You’ve already gotten the hang of chopping down trees in Nightingale for Wood Bundles, and now suddenly you need Lumber as well—which is apparently something different.
Don’t worry and try not to let the similarities confuse you. All Lumber is wood, but not all wood is Lumber. Lumber is just another step in the lifespan of a tree, and one that comes after the Wood Bundle step. Here is how to craft Lumber in Nightingale.
How to craft Lumber in Nightingale
The easiest way to compartmentalize the difference between Wood Bundles and Lumber is this: Wood Bundles are gathered, and Lumber is crafted. In Nightingale, you can chop down trees to get Wood Bundles, and then use those Wood Bundles to craft Lumber by process of Refinement.
To Refine Wood Bundles into Lumber, you need to unlock and craft a Simple Saw Table. The Simple Saw Table recipe can be purchased from an Essence Trader after unlocking the Antiquarian Card, and then can be crafted for:
- Eight Wood Bundle
- Four Stone Block
- Four Animal Fibre
Of these three requirements, Animal Fibre is the only one likely to give you any trouble. It’s actually more simple than it initially feels: You can make Animal Fibre at a Simple Tanning Station using two Meat.
Once you build a Simple Saw Table, you can use it to Refine two Wood Bundles into one Lumber. Get chopping!
How to use Lumber in Nightingale
The necessity for both Wood Bundles and Lumber can be a little weird to navigate at first. When I first unlocked the option to craft Lumber, I made 50 all at once and ate up 100 Wood Bundles, thinking I would never need the unrefined resource again—instead, I regretted it immediately. Lumber is critical for advancing, and is needed to create the Simple Enchanter’s Focus as well as the Simple Mortar Station.
However, Wood Bundles are needed throughout the game as well, and not just for Refining into Lumber. While you’re going to need plenty of Lumber, you shouldn’t automatically Refine all of your Wood into Lumber—it’s best to keep tabs on what you currently need and adjust accordingly.
Other critical items, such as the Paper needed to craft new Realm Cards, also rely on Wood Bundles, so you really don’t want to put all of your eggs into the same basket here. Especially when you’re still getting the feel of things, you should stockpile your Wood Bundles and only refine them into the exact amount of resources you know you need for a pressing task.
