This guide covers Naval Conquest, a gameplay mode introduced with the Tenebris expansion to The Demon Rush: Legends Corrupt. The knowledge provided here will cover the fundamentals as well as prepping for Legend Plus playthroughs, as well as the individual characters and team playstyles utilized to complete Naval Conquest campaigns.
Introduction
Naval Conquest is a new mode in The Demon Rush: Legends Corrupt in which the player must defend against the Occultist Imperator and his fleet using a mix of naval combat, normal combat, and exploration.
The player has 30 days (20 days on Legend Plus difficulty) to prepare for the arrival of the Imperator’s Fleet, during which time they must find buried treasure in the form of Mez (money) on desert islands, gather food and lumber from forest islands, visit town islands to recruit sailors, go on naval missions, engage in sea trade, donate food to towns, and go on shore leave for the morale of their sailors, among other activities.
Overview
This article concentrates on how to approach Naval Conquest on Legend Plus difficulty, although it should be applicable to all lower difficulties as well. Combat, exploration, trade, and sailors playstyle specialities in Naval Conquest have all been able to clear Legend Plus difficulty, and this guide is based on such clears.
Those who desire to develop their own Naval Conquest strategies should avoid this tutorial.
Naval Conquest — Field Basics
The “field” for Naval Conquest is a procedurally generated ocean with 64 islands, 8 of which are settlements while the remaining 56 are either woodland or desert. The player begins in the center of the map, and there are circular borders at the “edges” of the oceans to prevent the player from traveling too far and failing to find any islands.
As the player explores, the fog of war on their map will lift, allowing them to view previously encountered islands as well as opponents (excluding sharks and krakens discovered in the wild outside of naval missions or battles with the Imperator’s Fleet).
On the Naval Conquest map, the colors of the islands have several meanings:
- Light green islands – Town islands with naval missions ready
- Dark green islands – Town islands with naval missions on 6 day cooldown
- Red islands – Forest/desert islands with enemies
- Gray islands – Forest/desert islands with no enemies
A red X will also display on forest/desert islands that still have resources on them.
The timer for each day will count down while the player is sailing their ship, on islands, engaged in naval combat, regular combat on islands, and boarding/being boarded. The timer will halt at the halt Menu, on town islands, and during mini-cutscenes for digging/foraging on desert and forest islands, revelry, and shore leave. In Naval Conquest, each day lasts 120 seconds.
While forest and desert islands are vital for resource collecting, locating town islands is a critical aim regardless of the crew’s playstyle.
The player can accomplish the following on town islands:
- Save the game
- Recruit sailors
- Trade Mez for Food and Lumber
- Upgrade the player’s boat, the S.S. Cetacean
- Add Schooners and Galleons to their fleet
- Go on shore leave to boost sailors’ morale
- Donate food to the town
- Participate in naval missions
- Embark on sea trade expeditions
One of the most essential aspects of town islands is that they are the only way to save the game in Naval Conquest; this alone is motivation to either seek out new towns or maintain old ones close at hand, depending on the situation.
Schooners and their more potent counterparts, Galleons, can be constructed using Mez and Lumber. A single Schooner necessitates a substantial quantity of Mez and Lumber, specifically 5000 Mez and 300 Lumber, whereas Galleons demand an even larger amount, totaling 15000 Mez and 1000 Lumber. These vessels within the fleet play a role in naval missions, and if they sink during such missions, they do not suffer permanent loss, except for the final battle against the Imperator, where they are lost permanently.
The Cetacean, the main ship, can be upgraded in several aspects, including Health, Cannon Damage, Ram Damage, Defense, Speed, Amenities (Morale), and Command (which enhances the damage and defense of other boats in the fleet). These upgrades come at a cost in terms of Mez and Lumber, and the required amount increases with each subsequent upgrade level (1000 Mez and 25 Lumber for each level, multiplied by the Current Upgrade Level + 1). The upgrade process for the Cetacean is capped at a maximum level of 10.
A donation of 1000 Food to towns results in the leveling up of all boats currently in the player’s fleet by 1 level (maximum level 10), and it also boosts each Cetacean upgrade by 1 level. Making early donations to towns may assist in strengthening and enhancing the Cetacean’s capabilities earlier, particularly if the player requires Speed and Amenities for travel and other upgrades for naval missions. However, making donations later, when the player’s fleet is generally larger and the Cetacean already has higher upgrade levels, is often more cost-effective.
While acquiring small amounts of Food and Lumber directly from a town can be done quickly (50 Mez for 1 unit of Food or Lumber), sea trade proves to be a far more cost-effective approach, providing rates of 1000 Mez for 200 units of Food or Lumber per dispatched boat. This includes the option to trade between Food and Lumber as well. However, sea trade has its own limitations, requiring multiple boats to be dispatched to make it lucrative, taking 3 in-game days by default, and restricting the player to perform only one sea trade expedition at a time.
