Windrose Guide: How to Craft Every Pickaxe

Mining in Windrose is entirely blocked by the tool you are holding. If you miss a step in the upgrade path, you will end up whacking an iron vein with a basic stone tool and getting absolutely nothing for your effort. Then you will wonder why your smelter refuses to give you new recipes.

Right now, the game has three functional pickaxes: Stone, Copper, and Iron. Let us skip the trial and error and get you upgraded fast.

What Pickaxes Can You Actually Craft?

Everything starts at the Workbench. This is the exact same station you build right at the beginning of the game. Here is a quick look at what you can make and what it allows you to mine.

Crafting the Stone and Copper Pickaxes

The Stone Pickaxe is incredibly easy. You just need 3 Stone and 3 Wood, and the recipe is unlocked the second you place a Workbench. It handles stone and copper perfectly, but do not even try using it on iron. The moment you have enough copper, you need to upgrade.

For the Copper Pickaxe, you need 5 Copper Ingots and 5 Wood. You smelt those ingots at a Smelting Furnace, which takes 4 Copper Ore and 1 Charcoal per ingot.

Here is a detail most people miss: the Copper Pickaxe is what you use to mine Foothills Iron Ore. Players get confused when they reach the Foothills, smack an iron node with their stone tool, and get zero drops. You have to use copper to break into the iron tier!

Speaking of pushing into tougher biomes, if you are getting ready to explore dangerous areas like the Cursed Swamps, you are going to want a weapon that keeps you alive. Check out my guide on getting the Plague Pistol for a massive survival boost.

How the Workbench Level 2 Upgrade Works

Windrose does not use a simple “click to upgrade” button for its crafting stations. Instead, it relies on a proximity system. To upgrade your Workbench to Level 2 and access the iron tools, you need to build a Sawhorse.

The Sawhorse costs 20 Wood and 10 Copper Ingots. The trick is that you must place it inside the glowing radius of your Bonfire, right alongside your Workbench. They do not have to touch each other, they just need to share the fire. Once the Sawhorse is placed, your Workbench instantly levels up.

Unlocking the Iron Pickaxe

Just having a Level 2 Workbench is not enough. The Iron Pickaxe recipe stays hidden until you fulfill two specific conditions.

Looting iron from a random chest does not count. The game demands that you physically break a node out in the world before it gives you the recipe.

The Fastest Progression Route

Want to hit the iron tier as fast as possible? Follow this exact sequence:

• Build a Workbench and craft the Stone Pickaxe.
• Mine enough copper to build a Smelting Furnace and a Charcoal Kiln.
• Smelt 5 Copper Ingots and craft the Copper Pickaxe.
• Defeat the first boss, sail to the Foothills, and mine iron ore with your new copper tool.
• Build a Sawhorse by your Bonfire to reach Workbench Level 2.
• Smelt 5 Foothills Iron Ingots and craft the Iron Pickaxe.

What About the Swamp Pickaxe?

If you have been digging through community forums, you might have heard whispers of a Swamp Pickaxe. Data miners found it in the game files, and it is tied to the Cursed Swamps biome. However, it is not actually craftable or obtainable in the current build of the game. For now, the Iron Pickaxe is your absolute best option.

Pair your Iron Pickaxe with a Major Prospector Ring to maximize your yields, and you will be clearing out the Foothills in record time.

Ready to uncover more secrets and optimize your base? Check out my other guides here to get ahead of the curve.