Shipmaster guide
This guide explains what every Shipmaster perk and the Shipmaster skill effect really do: how fast your fleet sails, how far it sees at sea, fishing, getting away from enemy fleets, crew requirements, ship handling in naval battles and the governor perks for coastal towns, for game v1.5.7. Shipmaster needs NavalDLC: the skill, all its perks and its skill effect come with the DLC and are read only by NavalDLC's own models and campaign behaviours. NavalDLC extends the agent damage, agent stats, battle morale, map visibility, party impairment and prosperity models, extends and replaces parts of the battle reward, combat simulation, party speed and troop sacrifice models, and replaces parts of the embark and disembark models. StoryMode extends and replaces parts of the battle reward models in the story campaign. The exact formulas, edge cases and links to the game code are in the deep dives: Naval campaign (speed at sea, crew, sight at sea, fishing, disembarking, recall, getting away), Naval battles (ramming morale, simulated ship hits, prisoner capture, deployment limit, sail and oar force), Combat agent stats (deck movement penalty, breath hold, figureheads), Combat damage (one-handed and ranged damage at sea), Battles (starting morale) and Party and map (disorganization).
Who counts. Each half is read from one hero:
- Navigator: the clan member assigned to the Navigator role in the party, or the party leader when nobody holds the role. Most speed, sight and fishing halves.
- Party leader: the hero leading the party.
- Captain: the hero who captains a formation in a naval battle; the bonus goes to the troops of that formation. A captain does not get its own Captain bonus unless the half says so.
- Personal: the hero with the perk, for itself only.
- Governor: the governor of the named town. Some governor halves need the governor to be inside the town; each half below says when it does not.
- Army commander: the leader of the army the party belongs to.
What the verdicts mean. works: does what the tooltip says, or more (broader effects are noted). differs: narrower, different, or with extra conditions or values compared with the tooltip. unused: never read by the game. ui_only: only shown in the interface.
What unlocks what
Every 25 points of Shipmaster opens a new pair. You pick one perk of each pair; the other is locked for that hero.
| Shipmaster | Perk A | Perk B |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Master Angler: catch fish at sea; bigger catches for village fishing boats | Old Salt's Touch: +2% speed at sea; crew holds breath longer |
| 50 | Ghost Ship: fewer losses running a blockade; easier getaways; faster fishing boats | Wind Rider: smaller deck movement penalty for you and your crew |
| 75 | Night Raider: see further at sea at night; fish for villages | River Raider: faster on coasts and rivers; more prisoners |
| 100 | Shock and Awe: morale on ramming; speed against the wind | Windborne: more sail force; shorter disorganization at sea |
| 125 | Raven Eye: see further at sea; loyalty from fishing boats | The Helmsman's Shield: less ranged damage at the helm; prosperity from fishing boats |
| 150 | Fair Winds: speed with the wind behind you; coastal village growth | Favorable Tide: +5% speed at sea; construction from sea caravans |
| 175 | Shore Master: faster fleet recall; smaller fleet size penalty | Unflinching: disembarking in half the time |
| 200 | Chain to Oars: more oar force; prisoners count as crew | Fleet Commander: smaller fleet size penalty; smaller skeleton crew |
| 225 | Master and commander: hourly troop XP at sea; +1 ship in battle | Stormrider: troop XP in storms; +1 ship in battle |
| 250 | Seaborne Fortress: less ship damage in simulated fights; less ranged damage to crew | The Corsair's Edge: +10% one-handed damage at sea; +1 fishing boat per village |
| 275 | Commodore: flagship figurehead for the whole party in an army (no alternative) | — |
How speed at sea adds up
Most Shipmaster perks change party speed at sea. At sea the land starting speed is thrown away and replaced by your ships' speed; then every percentage bonus and penalty is summed and applied once. Wind comes last and is itself scaled by everything before it.
Speed at sea = ship speed base × (1 + sum of all percentage bonuses and penalties), between 1 and 10
- Ship speed base: half of (the average campaign speed of all your ships + the speed of your slowest ship). Hull, upgrades and figurehead set a ship's campaign speed; no skill touches it.
