Windrose generates a procedural archipelago for each player, with island layouts, resource distribution, and biome placement varying between games. The April 14, 2026 Early Access launch shipped with 3 biomes across approximately 30 procedurally generated islands: Coastal Jungle, Foothills, and Cursed Swamps. Additional biomes are planned across the 1.5 to 2.5 year Early Access period, with the Ashlands volcanic biome the most prominent announced future addition. Character progression carries between worlds, so players can start a fresh world without losing levels or recipes.
Biome Progression at Launch
Biomes are gear-tiered. Each biome is balanced for a specific gear level range, and a local-threat boss guards each one. The community-tracked gear tiers from the discovery map are:
Biome | Gear Tier | Local Threat Boss |
|---|---|---|
1 to 5 | ||
6 to 10 | ||
11 to 15 |
Coastal Jungle
The starting biome, described as the "cradle of piracy." This is where players wash ashore after being shipwrecked by Blackbeard. It served as the Steam Next Fest demo zone and covers the first 4 to 6 hours of gameplay. It teaches survival, crafting, and combat fundamentals. Local-threat boss: Thomas Richards.
Category | Details |
|---|---|
Wood, Stone, Plant Fiber, Clay, Copper Ore, Coconut, Banana, Dodo Eggs, Rough Hide | |
Coastal Dodos (passive), Sows/Wild Pigs (aggressive, level 3), Crabs, Drowners (zombie-like), Swollen Drowned (toxic spit), Pirate Sailors, Musketeers, Pirate Sergeants | |
Smuggler's Cache, Abandoned Buccaneer Camp, Copper Caves, Ancient Ruins, Traveller's Camp, Pirate Camps, Shipwrecks | |
Local Threat |
Foothills
An elevated biome southeast of the starting area with rocky terrain and distinct resource deposits. The Foothills are a significant progression milestone because they contain resources not available in the Coastal Jungle, enabling the next tier of crafting and progression.
Category | Details |
|---|---|
Unique Resources | Iron Ore (mined with Copper Pickaxe), Sulfur (mined with Iron Pickaxe), Fertile Soil (from Ancient Farms), Flax, Hardwood |
Ancient Farms | Specific locations where Fertile Soil can be harvested with a pickaxe, enabling the farming system |
Farming Unlock | Fertile Soil from Ancient Farms is required to build Seedbeds and begin growing crops |
Mining Progression | Iron Ore leads to Iron Pickaxes, which can mine Sulfur for gunpowder crafting at the Millstone |
Tougher than the Coastal Jungle; includes Grenadier pirates revealed in the December 2025 content update | |
Local Threat |
The Foothills represent the transition from early-game copper-tier crafting to mid-game iron-tier equipment. Players must travel here to advance their mining progression and unlock farming.
Cursed Swamps
Marshy, fog-choked islands with dangerous supernatural creatures. The Cursed Swamps are the third launch biome, gear-tiered 11 to 15, and serve as the endgame zone for the Early Access launch. The biome is heavily associated with plague and undead enemies, and its boss is the High Priestess, a towering pink-flower entity found in a cursed swampland. See the dedicated Cursed Swamps article for in-depth coverage.
Category | Details |
|---|---|
Unique plant-based alchemy and cooking materials, Obsidian (rare; used for jewelry and Vial Table), Mire Metal | |
Drowners, Swollen Drowned (toxic spit in 180-degree arc), Swamp Creature, plague thralls | |
Boss | |
Hazards | Reduced visibility, uneven terrain creating ambush opportunities |
Planned Biomes
Ashlands (Planned)
A scorched, volcanic biome revealed in the August 2025 Devblog #5 but NOT available at Early Access launch. The Ashlands are planned as a late-game area with high-tier resources and some of the most dangerous enemies in the game. The region was covered by a volcanic eruption 100 years ago, and players will use pickaxes to dig through volcanic ash to uncover secrets once it releases. See the dedicated Ashlands article for full details on this planned biome.
Biome-Specific Resources
Biome | Unique/Key Resources |
|---|---|
Copper Ore, Clay, Coconut, Banana, Dodo Eggs, Rough Hide, Crab Shell | |
Iron Ore, Sulfur, Fertile Soil, Flax, Hardwood | |
Obsidian, Mire Metal, unique alchemy plants, plague-tier resources | |
Ashlands (planned) | High-tier resources buried under volcanic ash |
World Generation
Every player gets their own world, and every new game generates a different island layout. At the April 2026 Early Access launch, the map contains approximately 30 procedurally generated islands with 90+ hand-crafted points of interest. The Kraken Express team has stated the 1.0 version "could be several times bigger in content and scale than the demo, like x10 islands, x10 points of interest."
Difficulty Settings
World difficulty is set at creation and cannot be changed afterward. It applies globally across all biomes:
Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
Calm Waters | Reduced enemy damage and pressure; for casual/exploration focus |
High Seas | All modifiers at 100%; the intended balanced experience |
Storm's Edge | Enemies hit harder and have more health |
Captain's Choice | Fully custom, with individual modifiers adjustable up to 500%; enemy health, damage, ship health, ship damage, and boarding difficulty can all be tuned independently |
Within each difficulty setting, 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, making travel to harder biomes a significant risk-reward decision. Custom Captain's Choice also offers an EasyExplore mode that disables most map markers for a more immersive exploration experience.
Environmental Storytelling
Story in Windrose is "woven into the atmosphere rather than delivered through dialogue alone." Locations and objects are placed to "spark a question and reward curiosity with a piece of lore, a hidden item, or a clue pointing to something bigger." This means biomes work as resource zones, but they also act as narrative spaces that reveal the game's supernatural mysteries through exploration.
Navigation
Method | Details |
|---|---|
Auto-navigation | An auto-move-forward toggle is available for both walking and sailing |
Wind direction | A visual wind direction indicator is visible in the sky. The exact gameplay impact of wind at launch has not been documented in developer posts |
Ship summoning | Press K to summon your ship to any coastline |
Fast Travel Bells | Teleport between placed bells or return home from your boat via the world map |
World map | Open the map to place markers, chart routes, and select fast travel destinations. Points of interest appear as question marks for progressive discovery |
Future Biomes
The roadmap through Early Access includes additional biomes beyond the launch three. Kraken Express has stated that the 1.0 release will contain roughly 50 percent more content than Early Access launch, with new biomes a core part of that expansion. The Ashlands is the most well-documented planned addition. Character progress carries between different procedurally generated worlds, so players can start a fresh world to explore new biome arrangements without losing levels or recipes. Each building set is planned to reflect its biome, so outposts feel naturally rooted in their surroundings.
Dedicated Biome Pages
This overview page remains the best short summary of the full launch ladder, but the two launch biomes players most often search directly now also have their own dedicated pages.
Coastal Jungle - the starting biome and opening survival route
Foothills - the iron, sulfur, and Israel Hands biome
Cursed Swamps - the late-launch-biome plague zone