Fleets & Travel

Whoever commands the sea commands time itself.

TL;DR: Ships are built at the harbor and form your fleet.

- Warships fight, trade ships carry, spy ships scout

- Travel time depends on distance, the slowest ship and Sailing research; further bonuses apply depending on the mission

- The watchtower reveals approaching enemy fleets

- The home port mission moves ships and troops permanently to another of your own islands

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Ship Types Overview #

Your harbor builds several ship types, each with a clear role:

Warships protect your fleet in naval combat. Small warships are nimble and can pursue fleeing transports. Large warships are slower but far more powerful in battle.

Warships cost half. You build the small and large warship, the Boarding Brig, the Firebrand and the Destroyer at half price; trade, spy and colony ships cost the same as always. The harbor already shows you the half price. Small empires build their ships faster: with up to four islands, shipbuilding runs twice as fast -- more on this in the chapter "Your Island".

If ships of yours sank in a battle, you queue them again below the combat report with Rebuild losses -- as many as you can currently afford. More on this in the chapter "Combat".

The Boarding Brig hits hard, defends poorly and carries only two troops. It is launched on any island with a level 10 harbor and level 5 Sailing research, once one of your War Academies has reached level 6.

The Firebrand is cheap and rough: it carries no troops and barely defends. It fights only at sea — it never breaks a harbor and never lands. Without troops, only fleets with Firebrands may attack (sea strike, solo only, never in a Combined Attack): they engage the enemy fleet and turn back — no landing, no loot. Only the Firebrands themselves stay out of the harbor fight: other warships sailing along still attack the harbor and are lost if it holds. It is launched on any island with a level 10 harbor and level 5 Sailing research, once one of your War Academies has reached level 6.

The Destroyer is a fast hunter: It attacks harder than a Large Warship but holds out less, and it carries five troops. Every Destroyer costs the same -- the price no longer rises with each further ship. It is launched on any island with a level 10 harbor and level 5 Sailing research, once one of your War Academies has reached level 6.

Trade ships carry resources only. Small trade ships are fast and ideal for early commerce. Large trade ships have enormous capacity but move more slowly.

Spy ships are sleek and swift. They scout enemy islands and deliver valuable intelligence about conditions there -- without triggering a battle. The fleet page and the cockpit also show how many spy missions you have left this hour and today, and when the counter renews.

Your highest watchtower can raise your daily spy quota. Not every upgrade adds more trips; the fleet page and the cockpit show how many you have left.

The colony ship is the largest and most expensive vessel. It is required for colonizing new islands and is consumed upon successful landing. Building one demands a harbor at level 15 and advanced Sailing research.

Ships lying in your harbor can also be scrapped there -- for good and without any refund. Only ships present in port can be scrapped; colony ships are excluded, since they are used up on their mission anyway. This helps above all when your ship limit no longer carries your own fleet, for instance after losing islands. The ship limit itself, by the way, no longer holds up the construction of colony ships -- the road to a new island stays open to you.

For the ship limit, every ship takes up one harbor slot, and only small warships take up half a slot. Two small ones count as one large one.

The harbor only ever works on one order at a time -- but you may queue up to five in a row. They run strictly one after another, each for its full build time; the resources are debited the moment an order is queued, and canceling refunds nothing. You can only order a colony ship when the yard is empty. Other ship types may be queued behind it.

Unlike a planned building upgrade (see "Your Island"), you pay here when you queue, not when the order starts.

Assembling Fleets #

A fleet consists of a combination of ships and optionally loaded troops or resources. The speed of the entire fleet is determined by the slowest ship.

For an attack you need warships (for naval battle and troop transport — small carry 5 troops, large carry 10). Trade ships are optional and carry resources only. When they sail in an attack fleet, they can sink with their cargo after a defeat. For a pure trade run, trade ships loaded with resources suffice; these voyages currently cannot be attacked at sea.

Travel Time #

The time a fleet needs depends on several factors:

• Distance -- The farther the target, the longer the journey. Islands in the same grid are close; different oceans mean long voyages.
• Sailing research -- Higher Sailing levels speed up all your ships. This is one of the most important technologies in the game.
• Slowest ship -- The whole fleet sails as fast as its slowest ship.
• Navigation -- The "Navigation" research gives your fleets extra speed, except on trade runs and for the salvage fleet of a treasure hunt; when dispatching troops, "Forced March" adds to it.
• Alliance beacon -- An active "Beacon of the Allies" shortens your fleets' travel time, except on Shipping Office circuit routes.

Fleets travel in real time. An attack on a distant island can take several hours. Plan accordingly.

Attack fleets may sail slower on purpose: in the fleet form you set the Travel speed between Throttled and Full speed -- full speed is preselected. Sailing slower costs travel time, on the way out as well as on the way home, since the throttled pace stays with the fleet. On every other mission the control has no effect -- the form grays it out, and the fleet sails at full speed.

Recall and Visibility #

The watchtower is the eye of your island. Upgrading it extends your view until your own ocean is covered:

• You spot approaching enemy fleets earlier
• You can recall your fleets near their origin island. Only that island's watchtower counts; the recall range is noticeably smaller than its full line of sight.

