Fleet Building

Fleets behave differently depending on ship roles, cargo capacity, speed, combat value, population cost, and specialist effects. Spying, raiding, defending, trade, siege, and conquest all use ships in different ways.

Ship roles

Combat ships provide attacking power. Defender ships add value when holding ports. Spy Ships gather information. Trade Ships move resources. Fire Ships pressure Port Defenses after a successful attack. Flagbearers turn successful attacks into conquest pressure.

Ship value depends on context rather than one generic fleet score. A Spy Ship contributes information. A Trade Ship contributes logistics and cargo. A Carrack contributes defensive strength when stationed at a port.

Hidden information can affect fleet outcomes. Spy Ships are the ship type tied to revealing port information before other actions, and a successful spy-only attack can discover a temporary weakness for a later follow-up.

Docks are the center of fleet management. The ship building view handles new orders, the ship overview explains ship roles, and ship activity tracks what is building, moving, or returning. Queue space, resources, population, and unlocks all matter before a ship can be ordered.

Speed and timing

Fast fleets arrive sooner. Slower ships change the timing of the whole mission. A fleet’s travel time depends on distance and the slowest ship included.

Fire Ships, Flagbearers, and heavy combat ships can turn a short trip into a longer commitment. The timing difference affects when ships leave, when they land, and when they return to the port.

Cargo and loot

Cargo capacity matters when the goal is resource movement or loot. It does not replace combat strength, and it only helps if enough ships survive.

For raids, surviving cargo matters more than listed cargo at launch. A fleet that wins with heavy losses may return with less capacity than it had when it left.

Specialist ships

Specialists depend on the battle result. Fire Ships require the fleet to win before siege value matters. Flagbearer conquest pressure requires surviving Flagbearers. Trade Ships have cargo and logistics value but weak combat value.

Different mission types use different ship properties. “Raid for resources” involves combat ships and cargo. “Damage Port Defenses” involves Fire Ships and a winning attack. “Build influence” involves surviving Flagbearers. “Move resources” involves Trade Ships and a logistics route or direct shipment.

Flagbearers are expensive, unlock later, and each additional Flagbearer at the same port becomes a bigger investment. Their special value is tied to conquest pressure rather than cargo or general combat.

Stationed ships

Ships matter both while sailing and while stationed. Defensive ships and stationed combat ships affect port defense. If ships are in transit, they are unavailable at the port until they return.

Risk differs by port. Full Warehouses, active Trade Routes, conquest pressure, and strategic map position can all change how attractive or exposed a port is.

Fleet facts

Spy Ships are the information ship type.
Spy-only attacks can discover 24-hour weaknesses for later attacks by the same attacker.
Loot depends on surviving cargo capacity.
Fire Ship siege pressure depends on winning and Fire Ships surviving.
Flagbearer influence depends on winning and Flagbearers surviving.
Trade Ships committed to one logistics task, including routes, market offers, or direct sends, are unavailable for another until freed.
Ships in transit cannot defend their home port until they return.

Unlock planning

Docks progression opens many ship roles. Spy Ships let you gather information properly, War Galleons improve offensive strength, Turtle Ships strengthen defense, and Flagbearers make conquest possible when HQ progress is also ready. Trade Ships come through Trade Post progress, so logistics planning is tied to building choices outside the Docks as well.