Ships

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Meet the Fleet

Ship Types & Default HP

Meet the Fleet!

Ships are the mobile objectives, spawn platforms, artillery batteries, and boarding targets of Holdfast's naval modes. The Age of Sail update expanded this page's subject matter significantly: it added Naval Conquest, new naval maps, the 8-Gun Corvette, the Landing Schooner, ship resources, resource drops, ramming, capture contests, hull colours, ship-name overrides, spawn protection, force zones, and broad server-side controls for ship health, score, resources, and ramming.

This page focuses on Nations At War and Age of Sail ships. Frontlines vessels also appear in the ship enum and are listed in the quick reference table for server configuration purposes.

Ship Types & Default HP

The ship type enum is used by server configuration commands such as ship spawning, health overrides, score overrides, resource overrides, ramming overrides, and ship name or colour overrides.

Enum Value	Command Input	Display Name	Default HP	Notes
1	`Schooner2Gun`	2-Gun Schooner	1000	Long-range support ship.
2	`Schooner8Gun`	8-Gun Schooner	3500	Light, agile sailing ship.
3	`Brigsloop13Gun`	17-Gun Brig-Sloop	4000	Enum keeps the older command input while current rotations and HP data refer to the 17-gun brig-sloop. Default HP source name: `BrigSloop17Gun`.
4	`Rowboat`	Rowboat	Not listed	Oar-powered utility craft.
5	`Gunboat`	Gunboat	1000	Port spawns now use gunboats instead of rowboats.
6	`Rocketboat`	Rocketboat	1000	Spawn count and cooldown can be configured.
7	`Frigate50Gun`	50-Gun Frigate	4500	Largest listed Age of Sail warship.
8	`WW1Rowboat`	WW1 Rowboat	Not listed	Frontlines vessel.
9	`WW1Gunboat`	WW1 Steamboat MG	Not listed	Frontlines vessel.
10	`WW1Steamboat2Gun`	WW1 2-Gun Steamboat	Not listed	Frontlines vessel.
11	`Corvette8Gun`	8-Gun Corvette	2500	Added in Age of Sail.
12	`SchoonerLanding`	Landing Schooner	Not listed	Added in Age of Sail.

50-Gun Frigate

Modelled after 'La Proserpine' The Frigate is the heaviest standard Age of Sail warship. It is the most durable listed vessel, carries the largest crew, and works best as a fleet anchor rather than a lone duelist.

Firepower: 28x 18-pounder cannons (lower deck) & 22x 9-pounder cannons (top deck).
Note: This is the only ship featuring Chase Guns (forward/rear firing).
Max Range: ~625 meters
Max Range (9-pdr): ~550 meters
Sails & Rigging: 6 sets of sails (3 square). Maximum speed: 14 knots.
Interaction: Press E (PC) or B/Circle (Console) to climb the three sets of rigging to reach the Fighting Tops for sharpshooting.
Points: Sinking awards 300 points.
Crew Spawns: 1 Captain, 12 Marine, 10 Sailor, 10 Midshipman, 1 Musician, 1 Surgeon, 2 Carpenter.
Ship Type: Frigate50Gun (enum value 7).
Default HP: 4500.
Points Note: Friendly fire sinks deduct the same 300 points.
Age of Sail Notes: Frigates use the expanded repair, resource, capture, ramming, and hull-colour systems.

17-Gun Brig-Sloop

The Brig-Sloop is the fleet workhorse: tougher than schooners, easier to handle than a frigate, and common in modern Naval Battlefield and Naval Conquest rotations.

Firepower: Medium ship battery with 6-pounder guns and a powerful Carronade at the bow.
Max Range: ~575 meters
Max Range (6-pdr): ~525 meters
Sails & Rigging: 6 sets of sails (2 square). Maximum speed: 13 knots.
Interaction: 2 sets of climbable rigging leading to Fighting Tops.
Points: Sinking awards 100 points.
Crew Spawns: 1 Captain, 8 Marine, 3 Sailor, 3 Midshipman, 1 Musician, 1 Surgeon, 1 Carpenter.
Ship Type: Brigsloop13Gun in the enum. Current rotations and HP data refer to the vessel as the 17-Gun Brig-Sloop / BrigSloop17Gun.
Default HP: 4000.
Role: Reliable line ship for medium-population naval maps.

8-Gun Schooner

Modelled after 'Axel Thorsen' A light escort vessel designed for speed and harassment. Its low profile makes it exceptionally difficult to hit at long range.

