I have a love/hate relationship with survival crafting games. In theory, they all sound great; I get to build whatever I want using nothing but my noggin and the resources around me. What usually happens, though, is I deforest half the map, then forget where I put my wood, and it turns from cozy household to manic scavenger hunt. There are also usually monsters.
Windrose, an open-world co-op pirate action-adventure game, has accrued over one million wishlists so far, even though it doesn't even have a set release date. Its comprehensive demo seems to have captivated such a broad audience that folks just can't get enough, and having tried it out myself, I kind of see why.
Windrose's demo came out on Feb. 17. Since then, droves of players have hopped on to check what it's all about, discovering an incredibly fun and deep survival crafting experience set during the Golden Age of Piracy, i.e., sometime during the early 18th century. At its core, Windrose is very reminiscent of Valheim. Hell, it'd be difficult to determine if they were made by different people.
You're stranded in a strange land, have to craft and build to sustain yourself, and then eventually expand and start sailing the high seas in search of new fortunes. It's a simple gameplay loop, one that Valheim popularized and almost perfected. But where Windrose stands out is its setting, as Valheim's celestial Nordic backdrop (while amazing) seems to have been a poor choice for such a game compared to the West Indies.
Windrose has it all: survival, crafting, exploration, and cannons blasting over the open sea. Image via Windrose Crew
Taking on the role of a crestfallen captain stranded alone on an island and having to build yourself back up is a more interesting pipeline than Vikings ending up in some form of the afterlife, at least to me. On top of that, Windrose refines the combat and gathering mechanics, utilizing the power of the Unreal Engine to combine stunning visuals with grounded movement and fighting. I know a lot of people are averse to hearing those two words, and I'm wholeheartedly with you.
However, the devs here knew what they were doing, and instead of slapping on a generic photorealistic graphical style and calling it a day, they actually decided to pursue a unique art direction, which has ultimately paid off.
With over one million wishlists total so far, and the demo having been out for just five days as of this article, I have a feeling that we're yet again looking at a potential indie smash hit that is to blow AAA competition out of the water. In fact, I think Ubisoft is particularly feeling the weight of Windrose's success, given the abject failure that was Skull and Bones.
That game purports to do much of the same as Windrose, but generally fails on all accounts, even though it has the incredible Assassin's Creed Black Flag piracy system serving as its basis.
An indie in the West Indies is probably going to be crowned king of pirate games, and certainly of survival crafting titles, seeing as that genre has a particular knack at totally overwhelming the gaming sphere (just remember how well Palworld did back when it first launched).
The I Need a Bigger Boat quest in Windrose's demo is key to getting a new (and bigger) ship for you to sail on your adventures, and completing the task can be slightly tricky.
You get access to the quest quite early once you finish the tutorial quest. However, you'll first want to complete the Rescuing the Crew quest. The reason is simple: you'll need a crew to repair the ship.
Let's look at how you can repair and get yourself a bigger ship in the game.
The first part of the task involves finding the broken ships lying around the second island. You'll find one on the north-west shore (not shown on the map). If you interact with it, you'll get to know that it can't be repaired. Thankfully, there are two other ships that you can find.
Screenshot by Destructoid
To make your life simpler, you can track the quest from the menu. This will reveal the location of the ships that can be repaired with the correct resources. The second ship (the first repairable one) is located in the middle of the second island.
The zone will have plenty of enemies, so you should be careful. You'll find its location in the image above to make your life easier. You'll find several areas patrolling the ship, so be careful. Try to isolate before finishing them off.
Screenshot and remix by Destructoid
When you interact with the ship, you'll learn about the requirements. You're going to need the following materials.
100 Wood
20 Nails
20 Coarse Fabric
10 Ropes
However, you're going to need to unlock the location of the third wrecked ship (the second repairable one). The location will also be marked on the map. Once you've discovered all three ships, you can start with your repairs. You need to repair just one ship and go for the second one (the first repairable one). By now, you should have all the resources and the crew needed for the repairs.
