Trade

I never say no to grog, and only conditionally to an honest trade.

TL;DR: Four trade routes, and each has its place. Pick the right one for the situation — it saves gold and ships.

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Which trade route for which situation? #

• Direct Trade — For alliance, friends and family. No fees. Trade ships with real travel time. No reservation.
• Marketplace — For exchange with strangers. Setup fee, sales tax and harbor fee. Both sides send ships. Resources bound until completion or expiry.
• Trading Post — The NPC quartermaster on your own island. Fees are priced into the rate. Instant, no travel time.
• Phoenician Trader — NPC, rare visitor. Better rates than the quartermaster. Instant, as long as he is visiting your ocean.

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Direct Trade — The trusted route #

When you trade with alliance members, friends or family, take this route. It is free. You load trade ships with resources and send them — in real time — to the target island.

• No fees, no setup cost, no harbor tax
• Target must have a harbor, your harbor must be at least level 1
• Ships travel in real time and return empty
• Alliance members appear in a quick-select dropdown with distance

You know who you're sending wood to — and the nautical mile makes no distinction between friend and stranger.

Marketplace — The bazaar for strangers #

The marketplace is for one-off trades with players you don't know. It has fees, because the harbourmaster has his scribes to pay and the merchants' guild takes a cut of the tribute. When the broker is active, an additional brokerage fee applies on top (see below).

How a market trade unfolds:

• Create offer — You name a resource and the counter-resource you want. Your resources are loaded from the storehouse onto trade ships in the harbor. A moderate setup fee in gold (with a small minimum) becomes due, non-refundable.
• Wait — Your offer runs for three days. Your trade ships are bound during this time.
• Acceptance — Another player accepts. They also pay a setup fee and load their own trade ships. Both fleets travel to the midpoint exchange.
• Exchange — At the rendezvous, a sales tax is taken from both cargos. After that, each fleet continues to the partner's harbor with its own cargo (the seller's fleet to the buyer's island, the buyer's fleet to the seller's island). Both fleets arrive at separate islands — nothing is "swapped" or reloaded.
• Arrival — On unload a harbor fee applies; it drops noticeably as your harbor is upgraded. The remainder lands in your storehouse. If storage is full, the overflow is lost.

Cancelling: As long as nobody has accepted, you can cancel. Unloading takes 5 minutes (anti-banking protection), and the setup fee is lost. If the brokerage fee is active, a minimum hold time applies on top — see the section below.

Whoever throws their wares on the market pays the harbourmaster's scribes.

Brokerage Fee — when the broker brokers #

The marketplace broker doesn't work for free. When the broker is active, every listing costs a small gold fee — non-refundable, even if you withdraw the listing. On top of that, he warehouses your goods for a minimum hold time: during this period the listing cannot be cancelled. If you sell for gold, he keeps a small commission on completion.

Consequence: The marketplace no longer works as an emergency hideout. Anyone shoving resources into a listing right before an attack pays fees AND can't get the goods back for several hours.

Harbour-Master's Desk. Above the offer list hangs a board where you can order the manifest — by resource, by ratio, by convoy travel time, or by expiry. Three filters, one order, no noise. The harbour-master sorts the manifest to your specs and hands you the top 50 — anyone wanting more refines the filter.

Trading Post — The quartermaster #

In your own trading post, the quartermaster is available and trades instantly — without moving ships. But his rates are poor. At level 1 you only get back about a third, even at level 20 roughly half. He takes his cut.

• Daily limit, rises with building level
• Cooldown between trades, decreases with building level
• Instant — no travel time

For emergencies. Not suitable as a default trade route.

Phoenician Trader — The rare visitor #

A trader from distant realms sails the world oceans. He appears only irregularly and never stays for long. His rates are better than the quartermaster's. Where and when he drops anchor is unpredictable — sometimes you won't hear from him for days.

• Location and timing are unpredictable
• Visits are brief — act quickly if you want to seize the chance
• Rates better than the trading post
• Occasionally he also offers troops for gold

How the visit works: You can trade with the Phoenician as soon as he is visiting your ocean — even if he is currently at another player's island. The Phoenician page shows his current location and the current offers. You see where he is, but the trade runs through your own island — your resources are debited and credited there.

Tip: Enable the Phoenician Trader email notification in your settings to avoid missing a visit.

Automatic Trade Routes #

When your harbor reaches level 10 or higher, you can set up automatic routes. Up to three routes per island, self-executing — ideal for regular deliveries between your own islands or to alliance partners. When creating a route you also pick which ship type it should use. After each automated delivery, a delivery report appears in the Reports tab for both the sending and receiving player — just like a manual trade.

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FAQ #

I play with my partner or my alliance and we regularly exchange resources. Which route?

Direct Trade, the Trade tab. It's free. The marketplace would be needlessly expensive for you — it's designed for trade with strangers.

Can I abuse the marketplace as storage to protect resources from plundering?

No — and with the brokerage fee active, even less. Listings bind trade ships, cost a fee on creation, and cannot be cancelled at all for a minimum hold time. For pure protection: upgrade the storehouse or spend resources on construction.

Can I cancel?

Yes — but only while nobody has accepted your offer yet. Cancelling takes five minutes of unload time, after which ships and resources return. The setup fee is lost.

Will my resources on the marketplace get plundered?

No. Listed resources sit protected in the harbor on your bound trade ships. They are not part of your storehouse balance.

Are trade fleets attackable?

Currently no. Market fleets are invulnerable in this version — just like existing direct-trade fleets.

What happens if my storage is full on arrival?

The overflow is lost. Upgrade your storehouse or plan more carefully what you want to trade.

Why isn't the Phoenician visiting me?

The Phoenician is a rare visitor. You can trade as long as he is in your ocean — regardless of which player hosts him. Enable the email notification in settings, or directly on the Phoenician page, so you don't miss a visit.

How many trade ships do I need?

It depends on the amount. A small trade ship carries 500 units, a large one 2000. The UI shows you exactly how many ships will be bound before you create the offer.

Why are there fees at all?

The marketplace is intended for strangers — there, the harbourmaster, the scribes and the guild elders all want their share. For trusted trades, direct trade is free.

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Tips #

• For regular exchange: Direct Trade. Never marketplace when you know the recipient.
• Upgrading the harbor lowers the harbor fee noticeably — with max upgrade you pay only a fraction of the initial fee. If you trade a lot, this saves a noticeable amount over time.
• Let offers expire rather than cancel if time doesn't matter — cancelling costs the setup fee.
• Your trade ships are bound while the offer is active. Plan your fleet accordingly — you can't simultaneously direct-trade with the same ships.
• Enable the Phoenician notification in settings if you don't want to miss the trader.
• On the marketplace, a good offer pays off for one-off trades of larger amounts — small amounts aren't worth it because of the minimum setup fee.