- Percentage bonuses and penalties: open sea +44.8% (coastal seas and the area under bridges do not get it; rivers get +50% instead), crew too small or too large, fleet size, disorganization, the Shipmaster skill effect, Old Salt's Touch, Favorable Tide, River Raider and the wind.
- Wind: with the wind behind you or from the side (under 120 degrees off your heading), the wind strength gives a boost; Fair Winds adds to it. Heading 120 degrees or more into the wind gives no boost, unless you have Shock and Awe. The wind boost is multiplied by 1 + every other percentage already on the speed, so speed bonuses also make the wind stronger.
- Between 1 and 10: sea speed never goes above 10.
Tier 1 (Shipmaster 25): Master Angler or Old Salt's Touch
Master Angler
- Primary, 25% hourly chance to catch fish at sea (navigator;
works). Every hour at sea the party rolls a 25% chance; on a hit, one fish is added to its inventory. Sea only, as the tooltip shows. Without this perk the chance is 0: nothing else lets a sailing party fish. - Secondary, +15% catch for fishing boats (governor;
works). Each catch of a village fishing boat is a random amount between 0 and 1 fish, rounded at random; with the perk on the governor of the village's town it is 15% bigger before rounding. The catch is also limited by the boat's free cargo space. The governor does not need to be in the town.
Old Salt's Touch
- Primary, +2% travel speed at sea (navigator;
works). Adds +2% to speed at sea, as written. Because the wind boost is scaled by all other percentages, it also makes the wind push harder. - Secondary, +30% swimming endurance of crew (captain;
works). Troops in the captain's formation can hold their breath 30% longer in naval battles. Only human agents; it does not apply to the captain itself.
Worked example. A party of three ships with an average campaign speed of 4 and a slowest ship of 3 sails along a coast with no wind. Its navigator has Old Salt's Touch, Favorable Tide and River Raider. The base is half of 4 + 3:
A party with three ships (mean campaign speed 4, slowest 3) sailing a coastal sea with no wind, whose navigator has Old Salt's Touch, Favorable Tide and River Raider. Inputs: mean ship speed 4, slowest ship speed 3.
| Step | Source | Stage | Change | Running value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Ship campaign speed | override | 3.5000 | |
| 1 | Favorable Tide | factor +5% | +0.1750 | 3.6750 |
| 2 | Old Salt's Touch | factor +2% | +0.0700 | 3.7450 |
| 3 | River Raider | factor +1.344% | +0.0470 | 3.7920 |
| Result | Party map speed | 3.7920 |
With these inputs, party map speed is 3.7920.
The three perks add up to the party moving at 3.7920 instead of 3.5000. On the coast there is no +44.8% open-sea bonus, which is why River Raider exists (tier 3).
Which one? Master Angler is the only source of fish while sailing and helps fishing villages. Old Salt's Touch gives speed at sea and breath hold in naval battles.
Tier 2 (Shipmaster 50): Ghost Ship or Wind Rider
Ghost Ship
- Primary, fewer troops lost running a blockade and easier getaways (navigator;
differs). Breaking into a besieged port from the sea works as written: the troops you lose are cut by 20%. Breaking out through the port gets nothing: your party is inside the town and counts as on land until it sets sail after the break-out, and the half is "Sea only". The getaway half differs. The tooltip promises a 20% chance not to leave ships behind when escaping. That 20% is never read. Instead, when your side tries to get away from a naval engagement, the ship damage your fleet must take to escape is halved. You can get away when that damage is below your fleet's total ship hit points, so halving it makes getting away possible against stronger fleets and costs your ships less. This only applies to the player's party. - Secondary, +20% speed for fishing boats (governor;
works). Fishing boats of villages bound to the governed town sail 20% faster. The governor has to be in the town.
