Principle Points are the currency that drives the Compass, the four-path progression system that gates most of the strong buildings, ships, and passives in Corsair Cove. You earn them by completing Deeds, and each point is tied to the exact path whose Deed you finished. Before any of this is available, you must first unlock the Compass itself by pushing through the main story.
Quick answer: Complete a Deed listed under a Compass path to earn one Principle Point for that same path, then spend it inside that path’s branch. Points from one path cannot be used in the other three.
Earn Principle Points by completing Deeds
Deeds are the challenges and milestones you tick off as you build your island. Every finished Deed rewards a single Principle Point, and that point is locked to the path the Deed sits under. Build ten Warehouses, for example, and you earn a point for the Wealth path, because that challenge lives in the Wealth section.
There are 160 Deeds in total, split evenly with 40 tied to each of the four paths. You can work on them in any order, and there is no cap on how many you keep active at once, so you can chase several across different paths at the same time. As you clear Deeds, harder ones open up, and later Deeds often lean on the skills you have already unlocked in that path’s branch.
Tip: Select the pin icon on any Deed to attach it to your HUD. That keeps the target requirement on screen while you build, so you always know which challenge is closest to paying out.
The four Compass paths and what they cover
Once the Compass is unlocked, its skill tree splits into four distinct branches. Each focuses on a different side of the game, and each has its own set of 40 Deeds feeding points into it.
| Path | Colour | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Notoriety | Green | Pirate fame and aggressive expansion |
| Empire | Red | Settlement growth and social structures |
| Seafaring | Blue | Exploration, ship stats, and your armada |
| Wealth | Purple | Gold, trade, and resource output |
The key limit to remember is that points stay inside their own path. Points earned from Empire Deeds only unlock Empire nodes, and the same is true for the other three. There is no shared pool, so a balanced settlement needs Deeds cleared across every path.
Spending points to unlock ships and buildings
Ships unlock automatically as you spend points along a path. Once your total spent in that branch reaches a ship’s requirement, that ship type becomes available to build right away. You do not need an extra point beyond the threshold. Reaching the required amount is the trigger by itself.
The tier of the ship you reach also marks your overall Compass progress, and hitting a new tier unlocks a fresh set of buildings at the same time. The point thresholds line up as follows.
| Points spent in a path | Ship tier unlocked |
|---|---|
| 3 | Tier 2 |
| 7 | Tier 3 |
| 12 | Tier 4 |
Some of the strongest hulls require progress in two paths at once. The Goldseeker, for instance, needs points in both Wealth and Notoriety. Hybrid ships like this are notably stronger than the standard hulls of the same tier, which is another reason to keep every path moving rather than pouring everything into one branch.
Where to spend your first points
On a first run, avoid locking yourself into a single path. Every branch holds useful structures that save space or resources, and spreading points keeps hybrid ships within reach.
The clearest early priority is the alternative connection points, the Mast, Zip Line, and Elevator. These move goods faster and cut travel times between the scattered levels of your island, which eases logistics pressure while your economy is still small. Unlock these before chasing higher-tier hulls.
Confirming a Deed paid out
You know a Deed has resolved when it grants a single point to its path and a new Deed opens in its place, usually a slightly tougher one that builds on what you just did. Opening the journal shows which Deeds are active and how close each is to completing, so you can line up the next point without guessing.
If a node or ship will not unlock, the reason is almost always the path lock. Check that you are spending points earned inside that same branch, since points cannot cross between paths, and confirm you have met the full threshold rather than sitting one short.
