This guide will explain how to get gunpowder in Windrose, providing a step-by-step overview of where to find and craft gunpowder. Learn about loot spots, Blackbeard’s camps, and the millstone recipe.
Windrose gives you a pistol right at the start, which is nice until you realise you have almost no gunpowder to use it with. This early shortage is intentional, and to overcome it, you need to know exactly where to look and what to build. This guide covers all the ways to get gunpowder in Windrose, from searching the first pirate camp to setting up a self-sufficient crafting station in the Foothills.
How do you find the gunpowder at the start of Windrose?
During the first several hours of Windrose, before crafting becomes an option, exploration is your only reliable way to find gunpowder. The first island has enough points of interest (POIs) to give you a small starting stash if you search every chest, container, and crate you come across whilst completing the tutorial quest. According to IGN’s Windrose wiki, loot is randomised in the current early access build, so there is no fixed farming spot that you can revisit.
The best guaranteed source in the early stages is Blackbeard Pirate Camps. These camps appear on the two islands you visit during the ‘Rescue Your Crew’ quest, and they’re worth prioritising for two reasons. Firstly, every enemy you defeat, especially pirates, can drop gunpowder, providing a decent amount early on. Secondly, the camps contain storage items such as chests, supply caches, and old packages, which you can loot for gunpowder and other valuable supplies.
The caves and ruins scattered across all three islands also contain chests of gunpowder, although the drop rate is lower than in pirate camps. Treat them as a bonus rather than your main source.
You can find gunpowder throughout the world, and looted gunpowder is placed in your ammo slot to be used as ammo. Looting gunpowder is often more efficient than crafting it in the early stages, as crafting requires advanced gear and further exploration.
What are all the ways to obtain gunpowder in Windrose, including blackbeard pirate camps?
Here is a brief overview of all the sources documented in the available guides:
| Source | How to Get Gunpowder | Reliability | Availability |
| Chests in Blackbeard Pirate Camps | Loot gunpowder / Find gunpowder | High | The second and third islands |
| Enemies (pirates, sailors) in Blackbeard Pirate Camps | Drop gunpowder when defeated | Average | The second and third islands |
| Supply caches in pirate camps | Loot gunpowder / Find gunpowder | High | Blackbeard Pirate Camps |
| Old packages in camps | Loot gunpowder | High | Blackbeard Pirate Camps |
| Chests in caves and ruins | Find gunpowder | Low | All three islands |
| World (environmental sources) | Find gunpowder | Low | All three islands |
| Crafting at the mills | Get gunpowder by crafting | Stable | Following the liberation of the Foothills |
Looted gunpowder is used as ammo and must be placed in the ammo slot to fire weapons. Naval battles are also worth mentioning. Once you’ve acquired cannons, PCGamesN notes that naval battles and random loot can help replenish your ammo supplies whilst sailing between islands.
How do you craft gunpowder in Windrose?
To get gunpowder in Windrose, you’ll need to start crafting your own supply rather than relying on looting. This means you must farm resources like sulfur and ash, then combine them at the right workstation. Crafting gunpowder is essential for progressing, as it allows you to operate firearms and shoot guns by loading ammunition slots with both bullets and gunpowder. Crafting gunpowder is also necessary to keep your gun equipped and ready for combat, so always ensure you have enough gunpowder and bullets to use your gun effectively. To begin, you’ll need to unlock the Millstones workstation, which requires you to find corn in the Foothills region and gather millstone parts. Once unlocked, you can combine 10 Sulfur and 20 Ash at the Millstone to craft gunpowder. Sulfur can be mined from specific nodes in the Coastal Jungle and foothills biome—be careful not to miss these deposits when exploring, as they’re crucial for crafting. Ash is obtained as a byproduct from burning wood in a Charcoal Kiln. Defeating the first boss is a key milestone, as it unlocks access to advanced crafting and resource gathering. Stone bullets are the basic ammo type, but as you progress, you’ll craft better ammunition. Managing your gun’s ammunition slots and enabling auto refill will streamline reloading during combat, letting you fire your firearms efficiently.
Making your own gunpowder unlocks the middle stage of the game, which requires you to complete the Coastal Jungle region first. The full sequence is as follows:
Step 1: Unlock the “Mills” workstation
According to the beginner’s guide, you unlock the ‘Millstones workstation’ recipe by finding corn in the Foothills region. Once you find corn and have it in your inventory, the millstone parts recipe is unlocked at the Workbench, costing 15 Stone. You then build the Millstones workstation in Build Mode, using:
- 1 Mill components
- 15 Trees
Step 2: Collect the ashes
Ash is obtained as a byproduct from burning wood in a Charcoal Kiln. As you burn wood to produce charcoal, ash will naturally accumulate, making it an essential resource for crafting gunpowder.
Step 3: Obtain some sulphur
To make gunpowder in Windrose, you need to mine sulfur from specific nodes using an Iron Pickaxe. Sulfur nodes are found in both the Coastal Jungle and the foothills biome, with the foothills biome offering more abundant and accessible deposits. Be careful not to miss sulfur deposits when exploring these areas, as they can sometimes blend in with other boulders. Players often need to farm sulfur by repeatedly mining these nodes to gather enough for crafting gunpowder efficiently. According, sulfur deposits spawn randomly in the Coastal Jungle, but you need an iron tool to actually collect them.
Iron ore is also used to craft mill parts, which is why both the workbench and the crafting ingredient have the same access requirement.
Step 4: Kraft at the mills
Once everything is ready, you must combine 10 Sulfur and 20 Ash at the Millstone to start crafting gunpowder.
Homemade gunpowder:
- 25 Ash
- 25 Sulfur
Warning: Do not attempt to rush through the crafting path before completing the Coastal Jungle. You will not be able to mine Sulphur without an Iron Pickaxe, and Iron Ore is locked behind the Foothills. For now, focus on raiding Blackbeard’s camps.
How do you use gunpowder in Windrose?
In Windrose, gunpowder is essential for operating firearms, as players need both bullets and gunpowder to fire their guns. Gunpowder is placed in the ammunition slots or ammo slot in your inventory and is used as ammo, enabling you to shoot and fire your weapons effectively. Recommends enabling auto refill so that your weapon reloads automatically during combat, allowing you to keep firing without manual inventory management.
According to PCGamesN, pearls found on the beach can be used as a last-resort substitute for bullets, so keep an eye out for them when you’re running low on crafted ammunition.
Tips for farming gunpowder in Early Access
As loot is randomised in the current Early Access build, there are no fixed locations with chests worth memorising. The most effective early-game loop is:
- Farm resources by clearing all points of interest on the starting island during the tutorial to obtain a basic supply
- Prioritise Blackbeard’s camps on the second and third islands during the mission to rescue the crew
- Kill every pirate in each camp before searching it, as the loot dropped by pirates accumulates
- Collect any old packets you come across, as they always contain gunpowder
- Once you reach the Foothills, find corn to unlock the millstones workstation, which is essential for crafting gunpowder after defeating the first boss
Note: After looting, start crafting to get gunpowder by using the millstones workstation. This crafted supply will provide a decent amount for your ongoing needs. Obtaining the Iron Pickaxe and unlocking access to the Foothills should be your priority once you have completed the quests to rescue the team.