Engaging in naval missions is another crucial activity to undertake in towns. Upon selecting a mission, the player will face a time limit to defeat enemies based on the chosen mission. For most missions, the player can have one boat from their fleet accompany them (the first in the fleet order, not on sea trade), and for the Ocean Liberation mission, two boats from the fleet can be deployed. Boats that successfully participate in and survive the naval mission receive multiple level-ups based on the chosen mission. On the other hand, boats that did not survive the mission or did not participate at all gain only 1 level, while those on sea trade expeditions gain no levels.
There are five naval missions that the player can choose from:
- Shark Hunting — Kill 6 Sharks — Reward: 2000 Mez, 100 Food, 100 Lumber, 2 levels for surviving boats
- Kraken Hunting — Kill 2 Krakens — Reward: 4000 Mez, 200 Food, 200 Lumber, 3 levels for surviving boats
- Scout Destruction — Destroy or successfully board 1 Schooner — Reward: 6000 Mez, 300 Food, 300 Lumber, 3 levels for surviving boats
- Fleet Destruction — Destroy or successfully board 1 Galleon — Reward: 8000 Mez, 400 Food, 400 Lumber, 4 levels for surviving boats
- Ocean Liberation — Defeat 1 Galleon, 2 Schooners, 1 Kraken and 4 Sharks — Reward: 16000 Mez, 800 Food, 800 Lumber, 7 levels for surviving boats
In Naval Conquest, the frequency of naval missions is restricted to once every 6 days per town. Hence, it becomes crucial to identify multiple towns and select the appropriate naval mission based on various factors such as the player’s chosen crew, time remaining until the Imperator’s arrival, resource requirements, current difficulty level, and the fleet’s number of levels and boats.
Another significant consideration is that both sea trade expeditions and naval missions cannot be initiated within 3 days of the Imperator’s impending arrival. This timer assumes a vital role in Naval Conquest.
Recruiting sailors from towns presents a valuable opportunity as they play a pivotal role in boarding enemy boats and combatting foes on desert and forest islands. A full crew of 50 sailors can remarkably enhance the efficiency of these activities. However, acquiring sailors comes at a cost of 200 Mez and 10 Food each, and they face permanent death if their HP reaches 0 during battles.
Maintaining the sailors’ morale is imperative, as a lapse in morale could lead to their gradual departure from the player’s service or even result in mutiny, especially in higher difficulties like Legend and Legend Plus. In case of mutiny, the player will lose up to 16 sailors permanently. Therefore, ensuring high morale is crucial to keep the sailors content.
Normally, morale decreases by 1% every 5 seconds. However, with the Amenities upgrade for the Cetacean, the tickdown rate slows down. Additionally, morale does not decrease during naval combat, naval missions, or when the player is not on board and on an island, allowing some flexibility.
To maintain morale, the player can spend 1000 Mez at a town to grant the crew shore leave, promptly restoring morale to 100%. Alternatively, a portable version called “revelry” is available on the boat, allowing the player to spend 100 Food to raise morale up to 75%.
It’s essential to note that both shore leave and revelry consume time, depending on the remaining time for the current day. This time consumption can range from almost the full 120 seconds to just the final 1 or 2 seconds. Therefore, tactful timing of shore leave and revelry becomes paramount, considering the player’s limited resource of time.
Naval Conquest Battle Basics
In Naval Conquest, both the player’s boat and enemy boats possess the ability to unleash attacks using cannons and rams. Cannonfire serves as a ranged assault, inflicting significant damage, while ram attacks function as close-range maneuvers aimed at reducing the boarding threshold. Employing more ramming maneuvers facilitates boarding enemy boats, while increased cannonfire proves more effective in sinking them.
It is crucial to consider the high speed of the boats in Naval Conquest when timing cannonfire. This requires accounting for the player’s boat’s velocity and that of the enemy’s vessel. Furthermore, the cannons fire in a staggered pattern, necessitating the player’s boat to maintain an advantageous position, facing the enemy for prolonged periods.
Victory in battle yields rewards. Sinking enemy boats grants the player a small amount of Mez, whereas boarding ships results in a more substantial Mez reward, as well as the restoration of 50% health for the player’s Cetacean and all allied boats. This restoration is particularly beneficial in Ocean Liberation naval missions and the final encounter with the Imperator’s Fleet. Additionally, boarding enemy Galleons provides more Food and Lumber compared to Schooners. Nevertheless, boarding entails standard combat, which can consume valuable time, especially when the player lacks sufficient recruited sailors to expedite the process.
The player’s sailor reinforcements in the ongoing battle receive a 10% boost for each sailor permadeath from that battle. Although it is preferable to ensure the survival of the sailors, the reinforcements will enter the fight with higher power even if some sailors are lost.
Moreover, sailors benefit from a “crew size” bonus, wherein ALL sailors gain a stat boost of 5% per sailor starting from the 10th sailor onwards. A crew comprising 20 sailors becomes 50% stronger, while a maximum crew size of 50 results in a 3x increase in strength. This bonus remains in effect despite sailor permadeaths during the current battle. For instance, a crew reduced from 50 to 40 sailors will still retain the 3x bonus rather than having a 2.5x bonus for the remainder of the battle.
