The Art of War

A captain does not choose what he fights with — he chooses how.

TL;DR: The War Academy unlocks three special ships: once a War Academy anywhere in your empire reaches level 6, you can build the Destroyer, Boarding Brig and Firebrand on any of your islands. Sea doctrines, the Counter Circle and Art of War points no longer exist.

---

What the War Academy is #

• Prerequisites: Harbour level 10 and Laboratory level 5
• Expandable from level 1 up to level 6 at present
• Counts towards your Empire points — not towards Sea Power

Only the highest Academy level among all your islands counts for the unlock: a single Academy at level 6 is enough for your whole empire. The three ships are then built on any island whose harbour meets the usual requirements — the island does not need an Academy of its own.

The three ships #

• Destroyer — a fast hunter that attacks harder than a Large Warship. Every Destroyer costs the same.
• Boarding Brig — hits hard, defends poorly and carries only two troops.
• Firebrand — cheap and rough, fights only at sea; without troops it may sail out on a sea strike.

What exactly the ships can do is in the chapter "Fleets & Travel".

What became of the Art of War #

Sea doctrines, the Counter Circle, the tree with its nodes and the Art of War points are gone. Your fleet fights without a doctrine, and the guards of the ruins no longer carry one either. What you have earned so far stays stored but no longer has any effect. You keep the achievements you earned.