Naval Warfare

“Whoever commands the sea commands everything.”

Naval power determines who controls the waters, protects trade, and projects force across oceans. From the humble Galley to the mighty Battleship, warships evolve through the ages to become increasingly potent instruments of military and economic power. On maps with significant water, naval dominance can be the difference between victory and isolation.

Naval Unit Types

Galley

The earliest naval unit, available with Sailing. The Galley is weak in combat but essential for early exploration and transport. Its single cargo slot can ferry a Settler or Warrior to a nearby island. Critical limitation: Galleys can only operate in coastal water – they cannot enter open ocean tiles. A coastal water tile is any water hex adjacent to at least one land tile. Galleys hugging the coast can explore surprisingly far, but open-ocean crossings require more advanced ships.

Frigate

The first true warship, available with Navigation. Frigates bring ranged combat (1 range) to the seas and carry 2 cargo units, making them effective transports for small invasion forces. They can bombard coastal cities and enemy ships from a safe distance.

Destroyer

The fastest ship in the fleet (5 base movement) and the bane of submarines. Destroyers have a +100% attack bonus vs Submarines and can detect stealthed submarines, making them essential escort vessels. However, they carry no cargo and are outgunned by Battleships in a straight fight.

Battleship

The capital ship of the fleet. With 24 attack, 18 defence, 3 range, and 3 cargo capacity, the Battleship is the most powerful naval unit in the game. Its 3-range bombardment can devastate coastal cities and enemy fleets from well beyond retaliation range. The 3 cargo slots make it an ideal invasion transport – load three land units, bombard the shore, and disembark your army.

Submarine

A stealth predator that excels at ambushing enemy ships. Submarines are invisible to most units; only Destroyers and other Submarines can detect them. After attacking, a Submarine is temporarily revealed for the remainder of the turn, allowing enemies to retaliate.

Important limitation: Submarines can only attack other naval units. They cannot target land units or units in cities.

Coastal vs Ocean Water

Water tiles come in two types:

• Coast – Shallow water adjacent to land. All naval units can operate here.
• Ocean – Deep open water. Galleys cannot enter ocean tiles. All other naval units require the player to have researched a technology that grants the Ocean Navigation ability (unlocked via the Astronomy tech).

This distinction creates a natural progression: early naval play hugs the coastline with Galleys, while mid-game technologies open the oceans to Frigates, Destroyers, Battleships, and Submarines.

Cargo and Transport

Naval units with cargo capacity can carry land units across water:

Embarking

To load a land unit onto a ship:

1. Move the land unit adjacent to the naval transport.
2. Select the land unit and use the Embark command, choosing the transport.
3. The land unit boards the ship and travels with it.

Disembarking

To unload a land unit:

1. Move the transport adjacent to a land tile.
2. Select the embarked unit and use the Disembark command, choosing the destination tile.
3. The unit steps onto land and can act normally on subsequent turns.

Cargo Risk

If a transport is destroyed, all embarked units are lost. This makes protecting loaded transports one of the most critical tasks in naval warfare. A single Submarine torpedo can sink a Battleship carrying three elite units, wiping out an entire invasion force.

Workers and Settlers on coastal water (after researching Sailing) are treated as defenceless – they are destroyed outright when a hostile unit enters their tile, with no combat.

Submarine Stealth

Submarines use a stealth mechanic that makes them uniquely dangerous:

• Invisible by default. Enemy players cannot see your Submarines unless they have a unit that can detect stealth nearby.
• Detection. Only Destroyers and other Submarines can detect stealthed Submarines. If a detector is within visibility range, the Submarine becomes visible to the detecting player.
• Revealed on attack. When a Submarine attacks, it is revealed until the end of the current turn. This gives the enemy a window to retaliate before the Submarine vanishes again.

Countering Submarines

The Destroyer is purpose-built to counter Submarines:

• +100% attack bonus vs Submarines, effectively tripling the Destroyer’s damage output.
• Stealth detection to spot hidden Submarines.
• 5 movement to chase down and engage Submarines quickly.

Always escort your fleets with Destroyers if enemy Submarines are a possibility.

England’s Naval Bonuses

England is the premier naval civilisation in Annhexation:

• +1 naval movement for all naval units. This bonus is applied on top of base movement, so an English Destroyer has 6 movement instead of 5, and an English Battleship has 5 instead of 4.
• Harbours +1 gold. Every Harbour in an English city produces an extra gold, funding the fleet and rewarding coastal settlement.
• Ship of the Line (unique unit, replaces Frigate).

Ship of the Line

The Ship of the Line’s 2 range is its defining advantage. It can bombard targets from a safe distance, staying out of retaliation range of most naval units. Combined with England’s +1 movement bonus, the Ship of the Line is fast, tough, and hard-hitting – the best mid-game warship in the game.

Magellan’s Expedition

This wonder (120 production, requires Navigation) grants +1 movement to all naval units for the player who builds it. This stacks with England’s innate bonus, meaning an English player with Magellan’s gets +2 naval movement across the board.

Fishing Nets and Pillaging

Workers can build Fishing Nets on coastal water tiles (requires Sailing), which provide +2 food. When a hostile naval unit at war with the tile’s owner enters a tile with Fishing Nets, the nets are automatically pillaged – the improvement is destroyed and the pillaging player receives gold. Protecting your coastal improvements and raiding your enemy’s requires naval control.

Strategic Tips

1. Control the chokepoints. Narrow sea passages between landmasses are the naval equivalent of mountain passes. A few warships can block an entire fleet.

2. Escort your transports. Never send a loaded transport across contested waters without a military escort. One Submarine can sink an entire invasion.

3. Build Harbours in coastal cities. The +2 gold and +1 food from Harbours is excellent economic value, especially for England with the bonus gold.

4. Use Destroyers as scouts. With 5 base movement (6 for England), Destroyers can patrol enormous areas. Their Submarine detection makes them invaluable for securing shipping lanes.

5. Battleship bombardment wins sieges. A Battleship with 3 range can bombard coastal city defenders without taking any return fire from melee garrisons. Soften the city, then disembark your invasion force.

6. Submarine ambushes. Position Submarines along enemy shipping routes. A Submarine attacking from stealth gets a free first strike against transports and unescorted warships.

7. On island maps, Navy is king. Map type dramatically affects the importance of naval power. On archipelago maps, the player with the strongest navy controls the game. On pangaea maps, a token coastal patrol may suffice.