Apart from enemy ships, the player will encounter sharks and krakens. Sharks are swift but frail monsters that attack the player’s boat and then retreat before striking again. Both cannons and ram attacks are effective against sharks. On the other hand, krakens are slower but sturdier monsters that aim to hinder boats by colliding with them and subsequently using their tentacles to attack. When facing krakens, cannon attacks are preferred over ram attacks due to their nature.
Sharks, krakens, and schooners may appear randomly in the oceans outside of naval missions or the final battle against the Imperator’s Fleet. Players have the option to board schooners normally to gain additional Mez, Food, and Lumber upon victory.
Additionally, the player will have access to Naval Magic, which varies based on each individual party member. These naval magic abilities come with a cooldown of 20 seconds and prove most useful when engaging in combat with monsters and boats during naval encounters.
Difficulty Differences
In combat, higher difficulties introduce various modifications, such as relentless adversaries on the Legend difficulty and enemies possessing their abilities on Legend Plus.
Regarding Naval Conquest, the Legend Difficulty enhances the challenge by introducing more enemy reinforcements during standard combat and replacing the gradual departure of the crew with mutinies when morale reaches 0%. Moreover, naval entities like sharks, krakens, and enemy boats receive a 50% boost to their statistics.
On the other hand, the Legend Plus Difficulty surpasses the Legend Difficulty by incorporating an even greater number of reinforcements during standard combat. Additionally, it introduces more demanding mechanics.
To begin with, Legend Plus grants the player a reduced preparation time of 20 days instead of the standard 30 to confront the Imperator’s Fleet. This alone drastically reduces one of the player’s most valuable resources in Naval Conquest—time. Consequently, on Legend Plus, the player needs to emphasize their crew’s strengths more than on other difficulty levels to achieve success.
Similar to the Legend Difficulty, naval entities receive stat boosts, but on Legend Plus, these boosts are 100% higher rather than 50%.
In addition, wild enemies are substituted by hunter boats on Legend Plus. Hunter boats, which are Galleons with one crucial distinction, have the ability to board the player with any ram attack they execute. The enemies aboard these hunter boats consist of green priests of Genasma and purple priests of Vigomendo, aiming to pose further challenges for the player. The Genasma priests engage in healing their allies, consequently consuming valuable time, while the Vigomendo priests decrease morale by 5% each time the player’s controlled character is hit (excluding AI party members). This persistent assault on the player’s morale might lead to a mutiny if the player sustains too many hits. It is worth noting that unlike boarding enemy boats, being boarded by the hunter boats does not yield any additional rewards.
Hunter boats are designed as an oppressive force, exacerbating the pressure of the limited time available to the player. However, there are several strategies to handle them effectively:
- Outpace the hunter boats. Tara’s passive ability ensures that the Cetacean can outrun hunter boats, while other non-Tara crews would require Speed upgrades from towns to achieve the same result. Additionally, positioning an island between the player and the hunter boat may temporarily slow down the latter. However, if the distance between the player and the hunter boat becomes too great, the current hunter boat will despawn, and a new one will appear nearby.
- Utilize Knight’s Arctic Blast naval magic to decelerate the enemy without engaging in combat. This approach resembles the first one, but it has the added advantage of granting the player greater maneuverability when being pursued by a hunter boat. The enemy’s reduced speed allows the player to execute sharper turns and evade capture more effectively.
- Seek refuge in towns. Hunter boats remain stationary when the player disembarks onto an island, and they will disappear upon interaction with a town NPC. This provides the player with some respite if a hunter boat gets too close. Furthermore, hunter boats will not appear during naval missions initiated from towns.
- Allow the hunter boat to board and then dispel their presence. Direct naval combat is not recommended since even a single stray ram from a hunter boat will result in the player being boarded. The time spent trying to defeat a hunter boat conventionally is better invested in Galleon-hunting naval missions, which yield tangible rewards. Once a hunter boat is defeated, it will not reappear for 3 in-game days. Interestingly, having a larger number of sailors will paradoxically make being boarded easier and more expedient despite the proficiency of the hunter boat’s Vigomendo priests in lowering morale.
Despite its formidable reputation, Legend Plus has been conquered using all 10 characters and all naval playstyles, including combat, trade, exploration, and sailor-centric approaches.
Choosing a Crew
The player will select three of the playable characters to lead their crew at the outset of Naval Conquest. Each character carries their own normal combat moveset (similar to those found in Onslaught, Conquest, and Heist), a Naval Magic to employ against enemy boats, sharks, and krakens, and a Naval Passive to help with other parts of a Naval Conquest campaign.
Cherry
- Combat Moveset – Hyper Blade, Line Overdrive, Tornado
- Naval Magic – Windcatch – This ability grants a 5-second duration during which the player’s boat and all allied boats achieve maximum acceleration. Additionally, both ram damage and the ram boarding threshold receive a 50% boost for the same duration.