Wind Rider
- Primary, −50% deck movement penalty (personal;
works). In naval battles everyone on a ship moves with a 20% speed penalty (Mariner skill reduces it). Wind Rider cuts that penalty in half for the hero with the perk. - Secondary, −50% deck movement penalty for crew (captain;
works). The same cut for the troops in the captain's formation. Both halves are added together: a hero with Wind Rider in a formation whose captain is another hero with Wind Rider loses the penalty completely. The captain itself only gets the primary half.
Which one? Ghost Ship cuts blockade losses, halves the ship damage needed to get away and speeds up a governor's fishing boats. Wind Rider cuts the deck movement penalty in naval battles.
Tier 3 (Shipmaster 75): Night Raider or River Raider
Night Raider
- Primary, "−50% to night spotting range penalty" (navigator;
differs). Sight range starts at 12 by day and 6 at night. Night Raider adds a flat +3 to that starting value at night, which is the same as halving the 6-point night penalty, but it is a fixed number, not the perk's 50%. It only works at sea; on land it does nothing. A party on a raft or a ferry has its starting sight halved but still gets the full +3. - Secondary, +5 fish per day for villages (governor;
differs). Each day the village gets 5 fish. Two differences from the tooltip: the game reads the governor of the village's trade town (the town it trades with), not the governor of the settlement it belongs to, so villages of a castle depend on the nearby trade town's governor; and there is no coastal check, so every village trading with that town gets the fish, inland ones too.
River Raider
- Primary, −3% coastal movement penalty (navigator;
works). The "coastal penalty" is simply the missing +44.8% open-sea bonus. River Raider gives back 3% of it, which is +1.344% speed on coastal seas, on rivers and under bridges. Rivers already get +50%, and the perk applies there too. - Secondary, +10% chance to capture enemy troops (party leader;
differs). After a battle the game splits the defeated troops among the winners using two sets of chances. In the first set, the one that decides which winner gets which captive, all winners' chances are rescaled to add up to the same total, so River Raider only moves captives from other winning parties to yours; if you won alone, it gives you nothing there. In the second set, the chance to capture healthy defeated troops, a game bug skips that rescaling, so the +10% stays: a sole winner's chance goes from 0.25 to 0.275, or from 1.0 to 1.1 when the enemy surrendered.
Which one? Night Raider is for night sailing on the open sea and for a governor of a town with many villages. River Raider is for coastal and river routes and for parties that take prisoners.
Tier 4 (Shipmaster 100): Shock and Awe or Windborne
Shock and Awe
- Primary, +30% morale boost when ramming (captain;
differs). When a ship rams an enemy ship, every AI-controlled troop of the ramming ship's whole team (not only that ship's crew) gains morale equal to its current morale × (1 + all ramming bonuses). So even without any bonus a ram adds the troop's current morale; Shock and Awe, read from each troop's formation captain, adds 30% of the current morale on top. A Ram figurehead adds another 20%. As a side effect, holding this perk adds 0.02 to your hero strength rating in simulated battles, which the tooltip does not say; see Hero power modifier. - Secondary, +10% speed against the wind (navigator;
differs). Sailing 120 degrees or more off the wind direction, with some wind blowing, normally gives no wind boost. With Shock and Awe the boost becomes 10%, but like every wind boost it is multiplied by 1 + all other speed percentages (open sea, perks, skill), so it is more than a flat +10%. The game does not wrap the angle correctly, so some headings near the 0/360 degree seam count as against the wind when they are not.
Worked example. An AI troop with morale 40 is on the ramming team; its formation captain, another hero, has Shock and Awe; the ramming ship has no Ram figurehead:
An AI troop with morale 40 is on the team of the ramming ship; its formation captain (another hero) has Shock and Awe, and the ramming ship has no Ram figurehead. Inputs: agent morale 40.
| Step | Source | Stage | Change | Running value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Morale change of the ramming ship's team on a ram | base | 40.0000 | |
| 1 | Shock and Awe | factor +30% | +12.0000 | 52.0000 |
| Result | Morale change of the ramming ship's team on a ram | 52.0000 |
With these inputs, morale change of the ramming ship's team on a ram is 52.0000.
