Windrose Trading and Resources 2026: Locations, Buyers and Prices
- ๐งญ What Kraken Express Officially Says
- ๐บ๏ธ Where to Find Each Resource
- โ ๏ธ Tumbaga Is Not a Swamp Ore
- ๐ฐ Piastres and Guineas
- ๐ด Windrose Trading Basics: Four Factions, Four Buyers
- ๐ Trade Goods Merchants: When Buying Pays Off
- โญ Reputation: Thresholds and Insignias
- ๐ฆ Merchant Contracts: Resources Delivered to Your Base
- ๐งฎ What You Still Have to Get Yourself
- ๐ชจ Do Ore Deposits Respawn?
- โ Windrose Trading FAQ
Windrose trading and resource gathering are more closely linked than they look at the start. From reputation level 2 with the People of Tortuga, you can have Wood, Stone and Clay delivered to your base for Piastres instead of gathering everything yourself. Which faction buys which goods is even written into the game's own item text.
This guide relies on two sources: what Kraken Express says on Steam and the extracted game data of the database windrose.gaming.tools, game version 0.10.0.9. Anything that only appeared on fan sites has been removed.
๐งญ What Kraken Express Officially Says
According to the Early Access description on Steam, the current build contains three biomes with their own quests, recipes, enemies and bosses. They are spread across around 30 procedurally generated islands with over 90 hand-crafted points of interest. On top of that come the town of Tortuga, factions with their own quests, basic reputation systems and NPC workers.
The store text also tells you to trade with different factions to gain an edge. Price lists or an explanation of the trading mechanics are not published by the developer. Every number below therefore comes from the game files as read out by windrose.gaming.tools. That is closer to the game than any fan guide, but it is not a developer statement.
๐บ๏ธ Where to Find Each Resource
The three biomes are the Coastal Jungle, the Foothills and the Cursed Swamps. According to the game data, the next biome only opens once you have eliminated the threat of the previous one. That also unlocks items from level 6 (after the Coastal Jungle) and level 11 (after the Foothills).
| Biome | Typical resources | What it unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Jungle | Plant Fiber, Wood, Stone, Clay, Copper Ore from copper deposits, Coconut, Animal Fat | Ingots and charcoal, copper tools, tailoring, basic alchemy, the Fast Travel Bell |
| Foothills | Foothills Iron Ore from natural quarries, Sulfur, Bezoar, Salt | Farming, iron tools, Linen Fabric, leather tanning, ship materials, larger ship cannons |
| Cursed Swamps | Tar, Plague Wood | Mire Metal smelting, enchanted items, advanced alchemy |
Processing is in the data too. Linen Fabric is made from Flax Fiber at the Spinning Wheel, Tarred Fabric at the Tanning Rack. The Mire Metal Ingot is smelted in the Large Smelting Furnace from 2 Ancient Scraps and 1 Quagmire Powder.
โ ๏ธ Tumbaga Is Not a Swamp Ore
Many guides mix up the late-game metal. The game data keeps it apart: the tier-three metal is the Mire Metal Ingot. The Tumbaga Ingot, on the other hand, is described in-game as an ancient alloy of copper and gold that is found in ruins and needed to ascend equipment. A mineable "Tumbaga ore" does not exist in the data.
๐ฐ Piastres and Guineas
Windrose uses two coins. Piastres are the everyday currency for plans, contracts and consumables. Guineas pay for building set extensions, decoration sets and ship style books: at the Provisioners, flag style books cost 10, many building plan sets 20 and decoration sets 30 Guineas.
Currency is exchanged at the Smugglers of Port Royal Provisioner. One Guinea costs 50 Piastres there, but one Guinea only gets you 20 Piastres back. Swap back and forth and you lose 60 percent, so only buy Guineas when you are about to spend them.
๐ด Windrose Trading Basics: Four Factions, Four Buyers
Each of the four factions has a Buyer at its main base, and according to the item text each one only takes certain goods. Tortuga hosts the faction Provisioners, but selling happens at the main bases.
| Faction | The Buyer pays (Piastres) |
|---|---|
| Brethren of the Coast | Specialized Tools 250, Naval Supplies 150, Combat Repair Kit 10 |
| Rogue Buccaneers | Munitions 100, Spirits 50, Crocodile Head 50, Wolf Head 30, Head of a Mountain Goat Leader 30, Boar Head and Dodo Head 20 each, Crab Shell 10 |
| People of Tortuga | Medicine 100, Provisions 50 |
| Smugglers of Port Royal | Luxuries 250, Contraband 150, small finds such as the Silver Spoon 5, ancient pieces such as the Ancient Chalice 1 Guinea, Gold Mask of the Priest 5 Guineas |
Trade goods turn up in chests, among other places. According to the database, Luxuries come from Thomas Richards' Chest, Contraband from the Smugglers' Chest, and Medicine and Provisions from the Decrepit Chest.
