Shipyard — Your Naval Base
How to build and use the Tides of Fortune Shipyard — placement requirements, ship construction, repair, docking, fast-travel, and harbor design tips for ARK fleets.
What Is the Shipyard?
The Shipyard is the central structure for all naval operations in Tides of Fortune. This large water-placed building handles ship construction, repair, docking, and fast-travel management for your fleet. Without a Shipyard, you cannot build Sloop or Brigantine vessels — making it the first engram every aspiring captain should unlock after acquiring the Tides of Fortune DLC.
The Shipyard engram is part of the Bob's True Tales content set and requires Genesis Ascended Part 1 progression to access. Once learned, gather standard building materials plus metal components, find suitable deep water, and place the structure. The Shipyard must be placed in water deep enough to accommodate vessel construction — shallow beaches and rivers are insufficient.
Beyond construction, the Shipyard serves as your fleet's home port. Docked ships are protected from despawn (within server anchor limits), repairs restore hull integrity, and the management interface tracks all vessels associated with that Shipyard. Tribes often build multiple Shipyards at strategic locations across the map.
Placement and Harbor Design
Optimal Shipyard placement balances accessibility, protection, and wind exposure. Place near your main land base for convenient resource resupply, but ensure the water depth supports full vessel construction. Open water exposure provides better wind for departing ships, while sheltered harbors offer protection from enemy fleet approaches.
Consider defensive positioning. Shipyards are high-value raid targets — destroying an enemy Shipyard cripples their ability to repair and rebuild. Surround harbors with turret towers, plant species X, and maintain active crew presence during peak hours. On PvE servers, proximity to Genesis ocean entry points reduces travel time for offshore content.
Server configuration limits anchored vessels to 50 within a 30,000-unit radius by default. If your tribe plans a large fleet, space multiple Shipyards across different harbors to stay within limits, or negotiate adjusted settings with your server admin.
Ship Construction Process
Interact with the Shipyard to open the construction interface. Select your desired vessel class — Sloop for fast, affordable builds, or Brigantine for heavier investment — and begin contributing materials. Construction progresses as resources are delivered, either by you directly or by tribe members contributing simultaneously.
You can pause and resume construction without penalty. Partially built hulls remain at the Shipyard until completed or demolished. Avoid leaving incomplete ships unattended on PvP servers during raid hours. Complete construction before initiating your maiden voyage — partially built vessels cannot sail.
Follow our step-by-step ship build guide for detailed resource lists, construction timelines, and post-build customization recommendations. The guide includes video walkthrough content for visual learners.
Repair, Docking, and Fast-Travel
Damaged ships return to the Shipyard for full repairs. The repair interface shows hull integrity, required materials, and estimated completion time. Repairs restore all structural and cosmetic damage, returning your vessel to peak combat effectiveness. Regular maintenance prevents cumulative damage from degrading performance between engagements.
Docking secures ships at the Shipyard between sessions. Anchored vessels persist within server limits and remain accessible for crew members with appropriate permissions. Undock when ready to sail — the process is faster than full construction but still requires a brief preparation sequence.
Fast-travel functionality allows rapid repositioning of docked vessels between Shipyards your tribe controls. This feature supports multi-base tribes operating fleets across distant harbors, reducing tedious sailing time for routine resource transfers and fleet redeployment.
Shipyard and Progression Synergy
Shipyard efficiency improves with Ship Skill Tree investments. Merchant perks may reduce construction costs, Piracy bonuses improve repair speed for combat vessels, and Luxury upgrades add aesthetic harbor decorations. Plan your skill investments around your Shipyard's primary role — combat harbor, trade port, or exploration staging point.
The Shipyard connects to other Tides of Fortune structures. Place Market buildings nearby for trade operations, Bounty Boards for mission tracking, and Cargo Ledgers for inventory management. A well-designed harbor functions as a complete naval operations center rather than just a construction dock.
Genesis Part 1 Milestones provide the skill points that power your Ship Skill Tree. Prioritize milestone completion to unlock better ships, faster repairs, and stronger combat capabilities from your Shipyard-built fleet.