💰 Economy Guide
Trading, resources, crafting, and port bonuses — how gold flows in the Archipelago
Contents
1. Trading Basics
Trading in WoSB uses a player-driven auction system. Players post buy and sell orders at ports; other players fill them. You can also trade directly at sea with nearby players within 13 sea units. Orders stay active for 7 days (14 days if holding goods).
📋 Trade Orders
Post buy/sell orders at any port. Orders expire after 7 days. Viewing all auction data costs 500 gold.
🌊 Sea Trading
Trade directly with players within 13 sea units. Useful for quick deals without docking. Subject to standard P2P taxes.
🔄 Refreshing Offers
Pirate Trader offers can be refreshed for 4 Escudo per refresh.
Tip: Guild Discount
Guild members pay only 75% of normal taxes — a 25% discount. Join a guild early to save significant gold on every trade.
2. Tax System
Every player-to-player transaction incurs a tax. The base rates are:
| Item Type | Base Tax | Guild Rate | Enemy Faction Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard items | 7% | 5.25% | 14% |
| Rare items (Marks, Escudo, Pearl…) | 12% | 9% | 24% |
| Unavailable cannons | 10% | 7.5% | 20% |
Warning: Enemy Faction Penalty
Trading in enemy faction ports applies a 2× tax multiplier. Standard 7% becomes 14%; rare items go from 12% to 24%. This makes cross-faction trading expensive — plan your routes to stay in friendly or neutral ports.
High-tax items (always at the rare rate of 12%):
3. Price Ranges
Player trade orders must fall within price multiplier limits relative to the item's base value. This prevents extreme price manipulation while still allowing market dynamics.
| Category | Min Price | Max Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Items | 0.666× | 4× | Most crafting materials and goods |
| Rare Items | 1× | 30× | Marks, Voodoo Skulls, Escudo, Pearl, Ancient Artifact, Treasure Map, Ice Blocks |
| Whale Oil | 0.666× | 15× | |
| Volcanic Ore | 1× | 40× | |
| Gems | 1× | 1000× | Extreme price variation |
| Ammo | 0.666× | 8× | |
| Ships | 0.75× | 4× | Based on total craft cost + gold cost |
| Cannons | 0.75× | 8× |
Multipliers are relative to the item's medium cost. Gems have the widest spread (up to 1000×) — prices are almost entirely market-driven.
4. Port Resources
Each port type stocks different base resources. All ports stock Wood and Resin. Beyond that, availability depends on port type:
🌍 All Ports
☠️ Pirate Bay
🏙️ City
⚓ Bay
🏝️ Neutral Bay
See Resources for the full catalog of 68 resources with values and weights, and Ports for port locations and ownership.
5. Port Bonuses by Level
Ports level up from 1 to 7 as the owning faction develops them. Higher-level ports unlock powerful bonuses for allied players — from resource production to crafting discounts. Who benefits depends on your relationship to the port owner.
| Bonus | Who | L1 | L2 | L3 | L4 | L5 | L6 | L7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource Production | All | 100 | 200 | 300 | 400 | 500 | 600 | 700 |
| Crew Limit | All | 300 | 500 | 900 | 1100 | 1350 | 1600 | 2000 |
| Capital Restore Discount | Nation | 0 | 4% | 8% | 10% | 12% | 16% | 20% |
| Ship Craft & Repair Time Reduction | Nation | 0 | 5% | 10% | 12% | 15% | 20% | 25% |
| Factories Mining Speed | Nation | 0 | 3% | 5% | 10% | 15% | 20% | 25% |
| Recovery Time After Sink | Nation | 0 | 5% | 5% | 10% | 15% | 20% | 25% |
| Ship Craft Discount | Trader HQ | 0 | 3% | 5% | 7% | 9% | 11% | 12% |
| All Craft Time Reduction | Trader HQ | 0 | 2% | 4% | 8% | 12% | 16% | 20% |
| Auction Lot Limit | Trader HQ | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 |
| Powerup Items Craft Discount | Nation / Pirate | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5% | 10% | 15% | 20% |
| Weapon Craft Discount | Trader HQ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15% | 18% | 21% | 25% |
| Ship Decraft Effectiveness | Pirate | 5% | 10% | 15% | 20% | 25% | 30% | 35% |
Port level bonuses are cumulative — a Level 7 port gives the maximum value. Some bonuses (like AllPortsAuction) unlock as on/off at certain levels rather than scaling.
Tip: Trade HQ Bonuses
Setting up a Trade HQ in a high-level port unlocks ship craft discounts (up to 12%), weapon craft discounts (up to 25%), and faster crafting times. The investment pays off quickly if you craft ships or weapons regularly.
6. Crafting Overview
Crafting is how you produce ships, weapons, ammunition, and consumables. Most endgame content requires crafted materials. The crafting system has three main facilities:
⚒️ Workshop
Craft basic components: Bulkhead, Beam, Plate, and cannon parts. Also smelt Iron from ore. The foundation of all production.
🔥 Furnace
Smelt refined metals like Bronze and process advanced materials. Required for high-tier weapon and ship crafting.
🏭 Factory
Mass-produce resources and components. Higher port level = faster factory mining speed (up to +25%).
Ship crafting requires Bulkhead, Beam, Plate, and Battle Marks (earned from PvP). Some ships also need a Construction License. Rate I ships are expensive — plan your resource pipeline carefully.
Example: 12 Apostolov (Rate I Heavy)
Full recipes and details on the Crafting page. Use the interactive Crafting Calculator to plan your material needs.
7. Pirate Economy
Pirates have a unique economic niche. While they face restrictions (no Trade HQ, double taxes in enemy ports), pirate-controlled ports offer exclusive advantages:
⚒️ Pirate Port Crafting
Pirate bays sell key crafting materials: Ice Blocks, Plate, Beam, Bronze, Provisions, Bulkhead, and Canvas. Essential supply chain for non-pirate players too.
💀 Pirate Trader
Exchange Escudo for rare items: Treasure Maps, Voodoo Skulls, Imperial Legend currency, and exclusive ship designs. 26 offers refreshable for 4 Escudo.
⚡ Powerup Discounts
Pirate ports offer up to 40% discount on powerup (consumable) crafting at Level 7 — the best consumable crafting rate in the game.
🚢 Decraft Bonus
Ships deconstructed in pirate ports return up to 35% more materials at Level 7. Efficient for recycling captured ships.
📌 See Also
🌍 World & Economy