Windrose, the pirate survival game formerly known as Crosswind, uses two distinct systems to make your weapons stronger. One raises raw damage numbers, while the other bumps a weapon's class and unlocks special skills. Mixing them up — or missing the prerequisites for either — is a common source of confusion, especially since both live under the broad umbrella of "upgrading."
Quick answer: Build the Weaponsmith Workshop (unlocked through early story missions) to raise a weapon's item level and damage. To promote a weapon's class and gain passive skills, use the separate Ascend station, which requires ingots found in ancient ruins and completion of the Icelander mission.
Weaponsmith Workshop — Raising Item Level and Damage
You unlock the Weaponsmith Workshop recipe by completing the first few story missions after washing ashore. Once built, the station serves two purposes: crafting new weapons and upgrading existing ones. Select the "Upgrade" tab, choose the weapon you want to improve, and spend the required materials to push it to the next item level.
The material cost depends on what the weapon is made of. Copper weapons consume copper, iron weapons consume iron, and so on. Each level-up increases the weapon's base attack stat — nothing else. No new abilities or passive bonuses are added through this path.
Upgrade vs. Ascend — Key Differences
| Feature | Upgrade (Weaponsmith Workshop) | Ascend (Ascend Station) |
|---|---|---|
| What it improves | Item level and base damage | Weapon class (e.g., A → S) and passive skills |
| Materials needed | Metal matching the weapon type (copper, iron, etc.) | Ingots found in ancient ruins |
| Unlock requirement | Early story missions | Complete the Icelander mission |
| Adds special skills? | No | Yes (e.g., +20% critical chance at S class) |
The two systems are completely independent. You can upgrade a weapon's item level without ascending it, and ascending does not raise damage. For the strongest possible loadout, you want to do both.
How to Ascend a Weapon's Class
Step 1: Complete the Icelander mission. This quest rewards you with the Ascend station recipe, which you can then place at your base.
Step 2: Gather ingots from ancient ruins. These ruins appear as points of interest scattered across every island. Explore them thoroughly — the ingots are found inside the ruins themselves, and the item tooltip confirms their purpose.
Step 3: Interact with the Ascend station and select the "Ascend" tab at the top of the interface. Choose the weapon you want to promote, confirm the ingot cost, and the weapon's class will jump (for example, from A class to S class). Each class promotion adds a new passive skill to the weapon.
Armor Upgrades — Separate Workshop, No Ascend Yet
Armor follows a similar upgrade path through its own dedicated station, the Armor Workshop. Like the Weaponsmith Workshop, it lets you craft new armor pieces and raise their defensive stats by spending matching materials. However, the Ascend function for armor currently displays a "coming soon" label, meaning class promotion for defensive gear is not yet available. Only weapons can be ascended at this time.
Troubleshooting — Weapon Not Showing in the Station
If a weapon vanishes from either the upgrade or ascend list, a few things are worth checking. Make sure the weapon is in your inventory and not equipped in a slot the station cannot read. Some players have encountered a situation where a weapon upgraded to item level 8 no longer appears for further upgrades or ascension. Restarting the game or moving the weapon between inventory slots has resolved the issue for some, though it may also reflect an intentional level cap in the current build. Windrose is in Early Access, so these edge cases are likely to be addressed in future patches.
Between the Weaponsmith Workshop for raw damage and the Ascend station for class promotions and passive skills, Windrose gives you two clear paths to strengthen your arsenal. Focus on progressing the story to unlock both stations early, stockpile metals for upgrades, and hunt ancient ruins for the ingots that fuel ascension.