Metal

There are ten different types of metals that can be used to make tools and weapons, and currency. Each has it's own characteristics that determine how it performs once smithed, as well as how difficult the smithing process is. With regards to the picture, the top row contains the basic metals: Copper, Iron, Gold, Silver and Mythril. The bottom row has the five alloys: Palladium, Red Iron, Electrum, Viridium and Valyan.

Basic Metals
These metals are all obtained by smelting down their respective ores at the Smithy. In order of rarity they are


 * Copper
 * Gold
 * Iron
 * Silver
 * Mythril

Of the metals listed above, gold is unique in that it can be stamped into Coins using a Coin Press in the Town Hall, at a ratio of 5 coins for one ingot.

Alloys
Mixing metals together allows a Blacksmith to make better use of the five basic Ore that are found in the Mines. Typically, the durability, damage and heat retention (How hard it is to smith) of an alloy is related to one of the ingredient metals. For example, Red Iron combines the damage and heat retention of iron with the durability of copper for an overall improvement. For this reason, most players prefer using alloys over basic metals. All alloys, with the exception of Palladium, can be smelted out of either ore or Ingots, as detailed in the chart below. However, this results in slightly different ratios depending on which method you choose.

Damage
each have their own Damage multiplier. Through experimentation, it is suspected that all alloys do more damage than either of its ingredients. Furthermore, as of 0.0.22.1, it is suspected that relative damage ranking of the alloys and metals are as follows: [Damage] Gold(16.4%) < Copper(19.7%) < Iron(20.8%) < Palladium(32.9%) < Red Iron(38.4%) < Electrum(43.9%) < Silver(43.9%) < Viridium (54.9%) < Mythril(87.9%) < Valyan(100%) These values are from player testing and should not be taken as exactly true. However, Effort was put in to try and obtain the best data. The percentiles following the name of the alloy or metal is the strength of the metal relative to Valyan. Although this data was created from a slashing type weapon, it is consistent with other types of damage.

As a result, the strongest tools and weapons (damage wise, not durability) are made from Valyan.

Durability
each have a different durability that corresponds to how long a tool/weapon will last, so this is a major consideration for long-term use or heavy experience grinding. As of 0.0.23.0, Palladium has the best durability and Valyan has slightly above mid-ranged durability. We haven't collected the numbers, but the relative ranking for durability is: [Durability] Gold < Copper < Viridium < Iron < Silver < Electrum < Red Iron < Mythril < Valyan < Palladium (Ordering updated after dev chats, from an original community guess: Gold < Copper < Electrum < Viridium < Iron < Silver < Red Iron < Valyan < Mythril)

This impacts all Profession that require striking using Weapons or Tools.

Mining
can mine up to 1 tier above their damage grade. Gold mines coal, sandstone, gold, and copper. Copper mines everything gold can, in addition to iron. Iron adds silver, and Silver can mine Mythril. It is unconfirmed what materials the Rusty Pickaxe can mine

Alloys are more complex, but currently the list of materials that can mine Mythril are Silver, Palladium, Viridium, Mythril, and Valyan.

Heating
The rate at which a tool of a given heats up in the forge.

Heat Retention
The rate at which a tool of a given cools down when removed from the forge. This aspect of a is directly related to how easy it is to forge a weapon. Tools with low heat retention cool quickly and require that players repeatedly place them into the Smithy to re-heat. Red iron has amazing heat retention and Valyan has the worst.

Trivia
All alloys in the game were named by the community:


 * Red Iron named by: imAa#6616
 * Palladium named by: A mysterious friend/co-worker of Zerithax#4276
 * Electrum named by: Bear#0220
 * Viridium named by: o98#3673
 * Valyan named by: 𝓝𝓶𝓽105#1046 (Tcooper)

The alloy names from ATT's assets are: Evinon Steel, Orchi, Red Iron, White Gold, and Carsi, which correspond to Valyan, Virdium, Red Iron, Electrum, and Palladium respectively. Steel and Bronze also exist in assets, but aren't yet smeltable as some ores aren't yet in-game (eg Tin).