BDO Sailors are NPC characters that increase the Sailing stats of your ship (Speed, Acceleration, Turn, Brake, and other helpful Sailing buffs).

Sailors can explore and find supplies on Barter islands.

Obtaining a Sailor:

  • Sailors appear in three different cities and randomly respawn every 4 hours.
  • After certain requirements are met, you can attempt to hire Sailors, if you have a Sailor Contract Certificate, purchased for 3,000,000 silver at a Wharf Manager.
sailor oath

Sailor Highlights:

  • Obtain 1 quest Sailor from the Main Sailor quest line
  • FREE Sailor Slots:
    • “Sailor’s Oath” adds 1 Sailor slot. Obtain 5 Sailor’s Oath via the Main Sailing quest line then speak to Chulong in Moodle Village for a quest “Chulong’s Gift” that rewards 3.
    • 1 Sailor Slot can be purchased with 10,100 Loyalties (Look for “Captain’s Medallion”)
  • Sailors can get sick and need to be cured (Sailors that have low Condition)
  • Sailors need to be fed periodically with unique Sailor only food
  • Sailors gain XP and level like workers (Stat increase amount from leveling is random and depends on a hidden growth range of each Sailor. Usual amount is about 0.1%.)
  • Sailors can refuse your attempt to hire them and you will loose 3 million Silver. They and their Contract will disapear upon rejecting you.
  • Max Sailor amount is currently 50 (increased via quests that give Sailor’s Oath and a Pearl item, Captain’s Medallion).
  • Sailors spawn randomly in 3 different locations and it may take time to obtain the sailor with the specific stats you’re looking for.
  • The average visit time for sailors is a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 1 hour.

Sailors are shared account wide. Hired Sailors and Sailor spawns do not change with character swaps or server swaps.

The number of Sailors you can put on one ship depends upon that ship’s Cabin Space number. Each Sailor requires a certain amount of Cabin Space.

Sailor Quest Requirements

  • Level 50+
  • Sailor Quest Line:
    • To obtain Sailors, complete the [The Great Expedition] quest line under the Suggested tab of Quests (O).
    • Sailor Quest Line Start:
       – Vigorous Velia
the great expedition main sailing quest

After completing the main sailing quest line, don’t forget to travel to Land of the Morning Light!

Speak to Chulong in Nampo’s Moodle Village.

chulong's gift sailor's oath

 

Sailor Certificate Requirement

You will need to buy 1 Sailor Contract Certificate for each sailor you want to hire.

  •   Sailor Contract Certificate – purchase at an NPC for 3 million silver each.
  • Sailor Certificate Vendors:
    • Philaberto Falasi in Port Epheria
    • Islin Bartali or Proix in Velia
    • Wharf Managers in each region

NOTE: A sailor can refuse to work with you and walk away! Humph!

sailor contract certfiicate

Sailor Locations

Sailors are found in three locations:

  • Velia: inside the Inn next to <Innkeeper> Islin Bartali and around the tables
  • Port Epheria: near the beached whale, down the road from the <Storage Keeper>
  • Iliya Island: up the main staircase next to the <General Goods> NPC and along that road, down to the <Stable Keeper>

Look for NPC’s by the name of “Sailor”.

Each one has a description title above their “Sailor” name.

This title will let you know the Sailor’s base stats. See table below.

Sailor Spawn TIPS:

  • If you don’t immediately see sailors, wait a minute.
  • Sailors spawn differently for each player. (It’s pointless to alert a friend to a particular spawned sailor.)

5 sailors spawn at the Port Epheria location pictured below:

Sailor Management

Sailor Management occurs via any <Wharf Manager>.

Click on “Manage Sailors” to assign Sailors to your ship.

Select the Sailor and then “Board” button.

If you have multiple ships, you have to do this for each ship. They don’t automatically board every ship you take out.

sailing ship manage sailors
Barter User Interface

Sailors & Barter NPC’s

When you sail up to a Barter NPC, a Sailor/Barter UI will come up. After clicking on “Anchor”, you will have two options for your Sailors. (Ration Cost: 100,000)

  • SUPPLY: Sailors will gather Ship Rations (very small amount. Only use if you are in dire need.)
  • EXPLORE: Sailors may find treasures
    • RNG chance that Sailors will find treasures like Support Box, Seaweed Stalk, Iridescent Coral, etc.
    • Sailors have a chance to repair/damage your ship.
    • Sailors have a chance to find rations.
    • Sailors have a chance to increase/decrease their Condition.
    • Explore may fail, but still consume ship rations.
    • Chance to aquire an Island Exploration Quest to obtain 50 Crow Coins.

