Windrose Lamp Guide: How to Get & Refill

Before you start worrying about pirates or combat, the caves on the first island will kill your momentum faster than anything else. Copper veins, loot chests, and side quest items are tucked into spots where you simply cannot see without a light source. The good news: a lamp is available almost immediately, and keeping it fueled is a two-step process once you know what you're doing. Here's everything you need to get lit and stay that way.

How do you get a lamp in Windrose?

The first lamp is a free pickup on the starting island. Head to the Pirate Remains point of interest on the eastern side of the Coastal Jungle. There's a Decrepit Chest sitting next to a boat at that location. Looting it gives you a lamp, a weapon, and a Blurry Sketch of the Island, which kicks off a side quest called Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest.

While you're there, check the Cache just to the left of the chest. That one holds a Fast Travel Bell, which is worth grabbing early. Both items are sitting in the same small area, so you won't need to hunt around.

Once you pick up the lamp, you also unlock the recipe to craft one. So if you somehow lose it, the Workbench has you covered.

How do you refill the lamp at the Workbench?

The lamp starts empty. You'll see an empty fuel bar on the right side of the lamp icon in your inventory. To fill it, you need Animal Fat, and the process runs through the Workbench.

Here's the exact sequence:

1. Collect 3x Animal Fat (more on farming this below)
2. Walk up to your Workbench and press E to open it
3. Press D to switch to the Refill/Repair tab (it's the second tab, not the default one)
4. Select the lamp from the list
5. Confirm to spend the 3 Animal Fat and restore the lamp to 100%

The Refill/Repair tab is the part most players miss. The default Workbench view shows crafting recipes, and the lamp doesn't appear there. According to PC Gamer's coverage of Windrose, this tab confusion trips up a lot of new players who have the fat in their bag but can't figure out where to use it.

Refill/Repair tab, second slot

Where do you farm Animal Fat?

Boars and Sows are the primary source. They roam the starting island freely, with a notable concentration near the Smuggler's Cache. Kill them, loot the bodies, and you'll find Animal Fat among the drops. Based on community testing documented across multiple Windrose guides, no other early-game animals appear to drop Animal Fat reliably.

Once you've moved past the beginner zone, the islands to the south and southeast have tougher variants: Savage Boars and Charging Boars. These drop two or three chunks of Animal Fat at a time, making them significantly more efficient to farm. They also drop Rough Hide, which shows up in a large number of crafting recipes, so hunting them serves double duty.

Boar spawn near Smuggler's Cache

Can you craft a replacement lamp?

Yes. Once you've picked up the original lamp from the Decrepit Chest, the crafting recipe unlocks at the Workbench. A new Empty Lamp costs 4x Copper Ingot and 1x Rope. You won't need to craft one unless you lose the original, but it's good to know the option exists.

Empty Lamp recipe: 4 Copper Ingots, 1 Rope

Should you carry more than one lamp?

Absolutely, once you start exploring larger islands. The starting area caves are short enough that a single full lamp handles them without trouble. But as you sail further out, Windrose's bigger cave systems burn through one or two full lamps in a single run, according to PC Gamer's hands-on coverage of the early access version.

Carrying two or three lamps means you don't have to interrupt a mining or looting session to trek back to camp for a refill. The material cost is low enough that stocking extras early is worth it, especially once you're farming Savage Boars and sitting on a surplus of Animal Fat.

For more Windrose tips and survival-crafting guides, browse more guides on GAMES.GG to keep your early access run on track.