Whitepaper
Fleet Era
The big picture
Captain's Helm has never been just about rewards. From day one it's been a living economy — shaped by captains, balanced by sinks, and guided by long-term vision. The Fleet Era adds a strategic layer built around:
- Ownership: ships and crew as NFTs.
- Preparation: assembling fleets and planning.
- Risk: timed expeditions with consequences.
This is not an idle game. This is not infinite farming.
Live reference
For current numbers, perk caps, and route details, prefer the in-product Fleet Era Logbook when this chapter and the live game diverge.
Bays & seasonal licenses
By default, every captain has 3 fleet bays. Each bay is a 3-ship fleet you assemble and send out together. Additional bays can be unlocked with $RUM as seasonal bay licenses.
- Unlock up to 9 bays total.
- Licenses reset each season.
- Costs ramp upward per bay to create a steady sink and keep max bays as prestige.
Ships
Ships are working vessels — prepared, strained, damaged, and restored. Greater potential comes with greater responsibility.
Ship classes
Scouting
Fast and efficient. Best for Tailwind routes and some Trade runs where time matters.
Cargo
Built to haul value. Best for Trade and Salvage where points and resources matter.
Battle
Hardened for danger. Best for Boarding and Storm where morale loss needs control.
Ship bonuses are intentionally small; the real edge comes from crew mix and respecting the route.
Crew
Crew members are individual NFTs with roles on the ship — living participants in every expedition, not abstract stat stickers.
- Success leaves them tired.
- Failure pushes them harder.
- Neglect weakens the entire fleet.
Core roles
- Scout — shorten expeditions.
- Carpenter — reduce ship wear.
- Gunner — reduce morale loss.
- Quartermaster — increase seasonal points.
- Navigator — improve success odds (universal, capped).
Perk stacking uses diminishing returns so balanced fleets beat one-class spam.
The Cabin
The Cabin is the command space: view ships and crew, assemble fleets, assign roles, and handle maintenance. What happens in the Cabin determines what happens at sea.
Expeditions
Once a fleet is ready, it sails on a timed Expedition with varying risk and reward.
- Success brings rewards, but still causes wear.
- Failure brings heavier consequences.
- There are no perfect runs — only smart captains who respect the sea.
Route archetypes
- Tailwind — shorter runs, scout-heavy prep.
- Trade — steadier points.
- Salvage — higher wear.
- Boarding — higher morale loss.
- Storm — highest risk/reward.
Preparation is visible
Before you sail, the Cabin shows success odds and expected wear/morale impact based on fleet power and crew roles.
Season 3 resource NFTs
On a successful Season 3 expedition, resource NFT counts use a frozen target-mean rule: the effective mean (base × Cargo × eligible Moon cargo) pays its whole-number floor, and the leftover fraction is the chance of one extra NFT. Example: mean 1.4 yields one resource NFT and a 40% chance of a second. Failure treatment, special NFT chances, and Ink requirements stay on the frozen voyage snapshot.
A sustainable economy
Upkeep is a core pillar. Ships require maintenance. Crew require care. Resources and $RUM are consumed — not hoarded. Earn through expeditions → spend on upkeep → reinvest into better preparation.
Expeditions primarily pay seasonal points and resources; $RUM is primarily an upkeep and seasonal licensing sink.
Season 3 Top 10
Season 3 ranks the top 10 by Season Points. Ranks 1 / 2 / 3 receive 5+5 / 4+4 / 3+3 Fleet Caches and Fleet Contracts; ranks 4–7 receive 2+2; ranks 8–10 receive 1+1. That is 23 Fleet Caches and 23 Fleet Contracts in total, plus a 50,000 RUM performance pool shared by eligible positive points. Official developer accounts stay visible with a DEV mark and are excluded from the RUM pool and prize ranks.
Renown from historical expeditions
Renown XP from historical Fleet Era expeditions is imported once per wallet. The credit is deterministic and never awarded twice.