Revision 3

Trading is one of Windrose's progression systems, providing an alternative to pure crafting for acquiring equipment and resources. The game uses Piastres as its primary currency. Trade is closely tied to the faction reputation system and centers on Tortuga as the main hub.

Piastres (Currency)

Piastres are the main trade coin in Windrose. They function as the universal currency accepted by all merchants and traders. You accumulate Piastres through several activities:

Trade Goods

As you loot ships and clear pirate caches during naval combat and island exploration, you pick up items classified as trade goods. These are dedicated barter items meant to be sold for profit, not used directly. They take up inventory space, so managing when to haul them back to a trader is part of the gameplay loop.

Trade goods are labeled clearly in your inventory. Do not discard them or use them for crafting. Hold onto them until you can reach a trader to sell them for Piastres. The Insignia of a Blackbeard Lieutenant specifically is a specialty drop that may feed into faction quests or Tortuga-specific reward chains.

Factions and Reputation

The Steam store page states that players can "trade with different factions to gain the edge you'll need." Factions in Windrose each have their own traders who buy and sell different goods. Building reputation with a faction through trading and quests unlocks better deals, exclusive items, and questlines.

Community reporting places the reputation threshold to join a faction's quest chain at roughly 500 reputation points. Higher tiers unlock faction-specific crafting recipes and gear. The full faction reputation system was not available in the demo, so specifics continue to be documented during Early Access.

Tortuga Trade Hub

Tortuga is the game's central marketplace. The settlement features the widest selection of merchants, faction representatives, and high-value trade opportunities. Specific vendor classes at Tortuga include Trader NPCs (buy trade goods), Recruitment Vendor (hires NPC workers like the Farming Contractor for 10 gold coins), and faction quartermasters. Before Tortuga is accessible in the main story, players should stockpile trade goods at their base storage rather than selling at lower prices to base merchants.

Base Merchants

As you progress, NPCs become available at your settlement. You can recruit them via Merchant Contract items. They serve several roles:

Having merchants at your base reduces the need to travel to distant locations just to buy or sell. You can cooperate with traders at your base to purchase specific resources in bulk, which is especially useful when you are short on a particular material mid-build.

Trading Tips

• Save Contraband items for the best traders; they fetch the highest prices

• Build a dedicated storage chest for trade goods so they do not clutter your adventure inventory

• Check faction traders regularly; different factions may offer different prices for the same goods

• The Doctor at your camp provides free healing potions every in-game hour; visit frequently to stock up

• Prioritize selling trade goods over raw resources; resources are more valuable as crafting ingredients than as trade currency

• Wait to sell Contraband until you reach Tortuga if your base traders offer low rates

See Also

• Tortuga - main trade hub

• Factions - faction overview

• NPC Crew - recruitable NPCs

• Settlement Building - base expansion