Elite Status: Develop Your Favorite Ships
Captains! Each of us has a ship we want to play again and again.
Maybe it is not the most powerful or the fastest. But at some point, you get used to it, find your own playstyle, and realize that this is the ship you enjoy taking out to sea.
Over time, your favorite ship may become less convenient or profitable: repairs can be expensive, the hold may feel too small, and other ships may offer better economic returns. And sooner or later, ship progression reaches its limit — while we all love developing the things we enjoy.
Elite Status will allow you to overcome this limit: you will be able to continue developing your favorite ship, making it noticeably more convenient and profitable to use in everyday gameplay.
The Main Point: Elite Status Does Not Make Your Ship Stronger in Battle
Elite Status does not increase a ship's combat characteristics. It does not provide bonuses to damage, defense, range, or other parameters that directly affect the outcome of a battle.
All bonuses are related to convenience and economy:
reduce resource losses upon sinking;
increase integrity;
increase cargo hold capacity;
reduce integrity repair costs and increase repair speed;
increase experience and loot gained;
add equipment preset slots.
In other words, Elite Status makes your ship more convenient and efficient to operate without changing its combat capabilities.
Six Elite Status Levels
Elite Status consists of six consecutive levels. Each level has its own experience cost, and the levels can only be unlocked one after another.
You do not have to aim for Level VI immediately: each stage already provides its own useful bonus.
Level I — Resource Loss Upon Sinking −10%
The first level reduces the amount of resources you lose when your ship is sunk.
Level II — +2 Integrity
The ship gains +2 maximum integrity.
The additional two points become available immediately after unlocking the level.
Level III — +10% Cargo Hold Capacity and an Additional Sail Design Slot
Standard cargo hold capacity increases by 10%.
In addition, an extra sail design slot is unlocked.
Level IV — Integrity Repair Cost −20%
Ship repairs become cheaper, reducing the ongoing costs of operating the ship.
Level V — Integrity Repair Speed +35%
A damaged ship returns to service faster.
Together with the previous level, this makes repairs significantly more convenient: the ship recovers faster and requires fewer resources.
Level VI — +20% Experience and Loot and +2 Equipment Preset Slots
The final level provides two bonuses:
+20% to experience and loot gained
and
+2 equipment preset slots.
The additional slots unlock the third and fourth equipment presets. This is especially useful for ships used in different gameplay situations: you can save several configurations in advance and switch between them quickly.
How Does Elite Status Progress?
Each ship gets a separate Elite Status XP counter. This is a new type of progression that starts accumulating when Update B21 is released.
The experience is tied to a specific ship and cannot be transferred to other ships.
The progression works as follows:
play the ship → earn XP → fill the current stage → unlock the level → move on to the next stage.
Only the amount of experience required to unlock a level is spent, while the remaining experience is kept. XP continues to accumulate at all times, so you can save up enough experience in advance and unlock several levels at once.
How Can You Get Elite Status?
Accumulating Elite Status is a long-term goal. Full Elite Status is not designed to be completed in a single short gaming session.
There will be several ways to progress your Elite Status:
Ship XP + Gold
This is the main gameplay path.
Play a specific ship, accumulate Ship XP, and unlock a new Elite Status level using XP and gold.
Coins are not required for this path.
Coins
Don't want to wait for XP to accumulate? Levels can also be unlocked using coins.
The progression order remains the same; purchasing levels with coins simply allows you to obtain Elite Status faster. Any accumulated XP will not be lost — it can be used when obtaining the next level.
Elite Status Certificates
Special certificates will also be introduced to speed up progression:
a certificate granting +10,000 Elite Status XP;
a certificate granting +1 Elite Status level;
a rare certificate that grants full Elite Status immediately.
This means you can gradually develop your ship through gameplay, speed up individual stages, or significantly shorten the path to the maximum level.
What Will Happen to Premium Ships?
Premium ships have full Elite Status immediately.
This applies both to future purchases and to ships you already own.
If a premium ship is already in your port, it will automatically receive all six Elite Status levels for free after the update is released. Premium ship bonuses will be brought into a unified Elite Status format.
No additional actions or purchases will be required.
For some ships, individual characteristics will change as part of bringing their bonuses into the unified Elite Status format. The total set of advantages of each premium ship will not be reduced; on the contrary, some ships will receive additional advantages.
As a result, a fully developed regular ship will effectively match premium ships in terms of economic efficiency, while premium ships will have the full set of Elite Status bonuses from the moment they are acquired.
What Will Happen to XP You Have Already Earned?
Experience earned before the system is released will not be transferred to Elite Status.
Elite Status XP is a separate progression resource introduced together with the mechanic.
After the update, each ship will start accumulating its own new XP counter.
This means that all captains will start accumulating Elite Status XP from the same point.
What Affects Elite Status XP Gain?
Some existing XP bonuses will also apply to Elite Status XP.
The following bonuses work:
Captain's Seal;
lanterns;
flags;
the special crew member “Corsair”;
the Place of Reflection on your Personal Island.
The “Scribe” special crew bonus will not apply. It increases XP received for branches and upgrades, while Elite Status XP is a separate characteristic.
Do I Need to Develop Elite Status on Every Ship?
No. Elite Status is primarily about choice and being willing to develop a specific ship.
You do not need to make every ship Elite simply because the option is available. You can choose the ship you like the most and gradually develop it. You can also have several such ships for different purposes.
What You Should Know Before Developing Elite Status
Status Is Tied to the Ship
Elite Status cannot be transferred to another ship. It is progression for the specific ship you have chosen, not an account-wide bonus.
A Ship with Purchased Elite Status Cannot Be Listed on the Exchange
In this regard, such ships are treated the same as premium, imperial, and unique ships.
Therefore, you should develop a ship that you genuinely plan to keep in your fleet. If you wish, a ship with Elite Status can be dismantled.
Elite Status Is Available for Rank 5 Ships and Above
The mechanic applies to ships of Ranks 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. It is not available for Rank 6 and 7 ships.
Let's Recap
Elite Status:
is available for Rank 5 ships and above;
consists of 6 consecutive levels;
each level provides a permanent bonus;
provides no direct combat advantages;
can be developed using XP from the specific ship and gold;
can be accelerated with coins;
can be accelerated with special certificates;
provides +20% experience and loot at the maximum level;
unlocks +2 equipment preset slots at the maximum level;
increases integrity and cargo hold capacity and improves repair conditions;
is fully available to premium ships immediately after purchase;
will be granted in full for free to premium ships you already own;
is tied to a specific ship;
cannot be transferred to another ship;
prevents the ship from being listed on the Exchange once Elite Status has been acquired.
Elite Status is an opportunity to invest in the ship you really don't want to leave behind.
