Revision 14

The Buccaneers are one of three pirate-aligned factions in Windrose, alongside the Brethren of the Coast and the Tortuga People. They operate independently, focused on gathering loot, plundering, and trading rather than pursuing a unifying ideology or brotherhood.

Role in the Game

The Buccaneer faction is a place to hand in tokens and loot to level reputation, unlocking faction-specific crafting recipes and gear. Per the canonical vendor data, the Rank 3 threshold that gates the mid-tier faction inventory lands at exactly 300 reputation (with the full ladder being 0 / 100 / 300 / 600 across Ranks 1 to 4), with higher tiers unlocking progressively better rewards. Buccaneer vendors can be found in the broader archipelago and at the Tortuga hub.

Ships

Buccaneer ship variants trend toward pirate-aligned traits: lighter construction for more cargo space and higher speed, at the cost of durability. This mirrors Blackbeard's ship design philosophy but without the supernatural undead crew. Buccaneer ships in the wild are typically less hostile than Blackbeard's, and some can be engaged for reputation-related drops rather than pure combat loot.

Real-World Origin

Historically, "buccaneers" referred to Caribbean freebooters of the 17th century, distinguished from privateers (state-sanctioned) and regular pirates by their semi-organized hunting-and-raiding lifestyle based in settlements like Tortuga. The name derives from "boucan," an Arawak (Taino) word for smoked meat, adopted into French as "boucan." Windrose uses the term in its original Caribbean-pirate sense.

Abandoned Buccaneer Camp

On the starting island, an Abandoned Buccaneer Camp is a point of interest containing the player's second Fast Travel Bell, plus a Sturdy Saber and Tumbaga Ingots in two chests (one requiring platforming, the other a hidden button under stairs). Guarded by aggressive boars. The camp's abandoned state hints at the instability of the Buccaneer faction during the game's crisis events.

Relationship with Other Factions

Current Stats and Drops

Live vendor and reputation data for the Rogue Buccaneers at Early Access build 0.10. Prices are listed as shown at the Provisioner, Trade Goods Merchant, and Buyer stalls and may shift in later Early Access patches.

Reputation Ladder

Total reputation required to reach each rank. Points accumulate across insignia turn-ins, Letters of Favor, and faction quest rewards.

Insignia Turn-In Values

Reputation earned for each insignia or Letter of Favor handed in to the Rogue Buccaneers Bounty Agent. Values are identical across all four player-facing factions because every faction treats Blackbeard's crew as a shared enemy.

Trade Goods Merchant

Universal trade crates and consumables sold by the Rogue Buccaneers Trade Goods Merchant. No rank gate; stock is available at Rank 1 or higher. Quantities are per-purchase.

Provisioner

Rank-gated catalog sold by the Rogue Buccaneers Provisioner. Items unlock as the Rogue Buccaneers reputation rank rises; each entry lists the minimum rank required. Provisioner items are schematics or plans that must be learned at base and crafted at the appropriate bench.

Buyer Payouts

Items the Rogue Buccaneers Buyer accepts and the currency paid per unit. Route matching loot here; selling at the wrong faction's buyer refuses the item outright.

See Also

• Factions - full faction overview

• Brethren of the Coast - allied pirate faction

• Tortuga - faction hub

• Trading and Merchants - trading system

Buccaneers Provisioner at Tortuga Market

The Buccaneers maintain their primary trade stall at the Tortuga Market district, alongside the Buccaneer Bounty Agent. This is the cannon faction of Windrose: the Provisioner's inventory is anchored in ship-cannon schematics and the armor sets that reward a pirate-style aggressive ship-to-ship build.

Confirmed Buccaneers Provisioner inventory at Early Access launch:

• 12-, 24-, and 36-pounder cannon schematics: the core cannon lineup for Brig and Frigate hulls. Heavier cannons require larger ship designs from the Brethren to mount.