Firepower: 8x 4-pounder cannons & 8x Swivel Guns (anti-personnel).
Max Range: ~500 meters
Sails & Rigging: 4 sets of sails (1 square). Maximum speed: 12 knots.
Points: Sinking awards 50 points.
Crew Spawns: 1 Captain, 2 Marine, 2 Sailor, 2 Midshipman, 1 Musician, 1 Surgeon, 1 Carpenter.
Ship Type: Schooner8Gun (enum value 2).
Default HP: 3500.
Role: Skirmisher, escort, and small-ship hunter.

8-Gun Corvette

File:300px-Corvette8gun.webp.png

The 8-Gun Corvette was added with Age of Sail and appears heavily in modern Naval Battlefield and Naval Conquest rotations. It sits between the schooners and brig-sloop as a compact warship for medium and low-population naval layouts.

Firepower: 8-gun battery.
Crew Spawns: Varies by map and spawn configuration.
Ship Type: Corvette8Gun (enum value 11).
Default HP: 2500.
Configuration Note: Server rotations commonly spawn multiple corvettes alongside 8-Gun Schooners, 17-Gun Brig-Sloops, 2-Gun Schooners, and Rocketboats.

Landing Schooner

File:300px-LandingSchooner.webp.png

The Landing Schooner was added with Age of Sail as a naval/coastal support vessel. It is listed in the ship type enum and can be referenced by server configuration.

Weaponry: Landing and transport-focused schooner.
Crew Spawns: Varies by map and spawn configuration.
Ship Type: SchoonerLanding (enum value 12).
Default HP: Not listed in the current default HP table.
Role: Coastal movement, landings, and objective support rather than line-of-battle dueling.

2-Gun Schooner

A glass cannon designed for extreme range support.

Firepower: 2x 24-pounder cannons mounted on Rotating Platforms.
Max Range: ~825 meters (Highest in game).
Sails & Rigging: 3 sets of sails. Maximum speed: 10 knots.
Points: Sinking awards 30 points.
Crew Spawns: 1 Captain, 2 Marine, 2 Sailor, 1 Midshipman, 1 Musician, 1 Carpenter.
Ship Type: Schooner2Gun (enum value 1).
Default HP: 1000.
Role: Long-range pressure. Protect it from fast small craft and boarding attempts.

Gunboat

The Gunboat is a versatile scout and sniper. Age of Sail changed dynamic port spawns to use gunboats instead of rowboats, making this craft more central to port control and small-ship harassment.

Weaponry: Armed with a 4-pounder bow cannon. While it lacks the stopping power of heavier ship guns, it reloads quickly and can punish damaged vessels.
Crew Spawns: 4 Marine, 1 Sailor
Ship Type: Gunboat (enum value 5).
Default HP: 1000.
Swivel Power: Equipped with two Swivel Guns. Useful against rowboats and exposed deck crew.
Spawner Note: gunboatMaxSpawnCount controls how many gunboats can be present from a spawner, and the NaW gunboat shares newer spawner handling with other boat types.
Tactical Tip: Because the gun is fixed at the bow, you must aim the boat itself to line up shots.

Rocketboat

The Rocketboat is a fragile support craft built around disruption. Its rockets are unreliable compared with cannons, but a good hit can pressure repairs, sails, and exposed deck crew.

Weaponry: Features a single Long-Range Rocket Launcher. Unlike standard cannons, rockets have an erratic flight path and explode upon impact.
Crew Spawns: 4 Marine, 1 Sailor
Ship Type: Rocketboat (enum value 6).
Default HP: 1000.
Spawner Note: rocketboatCooldownBetweenSpawns and rocketboatMaxSpawnCount control its availability from spawners.
Fragility: Avoid sitting still. Fire, turn away, and keep the smallest possible profile while reloading.

Rowboat

Rowboats are small, manoeuvrable craft that rely entirely on the physical exertion of the crew. They do not have sails and are unaffected by wind direction.

Ship Type: Rowboat (enum value 4).
Default HP: Not listed in the current default HP table.

Deployment

Rowboats are found attached to the stern or sides of larger vessels like the Frigate and Brig-Sloop.

Launching: To deploy a rowboat, the mother ship must be stationary or moving at a very low speed.
Interaction: Approach the rowboat on the deck and press E (PC) or X/Square (Console) to lower it into the water.