- Naval Passive – Fleet Command – This passive ability enhances the performance of allied boats, except for the player’s boat. It increases their damage and decreases the damage they receive during naval combat by 50%. Furthermore, it lowers their boarding decreases.
- Analysis – Cherry primarily operates as a lategame-oriented character, focusing on bolstering the player’s fleet. During the early game, she doesn’t significantly contribute to resource acquisition or provide direct support in naval combat or assisting sailors.
However, her damage and defense boost bestow remarkable power upon allied boats, particularly evident during the Ocean Liberation naval mission and the climactic fleet battle against the Imperator. Moreover, her presence ensures greater survivability for the player’s fleet during naval missions, allowing boats to level up effectively. When Windcatch is active, ally boats become more resilient, requiring twice the effort to sink, while also dealing 50% more cannon damage and 125% more ram damage. This effect makes brand-new ally boats perform closer to fully upgraded ones, and max-level ally boats become formidable forces on the battlefield. Notably, upgrades to the Cetacean’s Command add even more to the fleet’s overall performance.
Cherry’s standard combat moveset enables her to easily turn the tide of a challenging battle. She can utilize Tornado to stall opponents, and then strategically employ the invincibility provided by Hyper Blade and Line Overdrive to deal substantial damage safely. Properly timing these moves after block staggering ensures successful hits. While Naval Conquest demands quick decision-making due to its time-constrained nature, having the option to reverse a losing battle proves invaluable.
Knight
- Combat Moveset – Power Drive, Energy Flow, Unexplained
- Naval Magic – Arctic Blast – During a 5-second duration, a substantial ice sheet impedes enemy boats, drastically reducing their movement by 80% and preventing them from ramming. Additionally, enemy boats or monsters within the affected area experience a twofold decrease in boarding capabilities.
- Naval Passive – Highway Experience – Sea trade expeditions are expedited, requiring only 2 days instead of the usual 3.
- Analysis – Knight is a character with a pronounced focus on trade, particularly excelling in faster sea trade expeditions. Though his passive ability may seem simple, its true potency lies in the ability to undertake nearly 50% more sea trade expeditions, assuming all other factors remain constant. Furthermore, it reduces the time for commencing new sea missions to a mere 2 days before the Imperator’s arrival, proving to be invaluable in amassing a diverse array of resources during a Naval Conquest. This assumes that the player consistently returns to towns to initiate new sea trade expeditions.
The Arctic Blast magic employed by Knight does not inflict damage directly, but its broad area of effect significantly hinders enemy boats’ movement and enhances boarding thresholds during attacks. This proves immensely useful in rendering enemy boats more manageable and easier to board. Moreover, the lack of damage enables Knight to deter hunter boats without initiating combat on Legend Plus, thereby saving time and enabling greater focus on establishing profitable trade deals.
Knight’s standard moveset, especially Energy Flow and Unexplained, proves highly effective in dealing with multiple foes simultaneously. Combined with his impressive Attack stat, Knight becomes a valuable asset in swiftly concluding battles.
Alberto
Alberto possesses a formidable Combat Moveset consisting of Deadly Arts, Thunder Storm, and System Shock. His Naval Magic, Stormcall, exhibits the power to summon lightning bolts that rain down upon a designated area. When these bolts strike enemy boats or monsters, they inflict base ram attack damage, while also reducing boat boarding thresholds by 2 times the number of base ram strikes.
Additionally, Alberto’s Naval Passive, Crude Jokes and Lively Stories, plays a pivotal role in maintaining morale at sea. It efficiently slows down the rate at which morale decreases, and in contrast, it allows for a remarkable boost in revelry at sea, reaching up to 100%, surpassing the standard 75%.
An analysis of Alberto’s character reveals his primary focus as a sailor, with expertise in preserving and elevating the morale of the crew. Thanks to his Naval Passive, the need for frequent visits to towns for shore leave is significantly reduced. Even in cases where morale restoration is necessary, Alberto ensures that portable revelry is just as effective as returning to town for shore leave. His System Shock ability, which affects a wide area and stuns enemies, proves highly beneficial for sailors. It grants ample opportunity for the crew to attack stunned foes unhindered, and it thwarts the Priests of Vigomendo, who seek to diminish morale by targeting boats.
When employing Alberto’s Stormcall Naval Magic, it’s important to consider that the lightning strikes occur randomly over a designated area. Consequently, there is a chance that the bolts may not find their mark, particularly when targeting a single entity. However, during missions such as the Ocean Liberation naval operation or the fleet battle against the Imperator, where numerous targets are present, the likelihood of successful lightning strikes increases. Even a few precise hits can yield a more significant impact compared to most naval magic abilities.
Tara
Naval Combat Abilities – Vesselshatter, Experienced Sailor, and Combat Moveset (Kill Chop, Backhand, Chasm)
Vesselshatter is a potent naval magic skill that inflicts immediate damage on a targeted enemy ship, equivalent to 0.5 times the base ram damage. Additionally, it reduces the enemy’s boarding threshold by three times the base ram damage.
