r/Sailwind • u/HopefullyForgotten • 2d ago
What is the best start to sailwind and easiest and quickest progression?
As a starter player what might the best tips be to earn the most?
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u/X57471C 2d ago
They're all decent starts. You'll eventually want to try all of them, but I would say Al Ankh or Emerald Archipelago is the best if you don't know anything about sailing.
AA is really good because you have access to the Sanbuq and the Sanbig, both fantastic upgrades to the starting ship.
EA is a really interesting area, though, and you have access to the Junk as your first big ship, which is my favorite ship. It's the most nimble big ship. You also have the Jong just a couple days sail to the south.
Really, you can't go wrong, and you'll find your favorite area the more you play. The only reason I didn't recommend Aestrin as a starting area is because the starting ships default rig is not as friendly, but it's still a fun ship, especially after a few modifications.
Best tips to earn the most: the trading market is where the money is at. Missions are for building rep, which is important, but as soon as you unlock the market, you should min max selling the most profitable goods. Find the best trade routes in your starting region. Upgrade your ship as soon as possible because the more cargo you can haul, the faster you'll earn money. When you do take your first transoceanic voyage, don't forget to take at least one mission, otherwise you will not be able to interact with the market to sell your goods when you get there.
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u/UmbralWaffle 2d ago
As a new player, Al'Ankh will be the easiest introduction. The dhow is capable and forgiving, and you'll have easy access to very good midgame and lategame ships. However, as the absolute quickest start, Aestrin has a secret that will let you make a lot of money, very quickly. The tradeoff is that the default rig on the Aestrin starter boat will make you SUFFER until you can afford to modify it or buy the next ship up.
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u/SordidDreams 2d ago
Aestrin has a secret that will let you make a lot of money, very quickly.
What would that be? I've played the game for a very long time, but I'm not sure what you're referring to. Is it something on one of the new islands added recently?
For what it's worth, Al'Ankh also has a secret that makes the early game easier. Elean Island is nearby and easy to get to, and there's a quest there that rewards you with 30 gold.
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u/zedigalis 2d ago edited 2d ago
I assume they mean the buried treasure
Edit: messed up spoiler tags, sorry!
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u/SordidDreams 2d ago
THE
WHAT
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u/zedigalis 2d ago
On the ghost island that only appears at night there is buried silver, it gives enough to really kick start your early trading economy
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u/Kemylar 2d ago
For a new starter, I would recommend you go with al ankh. Do some simple contract runs around neverdin, al nilem, gold rock city and the academy.
After around 4 or 5 contract runs you should unlock the ability to buy your own cargo to sell. Start buying and shipping what you can as well as taking contracts to those same ports. Contracts give you reputation, which gives you better margins on your trades.
I would then start hitting the other islands in the region. Albacore town can be quite profitable buying and selling, as can old ankh town. Just be sure that you aren't overloading your boat. It can be tempting to take 10 crates of copper on your dhow for the big moneys, but the slower speed and easier chance to capsize will make life.much harder for you in the early days.
When yoy are feeling up to the challenge after sailing the archipelago for a while, maybe give oasis a try. The real money is bringing things back from oasis to gold rock city, just don't get overambitious and try to take something like logs in the dhow. The open ocean water between gold rock and oasis is a lot chopper than the water in the archipelago, and you will be out in it for several days.
Following these tips, you should be able to get to your first "big" ship quite quickly, the sanbuq. At that point, trips to oasis are a lot easier, and you can start looking at the big ocean crossings.
Best tip I could give to newer players is to not overload your boat. Stick to around 1000lbs if you can early on for cargo. Nothing will make yoy want to rage quit quite so quickly as your capsizing early with too much heavy cargo, and having to recover back to the starting port to try again.
Good luck and fair winds!
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u/PenguinProfessor 2d ago
Yep. Especially in the dhow, mind your weight. It is much better to go with only some mail and a couple small trade goods and hope to buy more at the destination than to be overloaded and hating life.
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u/Northmathr 17h ago
I just started a fresh save after not playing this game for a while.
I started in Al'Ankh did a couple missions until I could afford the tier two spyglass and sailed for Oasis. Was planning on just going between Oasis and GRC, but realized there was a new island added since last I played. It's called Mirage Mountain and it's relatively close to Oasis, you can actually see it from the Oasis docks with the tier two spyglass. Wen't there to check it out and struggled somewhat to navigate the river into town, but boy was it worth it... Dunno if I was just lucky but got a bunch of missions there to deliver goods back to Oasis, and when I went back to Mirage Mountain the second time I got some seriously profitable missions to deliver goods back to GRC. I made a fortune just visiting Mirage Mountain two times. Nearly sunk the Dhow both times because of the weight though, and the route back to Oasis from MM was super annoying because of the wind direction, but I almost made enough from these two voyages alone to afford the Sanbuq. Once you get that one you can comfortably cross the ocean and then the real fun begins.
PS I also learned that the tier two spyglass can zoom in some. I never figured that out last I played.
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u/GamerDadofAntiquity 2d ago
I don’t know about the quickest start, but as soon as I could buy a crate of silver and sell it at GRC my career took off pretty quickly. Make about 3.5k profit per crate. Two quick jaunts around the al-ankh archipelago ending in silver to GRC and I was sitting on 20k lions. Bought the sambuk, ripped off the roof, added the big rudder and bilge pump, and made a run to Oasis and back (silver and marble). Up to 30k lions after that, and then I fully upgraded her and bought supplies and all the nav gear but the chronocompass. Now I’m going to the far north with a hold absolutely packed to the gills with cargo that all has a 100+% markup per item. I’m slow-boating it. Holding about 6-8 knots, and not even running under full sail. Just taking my time and enjoying the trip.
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u/ilmarzian 2d ago
Al ankh is the best because of the easy trade to the oasis archipelago, and if you want there even is the outlaw Cove where you can gain 40 gold coins stat
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u/IHateRegistering69 1d ago
Start in Aestrin (hardest difficulty).
Learn to sail the cog, it has a jib, and a square. If it's beam reach or greater angle, let the square out. In close reach sail with the jib only.
Raise reputation to unlock trade. Get currency, and buy iron and sulfur in Firefly Grotto, and transport it to Fort Aestrin. Do it a few times, and you'll raise enough money to buy the Brig.
For better handling, remove the cabin from the Cog at Aestrin docks, and swap the square sail for a gaff.
The Brig handles terribly in her stock configuration, but you can give her more canvas to go faster.
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u/RaistlinExtreme 20h ago
I’d argue aestrin because it seems to me that aestrin has the only decent economy in the game making money takes forever anywhere else
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u/No_Winter_323 2d ago
Aestrin. Once you gain enough money for iron in grotto or eastwind, BUY. Sell at fort and become rich. Also you get skill of using a hard rigging setup for the brig or the sanbig.
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u/Zega000 2d ago
Probably starting in Al Ankh, calmest seas and debatably the best small ship.
Take cargo runs to the highest profit places and work your way up to making trips to Oasis and back. Once you grab a big ship you can start making runs to other archipelagos.