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Posted by WtfaMaster on Tuesday, August 12 @ 17:14:32 CDT (7 reads)

Ships FAQ by Harion - The Clueless Explainer

okay. i will tackle all imaginable questions that have plagued this Help and Question thread since the start. i will start with the most often asked questions and try to give the answers i know so far. if i give some incorrect info, pls tell me and i will edit it. also, much of what i know is based on experience and reading A LOT of threads. if you have more info about some questions raised here, pls do post them.

well, ready to go pirating? aye, aye captain!

why is it that when i pillage a town i only get 60? how can i send my cargo ships once i win the battle? what if i have no available ships on port when i win the battle? do i still need ships to pillage if i attack over land?

the amt you pillage depends on the port level of the enemy town. the higher it is, the faster you can load your cargo ships. you are only given 20 mins to pillage (idk why though. beats me since pirates usually go on pillaging and raping everyone, and that takes MORE than 20 mins, lol) hence if the enemy's port lvl is higher, you can load goods faster, which means more loot. a town with no port will only yield 60. a lvl 1, 200, and so on. also, remember that your cargo ships are sent out ONLY ONCE you WIN the battle, and they are sent out AUTOMATICALLY. so make sure you have at least 1 cargo ship standing by when you attack. this happened to me. i sent out my 2 ships on a trade, and then tried pillaging a town nearby. i won, but since no cargo ships were present in my port, my troops returned bringing a whopping 2 gold with them. i guess after all that marching and fighting, they're dead tired. you can't expect them to haul tonnes of resources on their own backs. they did fancy stealing 2 gold from the poor villagers. yarr! it's the pirate way after all. (it doesn't matter if you attack over land or over sea, the pirate way of looting needs ships. maybe once you've researched military future, your troops might grow cargo holds on their back and they can now haul loot by the tonnes w/o the need for ships)

Why do every time I pillage a town, only two of my trade ships are sent to take the pillaged goods? Is it a limit or am I doing something wrong?

the number of ships being sent will depend on the amount of resources you are able to pillaged. each ship has a max amt of 300 res it can load. so if two ships were sent, the amt you pillaged exceeded 300 but not 600 resources. the most ships i had sent after an attack was 7. that's 2,100 res to you :)

does the number of troops i send in the attack affect the amt of resources i will be pillaging?

no. whether you send 1 slinger (who miraculously wins) or 10,000 phalanges (if you are able to somehow have that many) you would still only loot the maximum amt that can be loaded by your cargo ship (300 res). of course if you lose, don't expect any loot. your enemy is not santa clause, they are pirates also, yarr!

Is there anyway to increase the capacity of your cargo ships to above 300?

as of now, no. and that maximum 300 means any res of any kind. for example: 100 wood, 50 wine, 50 crystal, 50 marble, 50 sulfur. any combination of resources as long as it totals to 300. if it goes over the 300 mark, it automatically loads in another ship. if you have any, that is.

what is the maximum number of trading ships i can have?

120, regardless of your port lvl.

what does a blockade do?

it prevents ships from coming in or out of the blockaded town. this means that blockaded players can't: trade, send or receive goods, attack/pillage, build a colony. basically, it's a very unhappy situation.

how do i know my town is being blockaded?

you will get this report - xxx units from xxx are blocking the port entrance to [your city name]. if you have warships available, you can click on your town and an option will appear to "break blockade" (as i have yet to be blockaded, i can't verify this)

also the infamous report - occupying forces: Ships of an enemy occupation force are stationed in this town! has been proven to be a bug. so when you see this report, you are not blockaded.

how long can the blockade last?

8 hrs max or as long as the blockading player has the gold to support the upkeep for a blockade. keep in mind though that upkeep for blockade is VERY HIGH. some have suggested waiting out the blockade as the best solution. altho in my opinion, if you think you have a far superior fleet, jz pulverize them. (altho i might be thinking this way bec im a sulphur island owner) who in their right mind would blockade a sulphur island owner? prolly only other sulphur islanders. note: you can be blockaded indefinitely. how? again, think for yourself. this is a strategy game and not mr-santa-i-want everything-spoon-fed to-me-game.

are cargo ships unsinkable?

yes. pirates know that cargo ships are valuable. so instead of sinking it, we "commandeer" it. in sissy language, this means "intercept."

i sent out my ships on a trade, while away, my port suddenly got blockaded. what will happen to my cargo ships when they return?

they will be intercepted. having cargo ships intercepted will not be a happy experience. you will see your cargo ships sailing from the port of the player who intercepted it and to peter pan's hideout. your ship will keep going back and forth bet the enemy port and the netherworld unless you stop being a sissy and pirate the enemy's ass. blockade his port and you will soon get back your beloved ships.