Experienced Sailor is a passive naval ability that grants several advantages to the player’s boat. It decreases damage taken from their own cannonfire and ram damage, while also boosting ram damage by 25%. Moreover, the player’s boat enjoys a 25% increase in movement speed.
Tara is a highly offensive-oriented naval combat character, offering numerous strategic advantages against enemy boats. She excels in dealing higher cannon and ram damage, and her Vesselshatter Naval Magic is particularly effective for immediate boarding damage. With her enhanced movement speed, players can easily outmaneuver pursuing enemy boats, creating opportunities to turn and fire cannons. This mobility is not only advantageous during combat but also useful for efficient travel, making her an ideal choice for exploration teams seeking desert and forest islands or swift return to town islands.
In standard combat, Tara’s moveset proves invaluable, especially during boarding battles within confined spaces. Chasm covers a considerable area, providing a tactical advantage, while her standard attacks quickly dispatch Occultists and Scorchedarm Occultists. Furthermore, her deadly Backhand into Kill Chop combo effectively wears down Mountain Occultists, making her a formidable force on the battlefield.
Pound
Combat Moveset – Viper Flight, Aura, Dark Arts
Naval Magic – Evergreen Ram: Temporarily enhances the player’s boat ram attacks, causing them to deal triple damage for a duration of 5 seconds. Additionally, it significantly reduces the boarding threshold of enemy boats when struck by the player’s ram, making boarding more achievable.
Naval Passive – Cartography Enthusiast: Unlocks the ability to unveil specific portions of the world map, particularly those containing forest islands, at an earlier stage. Moreover, this skill amplifies the yield of food and lumber discovered on forest islands by an impressive 200%.
Analysis – Pound is a character focused on exploration, with a distinct specialization in forest islands, granting the player considerable advantages in naval missions and sea trade expeditions. The triple gains of Food and Lumber from forest islands offer a strategic edge, especially during the early stages of the game. The acquired Lumber can be invested in additional boats for more profitable sea trade, while the surplus Food and Lumber can be utilized for charitable donations and upgrades for the Cetacean, particularly in terms of enhancing its Speed attribute for faster travel to different islands. Pound’s unique ability to unveil forest islands early, even through obscured areas on the map, ensures a constant supply of valuable resources from the wild.
Moreover, Pound’s Evergreen Ram Naval Magic greatly facilitates the swift boarding of enemy boats, leading to further resource acquisition. When combined with Cherry’s Windcatch, which ensures boats always travel at maximum speed, the dynamic duo of Pound and Cherry can unleash two formidable ram attacks simply by pushing into the enemy boat. Additionally, Pound’s Dark Arts can be employed to empower himself or another offensive-oriented character, while his Viper Flight and Aura abilities prove effective for engaging multiple foes in straight-line attacks.
Cook
Character Moveset – Viper Cudgel, Far Shot, Viper Blast
Naval Spell – Boatblaze – Upon targeting an enemy ship, said vessel ignites, suffering damage and a 40% reduction in the base ram attack per second for 5 seconds.
Naval Passive – Historical Analysis – When a desert island is present on the world map, the corresponding area becomes visible earlier. Additionally, the Mez yield on desert islands increases by 200%.
Review – Cook assumes the role of an exploration-oriented character, specializing in desert islands, much like Pound does with his passive in other environments. The ability to discover triple the amount of Mez from desert islands grants players greater flexibility in purchases, as Mez is essential for numerous tasks such as upgrades, expanding the fleet, recruiting crew, shore leave, and more.
While Cook’s Boatblaze Naval Spell may not match Tara’s potency for boarding boats or exhibit the area coverage of Claire’s Tsunami, it effectively balances damage and boarding thresholds for a single boat. Despite Cook’s prolonged cooldowns, Viper Cudgel and Viper Blast deliver significant damage, and Far Shot’s ricochets prove valuable in smaller arena settings during boarding encounters.
Claire
Combat Moveset — Throat Jab, Throwing Knife, Rainfall
Naval Magic — Tsunami — For 5 seconds, the ocean’s waves will grow higher, dealing 5% base ram damage and boarding threshold decreases every 1/5 second to all enemy boats currently in combat.
Naval Passive — Cautious Sailor — The player’s own boat damage received is reduced by 50%.
Analysis — Claire is a defensive-oriented naval combat character, which is quite clear from her Naval Passive flat-out halving all damage received to the player’s boat. Her Tsunami looks weak, but it is valuable at chipping away at multiple enemy boats at one time over a long fight, such as the Ocean Liberation naval mission or the big fleet battle with the Imperator. This combined with her defense makes her valuable for larger naval battles.
Claire’s moveset is also quite valuable when it comes to standard combat — her Throat Jab is a potent defense debuff (especially against the Imperator himself), and her Rainfall ability can knock down multiple enemies, leaving them unable to fight back while receiving 50% more damage (on top of any applied Throat Jab).
Jimmy
Combat Moveset — Twister, Smoke Grenade, Withstand Seal
Naval Magic — Siege Salvo — For 5 seconds, all cannonfire from the player’s boat deals 3x damage and boarding threshold decreases.
