Additive manufacturing processes such as direct energy deposition-arc (DED-Arc) or Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) enable the efficient production of weight-optimized near-net-shape components in modern steel constructions [1,2]. Further increased efficiency can be achieved by using high-strength steels, which leads to significant cost, time, and resource savings. While commercial filler metals for arc welding processes are available, their industrial application is hindered by a lack of guidelines and quantitative knowledge of the welding stresses during production and operation limit their industrial application. In a joint project of BAM and Chemnitz University of Technology, the main influences and complex interactions of material, production process, design and processing steps on the residual stress level are investigated. The aim is to develop processing recommendations and a cold cracking test for economical processing and stress-related design of high-strength steels with DED-arc.