An effective way to cripple the economy of your enemy is to put their coastal cities under naval blockades. By blockading an enemy settlement, you do not only decrease the tax income from the settlement, you also decrease how much food that is produced by fishing as well as the maximum possible loyalty in the settlement. As a side effect the corruption is also increased as the inhabitants will do anything to survive during the harsh times.

Performing a blockade

To start a naval blockade a fleet must be positioned at a sector that is adjacent to the enemy settlement. The number of ships required for a full blockade depends on the number of sea or ocean sectors bordering the settlement as well as the settlement type. A larger settlement will require more ships to keep in check.

As soon as a fleet is adjacent to the enemy settlement a blockade is started automatically.

Note that squadrons with the transport ability will not be counted when calculating the blockade efficiency, only warships can perform a naval blockade.

Number of ships required for a full blockade:

Settlement type	Ships required
Small town	1 x number of adjacent sea/ocean sectors
Large town	2 x number of adjacent sea/ocean sectors
City	3 x number of adjacent sea/ocean sectors
Province capital	4 x number of adjacent sea/ocean sectors
Capital	5 x number of adjacent sea/ocean sectors

The maximum number of ships required for a full blockade is for a capital surrounded by 8 sea/ocean sectors. For this case 40 ships are required.

Efficiency of a naval blockade

The efficiency of a naval blockade is calculated by dividing the number of ships in the blockade fleet with the number of ships required for a full blockade.

Example, a city with 4 adjacent sea/ocean sectors require 12 ships for a full blockade. If the naval blockade fleet consists of 6 warships the blockade efficiency will be 6/12 = 50%.

Effects of a naval blockade

A settlement under a naval blockade will be severely affected in multiple areas:

• The food generated by fishing is decreased with blockade efficiency x 0.5 percent. The maximum decrease is 50%.
• The tax income from each citizen in the settlement will be decreased with blockade efficiency x 0.5 percent. In a capital the effect on the tax income is halved. The maximum decrease is 50% in non-capitals and 25% in a capital.
• The maximum loyalty will decrease during a blockade. The decrease is blockade efficiency x 10. At most the maximum loyalty will decrease with 10.
• The corruption will increase during a blockade. The increase is blockade efficiency x 10. The maximum increase in corruption is 10.

How do I protect myself from a naval blockade?

Well, isn’t this obvious, by making sure that no enemy ships come close to your coastal settlements…