Demands

Periodically, the Claws or the Pirates will demand something from your colony, rarely on the same day.

The Claw send a tax ship every few days during Spring, Summer, and Fall. Their arrival is not consistent and you may have short or long spans before their arrival. You will get a minimum of a three day warning before they arrive to collect any taxes accrued and owed. The Claw will not collect taxes during the cold winter and their last tax ship will arrive on or before the last day of Autumn. They will return in the first few days of Spring to collect your entire Winter tax bill.

Pirates approach for a ransom demand more infrequently throughout the year. You are not warned about their arrival, but you can click on the dock to see what ships and in which order will arrive over the next three days - revealing if you will be facing any upcoming pirate demands.

Taxes

Taxes paid are graded in a curve, from fully unpaid to overpaid granting a differing number of penalties and rewards.

Refusal or partially unpaid taxes will lead to worsened diplomatic relationships, and eventually retaliation in the form of a naval bombardment that will destroy a number of random buildings around the colony. While destroyed buildings will need to be repaired at the full cost of their construction, refusing to pay taxes can secretly be beneficial as the unpaid taxes are forgiven following the attack.

Pirates

Pirates make a single demand that is usually less than your usual tax bill. It will grow with each visit just as your colony grows in size.

You can partially pay the pirate demands but anything less than full payment will result in cannonballs being fired at your colony. You can see the number of cannonballs you will receive above the payment button. Each one will equate to a randomly destroyed building that they can reach with their cannons. Destroyed buildings will need to be repaired at the full cost of their construction.

Aside from gold, Pirates demand materials that The Claw does not trade in. This can be particularly helpful in paying both demands back to back. The Pirates also only demand a small selection of materials, so it is best to learn their demands and stockpile accordingly. Remember, gold is their favorite and gold bullion will satiate their demands quickly.