Naval Passive — People Person — Sailors can be recruited for 160 Mez and 8 Food each, instead of 200 Mez and 10 Food each, and sea trade expeditions have a 50% higher gain.
Analysis — Jimmy is a trade-focused character with a minor focus on sailors and naval combat. While he will likely be brought along primarily for his more rewarding trade deals (especially when combined with Knight’s faster trade deals), his Siege Salvo Naval Magic is also useful for combat, especially the bigger missions where cannonfire can more easily land hits on big groups of enemies.
While Jimmy’s ability to get sailors at lower cost is handy for replacing sailors that die due to permadeath, it’s primary benefit is getting large numbers of sailors recruited in the early game when resources are low, and therefore having a large crew size bonus to power up the sailors early on for faster boarding and forest/desert island visits. Since his kit leans more defensive than offensive, Jimmy may be more reliant on large numbers of sailors early on in most cases.
Brooks
Combat Moveset — Crossguard, Blastback, Black Hole
Naval Magic — Blue Pulse — On selecting an enemy ship or monster, the target’s movement is completely halted and they suffer base ram damage every second for 5 seconds.
Naval Passive — Unmatched Loyalty — The player’s sailors deal 50% more damage and take half damage. Mutiny leeway is added, allowing up to 5 sailors per potential mutiny to leave before an actual mutiny starts.
Analysis — Brooks is a sailor focused character with a specialty in high sailor stats. His Naval Passive automatically gives sailors higher survivability and damage even with no crew size bonus, and a max crew size bonus of 3x stat boosts at 50 sailors turns a sailor crew into a wrecking crew — they will tear through encounters very quickly. The mutiny leeway from his passive also gives the player the chance to engage in revelry before a mutiny starts, if exploring or a hunter boat encounter goes wrong — there’s a good chance a player will never see a mutiny with Brooks in the party (especially with Alberto or Caesara in the party, too).
His moveset in battle is also more sailor-oriented, with Black Hole holding enemies in place for the sailors to attack targets without issue, while Crossguard and Blastback are keepaway for Brooks.
His Blue Pulse Naval Magic is also versatile in that it can be used on either enemy boats or naval monsters, but it is wasted on sharks (who die easily anyways) and the Imperator’s Man-of-war, which needs boarding threshold damage (and Blue Pulse only deals standard damage). It is useful for dealing heavy damage to krakens, as well as for holding enemy boats in place to get into a better position to attack or to keep them from helping their allies in bigger battles.
Caesara
Combat Moveset — Bladewheel, Prayer to Ferromant, Heat Wave
Naval Magic — Boiled Beasts — For 10 seconds, the oceans will boil over an area. All monsters caught in the area of boiling ocean suffer 20% base ram damage every 1/5 second.
Naval Passive — Life of the Party — Shore leave costs require 500 Mez instead of 1000 Mez. Shore leave also temporarily boosts morale up to 150% instead of up to 100%.
Analysis — Caesara is a naval combat/sailor hybrid character with a focus on niche specialties. More specifically, her Boiled Beasts Naval Magic will annihilate sharks and krakens quickly and efficiently, even on Legend Plus — while enemy boats are always more of a threat to the player than monsters, the fast removal of monsters prevents sharks from adding more damage to a player’s fleet from their hit-and-run attacks and krakens eventually catching up and attacking from behind in the bigger battles.
The lowered Mez from Caesara’s passive is minor, but 150% Morale provides so much leeway that Amenities upgrades from the Cetacean combined with Caesara’s shore leave can maintain morale very effectively. Caesara’s Heat Wave is valuable for battles, as it is a long lasting damage-over-time ability that covers a solid area, and block staggering an enemy into Bladewheel while in Claw Hands stance can be very damaging.
Naval Conquest Playstyles
There are 4 main playstyles of focus within Naval Conquest — naval combat, exploration, trade and sailors. Though every crew of 3 will need to explore, go on naval missions, send boats out on sea trade expeditions, and most crews will likely need sailors (especially on higher difficulties), those who specialize in a particular area of Naval Conquest will push towards a certain playstyle more than others. This is even more pronounced on Legend Plus Difficulty, where the limited time and stronger enemies will require a player to lean more into their crew’s strengths.
Naval combat – focused crews (Tara and Claire) excel in combat with other boats and rely primarily on higher-grade naval missions for significant resource gains. Tara and Claire’s combined combat prowess is strong to the point where they can immediately tangle with Galleons in the Fleet Destruction naval mission immediately out of New Game, even on Legend Plus. The extra damage from Tara’s passive will make it easier to board boats quicker, the speed from Tara’s passive will make evading enemy boat rams easier (while being able to turn to fire), Claire’s passive will provide great defense for survival, and Claire’s Tsunami magic can help deal with multiple boats at once in longer battles. Tara and Claire also have abilities in standard combat that complement the small arena size from boarding boats, and with Tara’s Vesselshatter, boarding will happen much more quickly and reliably (and even on Legend Plus, they can get by without sailors most of the time). Since boarding victories provide even more resources, being able to take on Galleons early on can provide a very large amount of Mez, Food and Lumber.
