits from both of them. However, the same rule applies: each ore must make up at more than 10% of the recipe for its Trait to appear. Keep in mind that 10% doesn't work, it has to be more (our lowest tested percentage was 14%).
The best Trait is the one on Demonite, which adds Demon's Backfire plus Burn.
Traits can gain better values during the crafting process. The more of an ore with a specific Trait you add, the better the final Trait numbers will be.
No, it does not. When you enhance a weapon or armor, it will only improve its base stats, but it doesn't work on Traits or Runes.
Yes you can, just keep in mind the percentage of your Ores. To activate all Traits, the Ores must be more than 10% of the materials.
And with that, our The Forge Ore Traits Tier List is complete. In general, higher-rarity ores have the best Traits, but you should always take an ore’s Multiplier into account when evaluating them. The Multiplier boosts all your stats across the board, which usually provides far more value than the Trait alone. If you’re looking for more The Forge guides, check out our ultimate Pickaxe tier list.
Nikola has been playing video games since his father bought him an NES and a Sega Mega Drive in the early 1990s. Over the years, he has mainly become a PC gamer with a love for narrative-driven RPGs, real-time strategy games, and psychological/survival horror titles. Still, he enjoys any game that’s worth his time.