The 52.0000 is added to the troop's current morale of 40. Without Shock and Awe it would gain exactly its current morale, 40.
Windborne
- Primary, +20% sail force in battles (captain;
differs). The ship's captain, the hero commanding that ship, needs the perk: its ship gets 20% more push from its sails in campaign naval battles. As a side effect, holding this perk adds 0.02 to your hero strength rating in simulated battles, which the tooltip does not say; see Hero power modifier. - Secondary, −50% disorganized duration at sea (navigator;
works). A disorganized party stays that way for 6 hours; at sea, Windborne halves that.
Which one? Shock and Awe pays off if your fleet rams and if you often sail into the wind. Windborne makes the ship of the hero who has it faster under sail in battle and shortens disorganization at sea.
Tier 5 (Shipmaster 125): Raven Eye or The Helmsman's Shield
Raven Eye
- Primary, +20% spotting range on the campaign map (navigator;
works). The +20% is only added at sea, as the tooltip's "Sea only" line shows. At sea it adds to the +30% every party gets at sea and the −40% inside a storm. Sight never goes above 60. - Secondary, +1 loyalty per fishing boat returning (governor;
works). Each time a fishing boat of a village bound to the town drops off its catch, the town gains 1 loyalty.
The Helmsman's Shield
- Primary, −50% ranged damage while steering (personal;
works). While you stand at a ship's helm in a naval battle, arrows, bolts and other thrown or shot missiles do 50% less damage to you. Separately, the player standing at a helm always gets a −0.6 damage factor from the helm itself, perk or not. - Secondary, +1 prosperity per fishing boat returning (governor;
works). Each fishing-boat drop-off in a village bound to the town adds 1 prosperity to the town.
Which one? Raven Eye adds +20% spotting range at sea and +1 loyalty per fishing-boat return. The Helmsman's Shield cuts ranged damage to you at the helm by 50% and adds +1 prosperity per fishing-boat return.
Tier 6 (Shipmaster 150): Fair Winds or Favorable Tide
Fair Winds
- Primary, +10% speed running before the wind (navigator;
differs). Whenever your heading is under 120 degrees from the wind, the perk adds 0.1 to the wind boost. That boost is multiplied by 1 + every other speed percentage, so the real gain is larger than +10% whenever other speed bonuses are present (see Party speed at sea). - Secondary, +10% hearth growth in coastal villages (governor;
works). Villages bound to a town or castle that has a port grow their hearths 10% faster. If a village is shrinking, the same 10% makes it shrink faster.
Favorable Tide
- Primary, +5% campaign map travel speed (navigator;
works). Sea only, as the tooltip shows. At sea it is the full +5%, except on a raft or a ferry. - Secondary, +1 construction per visiting sea caravan (governor;
differs). The perk's +1 is added to the progress of the current building project. It triggers when a caravan that can sail enters any town or castle governed by a hero with this perk while a building is in progress, but at most once per day per caravan and settlement, which the tooltip does not say. The governor does not need to be present, and there is no port check.
Which one? Fair Winds grows with every other speed bonus but needs the wind behind or beside you; Favorable Tide is a steady +5% at sea in any wind.
Tier 7 (Shipmaster 175): Shore Master or Unflinching
Shore Master
- Primary, −50% ship recall time (party leader;
works). When you call your ships to a port, the time comes from the distance to where they are anchored (between 3 and 48 hours); Shore Master halves that part, and the 3-hour minimum still applies. Ships already sailing to that port and ships without a valid anchor position (a fixed 48 hours) get no cut. - Secondary, −30% fleet size penalty (navigator;
works). Fleets of more than 3 ships (yours plus attached parties') lose speed, and the loss grows with every extra ship. Shore Master shrinks that loss by 30%. It multiplies with Fleet Commander's cut instead of adding to it: each perk multiplies the fleet size penalty by 0.7 (see Fleet size speed penalty).
Unflinching
- Halves disembarkation time (party leader;
works). Landing a party from its ships normally takes 2 hours; Unflinching halves it to 1 hour. A party on a raft or a ferry lands instantly anyway.
