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 and Sail research

- The watchtower reveals approaching enemy fleets

---

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.

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 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 20 and advanced Sail research.

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. For a pure trade run, trade ships loaded with resources suffice. That cargo is only as safe as the fleet carrying it — if the fleet goes down, the cargo goes down with it.

Travel Time #

The time a fleet needs depends on two factors:

• Distance -- The farther the target, the longer the journey. Islands in the same grid are close; different oceans mean long voyages.
• Sail research -- Higher Sail levels speed up all your ships. This is one of the most important technologies in the game.

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 veils your intent, because fast sails betray that there is no colonization ship in the fleet; the disguise is paid for in travel time, on the way out as well as on the way home, since the throttled pace stays with the fleet. On other missions the control has no effect.

Recall and Visibility #

The watchtower is the eye of your island. The higher its level, the farther you can see across the ocean:

• You spot approaching enemy fleets earlier
• You can recall your own fleets within part of your line of sight -- the recall range is noticeably smaller than full visibility and grows with the watchtower.

Line of sight and recall range, however, only grow up to level 20 -- every level above that sharpens your reconnaissance alone: the type and the exact arrival of an approaching fleet reveal themselves to you earlier. More on this in the "Combat" chapter.

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

A Reliable Baseline Warning #

A watchtower shows you approaching fleets the earlier the higher you build it -- yet whether you are warned of an attack at all no longer hangs on it alone. Before every incoming attack, your island now receives a reliable baseline warning, no matter how far your watchtower reaches.

So no one gets caught completely cold anymore: even without a watchtower, you are left enough time to react before an approaching attack. The watchtower stays valuable all the same -- it grants you the earlier look and thus the greater head start. But the baseline warning itself is guaranteed for every island.

The same guarantee 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.

Strategy #

• Sail is king -- Faster fleets mean shorter attacks and more flexible trade
• Always escort -- Unguarded trade ships are defenseless if an enemy lurks at sea
• Level the watchtower -- Seeing the enemy first lets you react better
• Mixed fleets -- Small warships for pursuit, large ones for firepower

A fifth mission "Dispatch" 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".