Quick answer
Check Buccaneer recruitment availability, not just the highest ship tier you own. In a Steam discussion, a player with several Tier 3 ships reported unlocking the Eyepatch Maker after building a Tier 4 ship that introduced the relevant crew. Other replies identify Buccaneers as the crew requiring Eyepatches. This is a community-confirmed example, not a rule that every Tier 4 hull unlocks it.[^2]
Version and source notesUpdated 2026-09-07 · Within source review window
- Updated
- 2026-09-07
- Works with
- PC production and crew unlocks; listed wiki base rates
- What this guide covers
- Source-reviewed, not gameplay-tested; calculated examples are labelled
- Version notes
- Recheck live tooltips after production or progression updates
- Update status
- Within source review window
Follow the crew requirement
- Open the pirate overview and inspect the upkeep shown for Buccaneers.
- In the ship overview, find a hull that can employ that crew.
- Check that hull's current Compass and construction requirements.
- After making the crew available, look for the Eyepatch Maker in the equipment buildings.
- Prepare its input supply before expanding recruitment.
This avoids an expensive detour: two ships at the same tier can expose different crew. The ship guide covers hull progression; this page focuses on the missing equipment workshop.
Prepare the production inputs
The official workshop record lists 2 Leather and 2 Fibre as inputs, 15 Eyepatches per minute as base output, and 30 Eyepatches of output storage. It also lists one Masterhand and two Fetchers.1 Confirm current tooltips before assigning your last specialist.
A practical commissioning order is to supply Leather first, add Fibre, verify staffing, then watch finished Eyepatches leave the workshop. Do not infer demand from the workshop's output: compare it against the crew you actually plan to recruit.
Locked, idle, or unavailable to crew?
| State | Check first |
|---|---|
| Workshop is missing | Recruitment gate and ship crew roster |
| Workshop exists but is idle | Both ingredient stocks and staffing |
| Eyepatches pile up locally | Collection connection and destination storage |
| Crew still reports missing upkeep | Its camp and the distribution route serving it |
The linked Steam thread also corrects a misleading assumption about the Barber Surgeon: participants explain that it distributes upkeep goods, rather than needing all displayed goods as one production recipe. The original reporter later acknowledged a missing Medicine connection.2 Treat that as a reason to inspect the actual crew demand, not to shut every service down when an unrelated slot is empty.
FAQ
Does any Tier 2 ship unlock the Eyepatch Maker?
The verified discussion does not support that shortcut. Inspect the eligible crew roster.
Must I build all four ship classes?
The report describes one suitable ship unlocking it. It does not establish an all-classes requirement.
What should I build next?
Stabilise the workshop's input sources and review crew upkeep before hiring a larger crew.