Quick Verdict: Yes, if you hate grinding resources and want to focus on combat. No, if you enjoy chopping trees for 10 hours.
Why Listen to Me? I went through early access merchant systems, ship upgrade paths, and silver farming methods to bring you the fastest way to get rich in Windrose.
Merchant Contracts for Material Farming
Forget running around with an axe. The best “material farming” in Windrose is actually merchant contracts.
Here is how it works:
- Buy a contract from a faction provisioner in Tortuga
- Build the merchant station at your base
- Order boxes of resources
- Wait 70 minutes. They arrive at your base.
| Contract Type | Faction | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| Food & Natural Resources | People of Tortuga | Hardwood, seeds, food items |
| Animal Products | Buccaneers | Roughhide, crabmeat, feathers |
Example: 5 boxes of hardwood cost 200 silver. Each box contains 50 hardwood. Do you know how long that takes to farm manually? I would rather gather silver and let the merchants do the work.
Pro tip: As you beat bosses and unlock new regions, more resources become available from these merchants.
For more details on factions and reputation, check out my guide: How Factions Work in Windrose .
How to Get Silver Fast in Windrose (Board Ships)
Merchants are expensive. Orders cost up to 500 silver. Here is how you pay for it.
Look for ships with a chest symbol on top. Board them. Sink them. Profit.
| Ship Level | Silver Reward |
|---|---|
| Level 2-3 | ~50 silver |
| Level 5-8 | 150-200 silver |
| Level 10 | ~300 silver |
The strategy: Destroy nearby ships, then damage the chest ship for boarding. Board it, kill the crew, sink it, collect silver.
Warning: Your boarding gear matters. If it is not upgraded, your soldiers are useless. Keep it current.
Best Cannons & Hull for Farming Ships in Windrose
Cannons (Reputation 2 with Buccaneers)
| Cannon | Effect | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Perfectly Ordered 12 Pounders | Faster reload speed | General farming |
| Tempered 12 Pounders | 40% more damage if no shot in 6 seconds | Back shots (always crits) |
My pick: Tempered + back shots = super damaging ultra crits.
Hull (Reputation 2 with Smugglers of Port Royal)
Buy the Keelhold Hull Bracing. It makes repair kits heal normally even while you take damage. In combat, you can heal like there is no tomorrow.
Ascended version: Repair kits last 30% longer (3 extra seconds on top of 10).
Naval Tactics (Reputation 3 with Smugglers)
Pick Silence the Guns. Hitting an enemy applies Broken Rhythm for 30 seconds, reducing their reload speed and damage by 20%. Hit each enemy ship once and you win the fight.
The Brig (Your Next Boat in Windrose)
Do not buy the Brig until you reach the Foothills (after beating the first region).
| Boat | Cannons | HP | Speed | Cargo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal Brig | 6 | 70,000 | Fast | Small |
| Brethren Brig | 6 | 90,000 | Slightly slower | Bigger |
| Your current boat | 3 | 50,000 | – | – |
Buy the Brethren Brig. The extra HP and cargo space are worth the speed trade-off. It lets you fight level 8-10 boats and packs of 10 ships without struggling.
How to Get Flax in Windrose (The Tricky Resource)
You need tons of linen for ship upgrades. Linen comes from flax.
Where to find flax: Foothills region. Loot flax plants. You get flax fiber + flax seeds.
The infinite farming trick:
- Plant flax seeds in seedbeds
- Harvest → get 3 new seeds + flax fiber
- Replant
- Repeat forever
Seedbeds: Find ruins with the soil symbol in Foothills. Use pickaxe on packed dirt to get fertile soil (5 per seedbed).
Merchant shortcut: The food merchant sells seed boxes. Flax seeds come 5 per box. Each seed grows into 4 flax. You do the math.
For the best early combat build to help you farm faster, check out: Windrose Best Beginner Build .
Pro Tip: Use Smugglers as Meat Shields
The Smugglers’ waters around their archipelago have patrol boats that attack enemy ships. Jump into the fight. Let them tank damage while you destroy ships you normally could not handle. Free silver.
FAQ
Q: How long do merchant orders take?
A: 70 minutes. They arrive directly at your base.
Q: Do I lose resources if I cancel an order?
A: No. You just do not get the box. Save your silver for when you are sure.
Q: Best cannon for early farming?
A: Perfectly Ordered 12 Pounders. Faster reload = more ships sunk per hour.
Q: Can I grow everything or just flax?
A: Everything. Pepper, sweet potatoes, tomatoes – all infinite once you have seeds.
Q: When should I buy the Brig?
A: After reaching Foothills and completing a few quests there. Not before.
Conclusion
Stop grinding. Start ordering.
- Resources: Merchant contracts (hardwood, roughhide, seeds)
- Silver: Board chest symbol ships
- Cannons: Tempered or Perfectly Ordered 12 Pounders
- Hull: Keelhold Hull Bracing (Smugglers reputation 2)
- Next boat: Brethren Brig (after Foothills)
- Flax: Infinite farming with seedbeds
Now go set up those merchants, board some chest ships, and watch the silver roll in. Happy sailing, captain!