๐ Trade Goods Merchants: When Buying Pays Off
Every main base also has a Trade Goods Merchant who sells all eight goods at the same prices. Put those prices next to the Buyer prices and the math is clear:
| Goods | Merchant price | Buyer price | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luxuries | 200 | 250 | +50 |
| Specialized Tools | 200 | 250 | +50 |
| Contraband | 100 | 150 | +50 |
| Naval Supplies | 100 | 150 | +50 |
| Medicine | 50 | 100 | +50 |
| Provisions | 50 | 50 | 0 |
| Munitions | 200 | 100 | โ100 |
| Spirits | 100 | 50 | โ50 |
On paper, five goods make 50 Piastres per crate, while Munitions and Spirits lose money on resale. The data does not show whether merchants have stock limits, so test a route with a single crate before you fill your hold.
โญ Reputation: Thresholds and Insignias
According to the game data, all four factions have four reputation levels: level 1 from 0, level 2 from 100, level 3 from 400 and level 4 from 1,000 points, which is the maximum. You earn reputation by turning in Blackbeard insignias on Tortuga to the faction of your choice:
- Old Salt Insignia: 80 points
- Veteran Insignia: 20 points
- Letter of Favor: 10 points
- Deckhand Insignia: 4 points
- Newhand Insignia: 1 point
๐ฆ Merchant Contracts: Resources Delivered to Your Base
The biggest lever in the resource game is the merchant contract. You buy it for 100 Piastres from a faction Provisioner, and it requires reputation level 2. The contract lets you build a merchant in your base, which according to its description needs a roof and only works within Bonfire range. There are three contracts:
- Merchant Contract: Natural Resources from the People of Tortuga Provisioner
- Merchant Contract: Food from the People of Tortuga Provisioner
- Merchant Contract: Animal Products from the Rogue Buccaneers Provisioner
Each delivery takes 4,200 seconds in the game data, so 70 minutes. At first every merchant only offers basic goods. More are added once you eliminate the Coastal Jungle threat and later the Foothills threat. The Natural Resources merchant always delivers 50 units:
| Goods | Price for 50 | Available |
|---|---|---|
| Plant Fiber, Clay | 10 Piastres each | from the start |
| Wood, Stone | 25 Piastres each | after the Coastal Jungle threat |
| Sulfur | 40 Piastres | after the Foothills threat |
| Hardwood, Tree Bark | 50 Piastres each | after the Foothills threat |
The Food merchant starts with Coconuts, 30 for 10 Piastres. Fruit, vegetables and seeds follow later, and after the Foothills also flax: 30 Flax Fiber cost 25 Piastres, 5 Flax Seeds 50 Piastres. The Animal Products merchant sells, for example, 20 Bird Meat for 30 Piastres and later 30 Animal Fat for 20 Piastres.
๐งฎ What You Still Have to Get Yourself
Compared to Buyer prices, deliveries are cheap. One crate of Specialized Tools brings 250 Piastres. That buys 25 deliveries of Clay or Plant Fiber, so 1,250 units, or ten deliveries of Wood. No merchant list includes the following, though:
- Ores and ingots: copper, Foothills iron and Mire Metal have to be mined and smelted yourself.
- Tar: according to the item text it is only found in the swamps, and without Tar there is no Tarred Fabric.
- Linen Fabric: you can buy Flax Fiber, but spinning still happens at your own Spinning Wheel.
- Trade goods: they come from chests or the Trade Goods Merchant, not from contracts.
According to the Steam description, recruited NPCs speed up harvesting and production. How to assign them is covered in our guide to Windrose workers. Keeping track of resource islands is easier with the methods in our Windrose navigation guide.
๐ชจ Do Ore Deposits Respawn?
Yes. In the patch notes for version 0.10.0.4 from April 30, 2026, Kraken Express writes that several ore respawn bugs were fixed and ores should now always respawn correctly. The developer has not published how long that takes. Fixed timers and supposed bonfire exceptions that circulate online come neither from official sources nor from the game data.
โ Windrose Trading FAQ
Where do I sell trade goods in Windrose?
At the Buyer on the main base of the matching faction. Each one only takes certain goods: the Brethren of the Coast take Specialized Tools and Naval Supplies, the Buccaneers Munitions and Spirits, the People of Tortuga Medicine and Provisions, the Smugglers Luxuries and Contraband.
What is the most valuable trade good?
Luxuries at the Smugglers and Specialized Tools at the Brethren of the Coast, 250 Piastres each according to the game data. Contraband and Naval Supplies follow at 150 Piastres each.
How do I get a merchant in my base?
Buy a merchant contract for 100 Piastres from a faction Provisioner once you reach reputation level 2 (100 points). Then build the merchant under a roof and within Bonfire range. A delivery takes 70 minutes.
Is it worth swapping Guineas for Piastres?
Only one way. At the Smugglers, a Guinea costs 50 Piastres and sells back for 20. Swap back and forth and you lose 60 percent.
Do ore veins respawn in Windrose?
Yes, the official patch notes for version 0.10.0.4 confirm it. Kraken Express does not give a respawn time.
Which resources do I have to get myself?
Ores and ingots, Tar from the swamps, Linen Fabric and the trade goods themselves. None of them are part of a merchant contract.
As of October 2026, game version 0.10.0.9 (Early Access). Official sources: the Windrose Steam page with Kraken Express's Early Access description and the patch notes for version 0.10.0.4. Prices, reputation thresholds, contract contents and delivery times come from the extracted game data of the database windrose.gaming.tools. Windrose has no official wiki. Values can change with any Early Access update.
