Ship Crewmembers are indispensable allies on the high seas, providing vital ship-wide bonuses, combat support, and progression through a Loyalty system. This page covers their acquisition, roles, and development. Return to the main Ships page.
Acquiring Crewmembers
You can bolster your ship's roster by obtaining Crewmember Contracts through several methods. They can be hired directly from NPCs found in Taverns, Inns, and Docks using Doubloons (costs vary by rank, see below). Some may even be persuaded to join your cause through skillful use of the Begging skill; notably, 120 Begging provides a small chance (2% Heroic, 1% Legendary) to recruit high-rank crew found in towns. Lastly, Crewmember Contracts are often found as loot during various seafaring activities, though these looted contracts always start at Loyalty Level 0 and arrive as Pending Salvage.
Managing Your Crew
Crewmembers exist as contract items until assigned to a ship. Adding or removing crew is done via the Crew Gump Tab while the ship is either a deed in your possession or docked with a Dockmaster. Removing a crewmember requires the Ship Deed to be in your backpack.
Crewmember Professions and Bonuses
Each crewmember belongs to a specific Profession which dictates the types of passive, ship-wide bonuses they can provide. These bonuses might enhance cannon damage, speed up repairs, improve movement speed, increase boarding success, or offer other valuable perks. Crewmembers can potentially possess multiple instances of the same bonus type, further specializing their contribution. The effectiveness of these bonuses increases as the crewmember gains Loyalty.
 Ship Crewmember Professions | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potential Bonuses | Potential Bonuses | Potential Bonuses | Potential Bonuses | |||||||||||||||
| Profession | Ship Bonuses | Stats | +% per level |
Profession | Ship Bonuses | Stats | +% per level |
Profession | Ship Bonuses | Stats | +% per level |
Profession | Ship Bonuses | Stats | +% per level | |||
 Carpenter |
Repair Cooldown Hull Repair Hull Max Hits |
2 2 1 |
0.1 0.1 0.05 |
 Hedge Mage |
Wake Scalar Crew Hit Points Greater Ability Cooldown |
1.5 2 2 |
0.075 0.1 0.1 |
 Navigator |
Movement Speed Sails Max Hits Sails Repair |
0.5 2 ? |
0.10 0.1 ? |
 Powder Monkey |
Cannon Reload Time Cannon Damage Regular Ability Cooldown |
3 0.5 2 |
0.15 0.025 0.1 | |||
 Cook |
Crew Hit Points Crew Wrestling Crew Damage Crew Healing |
2 0.75 0.5 3 |
0.1 0.015 0.025 0.15 |
 Marine |
Crew Boarding Success Crew Wrestling Crew Damage |
4 0.75 0.5 |
0.2 0.015 0.025 |
 Orc Reaver |
Crew Damage Crew Wrestling Crew Boarding Success |
0.5 0.75 4 |
0.025 0.015 0.2 |
 Raider |
Crew Wrestling Crew Boarding Success Crew Damage |
0.75 4 0.5 |
0.015 0.2 0.025 | |||
 Engineer |
Lesser Ability Cooldown Regular Ability Cooldown Greater Ability Cooldown Cannon Reload Time Cannon Damage Repair Cooldown |
2 2 2 3 0.5 2 |
0.1 0.1 0.1 0.15 0.025 0.1 |
 Marksman |
Cannon Accuracy Cannon Damage Crew Wrestling |
0.5 0.5 0.75 |
0.05 0.025 0.015 |
 Paviseman |
Crew Hit Points Cannon Accuracy Doubloons Earned |
2 0.5 0.5 |
0.1 0.05 0.025 |
 Sailor |
Movement Speed Sails Max Hits Sails Repair Cannon Accuracy |
0.5 2 ? 0.5 |
? 0.1 ? 0.05 | |||
 Fisherman |
Fishing Effective Skill Doubloons Earned Sails Max Hits Sails Repair |
0.2 0.5 2 4 |
0.01 0.025 0.1 0.2 |
 Medic |
Crew Healing Crew Hit Points |
3 2 |
0.15 0.1 |
 Pilgrim |
Wake Scalar Fishing Effective Skill Movement Speed |
1.5 0.2 0.5 |
0.075 ? 0.025 |
 Sea Dog |
Doubloons Earned Movement Speed Crew Wrestling Sails Max Hits |
0.5 0.5 0.75 2 |
0.025 0.025 0.015 0.1 | |||
 Gunner |
Cannon Damage Cannon Accuracy Cannon Reload Time Guns Max Hits Guns Repair |
0.5 0.5 3 2 4 |
0.025 0.05 0.15 0.1 0.2 |
 Merchant |
Doubloons Earned Tidings Movement Speed |
0.5 0.5 0.5 |
0.025 0.025 0.025 |
 Pirate |
Crew Boarding Success Doubloons Earned Cannon Damage Crew Damage Bonus |
4 0.5 0.5 0.5 |
0.2 0.025 0.025 0.025 |
 Spy |
Wake Scalar Tidings Lesser Ability Cooldown |
1.5 0.5 2 |
0.075 0.025 0.1 | |||
Example Structure:
Pirate
Pirates are versatile combatants often providing bonuses to Cannon Damage and Boarding Chance.
