Metals

Metals are the backbone of Windrose's weapon, armor, and ship progression. Raw copper ore and iron ore are smelted with charcoal at a smelting furnace to produce the three early-game Metal category ingots. Higher-tier alloys like Tumbaga Ingot and Ingot Arborum sit on top of that ladder and are consumed by every ascend recipe in the game.

This page pulls together the seven ingots players generally treat as metals, their smelting recipes, and the ores or tradegood containers that feed them.

Smelting Stations

Most metals come from two stations. The regular Smelting Furnace is the early-game staple and can turn out any of the three base ingots in 30 seconds each. The Large Smelting Furnace halves that to 15 seconds and is unlocked later. Recipes are identical between the two stations. Ascend and enchant recipes (Tumbaga, Ingot Arborum) live on specialty stations like the Enchanting Table and the Jewelery Table.

Base Metal Ingots

These three ingots carry the Windrose in-game category tag of Metal. Each is produced by smelting its namesake ore with charcoal.

Upgrade and Ascend Ingots

These four ingots sit in the Resource category but are produced and used almost exclusively alongside the base metals. Silver and Gold are found in ruins and ascended-into Tumbaga; Ingot Arborum is enchanted from Plague Wood and similar reagents.

Ore-to-Ingot Pipeline

The first real metal loop in Windrose is mining ore, burning wood into charcoal, and smelting the two together. Everything after the first Copper Pickaxe is built from that loop.

Later steps branch out. Silver and gold ingots are found in ruins rather than smelted, and the ancient Tumbaga Ingot alloy of copper and gold is a pure ruin drop used in ascends.

Metal Tier Progression

Metals roughly line up with the early, mid, and late story beats in Windrose:

• Early game (Coastal Jungle): Copper. Unlocked by the first Smelting Furnace and Charcoal Kiln.

• Early-to-mid (Foothills): Foothills Iron. Built on the same furnace, uses Foothills Iron Ore.

• Mid game (Swamps): Mire Metal. Requires the Large Smelting Furnace and Ancient Scraps found in sunken settlements.

• Late game (ruins / ascend loop): Silver, Gold, and Tumbaga. All three are pure loot ingots from ancient vaults and ruins.

• End game (plague content): Ingot Arborum. Enchanted alloy used in plague-tier ascends.

Where Metals Get Used

Metal demand ramps up the longer you play, especially once you cross into firearms and ship combat:

• Weapons: every tier of melee weapon, blunderbuss, musket, and pistol uses a metal input.

• Armor: cuirasses and helmets call for iron or copper plates, and ascends consume silver or tumbaga.

• Ships: cannons (12-pounders, 24-pounders, 36-pounders) and hull bracings all eat copper and iron ingots by the stack.

• Tools: anvils, pickaxes, and axes are metal-gated. An anvil alone takes thirty iron ingots.

• Jewelry: necklaces, rings, and amulets ascend through silver, gold, and tumbaga in order.

Farming Metals Efficiently

• Keep at least two smelting furnaces running so copper and iron can smelt in parallel.

• Charcoal is the hidden bottleneck. A full stack of Wood only yields a fraction of that in charcoal, so build multiple kilns before scaling up smelting.

• Silver and Gold Ingots drop from chests in ruins rather than being crafted. Clear Ancient Vaults regularly rather than trying to grind them at a station.

• Tumbaga Ingot is the tightest ascend bottleneck in the game. Hoard every one you find until you know which weapon or armor slot you want to push to Major tier.

• Disassembling duplicate low-tier weapons and armor returns copper or iron ingots. If you're short on furnace output, breaking down junk gear can be faster than smelting from scratch.

See Also

• Resources

• Mining

• Crafting

• Smelting Furnace

• Large Smelting Furnace

• Charcoal Kiln

• Anvil

• Weapons

• Armor and Equipment

• Ships