• Perfectly Ordered 12-Pounder Roost (Rank 2): a cannon with a post-reload passive. After reloading, hitting an enemy within 4 seconds increases reload speed by 30% for 22 seconds. A reliable shot rotation turns this into a rapid-fire rhythm.

• Flibustier's Attire plans (Rank 2): a Jacket and Pants set. The two-piece set bonus makes attacks consume 20% less stamina, and the four-piece bonus (reached by pairing with another Buccaneers set) increases one-handed weapon damage by 15%. Expect roughly 200 Piastres per plan.

• Tracker's Leathers plans: Jacket and Pants armor for precision builds.

• Master's Tools: faction-locked crafting tools for high-tier shipwrights.

• Weapon plans for sabers and pirate-style arms.

When to Push Buccaneers First

Creator consensus at launch puts Smugglers of Port Royal first for their unique Naval Tactics. Buccaneers is typically the second rep target, and is worth moving to first under specific conditions:

• You are committed to a melee boarding build and want the Flibustier two-piece stamina discount early.

• You are running naval combat as your primary playstyle and want the Rank 2 cannon passive to compound with Smuggler Naval Tactics later.

• You prefer one-handed weapons and want the 15% one-handed damage bonus from the Flibustier four-piece set.

Schematic Workflow for Buccaneer Gear

Like every other Windrose Provisioner, the Buccaneers sell schematics, not finished items. The full loop from reputation to a mounted cannon or an equipped Flibustier set is:

1. Farm Insignias from Blackbeard crews on land and at sea; hand them in to the Buccaneers Bounty Agent at Tortuga Market to push rank.

2. At the unlocked rank, buy the cannon or armor schematic with Piastres.

3. Return to base, open your journal, and learn the schematic. The item does not appear in crafting menus until it is learned.

4. Craft ship cannons at the Shipwright's Workbench; craft armor pieces at the appropriate armor bench.

5. For cannons, carry the finished piece to the wharf and mount it on your ship. Armor pieces equip from your inventory.

Blue-tier and above Buccaneer items carry passive rolls (damage, reload speed, damage reduction on cannons; stamina cost, damage bonus, block efficiency on armor). You can ascend a favorite piece at the anvil from blue to purple and purple to legendary, unlocking an additional passive at each step. Ascension materials like Tumbaga Ingots are rare, so reserve them for Rank 2 or Rank 3 pieces that you plan to carry into late-game content.

Buccaneers and the Island Base

Beyond the Tortuga Market stall, the Buccaneers also hold a dedicated island base reachable through a Buccaneer side quest chain. The island camp is easy to miss because the main story does not directly signpost it. The common unlock path is clearing a pirate camp on an unrelated island, finding a note that instructs you to report the loss to the Buccaneers, and having that note trigger the camp's appearance on the map. The island camp hosts the Buccaneers buyer NPC (who purchases Buccaneer-flagged trade goods for Piastres) and additional side quests that contribute to faction rep. The buyer at the island camp will not accept luxuries or contraband; those items sell exclusively at the Smugglers' hideout.

Glorious Hunters: The Faction's Signpost Side Quest

The clearest early entry point into Buccaneer-aligned side content is Glorious Hunters, given by Henri Boucher at the Rogue Buccaneers Main Base. Henri's brother Marcel led a hunting party that was ambushed by Blackbeard-aligned pirates. The player loots three abandoned Buccaneer sites on the starting island chain (the Abandoned Buccaneer Camp, the Abandoned Buccaneer Warehouse, and the Destroyed Buccaneer Fort), hands the Broken Musket to Henri as proof of Marcel's death, and then sinks three named pirate ships on the open sea.

Completing the quest pays a Buccaneer's Friend musket plus 200 Buccaneer faction reputation, which is usually enough to push a new character into Rank 1 when paired with a small stack of Newhand Insignia turn-ins. Narratively, it is the first quest where the Buccaneers read as grieving partners rather than generic pirates, and it primes the player for the cannon and Flibustier's Attire plans the Provisioner sells at the same base.