what will happen to the resources carried by the intercepted ship?

what do you expect pirates do? altho, there have been reports of kinder pirates allowing the ships to unload their goods before commandeering it. i guess, the pirates were only after the ship and not their cargo.

is it true that if i dnt have a port i cnt be blockaded

yes. lucky you. but you can still be pillaged. but who in their right mind won't build a port? you cnt buy cargo ships without a port, and you can't trade w/o cargo ships. and if you can't trade, how will you acquire the resources missing in your island? perhaps you can do this on your colony, but not on your capital.

in my town report it says: A trade fleet from has arrived in and brought: xxx resources. how am i supposed to know who sent it? how? *grumble, grumble*

this has now been fixed. if you still receive msgs like this, the other way to track who sent which shipment is to track your messages. if you're OL, tracking shipments coming in is easier as you can view all the incoming ships in your trading port.

what will happen if i send an attack over sea and the town has warships?

your troops will get sent back with this report: Your troop transport has arrived in xxxx, yet turns around because they would lose a sea battle against the local fleet. the same thing happens if the town is blockaded by another player. if your troops do not come back, it's safe to assume they were all killed. and yes, the town had no warships defending.

i cannot pillage a town on another island bec my troops are sent back (see above) but when i try and click on the town to blockade it, no option to blockade appears. is this a bug?

no. he has a fleet on standby but destroyed his port, hence you cannot blockade. there is no way around this atm. we can only wait until Occupation is implemented. then just send your governor to a town on his island and launch the attack from there.

how many cargo ships do i need to set up a colony?

five. bec each cargo ship has a 300 capacity for resources and the amt required for setting up the colony will fill 5 cargo ships.

so i set up my colony. is there a way for me to send my fleet to protect that colony's port?

yes. select your original town from the drop down menu, go to island view and select your colony, and an option should appear: deploy fleet.

where are all my trade ships located? do i need to have trade ships docked at my colony in order to send goods from it to my orig town?

all trade ships are located in SkyPia (that's pirate-speak for HEAVEN). and when you need them, they come down to the town where you will be loading the goods and from there set sail

why is that when i'm transporting goods bet my town, sometimes it takes 40 mins, sometimes just 20 mins? do the distance bet my towns shorten and lengthen? or does my port level rise and fall at certain times of the day? or is this a bug?

you might be transporting over 300 res, example 700 wood, in which case, all 3 ships needs to be loaded before even one of them will set sail. in short, they will all set sail simultaneously once the last ship has finished loading, hence the longer time. for faster transport, send goods by increments of 300. that way, ship 1 won't wait for ship 2 and so on.

is there a way for me to break a blockade for a friend who isn't an ally yet?

yes. select his town, an option will appear: break blockade

can two unallied players simultaneously blockade the same town? won't their fleets battle?

no. for that matter, simultaneous attacks (land or sea) even by allied players cannot be done until they have formed a military treaty. otherwise, their troops will jz fight w/each other.

how do i raid an inactive player with warships on dock?

you can't. the option to blockade his port will not be available once a player becomes inactive.

how and where do i make warships?

in the shipyard. you can build a shipyard once you've researched dry-dock under military field.

is there a way to stop the cargo ship from loading?

no. jz wait for the ship to finish loading and then withdraw it.

anyone know why would my ships take 1:30 to load 300 of cargo?

prolly queuing takes place. meaning there were 2 other cargo ships being loaded first before that one.

How, if or when can i recover trade ships intercepted in a harbor blockade? My fleet has now defeated the blockade fleet but my ships are yet to come back to my port?

the trade ship should come back on it's own accord. The button, above the amount of gold you have, tells you where your trade ships are and when they get back. There is a reported bug which causes your trade ship to get stuck between your enemies colonies.(kudos to theia for the answer)

what do I have to do in order to destroy/kill/whatever his ships so my cargoships can deploy my land-army to his island?

You have to blockade his harbor, if said harbor has ships, your fleet will engage them AUTOMATICALLY, and hopefully sink them. (tnx dirago!)

how can i sell/delete a cargo ship?

you can't. you'll need it eventually so don't fret.

how to transport goods between colonies?

do it the way you trade with someone. go to island view, click on your colony (or original town), click transport goods. note: if you are sending from orig town to colony, you must be on your original town page (upper left corner, drop down arrow with names of your 1st town and colonies, select name of ur 1st town) and vice-versa

another way to do this which is easier is to go to your trading port and under the cargo ship icon, on sent out trade ships, you will see the names of all your towns. click the one where you want to send goods to and it'll lead you to a page where you can send the goods.

