WAKE TACTICS Ships and Fleet Classes

The complete tactical fleet manifest

The standard fleet is derived from the current Tactical beta rules: one Carrier, two Battleships, three Cruisers, three Destroyers and two Patrol Boats. Length is the number of grid cells occupied by one undamaged hull. Base move is the maximum forward or backward distance before damage penalties. Wake duration is how long a vacated-cell clue can persist; it does not reveal the ship's new location.

The table is a planning reference, not a promise that every surviving ship retains its base speed. Hits stay attached to hull segments, and accumulated damage can reduce movement or make a vessel immobile. A ship is sunk only when all of its segments are damaged.

Large hulls trade concealment for endurance

The five-cell Carrier contains the most hull strength in one target but moves only one cell and can leave a two-turn wake. The four-cell Battleships share that movement and wake profile, with two separate hulls in the fleet. Both classes benefit from open turning space and routes that do not end against the board edge or a wreck.

Cruisers form the middle of the fleet: three ships, three cells each, one-cell movement and a one-turn wake. They can absorb more than a small craft while leaving less persistent evidence than the largest hulls. Use them to create multiple plausible contacts rather than clustering every medium ship in the same search area.

A sonar report groups four- and five-cell vessels as large contacts and three-cell vessels as medium. It does not name the exact class or coordinate. See sonar and wake tracking for how those categories interact with temporary trails.

Small craft create speed and uncertainty

Destroyers occupy two cells, move up to two and leave a wake for one turn. Patrol Boats occupy a single cell, also move up to two, and leave no wake. Sonar reports both as small contacts, so the scan category alone cannot distinguish them. Existing damage, visible wrecks and the presence or absence of a trail can help narrow the answer.

Speed does not allow a hull to jump obstacles. Every intermediate position must be legal, and wrecks continue to block water after a ship sinks. Small craft are therefore strongest in open corridors, where several destinations remain possible after each turn. Their limited hull length also means each successful hit represents a larger share of the vessel.

Do not assign a class a permanent job. A Destroyer can scout early, evade in the midgame and hunt the last contact late; a Carrier may move defensively or anchor pressure around a constrained lane. Study how moving ships resolve, then combine the whole fleet into a three-AP plan with the strategy guide.