Every node an expedition can drop you into, and what each one wants from you.
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An expedition is a chart of these nodes. You pick the route, so knowing which node pays and which one bites is most of the planning in a run.
Pirates spotted. Pick your firing side with E, maneuver so that broadside faces a ship (gears + A/D), and your guns fire as they reload (or press Space in Manual mode). Range is about one screen-tile. Ramming hurts you too, so only do it on purpose.
Most of the chart is question marks, and you commit to one before you know what it holds. Sailing in rolls the answer: usually calm seas, sometimes a squall or a lucky chest, and sometimes an elite waiting alone — the Corsair from the first chart on, or the Scourge deeper in. The odds shift with depth, so a late '?' is a far bigger gamble than an early one.
A peaceful stretch of water. Sail around to pick up any floating supplies and reach the next island. Use the breathing room to check your modules and HP.
A squall rolls in: the wind re-rolls, the deck darkens, and lightning starts coming down. Big cells telegraph with a warning ring before the bolt lands, so clear the ring. Scattered water strikes come down between them, harmless under light cloud but heavier as the sky blackens, and a mature squall throws up to three at once. Bolts hit whoever is closest, pirate or captain. Ride it out and it passes on its own.
A harbour under siege, and you are the only ship it has. Waves of raiders bear on the port instead of you: broadside ships stand off and shell it, fireships ram it outright. Shoot a besieger and it turns on you, which is how you pull fire off the piers. The port holds 200 hull on the first map, 350 on the second, 500 on the third, plus 100 more per Ascension lap. Survive every wave and the port pays in WAR MATERIEL, a pick of cannons and hull gear, and the more hull the port has left the wider the pick. If the port falls the node is lost, but your ship is not: you keep everything the fight paid out and sail on.
No chart works down here. Your torch dies on its own and, once it's out, the only light left is the candle at the binnacle, which shows you the hull and about a boat-length of water. FIRE SHOT is how you see: a ball that lands on water burns for a while, and one that hits a wall plants a torch, so the cave is lit by the shots you choose to spend. Sail near any live flame and your own torch relights. In the narrow passages the ceiling gives way, and it groans before the first stone falls. The hoard sits on a beach at the far end and pays gold, timber, iron and captain experience.
You've found a chest. Pick one of three rewards: a captain skill point, a free crew slot, or a hull repair with a max-HP boost. The choice is permanent for this run.
The expedition's treasure island. Defeating the pirate captain here completes the expedition and grants the chest's loot.