How to repair the ship in Windrose
Interact with the ship with all the required items, and you will be able to complete the repairs. Once repaired, return to the first island and speak with Doctor Galen. He will tell you about the need to recover the artifact from the prologue.
This will complete the I Need a Bigger Boat quest and unlock the Seafarer tutorial.
Copper Ingots are one of the most important resources in Windrose, as you'll need them for different purposes.
From completing quests to creating new tools/items in your base, there are many uses of Copper Ingots. However, you won't find them lying in the open.
How to craft Copper Ingots in Windrose
You'll get introduced to Copper Ingots right after starting the first tutorial quest. The quest will teach you about the basic activities you need to ace as a pirate. Here's how you can start crafting Copper Ingots.
Screenshot by Destructoid
The very first task is to craft a stone pickaxe on the workbench. You will need five Wood. You'll also need three Wood and three Stones for the pickaxe.
Next, head to a location that has copper ore. Typically, these spots will be shown on the map with a pickaxe icon once you're near them. Copper ores are found inside caves, and they provide you with plenty of minerals.
Once you've mined the necessary amount of Copper Ore, head back to your camp.
Next, you'll need to craft a Charcoal Kiln to create Charcoal. Use 25 Wood and 20 Clay to build the Kiln. You can use the Kiln to convert one Wood to one Charcoal. The next task involves building a Smelting Furnace for producing the Ingots. You'll need 15 Clay and 30 Stones.
Screenshot by Destructoid
Once your Smelting Furnace is up and running, use the Copper Ore in it. You'll also have to use Charcoal that you obtained from the Kiln. Wait for a few seconds for your Copper Ore to convert into Ingots.
To produce one Copper Ingot, you'll need six Copper Ores and one Charcoal. Ideally, you'll want to produce as much as possible since you'll need them to complete quests like I Need a Bigger Boat.
Windrose, an open-world co-op pirate action-adventure game, has accrued over one million wishlists so far, even though it doesn't even have a set release date. Its comprehensive demo seems to have captivated such a broad audience that folks just can't get enough, and having tried it out myself, I kind of see why.
Windrose's demo came out on Feb. 17. Since then, droves of players have hopped on to check what it's all about, discovering an incredibly fun and deep survival crafting experience set during the Golden Age of Piracy, i.e., sometime during the early 18th century. At its core, Windrose is very reminiscent of Valheim. Hell, it'd be difficult to determine if they were made by different people.
You're stranded in a strange land, have to craft and build to sustain yourself, and then eventually expand and start sailing the high seas in search of new fortunes. It's a simple gameplay loop, one that Valheim popularized and almost perfected. But where Windrose stands out is its setting, as Valheim's celestial Nordic backdrop (while amazing) seems to have been a poor choice for such a game compared to the West Indies.
Windrose has it all: survival, crafting, exploration, and cannons blasting over the open sea. Image via Windrose Crew
Taking on the role of a crestfallen captain stranded alone on an island and having to build yourself back up is a more interesting pipeline than Vikings ending up in some form of the afterlife, at least to me. On top of that, Windrose refines the combat and gathering mechanics, utilizing the power of the Unreal Engine to combine stunning visuals with grounded movement and fighting. I know a lot of people are averse to hearing those two words, and I'm wholeheartedly with you.
However, the devs here knew what they were doing, and instead of slapping on a generic photorealistic graphical style and calling it a day, they actually decided to pursue a unique art direction, which has ultimately paid off.
With over one million wishlists total so far, and the demo having been out for just five days as of this article, I have a feeling that we're yet again looking at a potential indie smash hit that is to blow AAA competition out of the water. In fact, I think Ubisoft is particularly feeling the weight of Windrose's success, given the abject failure that was Skull and Bones.
That game purports to do much of the same as Windrose, but generally fails on all accounts, even though it has the incredible Assassin's Creed Black Flag piracy system serving as its basis.
An indie in the West Indies is probably going to be crowned king of pirate games, and certainly of survival crafting titles, seeing as that genre has a particular knack at totally overwhelming the gaming sphere (just remember how well Palworld did back when it first launched).
