Before blindly sending out a convoy, there are a few other things that should be taken into account.
Travel Time
While sending a convoy to New York for £3,000 might seem like a great payout, the travel time of 22 minutes may mean you can make more money from a lower income convoy that returns quicker.
For example:
| Merchant | Time | Income | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York: Van Brugh's Spices | 22 | £3,000 | £3,000 |
| Boston: Hancock's Store No.5 | 12 (x2) | £2,100 | £4,200 |
The first merchant the player chooses will determine the base travel time:
| Convoy's Base Travel Time | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston: Hancock's Store No. 5 | 12 | |||||||
| Boston: Elizabeth Murray's Fineries | 12 | |||||||
| Boston: Child's Still House & Dry Goods | 12 | |||||||
| New York: Rhinelander's Sugars | 22 | |||||||
| New York: De Lancey's Imports & Goods | 22 | |||||||
| New York: Van Brugh's Spices | 22 | |||||||
| Frontier: The Walking Haberdashery | 17 | |||||||
| Frontier: The Miliner's Wares | 17 | |||||||
| Frontier: Murdoch's Barter | 19 | |||||||
| Louisburg | 38 | |||||||
| The Bahamas | 35 | |||||||
| Saint-Augustine | 32 | |||||||
| Virgin Islands | 42 | |||||||
If the player sends a convoy to only one merchant, the base travel time will stay the same no matter how many items you send. However, if the player sends one convoy to multiple merchants, the travel time will increase for each merchant.
| First Destination | Additional Destination | Add (mins) |
|---|---|---|
| Boston | Boston | +2 |
| New York | +12 | |
| Frontier | +7 | |
| Frontier (Murdoch's Barter) | +9 | |
| New York | Boston | +2 |
| New York | +2 | |
| Frontier | +2 | |
| Frontier | Boston | +2 |
| New York | +7 | |
| Frontier | +2 | |
| Frontier (Murdoch's Barter) | +4 | |
| Frontier (Murdoch's Barter) | Boston | +2 |
| New York | +5 | |
| Frontier | +2 | |
| Louisburg | The Bahamas | +2 |
| Saint-Augustine | +2 | |
| Virgin Islands | +6 | |
| The Bahamas | Louisburg | +5 |
| Saint-Augustine | +2 | |
| Virgin Islands | +9 | |
| Saint-Augustine | Louisburg | +8 |
| The Bahamas | +5 | |
| Virgin Islands | +12 | |
| Virgin Islands | Louisburg | +2 |
| The Bahamas | +2 | |
| Saint-Augustine | +2 |
Risk
Every time you send a convoy there is a risk of that convoy being attacked. The risk is shown on screen before you send out a convoy and is directly related to the number of merchants that convoy is trading with.
- For land convoys, this number can be lowered by completing Liberation Missions within the city the convoy is being sent to. For each district liberated from Templar control, the risk value to the merchants in that town will lower.
- For naval convoys, this number can be lowered by completing Privateer Missions for each route.
Taxes
Taxes only effect land convoys and are determined by the active forts in each location: Boston, New York, and the Frontier.
Whenever a convoy is sent through a region that has at least one fort under Templar control, a 15% tax is levied on your convoy per fort with a maximum of 30% for Boston and New York and 45% for the Frontier. Naturally, the only way to lower or obliterate taxes is by Liberating Forts in each area. Do this early to allow your convoys to get 100% of the profits.
