DLC & Premium Ships

On top of the base game, Naval Action offers a shelf of optional DLC — the bulk of it premium ships, with a handful of cosmetic and account add-ons alongside. You don’t need any of it: the base game is the complete experience, and nothing here is a requirement. But one feature makes premium ships genuinely useful, and also genuinely contested — they are redeemable, so you can keep claiming fresh copies and never truly lose them. That is worth understanding before you spend anything.

How premium ships work

In the normal game a ship is mortal: it’s crafted or bought, and when it sinks or is captured it’s gone for good. A DLC ship is different. Buying the DLC doesn’t give you one ship — it gives you the right to redeem that ship, claiming a brand-new copy from your in-game redeemables on a regular cooldown (roughly once a day). Lose it in battle and you simply pull another when the timer is up.

That changes the calculus completely. The whole tension of Naval Action — that every fight risks a ship you invested in — is softened for a DLC hull, because the loss is temporary. For a new or casual captain that’s a real comfort: you can sail a capable ship without the dread of grinding a replacement from scratch.

The premium ships

The premium-ship DLCs span the whole range, from small fast raiders to towering first rates. The current line-up includes:

• Smaller / fast: Le Requin · Hercules · L’Hermione · Rotterdam · San Pedro · Leopard
• Frigates & mid-rates: Trincomalee · Rättvisan · Galeon · Redoutable
• Large ships of the line: HMS Victory 1765 · Santa Ana · Montañes

Groupings here are a rough guide to size, not an official class list — for what “frigate” and “first rate” actually mean, and how crew limits gate them, see Rates & Classes. A premium ship is still bound by the same rank and crew rules as any other: owning the Santa Ana DLC doesn’t let you crew a first rate until your rank allows it.

Cosmetic DLC

A few DLCs change only how things look or add pure convenience, with no effect on combat:

• Painter — custom paint schemes for your ships.
• Flags — additional flag sets to fly.
• Travel Balloon — a cosmetic novelty.

Account & utility DLC

The remaining DLCs are quality-of-life and account add-ons rather than ships: Navy Connection, Admiralty Connection and Prolific Forger. Broadly these bundle conveniences — extra capacity and redeemable perks, and in the Forger’s case the means to change nation or run an alternate character more freely. The exact contents have shifted over time, so read each store listing for precisely what it grants before buying; they’re strictly optional.

Should you buy any?

Honest guidance: start with just the base game. It is complete, and you should learn to sail and fight in ordinary ships before deciding what, if anything, you want to add. After that:

• Cosmetics (Painter, Flags) are harmless — buy them if you like the look, skip them with no downside.
• A premium ship earns its keep if you want a dependable hull you can’t permanently lose — handy while you’re still losing ships as you learn, or if one specific ship suits how you like to fight. Pick one that matches your playstyle rather than buying several.
• Utility DLC is worth it only once you understand the systems it touches; there’s no rush.