Which one? Unflinching halves every landing. Shore Master cuts the fleet size slowdown and halves the recall time of ships anchored elsewhere.
Tier 8 (Shipmaster 200): Chain to Oars or Fleet Commander
Chain to Oars
- Primary, +20% oar force in battles (captain;
differs). The ship whose pilot is in the captain's formation rows 20% harder in naval battles; here the captain's own ship counts too. As a side effect, holding this perk adds 0.03 to your hero strength rating in simulated battles, which the tooltip does not say; see Hero power modifier. - Secondary, prisoners help meet the skeleton crew (party leader;
differs). At sea a fleet with fewer men than its skeleton crew loses speed. With Chain to Oars your prisoners count as crew, but only for that speed check; the too-many-crew check counts your men only. In naval battles prisoners do not count: deploying ships still needs real troops.
Fleet Commander
- Primary, −30% fleet size penalty (party leader;
works). Same penalty as Shore Master's secondary; it multiplies with it (see above). - Secondary, −20% skeleton crew requirement (party leader;
differs). Your ships need 20% fewer men before the undermanned speed penalty starts. The tooltip says it lowers the requirement for every ship in the party, but it only applies to campaign speed: deploying ships in naval battles still needs the full skeleton crew.
Which one? Both secondaries only change the speed check on the campaign map. Chain to Oars also makes ships row harder in battle; Fleet Commander also cuts the fleet size penalty.
Tier 9 (Shipmaster 225): Master and commander or Stormrider
Master and commander
- Primary, +1 XP per troop per hour at sea (party leader;
differs). Every hour at sea (not on a raft or a ferry and not in a battle), the party's troops gain 1 XP, but per troop stack, not per troop: a stack of identical troops gets one point in total, not one each. - Secondary, +1 ship to the command limit (party leader;
works). You can deploy one more ship in a naval battle. The base limit is 3, and the Boatswain perks Port Authority, Blessings Of The Sea and Merchant Fleet each add 1 more.
Worked example. A party leader with Master and commander and the Boatswain perk Port Authority:
A party whose leader has Master and commander (Shipmaster) and Port Authority (Boatswain), with the ignore-deployment-limits setting off.
| Step | Source | Stage | Change | Running value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Ships a party can deploy in a naval battle | base | 3.0000 | |
| 1 | Master and commander | add | +1.0000 | 4.0000 |
| 2 | Port Authority | add | +1.0000 | 5.0000 |
| Result | Ships a party can deploy in a naval battle | 5.0000 |
With these inputs, ships a party can deploy in a naval battle is 5.0000.
The party can field 5.0000 ships in a naval battle instead of 3.
Stormrider
- Primary, +30 XP per troop when entering a storm (party leader;
differs). At most once a day, when the party enters a storm at sea, its troops gain 30 XP, again per troop stack, not per troop. The player's party gets it too when its leader has the perk. - Secondary, +1 ship to the command limit (party leader;
works). Same +1 deployment limit as Master and commander's secondary.
Which one? Both give +1 ship in battle. Master and commander gives a little XP every hour at sea; Stormrider gives more, but only when you sail into a storm.
Tier 10 (Shipmaster 250): Seaborne Fortress or The Corsair's Edge
Seaborne Fortress
- Primary, −10% ship damage when crews confront the enemy (party leader;
works). In simulated naval battles (auto-resolve), when an enemy ship sends its crew to strike yours, your ship takes 10% less hull damage. Hits from ranged ship weapons are not reduced. - Secondary, −20% ranged damage to crew not boarded (captain;
works). In naval battles, troops of the captain's formation take 20% less damage from bows, crossbows and thrown weapons while they are not boarding an enemy ship.
The Corsair's Edge
- Primary, +10% one-handed damage at sea (personal;
works). Your melee hits with one-handed weapons do 10% more damage in naval battles. - Secondary, +1 fishing boat per coastal village (governor;
works). A village normally keeps up to 2 fishing boats (fewer while its hearth level is low); villages bound to the governed town keep one more.
