The game offers many different ways of obtaining Ships. When a ship is idle (no movement or orders) and starts to pursue an enemy ship in Offensive Combat mode it will continue to pursue this ship until it destroys it, after which the ship will return to the point from which it started its pursue. The two Combat modes respectively mean not to pursue an enemy ship and to pursue an enemy ship.

Combat mode: Press the 'Combat mode' button to switch between Defensive and Offensive Combat.

Selling to Corsairs: Press the 'Sell Ship' button near the Corsair lair to sell the Ship.

Settling Islands: Press the 'Create Warehouse' button near a shore to create a Warehouse.

Transporting: Assign the Ship to a Trading route in the Trading route menu.

In addition to these movement options, there is some additional features to keep in mind.

Patrolling: Left-click the 'Patrol' button and then left-click to place waypoints.

Attacking: Right-click an Enemy Ship or Building.

After selecting one or more Ships, there is a number of available movement options: All the Ships bound to that Hotkey can then be selected at once by pressing the associated number key.

To create a Fleet Hotkey, press Ctrl + a number key to add the selected Ships to the Hotkey of that number. Ships can also be selected by using Fleet Hotkeys (Venice only). Cycle through Ships: Press Tab to cycle through Ships.Select Area: Hold left-click while dragging the mouse over the Ships.Select Ships: Left-click on Ships while holding Ctrl + Shift.To start issuing commands to your Ships, you first have to select them. The following is a list of all Ship controls. The only exception to this rule is the Small Tradesman's Cog: it is slowed by only 15%. Slowdown due to damage is the same for all ships: ship speed is reduced by a maximum of 75% (i.e., the ship moves at 1/4 of its undamaged speed). Speed and reduction can be changed through attainments, bonus items and crew members, and by building Historic Warehouses. When a ship is damaged or loaded with goods, it moves at reduced speed. Ships move at the speeds listed in the table below. The first rank unlocks the Small Tradesman's Cog, and the second rank unlocks the Large Tradesman's Cog. The Venetian shipbuilding Attainment is required to unlock construction of the two Venetian ships. The Large Tradesman's Cog also has armaments on board, which allows it to continue operating during wartime without the need for an escort. By default they have extended Cargo hold capacity and higher damage resistance than other Ships. Two new Ships were added by the Venice add-on: the Small and Large Tradesman's Cog. * The Flagship and Corsair ship can only be purchased for the displayed amount from Lord Northburgh and Hassan ben Sahid respectively.

Anno 1404 unloading ship