41 articlesMoney in Windrose goes fast. Ships, gear, blueprints, faction items, and NPC workers all demand Piastre and the game is not exactly generous about pointing you towards the best ways to earn it. A lot of players end up exploring for hours, looting everything in sight, and still finding themselves short when they need it most.
The good news is that once you know which methods actually pay off, building up a solid Piastre income does not take nearly as long as it seems. From sinking hauler ships and selling contraband to the right factions to completing quests that pay out well, there are a few approaches that stand out above the rest. In this guide, I will cover the most effective ways to make money in the game.
Best Ways to Farm Piastre & Guineas
There are two main currencies. Piastres, which are silver coins, and Guineas, which are gold coins. Piastres are the one you will be spending the most. Pretty much everything in the game from blueprints and ship upgrades to faction items and merchant purchases runs on Piastres. Guineas on the other hand are used primarily for cosmetics and a handful of useful items that cannot be bought with Piastres.
You can convert one currency into the other but the exchange rates are genuinely terrible and you will lose a significant amount of value doing so. I would strongly recommend avoiding the conversion system unless you are in a situation where you absolutely need something and cannot wait.
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The first thing I would recommend when you are just getting started is to push through the main storyline quests. They do not pay out massive amounts of Piastre on their own but that is not really the point of doing them early on. Working through the main story is what opens everything else up.
You will naturally run into the different factions, unlock Tortuga, discover new regions, and gain access to systems and merchants that would otherwise be completely unavailable to you. Those are really important as you won’t be able to sell your items otherwise.
Boarding & Looting Ships For Piastre
The main and most reliable way to farm Piastre in Windrose is by hunting down and boarding enemy ships. Not just any ships though. You need to specifically look for ships with their names written in gold and a chest icon displayed above them. These are the hauler type vessels like the Blackbeard Transport and Blackbeard Hauler ships. They are the ones carrying the real value and are worth prioritizing over regular enemy ships every time you spot one.
Once you have damaged the ship enough to board it and cleared out all the enemies inside, you will receive a direct Piastre bonus. This ranges anywhere from 50 up to 200 or more depending on the size and level of the ship. But that is not all you are getting out of it. The ships also carry loot that you can take back and sell to the appropriate faction buyers for additional Piastre on top of what you already earned from the boarding bonus.
What about Guineas?
Guineas are harder to come by than Piastres and you will not be earning them through regular combat or selling loot. The most consistent way to farm them is through buried treasure.
Alexandre Exquemelin leaves behind seven journal notes scattered across Traveller’s Camps on different islands. Following these notes and tracking down his buried treasure will reward you with a solid Guinea payout along with Silver and Gold Ingots on top. Blackbeard’s Treasure Maps work the same way and are another reliable source worth tracking down as you explore. Make sure you have a Shovel crafted before going out to hunt buried treasure.
Outside of treasure hunting, major world quest rewards and late game faction quests also hand out Guineas so make sure you are keeping up with those as you progress through the story. Ruins are also a good way of getting your hands on some Guinea as these have multiple chests inside.
Wrapping Up
That covers the most reliable ways to farm Piastre and Guineas in Windrose. The boarding loop is what you will keep coming back to throughout the game so it is worth investing in better cannons and upgrading to a Frigate ship as soon as you can afford to. The faster you can take down hauler ships the more efficient your farming runs become.
