Quick answer
No captain is best for every ship and objective. Rank a captain by how well the passive supports the mission's relevant ship stat, how useful the Captain Card is for the planned turn, and whether the card's downside is acceptable. The official Captains page and captain list jointly establish that captains have distinct passives and Captain Cards and document named trade-offs for captains such as Teach and Kanja.
This is a mission-fit tier list, not a permanent power chart. Pick the ship role first with the best-ships guide, then compare captains. Use the ship combat primer when you need the battle system rather than an assignment decision.
Original guide diagram — not in-game UI. A useful tier label always names the objective it serves.
Ranking criteria and evidence boundary
Score the current assignment with these criteria before recommending a captain:
- Passive fit — 50%. Does the passive improve a stat the mission or ship role actually uses?
- Captain Card trade-off — 30%. Does the active benefit fit the planned turn, and can you accept every documented condition or downside?
- Objective match — 20%. Does the complete package help the event's stated goal rather than a different kind of task?
The weights and tier labels are editorial. Exact bonuses and card text below are version-sensitive, single-source official-wiki records. They are useful bounded inputs, but they should be checked against the current captain screen after balance changes.
Original guide diagram — not in-game UI. Never hide a Captain Card condition just to make a tier label look cleaner.
Captains by mission need
| Editorial tier | When a captain belongs here | Decision rule |
|---|---|---|
| Strong fit | Passive, card timing, and objective all support the same task | Use only for the mission named in the recommendation |
| Conditional fit | The passive helps, but the card adds a meaningful risk or timing constraint | Keep the condition visible and decide whether the current plan can absorb it |
| Weak fit for this task | The passive or card serves a different stat or objective | Reassign for another role rather than declaring the captain weak everywhere |
| Not enough evidence | The approved source set does not document the needed effect | Do not invent a tier from popularity or an unsupported impression |
Teach: strong fit for a supported damage role
A version-sensitive official list records Teach with Health +20% and Gun Damage +20%, and an Easy as Murder card that adds +1 Dice on the next turn. Those inputs make Teach a strong editorial fit when Gun Damage is relevant and the next-turn die supports the plan. They do not establish Teach as the top captain for Speed, supplies, or every battle.
Kanja: strong or conditional fit for Speed
A version-sensitive official list records Kanja with Supplies +20% and Speed +20%. It also records All or Nothing as adding +3 Dice next turn while changing a next-turn Dice Pool result below 5 to 1. Kanja is therefore a strong fit when Speed serves the objective and the card's full risk is acceptable; she becomes conditional when the downside can disrupt the planned turn.
The official Captains page currently states that a captain can be removed or reassigned after two minutes while in charge of a ship. Because that timing is a single-source official-wiki record, treat it as patch-sensitive. It supports planning assignments as reversible, not swapping without a cost.
Original guide diagram — not in-game UI. Success means the passive, card, and objective align, with the reassignment timing understood.
Common mistakes
- Publishing one S-tier captain without naming the mission used to score that tier.
- Comparing passive percentages while ignoring the Captain Card's timing and downside.
- Treating Health, Gun Damage, Speed, or Supplies as equally useful for every event.
- Assigning a captain before choosing the ship and objective that need support.
- Presenting single-source bonus values as permanent across balance patches.
- Combining a captain tier and ship tier without explaining why the stats fit the task.
FAQ: Frequently asked questions
Who is the best captain in Corsair Cove?
There is no single best captain for every task in the approved evidence. Teach and Kanja support different mission profiles, and Kanja's card includes a documented downside. Name the objective, then apply the criteria.
Is Teach always a top-tier captain?
Teach is a strong editorial fit where Gun Damage and his next-turn die support the plan. That does not make him a top choice for objectives centered on another stat.
Is Kanja's Captain Card worth using?
Only when the planned next turn can accept its full condition. The documented upside is larger, but so is the risk if the next Dice Pool result falls below the stated threshold. Recheck the current card text before relying on it.
What to do next
- Build the assignment with the captain and ship combinations guide.
- Revisit the best-ships guide if the ship role is still undecided.
- Use the ship combat primer for dice, damage, and encounter preparation.