Unlocking Speed Across the Seven Seas: Fast Travel in Windrose

Co-op pirate survival game Windrose takes place on a massive ocean map dotted with islands and atolls, but when you first see the size of the world, you might be wondering if there is fast travel available or if you must sail your pirate ship every single time. The good news is that yes, fast travel in Windrose exists, though it isn't available immediately upon starting your voyage. Instead of simply opening a map and clicking a location to teleport, this feature requires significant exploration, sailing, and crafting before you can unlock it. You will need to master the basics of combat and resource gathering first, ye matey.

Unlocking the Fast Travel Bell

When you begin the game, your movement is confined to your starter island while you learn the essentials of survival. As you progress through the early quest "How My Shore Adventure Began," you will eventually smelt your first copper ingot. This milestone triggers a new discovery: a craftable item known as the Fast Travel Bell.

To create this essential tool, you must gather specific resources at your workbench:

  • 10 copper ingots
  • 3 ropes

You may also occasionally find a Fast Travel Bell as loot rather than crafting it. Try smashing up the little shipwrecks scattered around your starter island and opening any chests found on the beach to see if one appears in your inventory. However, possessing the bell alone is not enough; you cannot use it without first constructing a destination point.

Building Stations for Instant Travel

To actually utilize fast travel, you must craft a Fast Travel Point. You can access this item in the build menu by pressing B and selecting the Crafting & Utilities tab. The requirements for building one are:

  • 20 wood
  • 1 Fast Travel Bell

It is crucial to remember where you can place these stations. Fast Travel Points can only be constructed near the water, similar to a dock or coastline. You cannot build one in the middle of an island; it must be located on the shore. Once placed, you need at least two points in different locations to enable travel between them. If you wish to set up a point on another island, you must sail there first with your materials and construct it manually.

Sailing vs. On-Foot Travel Mechanics

The mechanics for fast travel shift depending on how you are moving through the world. While on foot, you can only teleport directly from one Fast Travel Point to another. However, when sailing your Ketch, the rules change slightly: fast travel becomes available at all times provided you are not in combat or being pursued by enemies.

You do not need to be docked at a station to activate this feature while at sea. You can open your map from any point in the ocean and select a Fast Travel Point to visit instantly with your ship and crew. This offers incredible freedom for exploration, allowing you to bypass long sailing routes when time is of the essence.

Quirks in Co-Op Mode

While fast travel works smoothly in single-player, there are some peculiar behaviors when playing co-op. During a session with a friend named Wes, opening the map and selecting a destination caused only the host to teleport away, leaving the companion behind on the ship. The player then had to manually summon their ship to their new position. While not a game-breaking issue, it is a surprising quirk of the system that may require quick adjustment during multiplayer sessions.

Discovering Existing Travel Networks

Beyond your own crafted stations, you can find other Fast Travel Points already existing in the world. Major hubs like Tortuga or the Buccaneer faction's island often feature campfire-style fast travel points. Once you have visited these locations for the first time and explored their shores, you can use them as destinations to jump between major trade routes quickly. These pre-existing points serve as excellent starting bases for expanding your personal network of fast travel stations across the ocean.