Dungeons

Windrose contains over 100 hand-crafted dungeons and points of interest placed throughout its procedurally generated archipelago. While island layouts change between playthroughs, the dungeons themselves are designed by hand, with set encounters, boss fights, environmental puzzles, and curated loot tables.

Design

Dungeons are instanced areas and hand-crafted locations layered into the procedural world structure. Entering one loads a self-contained environment with its own visual theme, enemy composition, and difficulty curve. This separation from the open world means dungeons can be more tightly designed than surface encounters, with controlled pacing and progression.

Known Locations in the Demo

The Steam Next Fest demo spans three islands with the following hand-crafted locations:

Smuggler's Cache

A hidden coastal area with the entrance concealed behind foliage that must be cleared to reveal the path. A dangerous Drowner enemy patrols near the entrance (use hit-and-retreat tactics). Inside is a Smuggler's Chest containing the player's first Fast Travel Bell.

Abandoned Buccaneer Camp

A ruin structure located west of the starting island. Contains two unique chests requiring different mechanics to access: one is high up and requires jumping/platforming, while the other requires pressing a hidden button underneath the stairs. Both chests contain a Tumbaga Ingot (weapon enchant material) and a Sturdy Saber. The camp also contains the second Fast Travel Bell. Guarded by aggressive boars.

Copper Caves

The starting island and the other nearby Coastal Jungle Islands all contain caves with copper ore deposits inside. Ore appears as bluish-white colored stone walls. Caves are always dark, requiring torches (unlimited durability, craftable at the Workbench) or an Oil Lamp (fueled by Animal Fat, costs 3 Animal Fat per refill). Torches can also be built inside mines as permanent light sources. Some caves contain enemies. Ore deposits respawn every 3 in-game days after being fully mined.

Ancient Ruins

A landmark in the center of the starting island. Between the ruins and the Copper Deposit is where clay deposits can be found. Contains loot chests with equipment and consumables.

Traveller's Camp

A seemingly empty campsite containing a note/diary on the ground. Reading the note triggers the buried treasure mechanic, directing players to dig under a dead white tree with a red rag tied around the trunk. The chest contains the Rapier of a Thousand Cuts, one of the best weapons in the demo (Bleeding stacks up to 5 times at 40 damage per second per stack). Requires crafting a Shovel (3 Copper Ingots + 10 Wood) and switching to Dig mode.

Shipwrecks

The second island contains multiple shipwrecks tied to the "I Need a Bigger Boat" quest. One shipwreck on the northwestern shore is beyond repair but contains a Decrepit Chest with the Executioner halberd (Rare, 100 ATK, grants Rage stacks for Critical Hit Chance). The repairable shipwreck in the middle of the island is heavily guarded by Storm Fiddler enemies.

Pirate Camps

Scattered across islands. Supply boxes yield 2 to 3 units of gunpowder each. Defeated enemies also drop gunpowder. Pirate camps and their enemies respawn daily, making them a farmable source of ammunition. Save gunpowder exclusively for boss fights inside dungeons.

Discovery Tracking

Each island tracks discoveries in three categories:

One player noted discovery trackers showing 1/7 unique locations for buried treasure, 2/7 for ocean, and 11/31 for coastal jungle on their island, suggesting many more locations exist beyond what has been documented.

Loot Rarity Tiers

Dungeons drop better loot than surface encounters. The risk-reward tradeoff is clear: dungeons are harder but pay better. Unique named weapons are tied to specific locations, rewarding thorough exploration.

Puzzle and Access Mechanics

The demo features several types of access challenges within dungeons:

Environmental Hazards

Difficulty Settings

World difficulty is set at creation and cannot be changed afterward:

Enemy levels scale by island/area rather than per dungeon. Enemies on the second island are level 6 while players may still be level 3. Enemies even one to two levels above you are extremely dangerous. Experience is earned from completing quests, not from killing enemies, so progression is quest-gated rather than grind-based.

Ashlands Dungeons

The Ashlands biome, a scorched volcanic region revealed in the August 2025 devblog, contains "expansive dungeons" with new quests and challenging enemies. The region was covered by a volcanic eruption 100 years ago, and players use pickaxes to dig through volcanic ash to uncover secrets. The Ashlands represents some of the hardest content planned for the game and is tied to the supernatural corruption spreading through the world.

Boss Encounters

Major dungeons culminate in boss fights. Bosses have unique attack patterns requiring observation and adaptation, consistent with the game's Soulslite combat philosophy. The alpha featured three bosses with variable difficulty tiers. Israel Hands is one of the main boss encounters. Guides recommend saving gunpowder exclusively for boss fights and stacking food buffs and alchemy oils before engaging.

Co-op Dungeon Running

Dungeons can be tackled solo or with a co-op group of up to four players in multiplayer. Group dungeon runs allow different party members to fill different combat roles, with one player tanking boss attention while others deal damage or provide ranged support. The game is designed to be completable solo, with co-op making encounters easier.

Loot Strategy

Place a Fast Travel Bell outside dungeon entrances so you can warp home to drop off loot and immediately return. This is especially useful when dungeon loot is heavy or abundant enough to fill your inventory. The Disassembly Bench at your base recycles unwanted gear for 100% material recovery.