Pearls do more than fuel a ship—they define its identity, capabilities, and tactics. Every ship class has optimal placements for each elemental type to maximize power while minimizing risk of conflict or overload. Below is a detailed guide to the effects and ideal integration of each element.
Primary Role: Offensive power, destructive energy, boarding deterrents.
Titanic Flagships:
Fire Pearls are often placed in broadside cannon arrays, figureheads, and hull reinforcement systems. A Giant Fire Pearl in the main hull powers the entire ship’s weapons, enabling volleys that ignite sails, melt wood, and incinerate boarding parties. Medium Fire Pearls in turret mounts or secondary cannons provide precise strikes. Small Fire Pearls can coat harpoons, ropes, and grappling hooks in flame, giving offensive flexibility without risking hull feedback.
Historical Note: The Stormbreaker used a Giant Fire Pearl alongside Medium Frost Pearls for tactical alternation during the Battle of Ash Tides, firing waves of flame followed by chilling blasts to disorient enemy crews.
Grand Vessels:
One Large Fire Pearl powers primary broadsides or figurehead attacks. Medium Fire Pearls may be used in auxiliary weaponry, while Small Fire Pearls coat boarding tools or specialized cannons. Proper placement avoids Frost or Water Pearls, which must remain on the opposite side or in isolated compartments.
Common Ships:
Medium Fire Pearls power primary cannons or small harpoon arrays. Small Fire Pearls enhance boarding tools or emergency incendiary devices. Fire Pearls must be isolated from Frost or Force Pearls to avoid hull warping or feedback.
Primary Role: Defensive reinforcement, control of sails, environmental manipulation.
Titanic Flagships:
Frost Pearls in the keel stabilize the hull, harden timber, and resist fire-based attacks. Medium and Small Frost Pearls may reinforce masts, sails, or decks, creating localized freezing effects to slow boarding parties or enemy ships. Placement must avoid Fire Pearls unless separated by at least two decks or a dedicated hull compartment.
Grand Vessels:
Large Frost Pearls reinforce the hull or critical rigging. Medium Frost Pearls protect crew areas or enhance maneuverability in ice-laden waters, while Small Frost Pearls support sails or weapons stabilization. The Silver Gale famously used Frost Pearls in the keel and rudder to navigate the Coral Graveyards safely, allowing precision attacks while avoiding reefs.
Common Ships:
Medium Frost Pearls protect the hull or rudder; Small Frost Pearls stabilize sails or create minor freezing effects during boarding encounters. Frost Pearls paired with Force Pearls are safe when separated properly.
Primary Role: Long-range offensive strikes, propulsion enhancement, and system disruption.
Titanic Flagships:
Lightning Pearls in figureheads, masts, or cannon arrays deliver electrified broadsides. Giant Lightning Pearls can channel energy through the keel to augment speed or act as defensive surges. Medium and Small Pearls can be integrated into targeting systems, harpoons, or auxiliary weapons. Must be isolated from Water or Acid Pearls to prevent uncontrolled arcs.
Grand Vessels:
Large Lightning Pearls power main weapons or figurehead attacks; Medium Pearls assist targeting and propulsion. Placement must avoid Metal-rich hull reinforcements that can divert or overcharge energy.
Common Ships:
Medium Lightning Pearls give propulsion boosts or enhance harpoon attacks. Small Pearls can generate sparks or minor arcs for crew deterrence or signaling. Isolation from Water or Acid Pearls remains critical.
Primary Role: Hull corrosion, area denial, and specialized offensive strikes.
Titanic Flagships:
Large Acid Pearls may feed into hull-embedded weapons or specialized boarding defenses. Medium and Small Pearls can coat ropes, grappling hooks, or cannons. Acid Pearls must be separated from Lightning and Force Pearls, as conductivity and kinetic energy amplify destructive potential.
Grand Vessels:
Large Acid Pearls are rare but devastating when integrated into primary weapons or hull vents. Medium Pearls may enhance secondary systems or create hazardous zones on deck. Small Pearls are primarily defensive or deterrent measures against enemy boarding.
Common Ships:
Medium Acid Pearls may be used on harpoons, boarding tools, or hull vents. Small Pearls provide minor environmental effects to disrupt enemy crews. Extreme care is required to prevent hull corrosion.
Primary Role: Hull reinforcement, propulsion, kinetic weapon enhancement.
Titanic Flagships:
Force Pearls act like living ballast, distributing recoil from massive cannons and reinforcing hull sections. Giant Force Pearls amplify ramming attacks, while Medium Pearls reinforce decks, masts, or critical internal systems. Small Pearls may stabilize sails or minor equipment. Must be separated from Fire Pearls in concentrated hull sections.
Grand Vessels:
Medium Force Pearls enhance primary weapons’ kinetic impact or stabilize maneuvering. Small Pearls stabilize rigging or figurehead channels. Proper separation from Frost or Acid Pearls prevents elemental feedback.
Common Ships:
Medium Force Pearls reinforce the hull or rudder; Small Pearls enhance small weapons or stabilize sails. Force Pearls combined with Frost Pearls provide defensive synergy, creating hull reinforcement and minor ice deterrents.
Titanic Flagships focus on overwhelming combinations: Giant and Large Pearls in offensive and defensive arrays, Medium and Small pearls enhancing auxiliary systems. Proper separation is critical: Fire opposite Frost, Lightning away from Water, Acid isolated from Force.
Grand Vessels use precision synergy: One Large Pearl provides the primary effect, Medium pearls enhance targeting, propulsion, and defense. Strategic placement and separation allow small crews to operate in deadly efficiency.
Common Ships maximize flexibility: Medium Pearls power core systems; Small Pearls fill secondary or utility roles. Careful elemental placement allows these smaller ships to punch above their weight with tactical ingenuity.
Stormbreaker (Titanic) – Balanced Fire, Frost, and Lightning across decks and hull compartments to dominate Ash Tides.
Silver Gale (Grand) – Used Frost and Lightning with insulated channels to evade the Coral Graveyards and strike from unexpected angles.
Black Wren (Common) – Medium Fire and Small Force Pearls allowed a fleet of small cutters to ambush a Grand Vessel by combining speed and localized elemental effects.