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Windrose boarding vs. sinking explained

Should you board or sink your enemy's ships in Windrose?

The player looks at their Ketch in Windrose.
Image credit: Kraken Express/Eurogamer
Kelsey Raynor avatar
Guide by Kelsey Raynor Senior Guides Writer
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When it comes to naval combat in Windrose, you've a choice between boarding or sinking the ships you've come into contact with. And if you're here, then you're no doubt wondering exactly what the difference is between the two, and which option wields higher rewards… To help with that, here's Windrose boarding vs. sinking explained. I've also explained how to board a ship in case you're having as much trouble with that as I was.

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Windrose boarding vs. sinking explained

When it comes to boarding or sinking ships in Windrose, the decision as to which one you do is ultimately up to you and your party unless a quest demands that you board/sink a ship. That said, there are some differences to be aware of when making your decision:

  • Sinking a ship is easier than boarding it. Sinking a ship requires you to use your cannons to damage it until it's destroyed, then you can loot its wares from the ocean. Boarding a ship means using your cannons until the ship is low HP and slowed, then boarding it and fighting the crew onboard too. It's tougher and more time-consuming ultimately.
  • Boarding ships requires more preparation. To board a ship, you need to not only prepare the ship, but your own gear too. On top of that, you'll need to craft and equip Boarding Party Gear to your boat if you want your ship's crew to help you.
    • The player can be seen beginning to board an enemy ship, the Unsinkable, in Windrose.
    Image credit: Kraken Express/Eurogamer
  • Boarding ships provides more rewards, but they're minimal. If you encounter a ship with a golden chest icon by its name and choose to board it instead of sinking it, it's likely that you'll earn some Coins and Provisions for your efforts on top of the loot onboard. These rewards are rather minimal and often unnoticeable according to the community, so you should weigh up if the extra Coins are worth your crew's time, effort, and bloodshed.
    • Boarding ships without the yellow chest icon by their name appears to wield even less additional rewards.
  • Boarding ships offers different spoils to destroy them. Zoom in on the ocean on your map to see what waters you're in and what spoils you can expect to find from sinking versus boarding. For example, sinking ships in Blackbeard Waters wields Piasters and Blackbeard Insignias, whereas boarding ships in Blackbeard Waters can also wield Trade Goods, Coffee, and Salt.

How to board a ship in Windrose

To successfully board a ship in Windrose, you first need to craft some Boarding Party Gear at the Shipwright's Workshop and then equip it to your ship. At Level 1, this will set you back 7 Copper Ingots, 7 Rough Hides, and 7 Rough Cloth.

The recipe for Boarding Party Gear is shown in Windrose.
You need Boarding Party Gear to board a ship. | Image credit: Kraken Express/Eurogamer

With the Boarding Party Gear prepared, you can take to the seas! While in naval combat, you need to do the following to board a ship:

  1. Reduce the ship's HP to approximately 20% so that a red and black icon depicting two swords appears. The ship will stop moving and this icon signals that it's ready to board.
  2. Destroy any additional ships in the area – while avoiding doing any additional damage to the ship you wish to board – to make your life easier. This is entirely optional but does keep your ship safe while you try to board.
  3. When you're ready to board, pull up alongside the ship very slowly. You may need to slow down in advance to do this, and you want to be side by side with the ship. This allows your crew to use their Boarding Party Gear and actually board the ship. You'll see a prompt to board if you're successful.
  4. Board the ship yourself and clear out the enemy crew. You'll be tasked with killing a certain amount, such as five. After killing the enemies, you'll have successfully boarded the ship and will be rewarded with some extra spoils.
The player can be seen being awarded with various spoils after successfully boarding an enemy ship in Windrose.
After successfully boarding a ship and clearing the enemies, you'll gain some extra rewards. | Image credit: Kraken Express/Eurogamer

It's also worth noting that there's no use boarding a ship by simply swimming over to it or jumping onto it while in naval combat. Without boarding the boat properly alongside your crew, the boarded ship will simply spawn an infinite amount of enemies and you won't get any extra spoils; you'll unfortunately just be wasting your time. Take it from someone who learnt this the hard way and used up all their Potions of Healing in the process…

Good luck boarding ships (or sinking them) in Windrose! For more, take a look at how to set up your own dedicated server, how to get to Tortuga, and everything you need to know about fishing.

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