Trade Pier and Deep-Water Pier in Corsair Cove

Tier 2 hulls feel like a power spike. Trade Pier and Deep-Water Pier are the next walls. Corsair Cove gates late-game fleets behind Compass Principle points and pier upgrades — you cannot keel a Tier 4+ ship on a plain Shallow Pier, and Tier 6 demands a Deep-Water berth plus rare Silver. This guide covers the 1.0 retail path after Tier 2 ships unlock and Ship building.

Cross-check live Pier tooltips after Patch #2 — crew upkeep display was corrected in v1.1.2.241844, so late recruitment math should match the UI again.

Pier ladder at a glance

Pier	Ships allowed	Unlock / upgrade gate
Shallow Pier	Tier 1–3	Early coastal slot inside a pirate camp
Trade Pier	Tier 1–5	12 points in any one Compass Principle, then upgrade
Deep-Water Pier	Tier 1–6	30 points path + Trade Pier upgrade (Silver required)

Official building data commonly lists Shallow → Trade at 30 Planks / 60 Stone Blocks / 20 Rope / 500 Coins, and Trade → Deep-Water at 60 Planks / 30 Stone Blocks / 60 Tabby / 100 Silver. Always confirm the live construction panel — localisation and patches can tweak labels, not the overall ladder.

Corsair Cove complete guide — combat, city building, progression

Compass thresholds that matter

Pair this table with Deeds and journal and Technology Compass:

Compass tier	Points	Fleet impact
Tier 2	3	Baseline / Plus early hulls
Tier 3	7	Mid hulls still on Shallow Pier
Tier 4	12	Trade Pier + Tier 4 ships
Tier 5	20	Tier 5 hulls on Trade Pier
Tier 6	30	Deep-Water Pier + flagship Tier 6

Plus (+) hybrids still ask for two Principles at the same threshold. Farming twelve Notoriety while ignoring Wealth will not unlock every Carver+ / Bedlam+ style pairing — name the pair before you stockpile Tabby.

Step 1 — Finish the Shallow Pier economy

Do not rush Trade Pier while your first camp still starves. Preconditions:

1. Stable food and housing and cohesion.
2. At least one reliable Tier 2 / Tier 2+ hull from Tier 2 ships unlock.
3. Local planks, rope, and stone blocks near the coastal warehouse.
4. Salvage Dock coverage if you rebuild after losses.
5. A second pirate camp if you need another pier slot for fleet size.

Trade Pier unlocks bigger keels — it does not feed them. Rope, sails, pitch, fittings, and advanced crew goods still come from production chains.

Step 2 — Hit 12 points and upgrade to Trade Pier

1. Claim Deeds on your primary Principle until the Compass shows 12.
2. Select the finished Shallow Pier and choose the Trade Pier upgrade.
3. Deliver planks, stone blocks, rope, and coin shown in the tooltip.
4. Keep a warehouse adjacent so fetchers finish the upgrade before Crown events steal your attention.
5. Only then open the ship list for Tier 4 / Tier 5 hulls.

Community guides highlight Trade Pier as the hard wall past Tier 3: Shallow Pier simply will not list the keels. If the upgrade button stays grey, you are missing Compass points or materials — not a bug from Patch #1 Pier hints.

Step 3 — Supply Tier 4 and Tier 5 fleets

Tier 4–5 ships pull mid-game goods hard: sails, pitch, fittings, specialised crew types, and larger plank/rope stacks. Practical habits:

• Cluster sailcloth and pitch chains near the pier warehouse rather than across three cliffs.
• Stock advanced crew upkeep before filling berths — Patch #2 fixed misleading upkeep numbers in the shipbuilding menu.
• Match hull role to region quests: Prowlers, Destroyers, Hunters, and Reavers still care about Boarding, Gun, Speed, and Manoeuvrability.
• Swap captains at port for the next event; see captains tier list and naval combat.

Use production ratios reference when a new keel suddenly empties two warehouses overnight.

Step 4 — Deep-Water Pier and the Silver loop

Tier 6 flagships (Wraith, Wrath Bringer, Neptune, Loki and peers by Principle) need a Deep-Water Pier. The awkward part is Silver: it is a late raid / outer-map resource, not something your first Skull Rock sawmill prints. That creates a fleet loop:

1. Earn toward 30 Compass points on the path that unlocks your target Tier 6 hull and Deep-Water upgrade.
2. Build a Trade Pier Tier 4–5 fleet strong enough to clear outer regions.
3. Raid / event-farm Silver (and Tabby) while the home cove stays green on cohesion.
4. Upgrade Trade → Deep-Water with the listed materials including 100 Silver.
5. Lay the Tier 6 keel and crew it only when upkeep chains can sustain Corsairs / Marauders / Renegades-tier sailors.

If you burn every advanced pirate on a doomed outer voyage, you will own Silver recipes on paper and no workforce to finish the pier. Keep crew morale and local stew stable while the flagship builds.

Principle-flavoured late unlocks

Each Compass branch packs different Tier 4–6 hulls and production buildings. High-level pattern (verify in-game):

• Notoriety — Prowler line toward Wraith, smuggling / stealth-leaning tools, Deep-Water at 30.
• Empire — Destroyer line toward Wrath Bringer, gunpowder and copper lamp industries.
• Seafaring — Hunter line toward Neptune, tar and travel-focused chains.
• Wealth — Reaver line toward Loki, fittings and lamp / blubber style goods.

Hybrid Plus ships at 12 / 20 still want dual Principles. Compass priority tier list and the four builds pages help you avoid spreading thirty points into four mediocre branches.

Diagnosis table

Problem	Check
Tier 4 ship missing from list	Trade Pier upgrade + 12 Compass points
Trade upgrade greyed out	Materials, coin, or still below 12 in any Principle
Tier 6 locked with Trade Pier	Need Deep-Water Pier + ~30 point unlock
Deep-Water materials stuck	Outer-map Silver / Tabby — strengthen the current fleet first
Crew costs look insane	Update to Patch #2, then re-read upkeep
Colony collapses during flagship build	Food, cohesion, and too many sailors embarked

Related reading

• Ships tier list
• Progression path
• World map overview
• First week August 2026

Upgrade the pier when the Compass and the warehouse agree. The flagship is a logistics achievement, not a single click on a pretty keel.