Which one? Seaborne Fortress protects ships in auto-resolve and crews against archers. The Corsair's Edge is for a hero who fights with a one-handed weapon on deck, and adds fishing boats (and so more loyalty or prosperity with Raven Eye or The Helmsman's Shield).
Tier 11 (Shipmaster 275): Commodore
- Flagship figurehead for all allied ships (army commander;
differs). The tooltip reads as if the army commander's flagship figurehead helped every allied ship. What the game does: when the army leader has Commodore, each party in that army gives the figurehead of its own flagship to all of its own troops in the battle, not the commander's figurehead to everyone. Parties outside an army get nothing. With a Lion figurehead this also adds its 10 starting morale to all of that party's troops; that morale part does not even need a naval battle, only a party that owns ships.
Skill effects
- Sailing speed increased, 0.0005 per Shipmaster point (
differs). On the campaign map it works as written: the navigator's Shipmaster adds 0.0005 per point as a speed percentage at sea, and like every other speed percentage it also enlarges the wind boost. In naval battles it differs: the same effect raises a ship's sail force, but there it reads the Shipmaster skill of the ship's own captain, not the party's navigator.
What the skill level itself does
The game also reads your Shipmaster level directly, without any perk. Effects that depend on any skill level are listed once in the skills guide.
| What it affects | What the level does | Level needed | Conditions | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tavern keeper companion recommendation score | For party-role recommendations the score is the candidate wanderer's level in the role's skill (Scouting, Engineering, Medicine, Steward, Boatswain or Shipmaster). | — | — | works |
Who the perks work for
Who counts as you, a relative or a wanderer, and why some halves skip one of them, is explained in the Skills guide.
Every other Shipmaster perk half and skill effect works for every hero: you, relatives and wanderers.
| Perk | Half | Works for | Where the hero has to be |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master Angler | secondary | relatives and wanderers, not you | governor |
| Ghost Ship | secondary | relatives and wanderers, not you | governor |
| Night Raider | secondary | relatives and wanderers, not you | governor |
| Raven Eye | secondary | relatives and wanderers, not you | governor |
| The Helmsman's Shield | secondary | relatives and wanderers, not you | governor |
| Fair Winds | secondary | relatives and wanderers, not you | governor |
| Favorable Tide | secondary | relatives and wanderers, not you | governor |
| The Corsair's Edge | secondary | relatives and wanderers, not you | governor |
All Shipmaster effects
Every effect site of the Shipmaster perks, skill effects and skill level. Values are what each site applies; a value that grows with skill is shown at the perk's required skill (skill effects and skill levels: per skill point). ×N marks N identical sites.
| Perk | Half | Game number | Stage | Value | Conditions | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Master Angler | primary | Hourly chance to catch fish while sailing | add | +0.25 | Role: navigator | works |
| Master Angler | secondary | Fish caught by a village fishing party per catch | multiply | ×1.15 | Party: fishing; role: governor | works |
| Old Salt's Touch | primary | Party map speed | factor | +2% | Party: at sea, not naval auto travel; role: navigator | works |
| Old Salt's Touch | secondary | Underwater breath-hold max duration | factor | +30% | Mission: naval battle; role: captain | works |
| Ghost Ship | primary | Ship damage taken by the player side to get away | multiply | ×0.5 | Party: main party; role: navigator | differs |
| Ghost Ship | primary | Troops lost breaking into or out of a besieged settlement | factor | -20% | Role: navigator | works |
| Ghost Ship | primary | Troops lost breaking into or out of a besieged settlement | factor | -20% | Role: navigator; settlement: port | differs |
| Ghost Ship | secondary | Party map speed | factor | +20% | Party: fishing; role: governor | works |
| Wind Rider | primary | Naval deck movement speed penalty | factor | -50% | Mission: naval battle; role: personal | works |
