Windrose: Ashlands - What We Know So Far

Windrose just released the teaser trailer for their first major expansion to the game, titled "Ashlands."

The developers over at Kraken Express have teased the update ever since the launch of the game, and are finally offering some insight into some of the things coming to the game in the future.

The Ashlands Biome

The namesake biome for the game's update is a land ravaged by volcanic eruptions in the far past. Players will be able to explore the ashen environment for all sorts of new themed content, including:

• Enemies

• Items

• Recipes

• Landmarks

• Resources

• Factions

• Armor Sets & Weapons

• New Regional Boss

The introduction of the biome is also planned to come alongside improvements to general biome mechanics in the game to make sure all biomes feel diverse and unique.

Story Expansion

One of the things that sets Windrose apart the most compared to a lot of other survival games is its focus on an overarching narrative. Heading into the Ashlands update, the developers plan on committing even further to the story of the game!

The Ashlands introduces the hook of additional factions searching for the Obols as you explore the ruins of an historic Spanish colony. Each new faction will have their own schemes, methods, and tricks to navigate all-while surviving the twisted volcanic land.

Ship Overhaul

After a lot of feedback from players, the developers plan on releasing their first expansion to the ship system in the game alongside at least one mystery ship in the Ashlands update.

Some of the core features that are being touched on in the near future include:

• Improvements to the game's AI system to improve NPC ship behaviour and help the sailing experience feel more immersive.

• Working on a general pass through fleshing out the existing ship combat in the game.

• Adding more ship classes! At least one more ship will be added alongside the Ashlands biome, with more to come in the future.

• More shanties and songs on-deck! A large expansion to the array of shanties available in the game is planned to be added.

There has also been a lot of feedback sent over to the Kraken Express team about adding a wind system to the sailing experience, allowing pirates to pick up speed when sailing alongside it. While this is something they want to explore and are considering, it's not a change they're confident in yet.

The developers are committed to making sure their upcoming changes don't impact the sense of adventure behind the sailing in the game, or cause any unwanted frustration.

Building, Armor Changes, and More!

The Ashlands update lives up to its name as a major content update by touching on almost all aspects of the game. On the building side of things, there is going to be a plethora of new building sets, pieces, and decor introduce to the game.

The customization options in the game won't end there, as new costumes and armors are being introduced as well! The team is working on some new potential armor sets for your characters, and also plans to update existing costumes and equipment for factions like the Buccaneers:

The developers emphasize that the update is still in development, and does not yet have a confirmed release date. It is possible for things to change over time before the update goes live. We'll continue to keep you updated on Windrose and its Ashlands content update as more news is revealed!

Prepare For The Ashlands

If you want to get ready for the release of the new biome and catch up on the game's story so far, you can jump in and explore the three environments in the game already with your friends on a Kinetic Hosting server.

Kinetic Hosting is the best Windrose server host to get your crew sailing together right away, even on a budget. We even recently released an update to our panel adding some extra quality of life improvements specifically for Windrose server owners!