Do warships in defense help in catching spies?

no. coz spies can disguise themselves as pirates too! lol. seriously, no. spies getting caught depend on: size of city, plus number of citizens, plus troops and spies stationed there. the larger the city and the more populated it is, the harder it is for your spy to get caught. however, the more troops and spies there are in the city, the easier it is for your spy to get caught. also after every spy missions, the chances of getting caught increases so it is advisable to have your spy lie low for a while before ordering a new mission or recalling them back. (sigh. and i answered this just because warships were included in the question. next time im making a definitive guide for everything Ikariam. but y'all have to pay me, lol)

If I attack someone with warships and they have a bunch of ground units, will those two types fight?

No. Your warships stay on water. Unless you want them to go marching on land.

Is it possible to have your military vessels escort your trade fleet in the event that they encounter a blockade?

if you're worried you could just check your destination on the map a minute or two before arrival. personally i prefer only buying res. usually the transport just comes back empty-handed if a blockade is in place. (answered by aral)

how do i check on the progress of my trade ships?

on top left corner of game screen, there is a boat icon. click on it and it'll show you all the ships currently voyaging, their destinations, what goods they're carrying, if they are buying/selling/transporting, as well as arriving and returning times. make this icon your friend.

how can i know if the player i've had a trading agreement with has sent his ship to me?

go to your trading port, and there under - incoming traders the name of the town and player will appear, type of cargo carried, how many ships are coming, what it will do (transport, trade - sell or buy), and what time it'll arrive

so let's say the attack comes from inland. i get defeated. but since i have a massive fleet docked at my port, will the enemy cargo ships be able to pillage me?

yes. sadly, your warships does nothing to the cargo ships picking up the pillaged resources.

can i still send resources bet my capital and colony if i have no port at my colony?

yes. even if you don't have a port at your colonies, you can still send resources between your towns. remember: towns with no ports can still be pillaged with max 60 res. loading time is 10 goods/min. so it goes that colonies with no ports can still send and receive resources, drawback --> loading and unloading takes longer. what can't be done to a town w/no port is blockade it.

take note also that if you are attacking from a colony w/o a port to another island (the troops you will be sending comes from the portless town), you will not be able to do so. you need to build a port in that town to send your troops from that town to attack another town in a different island. attacks on the same island though can be done.

in my military report, it says: 95unit is coming from XXXXXX
and the time is 5min till it reaches my town. I waited until it count 0 then nothing happened. no combat report, no trading, what happened??

the attacking forces turned back. you have warships defending your town. he has no warships blockading you, so his land troops turned back.

I want to go on vacation mode but i can't bec i have a ship intercepted. how can i go on vacation mode?

you can't go into vacation mode when troops, trade ships, fleets are on missions. so if you have a ship intercepted, get it back first, then you can go into vacation mode. i believe i've mentioned how to get intercepted ships back.

When my blockade ships clash against another fleet (ex. when the player tries to break my blockade), am I still the attacker or am I now the defender? That is: when my blockade fleet gets into combat, does my fleet still use Attack Power or does it use Defense Power instead?

You use both Attack and defense power in all scenarios, actually. (answer by FusionHalo) Though it does make a difference in the case of units/ships with abilities (Assault, Resistance). (added by harbingerjm)

questions i've come up with that i haven't encountered the answers to:

i have my warships blockading an enemy town. so how come he was able to send his land troops from that town to attack me? he attacked over sea not over land. my town was in another island so i can;t figure out how he can send out his cargo ship with his troops when there is a blockading fleet on his town. and yes, the troops came from the town i am blockading.

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stupid corner:

are cargo ships the same as trading ships?

uhh. a dumb question by a dumb pirate. the answer though, is YES.

is the trading port different from the trading post?

yes. trading port is where you buy cargo ships and where they load and unload. trading post is where you leave your goods for others to buy or your gold for others to pick up in exchange for goods you need. then they go to the trading port to load it all.

and the prize goes to...

trade ships, what do I do with them? i made a port, then made some trade ships. i am now lost as to what to do with them! i tried reading the FAQ and it said i can click on a town to send them stuff, but well i don't particularly want to send all my wood to strangers! Is there anything more useful I can do with them?

can it be any more obvious? trade ships are for TRADE! of course you don't send wood to strangers w/o reason. you first establish a trading agreement with them. that's the way trade works. you agree to send some goods, he agrees to send another. of course they may rip you off, but that's how trades go. you are protected though by the PUSHING rule

anymore questions? none? good! coz i deserve a rest after this! lol