Once your own ocean is visible, further upgrades reveal no additional map area. Recall range grows up to level 20; beyond that, only reconnaissance of approaching fleets improves. More on this in the "Combat" chapter.

In the fleet overview, for fleets that are under way you can see how far they are from their origin island and whether you can still recall them.

Without a watchtower you are effectively blind. Invest early, especially if you have neighbors who are not peacefully inclined.

A Reliable Baseline Warning #

An attack's travel time includes a minimum warning period, regardless of your watchtower's range. An upgraded watchtower can show you approaching fleets earlier.

You only receive warning messages by email or Discord direct message if you have enabled that channel. Email requires a verified address and attack alerts enabled in the Dispatch Office; Discord requires a verified account and attack alerts switched on.

The minimum warning period also applies to your own attacks: against very close targets your fleet therefore arrives later than distance and speed would suggest -- the fleet list then carries the note that the arrival was raised.

When your island is attacked or colonized, a warning reaches you through your enabled channels, currently no later than 10 minutes before arrival. From the warning time on, the attacker can no longer turn back, even if the defender has not enabled a channel. The same applies to your own attacks on other captains. Against Corsair fortresses and Old Empire ruins, the previous recall rule stays in place.

Home Port #

Ships belong to the island whose harbor they lie in -- and you can change that home port. With the Home port mission you send ships and troops permanently to another of your own islands: as soon as they arrive, they belong to that island as if they had been built there. The target needs a harbor -- and barracks whenever troops travel along; there is no fee, and moving back is possible at any time. The road is opened by the Port Registry research in the laboratory -- level 1 allows targets inside your own ocean, level 2 leads across the borders of the seas.

The rule: after the move, the target island currently launches no attacks or colonizations and joins no Combined Attack for one day -- one day longer per ocean border crossed, three at most. Rest is counted from where the ships originally set sail; time already rested is credited. Rest pauses in vacation mode.

Blocked during that time are only attacks, colonizations and joining a combined attack FROM that island; in defense the moved ships and troops stand from the first moment, and the island itself can of course still be attacked. The fleet form of that island shows you the remaining time.

Where an island got its ships from is something it remembers for a while: if a fleet arrives across an ocean border, that origin sticks to it, and a further move still counts the distance from there. Hopping in small steps therefore never makes the rest shorter. Nothing is lost either: time an island has already lain still is credited when it moves on.

While you are in vacation mode, this clock stands still. Your main island has an additional exception: distance does not extend its own rest. An ongoing restriction inherited from the origin still applies there; the fleet form shows the time remaining.

Under way the fleet is as visible to other captains as any dispatch within watchtower range.

Do not confuse the home port with a dispatch: dispatched ships and troops remain under their island of origin, only fight as reinforcements where they stand and come home at your order -- which is why you may send them to alliance partners as well. With a home-port move they change island for good, count as that island's own fleet and may only move to islands of your own.

The rules at a glance #

• Research -- The Port Registry in the Laboratory opens the way: level 1 allows targets inside your own ocean, level 2 also across ocean borders.
• Target -- Only an island of your own with a harbor of at least level 1 -- and with barracks whenever troops travel along; never the island the fleet sails from, no treasure island and no island hosting a corsair fortress.
• Cargo -- Every ship may move, the colony ship included; a move carries no resources. Troops travel aboard warships only (small ones 5, large ones 10).
• Rest after arrival -- Currently one day, one day longer per ocean border crossed, three at most. Distance does not extend rest at your main island; an ongoing restriction inherited from the origin still applies. Rest pauses in vacation mode.

The same rule sits in the fleet form, right below the missions.

Frequently asked about the home port #

• Can the moved units defend right away? Yes. The rest only blocks attacks, colonizations and joining a combined attack from that island; in defense ships and troops stand from the moment they arrive.
• May I move on during the rest? Yes, at any time. The remaining rest travels along and continues at the new target -- it never gets shorter that way.
• Do pure ship fleets without troops rest as well? Yes. Every landing of a home-port move puts the target island to rest, no matter what was aboard.
• How do I fetch troops from another island? In two trips. Troops only travel aboard warships: you send ships over first and then move back with the troops aboard -- and the target island needs barracks. This mostly affects small second and colony islands: the first barracks level is already enough.
• Can I move a colony ship? Yes, like any other ship. Keep the rest in mind: it blocks not only attacks from the target island but colonizations as well -- no colony fleet sets out from there until the displayed rest has ended. A dispatch, by contrast, leaves the ship behind; only the home port takes it along. Building one still happens only where the warehouse holds the price -- which level would be needed is stated in that island's harbor.
• Do others see the move? Yes. A moving fleet is exactly as visible at sea as any dispatch within watchtower range.

Strategy #

• Sail is king -- Faster fleets mean shorter attacks and more flexible trade
• Cargo on attacks -- Trade ships can carry loot, but are at risk in a lost naval battle
• Level the watchtower -- Seeing the enemy first lets you react better
• Mixed fleets -- Small warships for pursuit, large ones for firepower

The "Dispatch" mission lets you send ships and troops to your own islands or alliance partners; see chapter "Fleet Dispatch" for details.

For a single-page overview of every fleet movement -- including templates and bulk actions -- see the chapter "Fleet Cockpit".