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Windrose guide: Build a fortune through plundering and piracy
D
Diego Perez
Thankfully, there are some really easy ways to make money in Windrose, even as a novice sailor. With a few key upgrades to your starting ship, you can become a serious threat against Blackbeard's fleet and score some goods for a huge payday—if you can find a buyer. Here's how to make a whole lot of money in Windrose through plunder and piracy.
Where to sell goods in Windrose
You can only sell specific items in Windrose, and you have to bring your loot to the right faction in order to get paid. If an item can be sold, it'll have a small note in the description stating "Can be sold to…" followed by a faction like Smugglers or the People of Tortuga.
You'll be sent to the island of Tortuga early in Windrose, but you can't actually sell any goods there. Each faction has a representative and a provisioner on Tortuga, but you can only level up your reputation and buy equipment there. The People of Tortuga faction is located on another island!
Each faction has its own base somewhere in the archipelago, and that's where you'll find their respective buyers. Every Windrose world is different, so you may have to sail around a bit to find each faction's base.
If you check the world map, you'll be able to see different territories claimed by each faction. They'll be shaded lightly with colors like red or green, and hovering over them with your mouse will tell you who's patrolling those waters. A faction's base island is usually going to be right in the middle of their territory.
Some side quests will lead you straight to a faction's base, so be sure to pick up as many missions as possible. For example, you can find some abandoned Buccaneer camps on the islands near your initial spawn location. Exploring those camps will start the Glorious Hunters side quest, which will lead you right to the Buccaneer's base.
How to farm Piastres
The absolute best way to farm Piastres in Windrose is to farm items for the Rogue Buccaneers and the Smugglers of Port Royal. These two factions buy goods that you can easily obtain in low-level waters.
Starting with the Smugglers, they'll buy any trinkets found in ancient ruins throughout the archipelago. You should already be exploring every point-of-interest on the map to maximize your XP gains, so odds are you already have a few rare trinkets in storage somewhere.
Revisit ruins often to take advantage of the respawning loot and you'll have a steady supply of cash from the Smugglers' treasure trade. They deal in Guineas (gold coins) for the majority of items, but you can exchange them for Piastres by speaking to the Smugglers' provisioner in Tortuga.
The Buccaneers want Spirits, Munitions, and other ship-related provisions. These are carried by Blackbeard's ships that patrol the waters near the starting islands. Those ships can seem invincible when you're first setting sail, but you can make quick work of them with just a few alterations to your ship.
Upgrading your ship
You can transform your ketch into an unstoppable killing machine for the low price of a few Copper Ingots and Rough Hides. If you're far enough in the game where you're plundering ships, you likely already have a Copper operation set up somewhere in the archipelago. Just take some time to hunt some boars while the Copper is refined and you'll be set.
Upgrading your 12-Pounders is the number one priority. You'd be surprised how strong they get with just one or two upgrades. Once you've improved your damage, upgrade your Hull Bracing once or twice as well so you can take more shots.
With just those small upgrades, your ketch will become much more capable in combat. All that's left to do is sail around and pick up loose boxes floating in the water to stock up on Combat Repair Kits until you can start crafting your own.
Boarding and looting
When you're ready, set sail and look for small fleets protecting Blackbeard Haulers. These are special ships with a chest icon floating above their names. They have the best loot, so don't sink them!
Use your upgraded cannons to sink the Blackbeard Gunboats and other ships guarding the Hauler, then board the Hauler and defeat the crew to get a ton of sweet loot. Each Hauler carries different cargo, but you're basically guaranteed to get a few resources to sell and some Piastres to pad your savings with.
To even the odds against larger Blackbeard fleets, use your 12-Pounders' chain shots to slow down enemy ships. If you hit their sails with a chain shot, they'll have a much harder time lining up shots and avoiding your attacks. Further cannon upgrades will make naval battles even easier, so don't forget to return to shore every now and then to get some more Copper.
Raising your reputation
Each pirate you slay in Windrose will drop an Insignia, which can be traded in at Tortuga to boost your reputation with the faction of your choosing. Stronger enemies and ships will give rarer Insignias with even more reputation points rewarded upon delivery.
While you're farming Piastres and offloading your plunder, pay attention to each faction's high-level rewards. You're going to end up with a lot of Insignias, and those can get you a stronger ship or better weapons if you put them in the right places.
Generally, it's best to level up the Rogue Buccaneers as fast as possible. They sell plans for upgraded cannons and other naval equipment that'll significantly speed up your piracy. The Smugglers sell books of Naval Tactics that give you new abilities during ship combat as well.
Once you've gotten a few decent upgrades, start saving your Insignias for the Brethren of the Coast. It'll take a lot of reputation points and even more Piastres, but they're your key to unlocking stronger ship designs like Brigs and Frigates.
Windrose is available now on the Epic Games Store.