Compass serves as a technological tree in Corsair Cove; here you can get the essential upgrades to fix up smaller problems and tackle a better coin farming system. The potential here is a lot, but there are a good number of options here that can make it a bit overwhelming to get into.
So here, in this article, I have put up the best unlocks to help set up smoother sails for your journey in Corsair Cove.
9 Best Compass Upgrades to Unlock First in Corsair Cove
The Compass is divided into four paths: Empire, Notoriety, Wealth, and Seafaring.
- Empire covers the skill releated to warfare and building proper defence for settlements and resources
- Notoriety helps you find new ways to recruit crew and raises the overall effectiveness of the workers.
- Wealth is focused on the money-making side of the pirate life, and lastly
- Seafaring focuses on skills related to exploration and shipbuilding.
Here in the table, I’ve broken down the best compass skill that you should prioritize early on.
| Compass Upgrades Name and Type | Section and Tier | Upgrade Effect | Why Are They Helpful? |
| Elevator (Transportation) | Empire – Tier 1 | Increases the vertical transportation speed | An upgrade to the ladder to make everything move faster. [Its later upgrades, Bosun’s Hoist, will improve the speed by 4% and length by 16%] |
| Fancy Cabin (Building) | Wealth – Tier 2 | Provides 12 Housing to Drifters | Fancy Cabin is the best choice as it can house a dozen people. [Classy Cabin under Notoriety also houses 12, but Salty and Bloody Cabin only house 8.] |
| Zip Line (Transportation) | Notoriety – Tier 1 | Fastest downhill transportation | This will make the Fletchers move quickly from the high area to the bottom. |
| Trading Post (Building) | Wealth – Tier 1 | Stockpile the resources to trade them for coin | You can even trade your Booze, Plank, or Stew to make coins. [I will highly recommend putting up the resources you no longer need for trade.] |
| Crow’s Nest (Building) | Seafaring – Tier 1 | Earn 20 coins per Discovery Event. | While it may not look useful at first, it will come in very handy later on. It’s one of the amazing ways to make money. |
| Banner Buildings Classy Banner/ Salty Banner/ Bloody Banner/ Fancy Banner | Notoriety – Tier 2 Seafaring – Tier 2 Empire – Tier 2 Wealth – Tier 2 | For every Banner, increase Cohesion Capacity by 4 | It will raise your maximum Cohesion by 4. Do note that setting up a banner will not restore the Cohesion; it will just extend the Cohesion bar. |
| Cabaret (Building) | Notoriety – Tier 2 | Gain 10 coins when Drifters are recruited. | For every Cabaret you have on your island, you will get 10 coins per Drifter recruit. In short, it’s one of the most efficient gold-earning strategies in-game. |
| Bounty Hunters’ Guildhall (Building) | Wealth – Tier 2 | Hire mercenaries to trade coins for Raid goods. | Here you are getting your hands on rare, uncommon goods by spending coins. If you don’t have any way of producing certain items, the guildhall provides an excellent way to obtain them. |
| Statue (Building) | Notoriety – Tier 2 | Placing a Statue will help you gain 3 Drifters each time a ship arrives from recruits. | 3 Drifters might not seem a lot, but this upgrade will pay off gradually. You will get 3 Drifters as soon as you get back to the port. |
How to unlock Compass Upgrades
You will need to invest Principle Points to unlock the upgrades mentioned in the article, and the only way to get these Points is by completing Deeds and Side Quests. These challenges will range from common to hard, but once you complete them, you will be awarded Principle Points, which you can invest in the skill tree.
These Deeds are the equivalent of challenges that you have in other games – they are not very difficult to complete; a few of them will be completed by default as you play the game, and a few will require you to just be aware of what is needed to complete them – so, for example, completing a certain number of events with a specific Captain. All you need to do here is keep changing your Captains regularly while playing.
The Deeds will be tied to a specific branch – so, for example, if you complete an Empire Deed, you will get Empire Principle Points – which can only be used to unlock Compass upgrades in the Empire branch.
Tier 2 can be unlocked by investing 3 points, but when you move to Tier -3 skills, you will need to invest 7 points. The requirement for Principle Points increases as you move to higher-tier skills in the Compass; for Tier 4 it becomes 12, for Tier 5, 20, and for Tier 6, 30 points.
A Few Mid / Late-Game Upgrades To Consider
When you are moving to the Late game, focus on Royal Ropeway (Wealth, Tier 3); it improves Aerial Lift by 20% and increases its length by 80%. In short, it provides even faster connection or transportation speed for Aerial Lifts.
Another key upgrade is the Golden Palace (Wealth – Tier 6). Compared to the Compass skills mentioned in the article, this one will take quite a while to get there and is pretty expensive. A Tier 6 skill will cost around 30 points, but it’s worth it, as it makes every resource deposit unlimited.
