Windrose ore respawn time is 24 in-game hours, and it covers every ore type — copper, iron, and steel. You don't need to explore for new mining locations every session. Clear a cave, come back the next login, and the nodes are full again.
TL;DR: Windrose ore respawn time is one full in-game day (24 hours) for all cave nodes. Copper is on Coastal Islands (islands 1–2). Iron is in the Foothills biome (levels 6–10). Camp chests and piled crates follow the same respawn cycle. The timer resets on the in-game day, not your real-time clock — log in the next session and everything is back.
Key Takeaways
- All cave ore — copper, iron, steel — respawns after 24 in-game hours
- Chests and piled crates at pirate camps also reset on the same 24-hour cycle
- Copper ore: Coastal Islands caves (islands 1 and 2)
- Iron ore: Foothills biome caves (levels 6–10, crafting unlocks at level 8)
- Steel ore: Cursed Swamps biome (level 11+)
- Respawn triggers on the in-game day reset, not a real-time countdown
- Craft a copper pickaxe at level 3 to mine 3x faster than starter tools
Does Ore Respawn in Windrose?
Yes, and the windrose ore respawn time is consistent across all ore types. Every cave node — copper, iron, steel — resets after one full in-game day cycle. Clear a copper cave completely and return the next session; every node will be available again.
The timer doesn't run on a real-time clock. If you play for 30 minutes without completing an in-game day cycle, the respawn doesn't trigger mid-session. Log in the following day, though, and the cave is full. This means there's no reason to search for fresh caves constantly — the same deposit you found at level 3 is still worth returning to at level 6 or 7.
Piled crates and camp chests follow the same logic. Island 2 pirate camps don't need to be "saved" or avoided to let them restock. Run them each session.
Copper Ore Respawn — Caves and Open Nodes
Copper ore is found in cave systems on the Coastal Islands — primarily islands 1 and 2. Cave openings typically appear on cliff faces and elevated terrain. The early Journal quests often direct you to copper cave locations before you'd naturally find them by exploration.
Windrose ore respawn time for copper: 24 in-game hours.
After clearing the copper nodes in a cave, return the next session and they'll be restocked.
The smithing bench unlocks at level 3. The two tools worth building immediately: a copper pickaxe (mines ore and stone 3x faster than starter tools) and a copper axe (same speed boost for wood). A gathering run that took 10 minutes with starter gear takes about 3 minutes after that. Everything else in Windrose gets faster once those two exist.
GODEEPER: Full walkthrough of the first two hours, including where to find copper cave entrances. Windrose Beginner Guide — First Steps, Best Faction & Tips →
Iron Ore Respawn Times
Iron ore is in the Foothills biome. You'll start accessing this zone around levels 6–10. Iron crafting unlocks at level 8 — you can collect iron before that, but recipes don't open until you hit 8.
Windrose ore respawn time for iron: 24 in-game hours — same as copper.
Iron caves are deeper and less accessible than copper caves. The Foothills Journal quests point you toward iron cave locations. Once you've found them, mark them and build a Fast Travel Point nearby. You'll return to the same caves every session; there's no reason to explore for new ones while the known locations respawn daily.
Iron ore unlocks the next gear tier: iron tools, iron weapons, and a range of crafting components used in mid-game recipes.
Cave Respawn vs. Open-World Nodes
Windrose ore respawn time applies specifically to cave nodes. Not everything respawns on the same schedule:
| Resource | Location | Respawn |
|---|---|---|
| Copper ore | Coastal Islands caves | 24 in-game hours |
| Iron ore | Foothills caves | 24 in-game hours |
| Steel ore | Cursed Swamps caves | 24 in-game hours |
| Camp chests | Pirate camps and POIs | 24 in-game hours |
| Piled crates | Camps, ships, coastal POIs | 24 in-game hours |
| Wood and fiber | Open world trees and plants | Faster — effectively continuous |
| Stone | Surface rocks | Faster — effectively continuous |
Cave ore respawns slower than surface resources, but the tradeoff is consistency — the cave locations don't move and the nodes are always back the next session. Wood and fiber effectively respawn continuously, so they rarely create the same bottleneck that ore does through the early-to-mid game.
Chest and Crate Respawn
Camp chests and piled crates reset on the same 24-hour in-game day cycle as cave ore. This makes daily pirate camp runs the most efficient use of sessions in the early game.
Piled crates are the loottable container objects scattered through pirate camps, coastal POIs, and docked ships. They contain a mix of wood and fiber (common), ore fragments (uncommon), consumables (uncommon), and rare crafting components.
The most important reason to loot every crate: Site Clear requires it. Clearing every chest and piled crate in a POI triggers the Site Clear XP bonus — 250–350 XP per location. If you skip any container, the bonus doesn't fire. The chest counter on the HUD tracks how many remain. Watch it until it hits zero.
Island 2 pirate camps are the best daily target because of how they combine Site Clear XP with chest loot and proximity to copper caves. Run the same camps each session rather than exploring new POIs until you need the XP from fresh locations.
GODEEPER: How the Site Clear XP bonus works and which camps give the best daily return. Windrose Leveling Tips — Fastest Ways to Level Up →
Fastest Ore Farming Routes
Efficient farming in Windrose runs on fixed routes, not exploration. The windrose ore respawn time of 24 in-game hours means the route you build at level 3 still pays off at level 10.
Early game (levels 1–7) — Copper loop:
- Build a Fast Travel Point at island 2 pirate camp
- Each session: teleport in → loot every chest and crate → watch for Site Clear → mine the copper cave on the return route
- Takes 8–12 minutes. Produces camp loot, Site Clear XP, and fresh copper ore nodes.
Mid game (levels 8–10) — Iron loop:
- Build a Fast Travel Point at a Foothills coastal camp
- Each session: run Foothills Journal quests → mine iron caves on the route
- Iron caves are deeper — budget extra time for the full run.
The general rule: don't look for new cave locations when known caves respawn every session. The only time to scout new caves is when you're transitioning to the next ore tier and need to locate iron or steel deposits for the first time. If you're crafting bronze tools and hitting a copper bottleneck, you likely have more copper available than you think — just not all in one location. Split runs between two cave systems if one route feels slow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does ore respawn in Windrose? A: Yes. All cave ore nodes — copper, iron, steel — respawn after 24 in-game hours. You never permanently deplete a cave.
Q: How long does copper ore take to respawn? A: Windrose ore respawn time for copper is 24 in-game hours. Return to Coastal Islands caves the next session and the nodes are full.
Q: How long does iron ore take to respawn? A: Windrose ore respawn time for iron is the same — 24 in-game hours. Return to Foothills caves each session.
Q: Do caves respawn in Windrose? A: Yes. All cave ore nodes reset after one full in-game day cycle. The timer is tied to the in-game day, not real-time.
Q: Do chests and crates respawn in Windrose? A: Yes. Pirate camp chests and piled crates also reset every 24 in-game hours. Island 2 camp runs are worth doing each session.
Q: Where does copper ore spawn? A: Cave systems on Coastal Islands (islands 1 and 2). Look for cave openings on cliff faces.
Q: Where does iron ore spawn? A: Foothills biome caves, accessible at levels 6–10. Iron crafting unlocks at level 8.
References
- Windrose on Steam — official store page and developer patch notes
- Windrose on Reddit — r/WindRose — community respawn reports and farming routes
- Windrose Resources Guide — Ore, Piled Crates & Full Farming Guide
- Windrose Leveling Tips — Fastest XP Farming Methods
- Windrose Beginner Guide — First Steps, Best Faction & Tips