Carpenter
Essential for upkeep, Carpenters typically enhance Repair Speed (reducing cooldown) and the Amount Repaired per cycle for Hull, Sails, or Guns.
Continue for all professions...
Crewmember Cost
The initial Doubloon cost for hiring crew depends on their starting Rank:
| Base Rank | Icon | Cost (Doubloons) |
|---|---|---|
| Novice |  |
600 |
| Adept |  |
700 |
| Veteran |  |
800 |
| Expert |  |
900 |
| Master |  |
1000 |
| Heroic |  |
10000 |
| Legendary |  |
25000 |
Crewmember Stats
A crewmember's potential is determined by their Rank, represented by statistical "pips" randomly allocated across their profession's possible bonuses when the contract is generated. These base stats, along with personal combat attributes like Hit Points, Dexterity, Damage, Wrestling, Armor, and Magic Resist, improve as the crewmember levels up through the Loyalty system.
The former "Breach" stat has been replaced by Bravery, which no longer provides an Armor Ignoring effect. Instead, Bravery grants a direct Damage Bonus when crewmembers fight enemies on the same ship (like repelling boarders) or engage powerful Ocean Bosses and their minions.
Ship Crewmember Loyalty
Loyalty reflects a crewmember's experience and effectiveness, ranging from Level 0 to 10. Higher loyalty significantly boosts their provided ship bonuses and personal stats.
Gaining Loyalty Experience
Crewmembers gain Loyalty Experience (XP) passively whenever the captain's ship earns Doubloons from sinking NPC ships or killing their crew. Completing activities like Special Fishing Nets, Fishing Spots, and SOS/MIB quests also contribute XP. Progress is tracked via a bar and specific values in the Crewmember Info gump (accessible via the Crew Gump Tab). The rate of XP gain was increased by 50% in a previous patch (Nov 8, 2021).
Upgrading Loyalty Level
Once a crewmember's XP bar is full, they are eligible for a Loyalty Level upgrade. This process must be performed via the Crewmember Info page while on land or docked (not at sea). Upgrading requires spending Pirate Booty, a special resource found during seafaring activities, with the cost increasing for each subsequent level. The current Loyalty Level is visually represented by the number of Rum Bottles displayed in their info gump.
Effects of Loyalty Upgrades
Each level gained provides significant enhancements: the crewmember's passive Ship Bonuses increase by a scalar +5%, and they receive random boosts to their personal combat stats: Hit Points (+25 to +50), Dexterity (+0 to +2), Damage Bonus (+0 to +2), Wrestling (+0 to +2), Armor Rating (+0 to +2), and Magic Resist (+0 to +3). Reaching the pinnacle at Max Loyalty Level 10 grants a further +50% multiplier to the crewmember's base Ship Bonuses, making high-loyalty crew incredibly valuable.
Crewmembers in Combat
In battle, crewmembers act autonomously, engaging the nearest enemy. While they cannot be directly controlled, the captain can issue orders like "Ready Crew" (bring them on deck), "Send Below", "Attack" (targeting an enemy vessel or their own ship to fight boarders), and "Stand Down" via the Crewmember Hotbar. The Begging skill's "Motivation" ability can boost crew damage temporarily. Remember that NPC Crew deal +50% increased damage in ship combat compared to players or pets. Their roles during Boarding actions, including incapacitation and recovery, are detailed on the Naval Combat page.