Crew Management Guide - Hire, Level, and Manage Your Crew
Updated 2026-08-06 - 12 min read
Your Crew Makes the Ship
A ship is only as good as its crew. Even the best Galleon is dead in the water without skilled sailors to man it.
This guide covers everything about hiring, managing, and leveling your crew.
Crew Member Types
Different crew members specialize in different jobs.
| Role | Job | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Sailor | Sails, general | Faster sailing, better maneuvering |
| Gunner | Cannons | Faster reload, better accuracy |
| Carpenter | Repairs | Faster repairs during battle |
| Cook | Food, morale | Better food buffs, higher morale |
| Doctor | Healing | Crew heals faster, less death |
| Marine | Boarding, defense | Better in boarding combat |
How to Hire Crew
You can hire crew from taverns in any major port.
- Go to the tavern
- Talk to the tavern keeper
- Browse available crew candidates
- Pay the hiring fee and weekly wage
- They join your ship immediately
Crew quality varies. Higher quality crew cost more upfront and have higher wages, but they are much better at their jobs.
Crew Quality Tiers
- Recruit: Cheap and bad. 50 gold hire, 5 gold/week
- Regular: Decent. 200 gold hire, 15 gold/week
- Veteran: Good. 500 gold hire, 30 gold/week
- Expert: Great. 1500 gold hire, 60 gold/week
- Legendary: The best. 5000+ gold hire, 100 gold/week
How to Level Up Crew
Crew gain experience and level up as they do their jobs.
How to Gain XP
- Sailors: Gain XP from sailing long distances
- Gunners: Gain XP from firing cannons in combat
- Carpenters: Gain XP from repairing the ship
- Cooks: Gain XP from cooking meals
- Marines: Gain XP from boarding actions
Higher level crew are significantly better. A level 10 gunner reloads twice as fast as a level 1 gunner.
Crew Management Tips
- Keep morale high. Morale affects everything - combat performance, sailing speed, even mutiny risk.
- Feed your crew. Hungry crew are unhappy crew. Always have food on board.
- Pay them on time. Unpaid crew eventually mutiny and leave or worse.
- Do not overhire. Extra crew eat more food and cost more wages. Hire only what you need.
- Specialize. A mix of roles is good, but focus on what your ship does most.
Morale System
Morale is the hidden stat that makes everything work better.
What Affects Morale
- Food quality: Better food = higher morale
- Victories: Winning battles raises morale
- Defeats: Losing lowers morale a lot
- Pay: Being paid on time keeps morale steady
- Captain reputation: Higher reputation = higher base morale
Low Morale Consequences
- Worse combat performance
- Slower sailing
- Slower repairs
- Crew may desert in port
- Very low = mutiny
Best Crew Setup by Ship
Sloop (Solo to Duo)
1-2 Sailors, 1 Gunner. Keep it lean. You will man multiple stations yourself.
Brigantine (2-3 Players)
2 Sailors, 2 Gunners, 1 Carpenter. Good balance for a small crew.
Galleon (4+ Players)
3 Sailors, 6 Gunners, 2 Carpenters, 1 Cook, 1 Doctor, 4 Marines. Full complement for maximum efficiency.