Windrose: How to Get Gunpowder
If you need Gunpowder in Windrose, the important part is knowing which advice is current. Older demo-era posts said you could only loot it, but current April 2026 Early Access guides agree that you can also craft Gunpowder once you progress far enough.
When You Unlock Gunpowder Crafting
Current Early Access guides place the crafting unlock at the Foothills stage.
The path looks like this:
- Reach the Foothills.
- Obtain Corn.
- Craft Millstone Parts at the Workbench.
- Build the Millstones workstation.
The current Millstones build recipe is:
- 1 Millstone Parts
- 15 Wood
Gunpowder Crafting Recipe
Once the Millstones are built, the current recipe is:
- 25 Ash
- 25 Sulfur
Where the Materials Come From
- Ash comes out as a byproduct when you make Charcoal in the Charcoal Kiln.
- Sulfur is gathered from nodes in the coastal jungles.
If you are still stuck on metal production, start with the Windrose Copper Ingot guide because copper tools and stations are the real gate before your mid-game crafting opens up.
Best Early Gunpowder Sources Before You Can Craft It
Before the Millstones setup is online, the best current sources are:
- chests in caves and ruins
- Blackbeard pirate camps
- enemy pirates during crew-rescue progression
- the buried chest from Traveler’s Camp
That last one is especially good early because the Traveler’s Camp second chest reward currently includes 10 Homemade Gunpowder.
Fastest Reliable Route
If your objective is simply “get enough powder to use pistols and blunderbusses now,” the fastest path is:
- Loot early hidden chests and pirate storage.
- Push the crew-rescue quests.
- Farm pirate camps for extra drops.
- Transition to Millstones crafting once Foothills opens.
That route is more reliable than waiting for random cave chest luck.
How Gunpowder Is Used
Current guides agree on one easy-to-miss point: guns need both bullets and Gunpowder.
Gunpowder sits in the ammo setup beside your bullets, so if your firearm refuses to behave, check that you are not missing one half of the pair.
Bottom Line
As of April 2026, the clean answer is:
- early game: loot Gunpowder
- mid game onward: craft it at Millstones
If you are still on tutorial-island progression, do not waste time hunting for a full crafting chain yet. Loot what you can, clear pirate objectives, then switch to the 25 Ash + 25 Sulfur recipe once Foothills progression opens.
