All Windrose Ships Tierlist: Best til Worst

A pirate ship is an essential accessory for any pirate, real or virtual. The new pirate online game Windrose, developed by Kraken Express, is no exception, as it lets you build your own dream pirate ship, sail it, and engage in pirate activities—such as recovering lost cargo, engaging in naval battles, and much more. Since the game also falls under the “survival” subgenre, building a ship in the game isn't exactly easy, as it requires gathering numerous materials, constructing, and upgrading specific structures. In this material, you will find out the information about all the ships in Windrose, how to make them, and decide which is the best and which is the worst.

How Many Ships Are in Windrose

There are 4 ships in Windrose that you can control, and 3 of which you can craft. Starting off with Rowboat, it will be given to you at the start of your pirate adventure, which you can use to travel from one island to another until you accept a quest from Doctor Galen. Once you complete it, you’ll be able to build your first pirate ship— Ketch.

After you build (and you can also upgrade) Workbench and Wharf, you may also produce more advanced pirate ships - Brig and Frigate—which differ in their characteristics and have both strengths and weaknesses. You can also check out how to get a ship and see the difference between all of them, how to upgrade ships, and more.

All Ships in Windrose and Their Tierlist

With a total of four ships in the lineup—one of which is essentially just a standard boat used for transportation—there are three types of pirate ships in Windrose. You can check out the tier list for all ships in Windrose below:

You can also upgrade all of your ships in Windrose to Brethen and Blackbeard, and below you will see the difference between all of them and what tools you need to build them. Ship modifications have both pros and cons, as they often improve one stat while making another stat more vulnerable. For instance, Blackbeard Ketch has the maximum speed and more cannons but low durability, which is essential at the beginning of your pirate tour. But it's up to players to decide what’s more important in a pirate ship - speed and cannon power, which are essential during naval battles, or durability, allowing you to take more damage.

All Ships and Their Varieties in Windrose: Ketch

Ketch is the first pirate ship you can craft after finishing missions from Doctor Galen. It’s also actually a solid option to start your adventures, as it gives you a balance of speed, durability, and capacity. To craft Ketch, you will need 100x Nails, 150x Wood, 40x Coarse Fabric, and 30x Rope. You can also upgrade it to a Brethren Ketch and Blackbeard Ketch by building a Wharf. The difference between all three ships you can check out below:

The stock variant of Ketch might be the best option here because it’s not that much slower than Blackbeard Ketch, faster than Brethren Ketch, and it also has better durability than Blackbeard Ketch, which will be pretty enough at the start of your Windrose campaign.

All Ships and Their Varieties in Windrose: Brig

Brig is the second type of ship you can produce in Windrose and it’s actually a huge update to its predecessor, Ketch. Specifically, the main differences are a bigger number of cannons and increased structural durability. And also it requires more materials to build it: 200x Nails, 80x Copper Ingots, 40x Timber, 200x Wooden Planks, 40x Linear Fabric, 120x Coarse Fabric, 40x Rope, and 30x Shipwright’s Tools. Just like to Katch, in Wharf, you can upgrade your Big to Brethren or Blackbeard.

Brethren Brig should be considered as your further update to Ketch, as it has almost twice as much durability, almost the same speed, which is pretty good in exploration and naval battles, and also has the capacity for more cannon salvos.

All Ships and Their Varieties in Windrose: Frigate

At last, you may build your own frigate in Windrose, but it’s not that easy and may cost some risks. Unlike Ketch and Brig, due to their size, they are quite difficult to maneuver during naval battles—but on the other hand, frigates are highly durable and have massive firepower. Naturally, to build a frigate, you will also need a huge amount of supplies: 300x Nails, 120x Foothills Iron Ingots, 320x Wooden Planks, 160x Timber, 80x Tarren Planks, 240x Linen Fabric, 80x Tarren Fabric, 80x Rope, and 50x Shipwright’s Tools, as well as upgrade Wharf to its maximum level (Level 4, Brethren). The differences between the stock Frigate and two other variations you can check out below:

Although Brethren Frigate has the most durability among all ships in Windrose, and the difference is quite impressive, the best option here might actually be Blackbeard Frigate, as it has the most speed among all frigate variations and boasts an incredible number of cannons, making you the master of the open seas.

What Are the Best and Worst Ships in Windrose

Speaking of the best ship, it's hard to choose one, but the above-mentioned Blackbeard Frigate seems an obvious choice because it's the most powerful one in terms of cannons. Brethren Frigate is another great option, especially for players who are always worrying about the ship's condition. With a durability of 200,000, your ship can withstand a lot. The stock Ketch or Brethen Ketch are both solid options for starting your adventure in the game, and there are no significant differences between them. As for Brig, actually its stock option might be a win-win because of its balance between speed, durability, and cannons.

It seems clear that we’ll see even more ships in Windrose in future updates, and it will be interesting to see how much the new models differ from what we have now.

Windrose is a survival co-op online game set in the open world that features naval battles, base and ship building, world exploration, and crafting. You play as a captain, create yourself in the character editor, then build your own ship, assemble a crew, and live the pirate life to the fullest.

The game is available on PC (Steam) via early access.