Money Making Guide - 10 Best Ways to Earn Gold

How to Get Rich

Gold makes the world go round in Windrose. Better ships, better gear, bigger crews - everything costs money.

This guide covers the 10 best ways to make gold, ranked by profit per hour and how accessible they are for new players.

1. Trading (Best for Beginners)

Buying goods low in one port and selling them high in another. Simple, reliable, and low risk.

• Profit per hour: 500-2000 gold
• Requires: A ship, some starting capital
• Risk level: Low

The basic loop: check what each port buys and sells, find a route where the buy price is low and sell price is high, run it back and forth.

2. Treasure Hunting

Finding and digging up treasure maps. High risk, high reward, and incredibly fun.

• Profit per hour: 1000-5000+ gold
• Requires: Treasure maps, a shovel, combat gear
• Risk level: Medium-High

Treasure maps come from quests, enemy drops, and hidden locations. Each map leads to a chest with random loot. Some have thousands of gold, others have junk. It is a gamble, but the average is very good.

3. Bounty Hunting

Hunting down wanted pirates and turning them in for gold. Great for players who love combat.

• Profit per hour: 800-3000 gold
• Requires: A combat-ready ship, good gear
• Risk level: High

Pick up bounties from bounty boards in major ports. Higher difficulty bounties pay more but are more dangerous.

4. Fishing

Relaxing, low-stress money making. Great for casual play or while doing something else.

• Profit per hour: 300-800 gold
• Requires: A fishing rod, bait
• Risk level: Very Low

Fishing will not make you rich fast, but it is consistent, zero risk, and you can do it while chatting with friends or watching videos.

5. Crafting

Crafting items and selling them for profit. Requires some upfront investment but can be very profitable.

• Profit per hour: 600-2500 gold
• Requires: Crafting skills, materials, market knowledge
• Risk level: Low-Medium

Popular crafted items to sell: cannons, ship upgrades, potions, food, and building materials.

Methods 6-10

6. Questing

Doing faction and side quests. Not the absolute fastest, but you get reputation and items on top of gold.

7. Looting Shipwrecks

Diving on wrecks and looting them. Free loot, but you need to find them first and watch out for hostile sea life.

8. Running Cargo for NPCs

Accept delivery missions from NPC merchants. Lower profit than trading but no risk and no startup capital needed.

9. Raiding (Pirate Playstyle)

Attacking and plundering other ships and coastal towns. Very high profit but also very high risk, and everyone will be hunting you.

10. Passive Income

Property, businesses, and investments. Requires a lot of upfront gold but generates income even when you are offline.

General Money Making Tips

• Reinvest profits. Use the money you make to buy upgrades that let you make even more money.
• Diversify. Do not rely on just one income source. Markets crash, spawns change, patches happen.
• Know when to stop. If a run is going badly, cut your losses and try again later.
• Use the auction house. Sell loot and crafted items for way more than vendor price.
• Join the Merchant Guild. The 20% trade discount is massive profit.