Boarding enemy ships in Windrose is one of the most satisfying ways to win a fight, but your crew needs the right equipment to pull it off. The Upgraded Boarding Party Gear is a significant step up from the base version, and while datamined information suggests it can drop directly, that route depends entirely on luck. The reliable path is crafting the base Boarding Party Gear first and then upgrading it with the correct materials. Here's exactly how to do that.
What materials do you need to craft the base Boarding Party Gear?
Before you can think about upgrades, you need the base item. Crafting it requires three material types, each in a quantity of 7. None of these are hard to source early in the game, but you'll want to plan your resource runs before sitting down at a crafting station.
The Copper Ingots are the most time-consuming piece here since you need a Furnace set up before you can smelt them. Get that infrastructure sorted early and the rest of the base craft falls into place quickly.
info
If you're short on Rough Hide, wild boars are a consistent source. Prioritize hunting runs before you start the crafting process so you're not waiting on materials mid-session.
Ship customization gear slot
How do you upgrade the Boarding Party Gear?
Once the base Boarding Party Gear is in your inventory, you can push it to the upgraded version. The upgrade materials are noticeably harder to gather than the base recipe, which is why skipping straight to a drop or blueprint isn't the recommended approach.
Here's what the upgrade requires:
- Mire Metal Ingot: Smelted from Ancient Scraps combined with Quagmire Powder in a Furnace.
- Crocodile Hide: Sourced from swamp areas.
- Tanned Leather: Crafted using a Tanning Rack.
- Sewing Tools: Purchased from a trader affiliated with the People of Tortuga faction.
The Sewing Tools are the one item you can't farm yourself. You're buying them from the People of Tortuga faction trader, so make sure you've located that faction before you start gathering the other upgrade materials. Heading into the swamps for Crocodile Hide without Sewing Tools in hand just means an extra trip later.
warning
The Mire Metal Ingot requires both Ancient Scraps and Quagmire Powder. Both are mid-to-late progression materials, so don't expect to rush this upgrade in the first hour of the game.
How to equip the Upgraded Boarding Party Gear
Equipping works the same way for both the base and upgraded versions. The process runs through your ship management screen:
- Select your ship and open the Manage Ship option.
- Navigate to Ship Customization on the left side of the screen.
- Drag the Upgraded Boarding Party Gear into the designated equipment slot.
Once it's slotted in, your party members will use it automatically when attempting to board a pirate ship during combat. There's no additional activation step required.
The jump in material complexity between the two versions is real. Plan your faction relationships and crafting infrastructure before committing to the upgrade push.
For more Windrose tips and strategies across other games, browse more guides on GAMES.GG.