Naval Warfare

The map is made of land and sea. Regions unreachable by land can only be attacked by ship, which makes coastal cities both more fragile and more valuable.

Port and Shipyard

Both can only be built in coastal cities. The Port is required for sea expeditions and naval defence; the Shipyard builds transport, war and trade ships. A coastal city without a Port cannot put to sea, and one without a Shipyard cannot build ships.

Ship types

• Transports: carry land troops across the water. They do not fight.
• Warships: fight naval battles and escort the transport fleet.
• Trade ships: move resources overseas.

How a sea expedition works

You load your army onto transports and send it to the target coast. The fleet may meet enemy warships on the way; if the naval battle is lost, the land army aboard is lost with it. Never send transports unescorted.

Ship capacity limits the size of the expedition. You can march a thousand units overland, but at sea you take only what the fleet can carry.

Fleet speed

Ship speed follows the ship-speed multiplier in the world rules and is independent of land armies. Naval research raises ship production speed, naval combat strength and fleet speed together.

Naval defence

Warships kept in your port defend automatically against incoming sea expeditions. If a coastal city has a strong land defence but an empty port, the enemy lands unopposed. On the coast, spend part of your defence budget at sea.

The value of a coastal city

A coastal city faces two directions: it can be attacked from both land and sea, but it is also the only city that reaches the far side of the map. If you plan to settle an overseas region, you need a solid port city first.