Sailor Search & Supply Requirements:

  • 100,001+ of Rations loaded on your ship
  • have at least 1 Sailor on board your ship
  • 20 minute wait between Supply and Explore
  • 20 minute timer is per button press, and NOT per Sailor (Different Barter NPC’s share this timer. Going to another node, will not help you bypass the timer.)

Explore can occur automatically while sailing:

  • Rations, Ship HP, or Sailor Condition Increased / Decreased
  • Item obtained / Quest received (Ship Rations are not consumed)
    • [Level 1] to [Level 5] Sea Trade Good Box
    • Silver Key
    • 300 Contribution quest
    • Junk items

Sailors Find Treasure via Explore

In the image below, we see that Explore costs 100,000 Rations. However, the Sailor didn’t find anything. This has been common for me.

Barter Support Box

10x Riddle-Me Barter Support Box is rarely obtained through Sailor Explore.

Riddle-Me Barter Support Box - BDO Riddle-Me Barter Support Box – right click box to randomly obtain a large stack of land goods that you can later exchange for [Level 1] Barter goods.

Sailor Stats

Most sailors have stats that increase your ship’s Speed, Acceleration, Turn, and Brake. If your Sailor has high Endurance, then he will increase your ship’s Speed by that amount.

Sailor Stats Increase Ship Stats:

  • Endurance: Speed
  • Wits: Acceleration
  • Awareness: Turn
  • Strength: Brake

Sailors also have other stats that you will want to take note of.

  • Weight: Sailor Weight takes away from the cargo your ship can carry. Giants weigh the most at 500 LT. Goblins are usually the lightest sailors and best for barter and trade. Dwarves are 300 LT and Humans average about 250.
    • Ship cargo load + Sailor Weight cannot exceed 100%, unless bartering. (Ships with Weight over 100% will become slower and disable sailing skills.)
  • Cabin Cost: How much Cabin Space the sailor will consume if boarded on your ship. For example, an Epheria Caravel with 30 Cabin Space can use 3 Goblin Sailors that have 10 Cabin Cost.
  • Appetite: Sailor Appetite shows you how often you will need to feed them
  • Condition (Health): Keep an eye on this and feed your Sailor when their Conditon (Health) is low. Sailors with 0 Condition have a chance to get an illness that can only be cured by a rare elixir. Condition is depleted randomly at sea and after Explore, so keep this topped up whenever you are at the <Wharf Manager>.
  • Patience, Force, Focus, Vision: improvements in cannon reload speed (Patience), range (Force), accuracy (Focus), and angle (Vision) – a limited amount of Sailors have these stats. More info below.
  • Exp: Sailors gain Exp primarily by Sea Monster kills, and more slowly through regular/special Bartering
    • Sailor Exp is increased, depending on the number of Sailors on your ship. (Example 4 Sailors get 35% each of the Sailor XP)
      • 1 Sailor: 100% EXP
      • 2–3 Sailors: 120% EXP
      • 4–5 Sailors: 140% EXP
      • 6–7 Sailors: 160% EXP
      • 8–10 Sailors: 180% EXP
      • NOTE: even a max level sailor will take a share of the exp.

Sailor Stats for Wind, Current, Rations, & Condition

The 4 stats below show in the Sailor Stat window, but I know of no one that has gotten ranks in them. All remain at 0%, for the “white grade” Sailors, even if you level them to 10. There is speculation that they may introduce green, blue, and yellow grade Sailors in the future. Only time will tell!

