New player guide
Controls
| Action | Keyboard and mouse | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Sail level up / down | W / S | none / half / full buttons |
| Rudder | hold A / D | rudder slider (springs back) |
| Drop / raise anchor | Space | anchor button |
| Back the sails | hold Q / E | hold ↶ BACK / BACK ↷ |
| Manual trim | T, then Z / C | automatic |
| Aim and fire | move the mouse, left click | tap the sea to aim, FIRE |
| Cycle ammo | X | RND / CHN / GRP button |
| Repair with a kit | hold R | hold FIX |
| Fit a spare anchor | hold F | - |
| Board and take cargo | B | BOARD |
| Board an NPC and strip it | Shift + B | STRIP |
| Zoom (three steps) | mouse wheel or = / - | pinch or ZOOM |
| Captain, guild, look, season panels | K, G, Y, N | buttons at the top |
| Chat | Enter | chat box |
Wind and points of sail
The wind arrow on the screen shows where the wind blows from. You are fastest with the wind on your beam or quarter. Sailing straight into the wind stops you: you are "in irons". Back the sails to one side to swing the bow off the wind, then sail on.
Your first voyage
The tutorial checklist pays 300 gold when you finish all six steps:
- Raise your sails (W) and get under way.
- Sail into a port and drop anchor to dock.
- Buy a cargo of goods at the port market.
- Sell goods at a different port.
- Fire your cannons.
- Buy your first upgrade at a shipwright.
Docking and trading
Slow down inside a port's reach and drop anchor to dock. The market shows what the port sells and what it pays. A port pays most for goods it needs and charges least for goods it makes; the ports page lists both. Some goods spoil in the hold, so check the goods page before a long run.
Combat basics
Your guns fire from the side facing the target, so turn to bring a broadside to bear. Round shot breaks the hull, chain shot tears sails, grapeshot wounds crew at shorter range. Board a crippled ship with B to take its cargo. Sunk ships leave a wreck you can loot. See ammunition.
Ships and upgrades
Buy new hulls and upgrades at a port shipwright. Each ship has upgrade slots for sails, rudder, keel, plating, hold and cannons. See ships and upgrades.
Officers and skills
Hire officers at a tavern. A gunner, bosun, navigator, surgeon, quartermaster or carpenter levels up as you sail and may bring a trait. Your captain earns skill points by level; spend them in the captain panel (K). See officers and skills.
Guilds
Open the guild panel (G) to found or join a guild. Guild mates cannot hurt each other, share a bank at the home port, and fly one flag.
Safe and risk zones
The waters near ports are safe: no shot does damage there and nobody can board you. Outside them is risk water, where other captains and pirates can attack you. The farther out, the richer the trade and the worse the pirates.
Seasons
Each season opens a region and a token you earn by sailing, trading and sinking its fleet. Spend tokens on cosmetics and climb the season titles in the season panel (N). See seasons.