World of Sea Battle trading guide

If you are new, read the beginner guide first; trading only pays once you can sail, dock and flee without thinking. For a wider look at income, see how to make money. The World of Sea Battle hub has the overview.

How the exchange works

Each port has an exchange (players also call it the trading house). Ports produce some goods and demand others, and players list their own resources, parts and ships. Three tools make the job easier than it used to be:

• The world map shows how full each trading house is (added in B18), so you can see from afar where stock is high.
• Search by name and high or low price indicators were added to the exchange in B19. Use them to spot goods that are cheap where you are.
• Some neighbouring port prices are visible from the exchange window, so you can compare before you sail.

The rule is simple: buy where a good is produced and plentiful, sell where it is consumed and scarce, and fill the hold again before you sail back.

Finding a route that pays

How to find trade routes (Master Commander)

Older guides give fixed north to south lists, and they contradict each other: one says buy sugar in the north, another says sugar is a southern good, and one player report says salt is not sold in ports at all. Our advice is to use those lists as a hint and the exchange as the truth. The one point several community sources agree on is that grog bought in northern ports sells at a profit in the south, where ports such as Santa Marta take it.

1. Write down five goods that are cheap in your home port.
2. Open the map and look for ports on the other side of the archipelago with low stock of those goods.
3. Calculate profit per unit of weight, not per item. Light goods with a fair margin beat heavy goods with a big one when your hold is small.
4. Check the return cargo at the destination before you leave. A route that only pays one way is half a route.
5. Test with a small load first. Prices on a quiet server react quickly to one big sale.
6. Repeat what works until the margin drops, then rotate goods.

Rum is not a trade good for most players; it is used for crafting and upgrades (the Rum ration now costs 30 rum to make). Sell rum only when you have more than your own needs.

Cargo ships for trading

You trade with what you have at first, but a proper hauler multiplies every trip. Español hulls have more durability, hold and crew by design, which suits traders. Ships confirmed in transport branches after B21:

Level the ship you trade in. Elite status level 1 cuts resource loss on sinking by 10 percent, and level 3 adds 10 percent to the base hold. Just remember that an Elite ship cannot be sold on the exchange afterwards. Every confirmed ship by role is in the best ships guide.

Flags, perks and trade factions

The dedicated trade flag is gone; B13 replaced trade flags with false peace flags. What protects you now:

• The peace flag shields you in normal waters, costs 20 percent XP and loot for faction players and higher mooring fees, and is not allowed in the danger zone. Since B19 it no longer protects military or trade faction players in enemy port waters, and it blocks prisoner transport.
• The false flag bonus is 20 percent, and since B19 it only applies outside port waters.
• Trade Union perks from B19: the delivery contract bonus runs from 20 to 50 percent, and if someone attacks a Trade Union player on a trade route, the NPCs of that route defend the trader.
• Khanfar Caliphate is a neutral trading union. It cannot capture ports, and only trading ships can be built in its ports.

The Unified Market privilege

B21 added a guild privilege made for traders. With Unified Market you can browse the exchanges of neighbouring ports within a radius of 3,000 and buy from them directly:

• Delivery costs an extra 7 percent of the deal, and the current port's normal exchange tax is not charged to the buyer.
• You can only buy; selling or placing orders through neighbouring ports is not possible.
• Pirate guilds cannot use it, and it switches off if a guild joins the pirate faction.
• It costs the guild 1,620 influence and 32,400 chests, so it is a privilege for established guilds.

In practice it lets you gather a cargo from three or four ports without sailing between them, then do one long haul. If your guild trades a lot, ask for it. More on privileges in the guilds and port battles guide.

Managing risk on the water

1. Never carry everything. Only take what you plan to sell on this trip.
2. Avoid the central PvP circle (open from level 15) and danger zones with a full hold; the peace flag does not help there.
3. Bring an escort in your squadron or sail with guild mates.
4. Use the wind. Since B21 the broad reach is the widest and fastest point of sail; plan legs that keep the wind on your quarter, as explained in our map and navigation guide.
5. Run, do not fight. A trader that turns to fight usually loses the cargo and the ship.

When trading is not worth it

If your hold is small, your margin per unit is thin and the route crosses dangerous water, you will earn more from quests and island crafting. Trade when the price gap is clear on the exchange, when you have a hauler, and when your route avoids the places pirates wait.

FAQ