Ironware

Ironware is an Uncommon crafting material in Windrose that gates the Cookware Shelf attachment and several cooking/alchemy recipes. It is produced at a Level 3 Workbench.

Recipe

Level 3 Workbench requires both the Sawhorse and Toolbox attachments placed inside the Bonfire radius. Without both attachments, the Ironware recipe does not appear in the crafting panel.

Where it is Used

• Cookware Shelf. The Cookware Shelf attachment at the Cooking Fire uses 2 Ironware plus 10 Hardwood

• Alchemy recipes. Several potion and poison recipes at the Alchemy Table require Ironware as an input for bottle and container production

• Advanced cooking recipes. Unlocked through the Cookware Shelf, these recipes sometimes layer Ironware into the food itself as a containing vessel

Unlocking the Recipe

Ironware cannot be crafted until you have mined Foothills Iron Ore with a Copper Pickaxe or better and smelted it into Foothills Iron Ingots at the Smelting Furnace. In practice, this means the Ironware recipe becomes relevant shortly after a player's first Foothills mining run.

Complete Crafting Uses

Ironware is an ingredient in the following recipes.

See Also

• Foothills Iron Ingot, the primary input

• Cookware Shelf, main consumer

• Workbench, crafting station (Level 3)

• Sawhorse. Workbench tier attachment

• Toolbox. Workbench tier attachment

Progression Context

Ironware sits in the middle of Windrose's early progression ladder. Unlocking it requires that the player has already reached the Foothills biome, located Foothills Iron Ore deposits inside the hill-region mines, and acquired a Copper Pickaxe or better to actually mine them. Iron Ore is then smelted at a Smelting Furnace into Foothills Iron Ingots, five of which go into each Ironware craft.

The Ironware recipe appears at the bottom of the Level 3 Workbench menu, which is easy to miss on first inspection. If the recipe does not show up, the usual cause is a missing Sawhorse or Toolbox attachment, or the Workbench being placed outside the required Bonfire radius.

Why Craft Ironware Early

Beyond the Cookware Shelf dependency already listed above, Ironware also underwrites the broader mid-game crafting economy. It is the prerequisite input for the Alchemy Table build, which in turn unlocks potion and poison production. Several higher-tier cooking recipes use Ironware as a container ingredient, and progression toward Gunpowder production relies on having the Alchemy Table online, which relies on Ironware.

In practice this means the first five Foothills Iron Ingots a player smelts should almost always go straight into Ironware rather than being diverted to ship repair parts or early weapon upgrades. Delaying Ironware delays several station upgrades simultaneously.

Crafting the Inputs

Each Ironware needs five Foothills Iron Ingots, so the real work is keeping the smelter fed. A Foothills Iron Ingot is produced at the Smelting Furnace from 3 Foothills Iron Ore and 1 Charcoal, taking roughly 30 seconds per ingot. Five ingots therefore cost 15 ore and 5 charcoal per Ironware, which is the figure to keep in mind when planning a mining run.

Game Data

Properties

Crafted By

Crafted at: Workbench

Discovery and Unlock

Ironware unlocks through the Iron tools and crafting progression, reached once you mine Foothills Iron Ore in the Foothills biome. The same discovery branch opens iron tools, station upgrades, and larger ship cannons, so reaching it is a meaningful early milestone rather than a single-item gate.