Combat

Battles are resolved the moment a fleet makes landfall. A superior force prevails more often, but the seas are fickle — no outcome is certain.

Raiding

Resource tiers, attrition, diminishing returns, and fleet strategy for raiding unclaimed shores.

Colonisation Rules

How empty shores are founded and broken enemy settlements are razed.

Fleet & Garrison

Reinforcement convoys and stationed garrisons that bolster a settlement.

The Black Tide

The hidden sea power, what provokes it, and the limits of its current threat.

Preparing for War

War is won in preparation. A fleet without proper support will break before it reaches shore.

• Harbour — all ships are built here. Higher levels unlock stronger vessels and faster construction.
• Barracks — trains ground troops (stone throwers, spearfighters, archers, swordsmen) and siege weapons. Level 10 unlocks catapults.
• Research — Sail research unlocks large warships and merchant ships. Weapons and armor research strengthens troops.

The War Fleet

Every attack requires warships. Ground troops and catapults cannot sail on their own — they board warships as passengers. A well-composed fleet balances firepower, troop capacity, and speed.

Small Warship

Fast, affordable, and available early (Harbour level 1). Carries 5 troops and light cargo. Ideal for scouting raids and early aggression.

Large Warship

Heavy combat vessel unlocked at Harbour level 5 with Sail research. Carries 10 troops and far more cargo. The backbone of any serious invasion fleet.

Colonisation Ship

A specialized vessel required to found empty islands and complete the razing of broken settlements — it must be escorted by warships. See Colonisation.

Marshal Voss notes

A war fleet sails only as fast as its slowest vessel. Review the Fleet and Units chapters before committing forces to open water.

Battle Strength

An attacker's total strength is the sum of each unit's attack value multiplied by its count. The defender's strength draws on unit defense values, wall fortifications, and the settlement's intrinsic defenses. The greater the attacker's advantage in this ratio, the higher the probability of victory — though defenders always hold the advantage on home ground.

Morale also weighs on both sides. If the attacker's happiness falls below 40, their battle power is reduced by 10%. If the defender's happiness falls that low, their defensive power also drops. At the harshest morale tier, each side can lose up to 45% of combat strength.

Defending a Settlement

Every settlement has a base defense of 50 — even an ungarrisoned island offers some resistance. Beyond that, defense is shaped by three factors:

• Garrison — units stationed on the island contribute their defense values. A unit's attack stat only matters when sent on raids or assaults, not when defending. Allied reinforcements count too.
• Stone Wall — each level multiplies the defense of all defenders by an additional 5%, and adds 10 intrinsic defense on top.
• Watch Tower — detects approaching fleets and provides advance warning. Higher levels reveal more detail about incoming attacks, giving time to prepare.

In practice, this means wall upgrades strengthen both the garrison and the settlement's standing defenses.

Wall Defense by Level

Fighting Retreat

When a fleet loses a battle but held a clear strength advantage, surviving captains may order a fighting retreat. The stronger the fleet was relative to the defense, the more units escape to open water and sail home.

• A fleet that was weaker than or equal to the defense is destroyed outright — no retreat.
• The greater the attacker's strength advantage, the higher the proportion of units that escape.
• Retreating units return home with no plunder and no objectives completed.
• The retreat is not guaranteed — it scales proportionally, not absolutely. Even a strong fleet will suffer significant losses on a failed assault.

Marshal Voss notes

A retreat is not a victory. You will lose troops and return empty-handed. But a fleet that limps home is a fleet that can sail again.

Rules of Engagement

Not every settlement may be targeted. The following restrictions apply:

• Alliance members are protected from attacks by their own.
• Friendships do not prevent war. Governors may still attack those listed in their contacts.
• Newly arrived Governors are shielded by sanctuary for their first 72 hours. No attacks, raids, colonisation, or espionage may target them.
• Launching an attack or spy mission while under sanctuary forfeits that shield immediately.
• Battles against settlements with no stationed troops do not count toward either side's war record. Plunder and building damage still apply, but the engagement is not recorded as a war.

Plunder Protection

A fortified Storehouse shields a portion of reserves from plunder. The stronger the stores, the less a raiding fleet can carry off.

Raiding Unclaimed Shores

Unclaimed islands can be raided for stores, but they are not free prizes. Wild guardians defend each shoreline, and even victorious crews may suffer withdrawal losses. Repeated strikes diminish returns, and fleet composition matters more than raw numbers.

See the full Raiding guide for resource tiers, attrition tables, diminishing returns, treasure mechanics, and fleet strategy.

Siege and Razing

Surviving Catapults deal structural damage to the defender's buildings after a successful assault. This is the only way to weaken an enemy's fortifications from afar.

• Catapult damage is applied only when the attacker wins the battle.
• To attempt an occupied-island raze, catapults must reduce the target's Main House to level 1 during the assault.
• The colonisation fleet must include catapults that deal building damage in that same victorious attack.
• If the charter holds, the island is not taken. It is devastated in place until only the Main House remains at level 1.