Windrose: Mastering the Crafting Grind

I’ve been diving deep into Windrose lately, and while the pirate fantasy and naval combat are top-notch, we need to talk about what’s running under the hood. The crafting system is absolutely massive. You have six primary crafting stations handling everything from your weapons to your potions, plus a whole network of add-on upgrades to unlock higher-tier recipes. You can totally skip the upgrades early on, but trust me, the mid-game will force your hand. Let’s break down exactly what you need to build and upgrade your camp.

The Core Six: What You Will Be Building

Before we talk about expanding, you need to understand the base stations. Setting up your Workbench for tools will only cost you five pieces of wood. For food prep, you will need a Cooking Fire, which takes three wood and three stone. If you want defensive gear, grab five wood and ten coarse fabric for the Armor and Clothing Workshop. Your Weaponsmith Workshop requires ten wood and five copper ingots. Potion makers will need an Alchemy Table, costing five wood and two clay pots. Finally, the Jewelry Table is the priciest base station, demanding ten wood, five foothills iron ingots, and three silver ingots

How the Upgrade System Actually Works

So, how do you actually upgrade these things? Instead of just clicking a button in a menu, you craft physical add-ons and place them around your Bonfire right next to the base station. Don’t stress about unlocking these immediately. The game hands out add-on recipes naturally as you knock out main quests, side missions, and general exploration. Windrose will definitely let you know when it’s time to upgrade by locking those sweet advanced recipes behind specific add-ons.

Upgrading Your Stations

Let’s look at the Workbench first. You can upgrade it with a Sawhorse using twenty wood and ten copper. After that, you can build a Toolbox with ten wood, twenty nails, and five foothills iron ingots. There is also a Tool Shelf out there somewhere, though the exact materials remain a bit of a mystery.

For your Cooking Fire, keeping your crew fed on long voyages is crucial. You can build a Cutting Table with ten wood and two copper ingots, or a Cookware Shelf using ten hardwood and two ironware. Rumor has it there is a Supplies Rack too, but you’ll have to discover the costs yourself out on the seas.

Gearing Up: Armor and Weapons

Your Armor and Clothing Workshop has one major upgrade right now. You can craft a Shoemaker’s Bench using thirty hardwood, twenty tanned leather, and fifteen linen fabric. Just a quick heads up, make sure you build a Tanning Rack first so you can actually source that leather. There are whispers of a Material Rack and a Try-on Mannequin, but the exact costs are hidden for now.

Over at the Weaponsmith Workshop, the Shipwright’s Workshop add-on is massive for your naval gameplay loop. You can build it with fifteen wood, ten coarse fabric, and five copper ingots. You can also craft an Anvil Station using ten wood and one anvil, while the Bellows and Water Barrel add-ons are still waiting to be fully documented.

Alchemy and Jewelry

If you are brewing potions at the Alchemy Table, you will definitely want the Stove and Pot upgrade. It costs five stone, five clay, and a single copper pot. The Reagent Table is a bit more demanding. You will need five hardwood, two rum bottles, two silver ingots, two sulfur, and one piece of ironware. A Distiller add-on exists as well for the truly dedicated alchemists.

As for the Jewelry Table, the information out there is a little conflicting. Some players claim there are no upgrades at all in the base game, but more recent discoveries point to a Jeweller’s Bench and a Jewelry Cabinet. You will just have to explore to find the exact material costs for those.

Don’t Forget Your Refining Stations

Finally, we have to talk about Refining Stations. These stand entirely on their own and process your raw materials into usable components. They do not get upgrades, but they are the absolute foundation of your entire setup.

You have five options to build here. The Charcoal Kiln takes twenty-five wood and twenty clay. The Smelting Furnace needs fifteen clay and thirty stone. For textiles, the Spinning Wheel requires ten wood and five rope, which is the exact same cost as the Tanning Rack. Lastly, the Millstones require fifteen wood and one set of millstone parts.

Do yourself a massive favor and prioritize the Smelting Furnace first. You need metal ingots for almost every major upgrade across the board, and you cannot get them without it. After that, focus on getting your Tanning Rack up and running so you can start working towards that better armor.

If you are looking for more tips and tricks, you can find the rest of my guides over here.