Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest Windrose Guide

Before you head back out to the quest area, your exciting journey into finding buried treasure actually starts right at your home base!

Heading to the Workbench

Make your way back to your base camp and locate your Workbench—the very same one you crafted during the tutorial using just 5 pieces of wood. This handy crafting station is where you'll create the most essential tool for any aspiring treasure hunter: your first shovel.

Gathering the Materials

To craft your shovel, you will need to gather two specific types of materials. While these resources aren't scattered loose on the ground or directly handed to you by NPCs, tracking them down is a rewarding part of the adventure. Once you have them in hand, you'll be fully equipped to go out and dig up some incredible rewards!

Once you have your materials, craft the Shovel at the Workbench. Then equip it. The shovel has four modes: Weapon, Dig, Raise, and Flatten. You want Dig, activated by pressing Z or X. Not Weapon. Digging at enemies is technically possible, but the Drowned enemies waiting for you later will not appreciate being landscaped.

Pro tip from someone who learned it the hard way: upgrade your Copper Axe and Pickaxe before you rush into weapon crafting. Faster resource gathering matters more than a slightly better sword at this stage of the game.

Now that you have your shovel ready, you are all set to head back to the Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest quest marker! Because Windrose features procedurally generated islands, your exact layout might look a little different from other players', but the core steps of the quest will be exactly the same.

When you arrive at the marker, look for the cluster of skeleton remains. The chest is buried right in the approximate geographic center of this area, using the bones as a natural perimeter.

Before you start, just remember to switch your Shovel into Dig mode (by pressing Z or X). Move your mouse over the central patch of ground until the dig prompt appears. The game won't show a glowing arrow or sparkle on the dirt, so using the bone cluster as your visual guide is the perfect way to find it!

"Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest" Complete Walkthrough

Here is a quick, step-by-step breakdown of the entire quest line from start to finish:

1. Accept the Quest: Locate the quest giver or starting point early in your playthrough on the starting island, right near the skeleton remains.
2. Set Up Utilities: If you haven't already, build a Charcoal Kiln and a Smelting Furnace at your base camp.
3. Gather Materials: Head into the local caves on the starting island to mine enough Copper Ore to yield 3 Copper Ingots, and gather 10 Wood from nearby trees.
4. Smelt the Ore: Place your ore into the Smelting Furnace, using the Charcoal Kiln to provide the necessary fuel, and process your ingots.
5. Craft the Shovel: Go to your Workbench and combine your 3 Copper Ingots and 10 Wood to craft your shovel. Remember to set it to Dig mode (Z or X) rather than weapon mode.
6. Return and Dig: Head back to the skeleton cluster, hover your cursor over the center dirt patch, and use the dig function to uncover the chest.
7. Defeat the Ambush: Be ready! Opening the chest will immediately spawn four Drowned enemies.
8. Claim Your Reward: Once the area is clear, safely open the chest and enjoy your hard-earned silver and loot!

Combat Strategy: Defeating the Drowned

Since this is likely your first encounter with the Drowned, facing four of them at once with early-game gear can be a fun challenge. Here are a few friendly strategies to help you navigate the fight smoothly:

• Employ Hit-and-Run Tactics: Land a strike or two on the nearest enemy, then sprint backward to safety. Your stamina recharges quickly in Windrose, making it easy to repeat this cycle safely.
• Focus on One Target: It is much easier to manage the fight by reducing their numbers quickly. Focus all of your attacks on a single Drowned until it defeats them, then move on to the next.
• Use the Terrain to Your Advantage: Keep natural obstacles like trees, large rocks, or even the nearby piles of bones between yourself and the enemies. This helps break up their pathfinding and prevents you from being surrounded.
• Save Your Gunpowder: Gunpowder is a precious resource best saved for major dungeon boss fights later on. Standard melee weapons and smart movement are more than enough to win this battle.

Friendly Reminder: If you happen to fall in battle, don't worry at all! The uncovered chest will remain exactly where it is. You can simply gather your bearings, heal up, and head back to finish the job whenever you're ready.

Congratulations. You dug a hole, survived an ambush, and opened a chest that fifteen pirates died protecting. Here is what the Windrose quest rewards amount to after all that:

While 50 XP might seem modest at first glance, it is actually incredibly valuable to your progression! In Windrose, defeating enemies doesn't grant experience points; instead, you earn XP exclusively by completing quests and milestone objectives. This makes every side quest a wonderful opportunity to level up your character and advance your journey.