Fishery or Trade Ports

[Gaz O'D]

Do I pick fishery's at the start till all towns have opened up, then change then all to trade ports?

[Insaniac]

Definitely trade ports. It's a vastly superior long term investment. Even when not trading they generate A LOT of money.

[Empire_TW]

Pick a trade port, if you really need the region to grow have it be a fishery then tear it down once the region is grown enough

[HazardHawk]

Originally posted by Brad:

Pick a trade port, if you really need the region to grow have it be a fishery then tear it down once the region is grown enough

Agreed, follow natural precedent of growth. Fish until you need it to stop growing so fast and then trade for the income. I usually do not even add in shipyards until after being a trader unless I need a specific port in a region for military ships though I always maintain one naval hospital and one steam yard.

[Gaz O'D]

I noticed that Waterford in Ireland doesn't have a trade route when its a trading port. Shall I keep it a trading port? Does it still gain all the benefits it mentions in the description even though there is no trade route? Like the increase in trade capacity?

Also what's the pros of having a naval hospital port?

[Nugcrusher]

"Hospital" naval ports add exp chevrons upon recruitment...that's the pro. The con...cannot recruit "steam' ships.

[Gaz O'D]

Originally posted by Nugcrusher:

"Hospital" naval ports add exp chevrons upon recruitment...that's the pro. The con...cannot recruit "steam' ships.

Is it worth having a naval hospital?

If anybody could answer my question in the last post about trading ports id be very grateful

[Alison Wunderland]

Trade ports for sure, like everybody's already said. Fishing ports do generate some income but their primary purpose is to speed population growth. When you see "No villages left" in the region summary window (bottom left-hand corner), it's time to convert to a trade port.
Another trick for speeding up growth is to exempt the region from taxes. That speeds things up a lot. Obviously you wouldn't want to do that if it's a large, rich region, but it helps immensely for smaller regions.

Steam vs. Hospital: There must be some advantage to building a steam shipyard but I've never done it. Naval hospitals produce experience and old salts fight rings around inexperienced ships.

I also usually have only one shipyard per theater (plus one in the Med if I'm building empire in the area.) Trade is your growth engine and for that you need as pany trade ports as you can build.

Most games you have to capture the pirate islands to put a stop to them pirating. Trinidad/Tobago makes an ideal army/naval base.

[Gaz O'D]

Originally posted by Anonymous Bosch:

Trade ports for sure, like everybody's already said. Fishing ports do generate some income but their primary purpose is to speed population growth. When you see "No villages left" in the region summary window (bottom left-hand corner), it's time to convert to a trade port.
Another trick for speeding up growth is to exempt the region from taxes. That speeds things up a lot. Obviously you wouldn't want to do that if it's a large, rich region, but it helps immensely for smaller regions.

Steam vs. Hospital: There must be some advantage to building a steam shipyard but I've never done it. Naval hospitals produce experience and old salts fight rings around inexperienced ships.

I also usually have only one shipyard per theater (plus one in the Med if I'm building empire in the area.) Trade is your growth engine and for that you need as pany trade ports as you can build.

Most games you have to capture the pirate islands to put a stop to them pirating. Trinidad/Tobago makes an ideal army/naval base.

If the trade port isn't in use i.e Waterford port, will i still benefit from the increased trading capacity bonus that comes with the trading post?

[Alison Wunderland]

If the trade port isn't in use i.e Waterford port, will i still benefit from the increased trading capacity bonus that comes with the trading post?

Yes, of course. All ports add to the region's economy, some more than others. In the campaign map click on Waterford. Now you'll see the port icon in the roster box below. Hover over the port with the cursor and you'll see how much it contributes.

The ports with dotted lines, coming in/going out, are your/theirs trade route ports. Those are the most important to protect/blockade, attack/defend. The prudent stragetist plants a militia in ports to preclude destruction should it be blockaded.

Incidentally, a militia in a school precludes tech poaching by foreign Gentlemen.