However, since crews focused on naval combat rely on naval missions for most of their income, this means that they will need to find multiple town islands that they can go between. Since it takes 6 days for naval missions to be accessible again from a town island, the player will need to find more than one town that they can make use of (likely 3 or 4 towns will be best), and a naval combat crew may run into some difficulties if they cannot find towns reliably. They also feel the time limit that blocks all naval missions (3 days or less until the Imperator arrives) more keenly than other crews.
Exploration – heavy crews (Pound and Cook) have the most freedom-based playstyle in Naval Conquest. Every island encountered provides solid amounts of resources, and the player will often have these islands uncovered on their map through fog of war. Since they are less reliant on big naval missions or sea trade expeditions, they worry less about needing to find towns, when the timer ends for naval missions to open up in towns again, or rushing back to town for sea trade. They can be played more casually, as a result. Pound and Cook also have Naval Magic that is good for dealing with boarding enemy boats in the wild on Normal/Legend Difficulty for more resources found at random, and they can take on mid-level naval missions fairly early and easily even on Legend Plus.
On the negative side of things, exploration means having to disembark on a lot of islands, which means a lot of combat. Exploration based teams will likely need to drop resources for a lot of sailors to speed up island combat, and that also means having to deal with morale.
Trade-based crews (Knight and Jimmy) have a hard time in the early game. They need to immediately start spending resources building up a sizeable fleet of Schooners (going for quantity over quality in one sense when it comes to their fleet), but they also do not have the naval combat prowess for bigger naval missions like naval combat crews, nor will they have the resource gains like exploration crews will. They are reliant on sailors on higher difficulties to catch up in the early game, but those also take Mez away from Schooner purchases. They will also need to stay within arm’s reach of towns (any town, they do not need multiple like naval combat crews) to return for frequent sea trade expeditions, and early trade deals feel weak with so few boats. Whoever the third member is to Knight and Jimmy will likely dictate how a trade crew’s early game goes.
However, once they get momentum going, trade crews become lategame behemoths — if their time is used properly and effectively, they will have a large number of schooners for the final battle (thanks to all the Mez and Lumber they earned through trade), and all of these Schooners should be max level, as should every single one of the Cetacean’s upgrades (thanks to all of the Food they earned through trade going to large amounts of charitable donations to towns). Their weaker Schooners will not only be stronger for the final battle due to being max level, but having so many boats in the fleet means stronger reinforcements per boat dying against the Imperator. Even a full lategame team of Cherry, Knight and Jimmy was successful (and powerfully so) on Legend Plus, so trade crews should not be underestimated despite their early game weaknesses.
Sailor-focused crews (Alberto and Brooks) are different in that, unlike the other crew types above, they do not have anything that aids in boosting the gains of resources. However, their focus on sailors allows island missions and boarding battles to end much quicker and much safer. Alberto’s maintaining of morale and revelry boosts is great for dealing with shore leave/revelry’s time costs, while Brooks’ mutiny leeway provides more reliability and the stat boosts he provides sailors (especially with a sailor crew size of 50 gaining 3x stat bonuses on top of that) can be overkill for standard fights, as the sailors will tear through everything with ease and at a quick pace.
A full sailor-focused crew of Alberto/Brooks/Caesara can win an entire Naval Conquest, even on Legend Plus, but is not recommended, due to the heavy lack of resource gains — it can make for a harder endgame fight with fewer options. As a result, sailor-focused crews would do well with Alberto, Brooks and the third member being someone other than Cherry or Caesara, so that they have some method of gaining resources that their sailors can actually be applied to.
Miscellaneous characters for crews (Cherry and Caesara) provide different types of support for a Naval Conquest. Cherry has her lategame focus on stronger fleets for the final battle, and can more reliably help them survive naval missions to gain big level ups if not going for heavy amounts of charitable donations. Caesara is more versatile and more niche, destroying sharks and krakens effortlessly with a single use of her Naval Magic (naval combat focus), her Heat Wave ability on boarding battles is long-lasting and large area, and providing much more potent shore leaves so that the player does not need to worry about morale (sailor focus).
While their strengths provide a lot to a crew, Cherry and Caesara are typically not the characters that a crew of 3 is anchored around — they are typically best used to round out a crew with a particular playstyle goal in mind.
Leeway on Legend Plus
Despite the formidable challenges posed by Legend Plus, where adversaries exhibit heightened combat abilities, enemy boats and sea monsters boast increased damage and health, and hunter boats actively disrupt the player’s progress, the most significant obstacle remains the stringent time limit, reduced to a mere 20 days. Nonetheless, there exists a considerable margin for success in conquering Legend Plus Naval, contingent upon the player’s adeptness in managing the game mode and efficiently leveraging the strengths of their crew.
