Corsair Cove Ships

Reaver — boarding and loot

Reaver hulls skew toward boarding damage and raid economy. Early examples include Moonlight (Tier 2: Health 70, Crew 15, Supply 32, Gun 2 / Board 5, Speed 2) and Sharktooth (Tier 2: Health 82, Crew 20, Supply 24, Gun 2 / Board 13, Speed 2) — a specialist that trades cannons for brutal deck fights. Hybrid unlock Goldseeker needs 3 Wealth + 3 Notoriety and blends moderate guns with high boarding (Gun 4 / Board 13). Pick Reaver when Deeds push plunder, trade windfalls, and boarding cards in naval combat.

Destroyer — guns and Empire pressure

Destroyer hulls are the Empire line: high gun damage and often higher Speed. Steel Edge at Tier 2 posts Health 94, Crew 18, Supply 28, Gun 13 / Board 4, Speed 7 — the classic opening gunboat. Later names like Iron Fist anchor gun-heavy fleets. Destroyers shine when Crown hunters bring medium armor and you want to end fights before boarding — pair with gun-boosting captains like Teach (+20% Gun Damage).

Hunter — exploration and map tempo

Hunter hulls come from Seafaring investments. Azimuth (Tier 2: Health 82, Crew 18, Supply 32, Gun 9 / Board 5, Speed 4) is the community default for early exploration — enough guns to survive random events, enough speed to reach distant tiles before supplies pinch. Higher tiers (Tide Runner, Tempest, Neptune, etc.) widen range and crew capacity for multi-ship expeditions.

Prowler — stealth and notoriety

Prowler hulls unlock through Notoriety — recruitment buffs, worker efficiency, and stealth-flavored missions. Names like Nightshade, Rogue, Eclipse, and Wraith appear across tiers. Prowlers reward players who chase notoriety Deeds and cards that avoid straight gun fights. They are the specialist pick, not the first hull for most openings — unless your Ambitions already lean Notoriety.

Class chosen, the next question is whether the free Landlubber still earns its pier slot or becomes a liability.

Landlubber unlocks systems, not wins

In Uncharted mode, launching the Landlubber opens the journal, Deeds, and Compass UI — the same milestone as the beginner guide describes. Story mode introduces the hull earlier. Treat every Landlubber voyage as scouting: note which events demand guns vs boarding vs speed, then build the Tier 2 that fixes your worst fail.

When sinking the starter hull hurts

Naval combat sinks ships when Health or Crew hits zero — the Landlubber dies fast to Crown probes. That is acceptable early; losing a Tier 4 hull because you skipped repair goods is not. Keep the Landlubber until your replacement is crewed and supplied, then park it or risk it on fetch quests only.

Replacement timing locked in, tier progression is mostly a Compass and Dry Dock schedule — not a mystery level cap.

One principle at a time for early tiers

Points are bound to the principle you spend them in. Three points in Seafaring unlock Tier 2 Hunter but do not count toward Empire Destroyer. Finish three Deeds in your chosen lane before you splurge on buildings in other colors — the tech tree page lists node names; this page cares about the hull that drops at Tier 2 and 3.

Fleet size vs hull tier

You can field multiple ships (community reports cap around six in late game). A common mistake is building two Tier 2 hulls in different classes before one island can supply booze, powder, and repair goods for both crews. One strong Tier 2 plus Landlubber beats two starved Tier 2s.

Higher tiers demand logistics, not just points

Tier 4+ queues pull advanced goods from production chains — sails, cast iron, ammunition, luxury crew gear. If Fetcher paths to the Pier are red, a Tier 5 blueprint is a paper trophy. Fix logistics before you chase Tier 5 names.

Stats on the sheet only matter once you understand what each number does in combat and on the map — the next section decodes them.

Dual sinks — why Sharktooth can still lose

Combat ends your ship if either Health or Crew reaches zero. A Reaver with huge boarding can still lose to gun focus fire that wipes Crew before you board. Destroyers with high Health but low Crew count bleed to boarding specialists. Read both sinks on the combat guide before you stack only one damage type.

Supply is the silent timer

Supply limits how long you stay at sea before forced return. Hunters with high Supply (Azimuth at 32) tolerate long exploration chains; Sharktooth at 24 wants shorter raid loops. Stock Expedition Supplier goods on island before you send Tier 3+ hulls cross-map.

Speed is tempo, not just travel

Speed shortens world-map legs and influences some combat exchanges — Steel Edge at Speed 7 outruns many Tier 2 threats, letting you skip unfavorable fights. Slow Reavers accept more intercepts but win the boarding wars they choose.

Stats understood, the bottleneck is almost always building the hull — Dry Docks and inputs.

Pier-side clustering beats beach sprawl

Late beginners place Dry Dock on one beach and rope on a cliff three tiers up. Run dedicated Fetcher colors into a Pier Warehouse before you queue Moonlight or Steel Edge. The build timer is downtime — red paths during it mean you will hit the same wall on Tier 3.

Crew assignment pulls from island tiers

Ship crew are promoted pirates with booze needs (and higher tiers want rum, gear, luxuries). A finished Destroyer without Tavern distribution loses Crew cohesion before it fires a shot. Crew tier tables live on the crew guide; ships page only flags the dependency.

Repair loop after combat

Damaged hulls return with lower Health or reduced effective Crew. Repair consumes island goods — another reason to buffer planks and medicine near the Pier. Losing a fight is cheaper when your economy already runs the repair chain.

Build flow sorted — the decision table below picks your first specialized hull.

Sample Tier 2 stat snapshot

Community databases agree on these launch-window benchmarks: Landlubber (H20/C15/S20/G2/B2/Sp2) → Moonlight Reaver (H70/C15/S32/G2/B5/Sp2) → Azimuth Hunter (H82/C18/S32/G9/B5/Sp4) → Steel Edge Destroyer (H94/C18/S28/G13/B4/Sp7) → Sharktooth Reaver (H82/C20/S24/G2/B13/Sp2). Numbers shift slightly with patches — verify in-game before you theory-craft fleet comps.

Captain pairing cheat sheet

Gun Destroyers love Teach (+20% Health, +20% Gun Damage, skill Easy As Murder for bonus dice after dealing damage). Boarding Reavers want captains with +20% Boarding Damage. Speed explorers stack +20% Speed or Supplies captains for long loops. Full ability list on captains — assign before you leave port.

When to build second hull

Add a second Tier 2 only when one hull's supply chain is boring — green Fetcher paths, Tavern flowing, repair goods stocked. Dual Destroyer + Hunter is a strong mid-game comp (guns plus exploration) but doubles booze and crew tier demand.

Hull chosen and queued, naval outcomes depend on card play — hand off to the combat guide when the fleet sails.