| Wind Rider | secondary | Naval deck movement speed penalty | factor | -50% | Mission: naval battle; role: captain | works |
| Night Raider | primary | Party seeing range base | add | +3 | Party: at sea; role: navigator; time: night | differs |
| Night Raider | secondary | Daily fish added to a village by the Night Raider governor perk | add | +5 | Role: governor | differs |
| River Raider | primary | Party map speed | factor | +1.344% | Party: at sea, not naval auto travel; role: navigator; terrain: coastal sea or river or under bridge | works |
| River Raider | secondary | Winner party's chance weight to capture defeated members | factor | +10% | Role: party leader | differs |
| Shock and Awe | primary | Hero power modifier in simulation | add | +0.02 | Mission: simulation | differs |
| Shock and Awe | primary | Morale change of the ramming ship's team on a ram | factor | +30% | Mission: naval battle; role: captain | works |
| Shock and Awe | secondary | Party map speed | factor | +10% × (1 + sum of factors) | Party: at sea, not naval auto travel; role: navigator | differs |
| Windborne | primary | Hero power modifier in simulation | add | +0.02 | Mission: simulation | differs |
| Windborne | primary | Ship sail force in naval missions | factor | +20% | Mission: naval battle; role: captain | dead |
| Windborne | primary | Ship sail force in naval missions | factor | +20% | Mission: naval battle; role: captain | works |
| Windborne | secondary | Disorganized state duration (hours) | factor | -50% | Role: navigator | works |
| Raven Eye | primary | Party spotting (seeing) range | factor | +20% | Party: at sea; role: navigator | works |
| Raven Eye | secondary | Town loyalty | add | +1 | Party: fishing; role: governor | works |
| The Helmsman's Shield | primary | Blow damage after victim reductions | factor | -50% | Item: consumable weapon; mission: naval battle; role: personal | works |
| The Helmsman's Shield | secondary | Town or castle prosperity | add | +1 | Party: fishing; role: governor | works |
| Fair Winds | primary | Party map speed | factor | +10% × (1 + sum of factors) | Party: at sea, not naval auto travel; role: navigator | differs |
| Fair Winds | secondary | Daily hearth change of a village | factor | +10% | Role: governor; settlement: port | works |
| Favorable Tide | primary | Party map speed | factor | +5% | Party: at sea, not naval auto travel; role: navigator | works |
| Favorable Tide | secondary | Construction progress of the town's current building | add | +1 | Party: caravan; role: governor | differs |
| Shore Master | primary | Fleet travel time to a settlement (hours) | factor | -50% | Role: party leader; ship: anchor valid or moving | works |
| Shore Master | secondary | Fleet size speed penalty (sea) | multiply | ×0.7 | Party: at sea; role: navigator | works |
| Unflinching | primary | Disembark transition time (hours) | factor | -50% | Party: at sea; role: party leader | works |
| Chain to Oars | primary | Hero power modifier in simulation | add | +0.03 | Mission: simulation | differs |
| Chain to Oars | primary | Ship oar force multiplier in naval missions | factor | +20% | Mission: naval battle; role: captain | dead |
| Chain to Oars | primary | Ship oar force multiplier in naval missions | factor | +20% | Mission: naval battle; role: captain | works |
| Chain to Oars | secondary | Crew count checked against ship crew limits (sea speed) | add | +prisoners | Party: at sea; role: party leader | differs |
| Fleet Commander | primary | Fleet size speed penalty (sea) | multiply | ×0.7 | Party: at sea; role: party leader | works |
| Fleet Commander | secondary | Skeletal crew requirement (sea speed) | factor | -20% | Party: at sea; role: party leader | differs |
| Master and commander | primary | XP granted to party troops by an event | add | +1 | Party: at sea; role: party leader | differs |
| Master and commander | secondary | Ships a party can deploy in a naval battle | add | +1 | Role: party leader | works |
| Stormrider | primary | XP granted to party troops by an event | add | +30 | Party: at sea; role: party leader | differs |
| Stormrider | primary | XP granted to party troops by an event | add | +30 | Party: main party; role: party leader | differs |
