Part of the Sea of Conquest Ships Series — this is the hub:

Ship Tier List: Every ship ranked, with how to get it.

Ship Builds: Working setups per damage type.

Flagship Guide: The All Round hull that gates everything.

Ship Upgrade Requirements: Parts, sets and materials.

Quick Answer

Sea of Conquest has five damage types in two classes:

Direct damage — Artillery (hits multiple targets), Cutthroat (hits the single lowest-HP target), Strategic (a general middle ground). Damage over time — Blazing (burning) and Drowning (taking on water).

Your flagship sits outside all five as an All Round class hull, and it is the most important ship you own — if the flagship sinks, the fleet sinks.

From Season 3 onward a complete fleet also needs a Support ship, which is a role rather than a damage type. Damage, defence and support is the shape you are building toward.

The Five Damage Types

Type	Class	Targeting	Mechanic
Artillery	Direct	Multiple targets / fleet-wide	Broad, consistent output — the reliable workhorse
Cutthroat	Direct	The single lowest-HP enemy	Assassination. Finishes weakened targets, ignores healthy ones
Strategic	Direct	General	The flexible middle ground
Blazing	Over time	Applies burning	10% of the attacker's ATK per second for 8 seconds, stacking to 10
Drowning	Over time	Applies taking on water	20% of ATK per second for 5 seconds, stacking to 10 — and it ignores armour

Two things in that table change how you build.

Cutthroat targets the lowest-HP enemy, not the nearest or the biggest. That makes it an execution tool rather than a general damage type — excellent alongside anything that softens a target, unreliable on its own against a healthy fleet.

Drowning ignores armour. That is why it outperforms against heavily defended targets and why it is the answer to sea monsters with enormous effective health. Both damage-over-time types stack to 10, so they reward fights that last — and underperform badly in fights that end in seconds, which is most PvP.

Fleet Roles

Damage type is what a ship deals. Role is what it does for the fleet, and you need all of these:

Flagship (All Round). Its own class. Carries the most stat weight, appears in every fight, and gates your entire progression. Build it before anything else — see the flagship guide.

Offense. Your damage output. Black Raven early, Warhammer once you have it.

Defense / tank / bait. Absorbs and taunts. Dragon Lance early, Providence once you clear the Season 2 event, Sceptre later.

Support. Healing and fleet buffs. A distinct role from Season 3 onward, filled by Primal Roar or Boreas. A fleet without support loses fights its stat totals say it should win — see the crew combinations guide.

Shipbuilding: The Odds

From Season 2 you build ships rather than only receiving them, and the rates are worth knowing before you plan around a specific hull:

62% Rare
28% Epic
10% Legendary
A luck counter eventually guarantees a Legendary

Built ships also roll random skills, one of which can be Honed. So two copies of the same hull genuinely differ, and a built Legendary with three unusable skills is worse than an Epic with the right ones.

The practical consequence: do not plan around building a specific Legendary. Build toward the guarantee, run the free Epics in the meantime, and check what skills you actually rolled before committing upgrade materials.

Full acquisition table for every hull is in the ship tier list.

Ship Parts

Parts are the second upgrade axis and the one players neglect most.

Four slots: Cannon, Figurehead, Helm, Sail.

Eleven sets, each with 2-piece and 4-piece bonuses: Blade o' Freedom, Sovereign o' the Sea, Requiescence o' Black, Queen o' Revenge, Banquet o' the Reaper, Crown o' Searing, Rupturer o' the Abyss, Shelter o' Yamata, Ballad of Sea Ablaze, Fury o' the Storm, Sacred Guardian.

Part levels run 1 / 12 / 18 / 25 / 32, gated by ship level. Parts carry random substats and can be enhanced at +5, +10 and +15 to unlock more.

Two veteran rules that save a lot of gold:

Percentage stats beat flat stats. Always.
Do not burn gold part-select boxes until you hold most of a set. Completing a set bonus is worth more than upgrading a lone good piece.

Details in the ship upgrade requirements guide.

Managing Your Fleets

Switching ships is cheap — experiment freely. Upgrading is what costs, so decide what you are investing in before deciding what you are sailing.

Separating fleets lets you gather, trade and fight simultaneously. This is the largest efficiency gain available to a mid-game player, and fleet slots unlock with flagship level — the 4th at flagship 22, the 5th at 31, the 6th around 40.

Formation decides which ship absorbs the opening exchange — see the formations guide.

Build a dedicated gathering fleet early. Cheap hulls, uninvested heroes, capacity loadouts. Over a month it out-earns anything else built with the same materials.

Build Order

Flagship, exclusively, until it stops being the obvious bottleneck.
Claim Crimson Sentinel from the 7-day Pirate King's Trail — free Epic, hard deadline.
Run Black Raven and Dragon Lance as your offense/defence pair.
A gathering fleet of cheap hulls.
Claim Providence from the Season 2 Sea Voyage event.
A support hull — Primal Roar or Boreas — from S3.

A 6-star Epic or Rare beats a 2-star Legendary. Depth beats rarity here exactly as it does with heroes.

Every Ship Guide

Free ships — claim these

Black Raven and Dragon Lance — your first two, free from the Season 1 story
Crimson Sentinel — free Epic, 7-day deadline
Providence — free Epic tank from Sea Voyage

Built and premium hulls

Warhammer — the best damage ship
Stormbringer and Sceptre — one contested, one reliable
Boreas — the support hull the meta wants
Shipbuilding — odds, random skills and the guarantee

Systems

Flagship Guide and Flagship Talents
Ship Parts and Upgrades
Ship Builds and the Ship Tier List

FAQ

What are the damage types in Sea of Conquest?

Five: Artillery, Cutthroat and Strategic deal direct damage; Blazing and Drowning deal damage over time. Blazing burns for 10% ATK per second over 8 seconds; Drowning deals 20% per second over 5 seconds and ignores armour. Both stack to 10.

What is the best ship in Sea of Conquest?

Your flagship, which is a separate All Round class. Among the rest, Warhammer for damage, Providence for tanking, Boreas for support.

What are the odds of getting a Legendary ship?

10%, with 28% Epic and 62% Rare, plus a luck counter that eventually guarantees one. Build toward the guarantee rather than gambling.

Do built ships have the same skills?

No. Built ships roll random skills, one of which can be Honed. Bought pack versions have fixed skills, which is a real advantage.

How many fleets can I have?

Slots unlock with flagship level — the 4th ship slot at flagship 22, the 5th at 31, the 6th around 40.

Should I upgrade ship parts or ship level?

Both, but parts are cheaper and more neglected. Prioritise percentage stats over flat, and complete a set before perfecting single pieces.

Key Takeaways

Five damage types, two classes. Cutthroat targets lowest HP; Drowning ignores armour.
The flagship is All Round class and outranks every other hull.
Support is a required role from Season 3.
10% Legendary build rate — plan around the guarantee, not the roll.
Percentage stats beat flat stats, and complete sets beat single good pieces.

Sea of Conquest Ships: Damage Types, Roles and Shipbuilding