Rowing Mechanics

The speed of the rowboat is determined by the number of players actively "sitting" in the rowing positions.

Coordination: To maximise speed, rowers should ideally be Marines or Sailors.
Steering: The person at the very rear (the stern) acts as the coxswain, controlling the direction of the boat.

Survival & The Lifeboat Role

When a ship is "Foundering" (sinking), the Rowboat becomes a lifeboat.

Saving the Captain: In organised play, the priority is to get the Captain and the Surgeons into the Rowboat to maintain leadership and healing capabilities for the remaining crew.
The Guerilla Move: If your ship sinks, don't give up. A single Rowboat full of survivors can board an enemy ship, kill their crew, and effectively "steal" their vessel, turning the tide of the entire match.

Tips for Rowboat Crews

The Musician Trick: Having a Musician in the Rowboat playing a drum or fife doesn't help with speed, but it is excellent for morale during a daring boarding charge.
Equip Melee: Ensure all boarders have their bayonets fixed or cutlasses drawn before reaching the enemy hull.
The Grapeshot Threat: If you see an enemy cannon being turned toward you and the barrel is glowing with a "shotgun" spread visual, jump out. You have a better chance of surviving in the water than being wiped out in the boat.
Patch Note: Rowboat assisting was fixed in a later 5.X update.

Ship Configuration

Server owners can tune ships heavily. Age of Sail added or expanded controls for ship resources, ship ramming, ship scores, captured-ship behaviour, dynamic wind, spawn protection, force zones, gunboat spawners, hull colours, and ship names.

Ship Renderer Colours

Value	Colour
255	None
1	Black
2	Blue
3	Brown
4	Green
5	Red
6	White
7	Yellow

Name Pools

The ship-name enum contains faction-specific name pools for British, French, Privateer, and Spanish ships. Each faction has name lists for frigates, brig-sloops, schooners/corvettes, and rocketboats/gunboats. The spawnships command can use ship name indexes or name overrides, and underscores in name overrides are replaced with spaces.

Age of Sail Configuration Highlights

spawnships supports ship name overrides and hull colour overrides.
ships_health_detail_override can override health per ship type and faction side.
ships_starting_resources_detail_override sets starting wood and metal resources.
ships_resources_loot_detail_override controls resource drops and looting on capture.
ships_ramming_detail_override controls ramming damage, reflected damage, minimum velocity, and impact slowdown.
ship_score_override controls score and steal multipliers.
ship_steal_time_override controls how long attackers must hold a boarded ship.
sink_ships_on_capture controls whether captured ships are scuttled or remain usable.
allow_respawn_on_contested_ships and allow_spawn_on_captured_ships control spawn behaviour around boarded and captured ships.
ships_drop_resources_on_sink controls whether ships drop resource boxes when sunk.
dynamic_wind can make wind direction change over the round.
ship_spawn_protection and shipForceZoneStrengthMultiplier affect spawn-area protection.
gunboat_spawner_enabled, gunboatMaxSpawnCount, rocketboatCooldownBetweenSpawns, and rocketboatMaxSpawnCount tune small-boat spawners.

Comparison Summary

Category	Ship
Highest Default HP	50-Gun Frigate (4500 HP)
Second Highest Default HP	17-Gun Brig-Sloop (4000 HP)
Lowest Listed Default HP	2-Gun Schooner, Gunboat, and Rocketboat (1000 HP each)
Longest Listed Range	2-Gun Schooner (~825m)
Fastest Listed Vessel	50-Gun Frigate (14 knots)
Newest Age of Sail Additions	8-Gun Corvette and Landing Schooner

Recent Release Notes Affecting Ships

4.00 - Age of Sail: Added ship repairing, mast repairing, finite ship resources, resource drops, timed ship capture contests, ramming damage, the 8-Gun Corvette, the Landing Schooner, structural changes to all ships, ship cannon/cannonball rebalancing, soft-wood penetration, grapeshot splinters, gunboat port spawns, ship spawn protection, force zones, hull colours, and ship physics improvements.
4.01: Improved ship resource clarity, smoothed movement on ship ladders/ropes/stairs, updated ship capture/sinking voice lines, fixed multiple ship and boarding issues, and changed Captains to count as 2 crew members when defending against boarders.
5.10: Friendly explosions no longer damage friendly ships when friendly fire is disabled.
5.20: Improved Age of Sail performance, fixed rowboat assisting, and fixed ship masts breaking when damaged while being repaired.