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Main Story
May 8, 2026 at 08:51 AM
Removed redundant H1 heading from article body
The Main Story of Windrose is Chapter 1 of the game's long-arc narrative: a three-biome boss arc that pits the player against Blackbeard's key lieutenants and ends with the High Priestess in the Cursed Swamps. The launch build ships with this single chapter; additional chapters beyond Chapter 1 are confirmed as future Early Access content but are not dated.
Property | Value |
|---|---|
Scope | Chapter 1 (launch campaign) |
Playtime estimate | Roughly 50 to 70 hours for the main story depending on playstyle |
Number of major bosses | 3: Thomas Richards, Israel Hands, High Priestess |
Biomes covered | |
Recommended gear tier at finish | 12 to 15 |
Future chapters | Planned but not dated (Early Access roadmap) |
You play a freelance courier whose ship is intercepted by Blackbeard's forces. The prologue sinks the ship, captures the original crew, and leaves the player stranded. A mysterious artifact tied to Columbus's Book of Prophecies preserves the player's life. The game proper begins with a shipwrecked survivor on a starting island.
The opening hours stay small and practical: craft tools, repair shelter, reunite the remaining crew, and scale up into ship-based exploration. As the player progresses, the story widens into a fight over Tortuga, the four pirate Factions, Blackbeard's undead fleet, and the prophetic pages tied to the artifact.
The main-story chain is structured around three named bosses, each tied to a biome and a specific quest line:
Thomas Richards: Coastal Jungle, gear tier 3 to 5. Approached via the Revenge Is Best Served Cold quest, which is gated by collecting 4 Black Marks in Blackbeard Waters. Quest giver: Doctor Galen Skelton.
Israel Hands: Foothills, gear tier 9 to 10. Approached via the Needle in a Haystack quest chain. Requires the Foothills Temple Key to unlock the Sealed Temple. Five connected objectives run from a naval engagement through multiple pirate-camp clears to the indoor fight.
High Priestess: Cursed Swamps, gear tier 12 to 15. The Chapter 1 endgame boss, tied to the Itzeltek plague lore thread. Companion side quests include The Priestess's Tale and The Itzeltek Priest's Story.
Before the boss arc begins, the player runs through the Seafarer Tutorial and I Need a Bigger Boat quests, which unlock the starter Ketch and establish Doctor Galen as the main-story quest giver. The Bitter Pill is a mid-campaign chain that expands on Doctor Galen's personal investigation thread.
The main story runs in parallel with the four faction reputation grinds. Each of the four factions has a Tortuga presence and its own narrative arc:
Brethren of the Coast: the pirate brotherhood Blackbeard betrayed. They gate the Brig and Frigate ship plans and are the faction most closely tied to the main story.
Smugglers of Port Royal: introduced through the Underground Network side-quest chain. Sells hull mods and Naval Tactics.
Rogue Buccaneers: introduced through the Buccaneers and Glorious Hunters chain triggered from Coastal Jungle ruins. Sells cannon plans and beast trophies.
People of Tortuga: the Tortuga-based building-plan and cosmetic faction.
Finishing Chapter 1 does not exhaust the content available in the live build. Remaining activities include:
Faction reputation grinds to Rank 4 for every faction, unlocking the top-tier armor sets, Frigate plans, and 36-pounder cannons.
The Fate of the Prophets quest chain across the three Stargazer observatories for Tumbaga Ingot rewards.
Side-quest lore chains: Memories of a Ghost, Tales of the Stargazers, Letter to a Good Friend, Forgotten Relics.
Ship-class completion: build all nine hull variants (Stock, Blackbeard, and Brethren variants across Ketch, Brigantine, and Frigate).
Endgame boarding farms in Blackbeard Waters against Blackbeard Frigates for Navigational Instruments, gems, and named-lieutenant drops.
The developer has confirmed that the main story continues past Chapter 1, framing it as "an epic adventure with a satisfying finale." No specific release dates are published. The planned Ashlands biome is the clearest named future-content target, tied to the supernatural corruption plotline that underpins Blackbeard's pact. Roughly 50% more content than the Early Access launch build is targeted before 1.0 release, over an Early Access window of 1.5 to 2.5 years.