Triumphs in Legend Plus have been achieved under various circumstances, including instances where the player failed to discover the first town island for four in-game days, endured a mutiny within the crew, missed the opportunity to return to town in time before the Imperator’s arrival for numerous benevolent contributions, and faced a dearth of resources, leading to a feeble fleet and limited upgrades. However, this last scenario necessitated employing evasive maneuvers and relying on naval magic, albeit with certain restrictions during the final confrontation. While victory remains attainable, it is typically more advantageous to approach the challenge with a well-prepared and robust fleet.
Preparing for the Imperator’s Fleet
In Naval Conquest, a pivotal and paramount objective is the discovery of a town island, a pursuit applicable to all crew configurations. Such towns offer a diverse array of services, with the most crucial being the sole means of saving the game progress. Fortunate players may find themselves immediately adjacent to a town island upon commencing a New Game. Nevertheless, for others, locating a town may necessitate extensive exploration. Nevertheless, the quest for a town is indispensable for achieving success in Naval Conquest. Crews centered around exploration might find it advantageous to make occasional stops on forest or desert islands while searching for a town. Doing so ensures that they gather essential resources to prepare for their arrival at a town.
Once a town is discovered, subsequent actions hinge upon the crew’s distinctive playstyle. Naval combat-oriented crews ought to concentrate on locating two or three additional town islands that they can navigate between for missions. Trade-oriented crews, on the other hand, prefer to have any town nearby (whether the same or different) to facilitate sea trade expeditions. Exploration-oriented crews have greater freedom to follow their inclinations, while sailor-focused crews are likely to prioritize actions that benefit their non-sailor companions. While every playstyle necessitates engaging in naval missions and sea trades, maximizing their strengths becomes particularly crucial, especially on Legend Plus difficulty.
Approaching the time when the Imperator’s Fleet is set to arrive (within five days or less), players may consider shifting their objectives towards accumulating ample Food for charitable donations. This ensures that both the player’s boat and their fleet are in optimal condition. With three days or less remaining until the Imperator’s arrival, naval missions become inaccessible, and a similar restriction applies to sea trade expeditions (though with Knight’s presence, the sea trade restriction eases to two days or less). Consequently, it is prudent to strategize and plan the final naval mission and sea trade expedition accordingly. Visiting desert and forest islands during this phase serves to bolster a player’s resources (a natural inclination for exploration-oriented crews). Forest islands offer direct sources of Food, while Mez found on desert islands can be traded for Food, albeit at less rewarding exchange rates than in sea trade.
A crucial reminder is to allocate sufficient time to return to a town and save the game. Once the Imperator arrives, embarking onto islands becomes prohibited, and town NPCs, along with their services (including saving), vanish. Therefore, it is advisable to recruit any affordable sailors, upgrade the Cetacean using any remaining Mez and Lumber, and make any feasible Food donations. When fully prepared, saving the game becomes imperative before embarking on shore leave or revelry if possible, to hasten the approach of the Imperator’s arrival.
The Imperator’s Arrival
The Imperator arrives at the scene accompanied by boats, krakens, and sharks. The sharks will take the lead, moving swiftly, while the krakens will approach the battlefield at a slower pace. Carelessness on the player’s part could result in them being surrounded by these staggered waves of enemies. It’s worth noting that the Imperator’s fleet won’t receive any reinforcements, so players have the option to take down as many or as few enemies as they deem appropriate. They can even board other boats to restore health to their own Cetacean and fleet.
The player’s fleet will arrive in groups of three, and every replacement boat that arrives after a previous one is destroyed will gain stat bonuses of 10% per destroyed boat. This is why it’s essential to pay attention to both the quantity and quality of the player’s fleet. The boats will appear in the order they are arranged, meaning that deploying weaker boats initially can empower the stronger ones that arrive later.
The primary objective in this large fleet battle is to defeat the Imperator’s Man-of-war, which is an incredibly potent vessel. It surpasses any other ship type in terms of damage and possesses infinite health. The only way to “defeat” it is through boarding, although it has a higher boarding threshold than Galleons. The player can approach the battle in different ways depending on the party’s composition and the Cetacean’s upgrades. They can rely on naval magic, frequently ram the Man-of-war with highly upgraded Cetacean abilities, or focus on a powerful fleet, particularly if Cherry is part of the party and the boats in the fleet, especially the Galleons, have high levels from successful naval missions or charitable donations.
When the Man-of-war becomes boardable (its green boarding bar empties, and its sails vanish, similar to other boardable boats), the player will have to confront the Imperator and his Occultists. The Imperator himself possesses a leaping slash attack and alternates between an Attack-boosting aura and an HP regen aura for his allies, regardless of the difficulty level. The presence of sailors, especially with Brooks and/or a substantial crew size bonus (ideally 50 sailors for 3x stats), can provide a powerful safety net against the Imperator. With their support, the player should be more than capable of defeating the Imperator and his reinforcements with ease.
Once the Imperator and all other enemies in the battle have been vanquished, the player will achieve victory in the Naval Conquest.
That's everything we are sharing today for this The Demon Rush: Legends Corrupt guide. This guide was originally created and written by Dragoon Canada. In case we fail to update this guide, you can find the latest update by following this link.