| Stormrider | secondary | Ships a party can deploy in a naval battle | add | +1 | Role: party leader | works |
| Seaborne Fortress | primary | Hull damage of one simulated ship-weapon hit | factor | -10% | Mission: simulation; role: party leader | works |
| Seaborne Fortress | secondary | Blow damage after attacker amplifications | factor | -20% | Item: ranged weapon; mission: naval battle; role: captain | works |
| The Corsair's Edge | primary | Blow damage after attacker amplifications | factor | +10% | Item: one handed weapon; mission: naval battle; role: personal | works |
| The Corsair's Edge | secondary | Ideal number of fishing parties of a village | add | +1 | Role: governor | works |
| Commodore | primary | Figurehead effect applied to an agent | add | +figurehead effect | Mission: naval battle; party: in army; role: army commander | differs |
| Commodore | primary | Agent initial battle morale | add | +figurehead effect | Party: in army; role: army commander | differs |
| Sailing speed increased | — | Party map speed | factor | +0.05% per point | Party: at sea, not naval auto travel; role: navigator | works |
| Sailing speed increased | — | Ship sail force in naval missions | factor | +0.05% per point | Mission: naval battle | dead |
| Sailing speed increased | — | Ship sail force in naval missions | factor | +0.05% per point | Mission: naval battle | differs |
| Skill level (any skill) | — | Agent effective skill in battle | base | skill value | — | works |
| Skill level (any skill) | — | Skill a hero inherits on coming of age | base | +1 per point | — | works |
| Skill level (any skill) | — | Heir selection points of a clan member | add | +5 | — | works |
| Skill level (any skill) | — | Maximum troops lost on an issue's alternative solution | multiply | ×max(0.2, min(0.8, trunc(issue required skill / skill) × 0.1)) | Hero: player clan | works |
| Skill level (any skill) | — | Days an issue's alternative solution takes | add | +2 × min(10, trunc(issue required skill / skill)) | Hero: player clan | works |
| Skill level (any skill) | — | Failure risk of an issue's alternative solution | add | -0.005 per point | Hero: player clan | works |
| Skill level (any skill) | — | Troops required for an issue's alternative solution | multiply | ×max(0.2, min(1.2, issue required skill / skill)) | Hero: player clan | works |
| Skill level (any skill) | — | Skill is high enough for a perk reset | override | on | Hero: player clan | works |
| Skill level (any skill) | — | Gold cost to reset the perks of a skill | add | +40 per point | Hero: player clan | works |
| Skill level (any skill) | — | Persuasion success multiplier | factor | min(0.2, floor(skill / 250) × 0.2) | Hero: main hero | works |
| Skill level | — | Tavern keeper companion recommendation score | base | +1 per point | — | works |
Practical tips
- Put your Shipmaster hero in the Navigator role. Most speed, sight and fishing halves, and the skill effect at sea, are read from the navigator, not from you unless you hold the role.
- Leader and captain perks stay with that hero. Shore Master's recall, Unflinching, Chain to Oars' prisoners, Fleet Commander, Master and commander, Stormrider and Seaborne Fortress need the perk on the party leader; Old Salt's Touch, Wind Rider, Shock and Awe, Chain to Oars and Seaborne Fortress crew halves need it on a formation captain; Windborne needs it on the hero commanding the ship.
- If you sail mostly along coasts and rivers, the +44.8% open-sea bonus is missing there; River Raider adds +1.344% there and Old Salt's Touch and Favorable Tide work everywhere at sea except on a raft or a ferry.
- If you sail with the wind, every speed percentage you stack also multiplies the wind boost, so Fair Winds and the flat speed perks grow together.
- If you land often, Unflinching halves every disembark.
- If your fleet has more than 3 ships, Shore Master and Fleet Commander cut the fleet size slowdown; they can be on two different heroes (navigator and leader) and multiply.
- Both tier 9 perks give the +1 ship; Master and commander adds hourly XP at sea, Stormrider XP when you enter a storm.
- If you govern a coastal town, Master Angler, Raven Eye, The Helmsman's Shield and The Corsair's Edge all act through its villages' fishing boats; Night Raider's +5 fish reaches every village trading with the town.