New captain? Start here

What do I do first?

Sink ships, spend the gold, sink bigger ships. Every thirty stages a flagship guards the way to the next ship, and each new ship pays more gold.

What should I upgrade first?

Most of yer early gold belongs in a handful of cheap upgrades:

• Round Shot (from 15 gold): yer cannon’s base damage. The gun crew and mateys fire a share of it, so it lifts everything else too.
• Gun Crew Damage (from 40 gold) and Gun Crew Speed (from 60 gold): a gun crew that fires for ye between taps, and keeps firing while ye’re away.
• Fine Powder (from 120 gold) and Fine Powder Damage (from 160 gold): critical hits.
• Bellows (from 100 gold), Overdrive Capacitor (from 150 gold) and Overdrive Charge (from 150 gold): a faster, longer, harder-hitting Overdrive.
• Treasure Box (from 600 gold) and Finding Treasure (from 500 gold): they open after ten sinkings and grow the gold that piles up while ye’re gone.

The Broadside (from 1.20K gold) opens on Tier 2 · Lashed Skiff: a charged volley for the tough ones. After that, each new ship brings its own upgrades, listed on its ship page.

Does it keep playing while I’m away?

The Treasure upgrades decide how much gold is waiting when ye come back.

When should I take the Pirate’s Pact?

The Pact is the game’s prestige: give up the climb, keep a permanent bonus, and sail again from the start. It first opens on Tier 6 · Frigate.

Each Pact makes yer damage ×1.04 stronger (stacking with every Pact) and adds +15% gold. It also pays Pirate Points for permanent perks. Points only start counting on Tier 4 · Brigantine, and every 45 stages deeper doubles what each stage is worth:

So a good rule is: once the Pact is open, keep pushing until sinking ships turns into a slog, then take it. A few stages more can be worth a lot more points. Everything about the Pact →

Where do pearls and doubloons come from?

Black pearls come from diving the sunken hoard; doubloons from Doubloon Strikes, the task boards, ads and the daily rewards. Spend them in the Black Market and Doubloon Market. The Daily Rewards page shows what each day pays.

What changes at Tier 11?

From Tier 11 · Revenant Caravel the enemy fires back, so yer own ship has a hull to defend. The Defence upgrades open there, starting with Hull Integrity (from 1.19Qa gold) and Armour Plating (from 15.0Qa gold).