Windrose leans hard into survival crafting, and Clay is one of the first resources that will stop you in your tracks. You need it to build both the Charcoal Kiln and the Smelting Furnace during the Islander tutorial quest, and the game doesn't mark it on your map or give you any indication of what it looks like. Most players waste time searching the beaches, assuming clay would be near water. It isn't.
Quick answer: Clay is found in dark, cracked, mud-like patches on the ground between the Ancient Ruins and the Copper Deposit on the starting island. You need a Stone Pickaxe to harvest it.
Where Clay spawns on the starting island
On the first island, Clay deposits sit inland — roughly in the center of the map, in the area between the Ancient Ruins and the Copper Deposit. The deposits appear as dark brown, cracked patches on the ground that resemble dried mud. They are distinctly darker than the surrounding terrain and have visible surface cracks, making them look nothing like the rock formations you've been mining for Stone.
A common mistake is searching along the shoreline. Clay deposits do not spawn on beaches. Head toward the interior of the island instead. On the east side of the map, near some palm trees, you may notice a crater-like circular area — that's another reliable spot where players have found clay. Beyond the starting island, clay deposits can appear on other islands as well, typically in grassy areas just inland from the coast.
A single muddy deposit yields roughly 60 to 80 Clay when fully mined, which is more than enough to cover your immediate crafting needs.
Crafting the Stone Pickaxe first
You cannot harvest Clay with your bare hands or a Stone Axe. You specifically need a Stone Pickaxe, which itself requires a Workbench to craft. Here's the sequence:
Step 1: Gather 5 Wood from the environment. Open the construction screen and build a Workbench.
Step 2: Interact with the Workbench and craft a Stone Pickaxe using 3 Wood and 3 Stone. Stone can be picked up from loose rocks scattered around the island, particularly near the shore.
Step 3: Make sure you have room in your active inventory to take the pickaxe. If your inventory is full, craft a Storage Basket at the Workbench first and offload some items before picking up the pickaxe.
Once the Stone Pickaxe is equipped, walk up to a clay deposit, aim at it, and use your primary attack. You'll need to swing several times — the first couple of hits produce debris that isn't collectible Clay. Keep hitting the same spot until actual Clay items drop on the ground for you to pick up.
How much Clay you need for the Islander quest
The Islander tutorial requires you to build two structures that consume Clay:
| Structure | Clay required | Other materials |
|---|---|---|
| Charcoal Kiln | 20 | 25 Wood |
| Smelting Furnace | 15 | 30 Stone |
That's 35 Clay total. Since a single deposit drops 60–80 Clay, one trip to the mud patch should cover both structures with plenty left over.
What these structures unlock
The Charcoal Kiln converts Wood into Charcoal, which is a required fuel for the Smelting Furnace. The Smelting Furnace then uses Charcoal and Copper Ore to produce Copper Ingots. Producing Copper Ingots is mandatory for finishing the Islander quest — you'll eventually need them to build a Weaponsmith Workshop (10 Wood and 5 Copper Ingots) and craft your first proper melee weapon, either a Saber, Rapier, or Club.
Without Clay, this entire crafting chain is blocked. That makes it one of the most critical early-game bottlenecks, despite the game never explicitly telling you where to find it or what it looks like.
Once you've harvested your Clay and built the Charcoal Kiln and Smelting Furnace, the rest of the Islander tutorial flows much more smoothly. If you're planning ahead, grab extra Clay while you're at the deposit — there's no downside to stockpiling it, and future crafting recipes may call for it as well.