Insignias are the reputation currency dropped by Blackbeard's forces in Windrose. Every player-facing faction accepts insignias because every faction hates Edward Teach, which makes them the workhorse cross-faction grinding item. They are turned in at Bounty Agents for reputation with the selected faction.
The Four Insignia Tiers
Tier | Insignia | Typical Source | Turn-In Value |
|---|---|---|---|
Baseline | Newhand Insignia | Standard Blackbeard deckhands on ships and at Pirate Camps | Small reputation boost; baseline bulk item |
Mid | Deckhand Insignia | Blackbeard Lieutenants, Undead Musketeers, and elite boarding crews | Mid-tier reputation boost; workhorse item for pushing ranks |
Elite | Veteran Insignia | Pirate Sergeants, Grenadiers, and other named elites in high-tier camps and dungeons | Large per-item reputation boost short of a full quest completion |
Top | Old Salt Insignia | Boss-tier lieutenants and Frigate-class boarding actions | Approximately 80 reputation points per turn-in; rare drop |
Name Correction
Earlier community writeups sometimes used names like "Insignia of a Blackbeard Lieutenant," "Sergeant," or "Captain" for the mid-to-high tiers. Those names are not the in-game item names. The canonical tier names are Newhand, Deckhand, Veteran, and Old Salt. The descriptor-based community names should not be used in wiki content; if you see one in older writeups, cross-reference against the in-game Bounty Agent turn-in panel.
Ship Combat Rewards More Than Sinking
Sinking a Blackbeard ship outright produces Newhand Insignias from the wreck loot, but boarding the ship produces more total insignias per encounter, because boarding rewards the defeated crew individually. For reputation-per-minute farming, equip Boarding Party Gear and land on deck rather than rely on broadsides.
Universal Enmity: No Wasted Turn-Ins
All four player-facing factions accept every insignia tier. There is no exclusive commitment mechanic; if you accidentally start farming at the wrong faction, subsequent turn-ins can re-route to any other Bounty Agent without wasting items. This is why the strongest launch-week advice is to commit hard to one faction first (typically Brethren of the Coast for ship progression or Smugglers of Port Royal for heavy armor and Windrose Naval Tactics) and only rotate to the next faction after hitting Rank 3.
Combining Insignias With Letters of Favor
Insignias and Letters of Favor are complementary. Insignias come from combat; Letters come from non-combat faction quests. A session that kills Blackbeard crews on the water and runs faction couriers on land can earn both, which is the fastest way to push a single faction from Rank 1 to Rank 3 in a focused play session.
Turn-In Workflow
Stack insignias in a dedicated chest at your base so they do not clog inventory during sorties
Confirm which Bounty Agent is closest to the faction Provisioner you plan to shop at
Hand in elite-tier insignias (Veteran, Old Salt) last; they can jump past small rank thresholds and waste overflow if turned in while you are already at a rank ceiling
Save your rarest Old Salt Insignias specifically for the single faction whose Rank 3 reward you want most
Per-Tier Articles
Newhand Insignia — baseline tier
Deckhand Insignia — mid tier
Veteran Insignia — elite tier
Old Salt Insignia — top tier
See Also
Bounty Agents — faction reputation turn-in NPCs
Letters of Favor — non-combat companion item
Faction Reputation — the full rep system
Boarding — the highest insignia-per-minute source