Ship Tiers and Investment
The official Ships page describes tiers 1 through 6. Higher tiers require significantly more investment in the pirate haven and improve the ship's ability to complete quests; this page does not turn that general rule into an unverified “best ship” ranking.
Principle Path Classes
After the starter ship, ships align with Notoriety, Empire, Seafaring, Wealth, or a hybrid of adjacent paths. Classes specialize in different stats, so two ships at different paths should not be compared by tier alone.
Crew and Core Stats
Health, Crew, and Supplies are general ship stats. Health and Crew reaching zero during battle loses the battle and destroys the ship; Supplies can be replenished during battle at the cost of the other two.
Construction and Piers
The official ship list records construction costs and required pier types for each listed ship. Check the current list before committing resources, because the required resources and pier change by tier and ship.
Choose by Quest Recommendation
Events recommend a ship class and tier based on the stats that matter for that event. Use the recommendation shown by the event and then compare your ship's specialized stats instead of assuming the highest tier is always the correct choice.