Sailor Stats for Ocean Wind & Current:

  • Seasoned Sailor: Ocean Current Resistance
  • Son of the Wind: Ocean Wind Resistance

Sailor Stats for Sailor/Ship Health:

  • Abstain: Ship Rations
  • Natural Born Soldier: Sailor Condition/Health

Sailor Food Restores Condition

 Chowder: recovers 10 Condition

Chowder Recipe:

 – Dried Pearl Oyster Flesh Drying: Giant Pearl Oyster x1
2 – Pepper – farming
2 – Pork – butchering pigs
 – Milk – miling cows mini-game or CP turn-ins
 – Teff Bread

Teff Bread Recipe:

  • Teff Flour x5
  • Mineral Water x3
  • Leavening Agent x2
  • Salt x2

 Raisin Bread – recovers 1 Condition

Purchase from a <Wharf Manager> or Islin Bartali at the Lunar Halo Inn in Velia.

Croix <Wharf Manager>
Location: Velia docks

Feeding Sailors: Restoring Condition

Sailor Condition can only be restored at the <Wharf Manager>. Select “Manage Sailors”. Look for a cup icon next to their portrait in the Sailor List. Or use the restore all button.

Note that Sailor Condition does NOT restore, when a Sailor levels up.

Sick Sailor

Sailors can get sick, if their Condition falls to zero.

A Sick Sailor will be highlighted in red and have [The sailor is sick] under their name.

When Sailors get sick, their stats are not applied to the ship and they can’t do sailing activities like Sailor Explore.

 

sick sailor list

Remote Collect or Ship Destruction

Sailors drop to 0 Condition on Remote Collect and also when your ship is destroyed. This can cause your Sailor to become sick. Barter Sea Trade Goods are always destroyed. Other trade items have a chance to be destroyed.

  • Sick Sailors can’t board ships.
  • Sick Sailors currently on board the ship, no longer have their stats applied to the ship. (All Sailor benefits and actions are removed.)

 

ship repair after ship destruction

Elixir of Regeneration

To cure a Sick Sailor, use the following:

 Elixir of Regeneration

 

Elixir of Regeneration Recipe:

Processing (L) → Simple Alchemy:

 

elixir of regeneration sick sailor
  • Cures 1 Sailor
  • Recovers Condition to 100%

How to Use Elixir of Regeneration:

Talk to a Wharf Manager and select Manage Sailors option.

use elixir of regeneration

Elixir of Regeneration Quests

You also obtain Elixir of Regeneration from the quests below:

Sailor Stat Charts

Innocent Goblin Speed
Lv Max
+Lvl		 Min Max Avg
1 1.2 1.2 1.2
2 0.2 1.3 1.4 1.4
3 0.2 1.4 1.6 1.5
4 0.3 1.5 1.9 1.7
5 0.3 1.6 2.2 1.9
6 0.4 1.7 2.6 2.2
7 0.4 1.8 3.0 2.4
8 0.4 1.9 3.4 2.7
9 0.4 2.0 3.8 2.9
10 0.5 2.1 4.3 3.2

 

Notable Sailors:

  • Innocent Sailor: a popular Velia/Epheria Goblin that has a good balance of low Weight and good Speed/Acceleration, although doesn’t start out as fast as Ambitious Sailor. ( Players report that this is the best Sailor to obtain because he has the highest Speed/Endurance growth of all Sailors. See his growth probability chart posted in discord by Geniewiz#0001 )
  • Ambitious Sailor: Goblin that spawns in Velia/Epheria has a good balance of low Weight and high Speed/Acceleration (good for Bartering)
  • Born-in-the-Sea: The Giant Sailor in Iliya Island has the best starting Speed/Acceleration of all of the Sailors. His Weight is also high, however. (Excellent for getting to your destination quickly, though.)

Here is an example of a level 9 Innocent Sailor.

You can see that he has higher than average speed. Even if he rolls badly at level 10, he’s still a keeper!

BDO Innocent Sailor Stats

Sailors Sorted By Best in Base Speed:

Race Appetite Cabin Cost Weight Base Speed Base Accel Base Turn Base Brake Force (Range) Focus (Accuracy) Vision (Angle) Location
Born-in-the-Sea Giant 150 10 500 2 0.3 0.3 0.3 Iliya
Ambitious Goblin 150 10 200 1.6 0.2 0.2 0.2
Velia,Epheria
Innocent Goblin 150 10 200 1.2 0.3 0.3 0.3
Velia,Epheria
Experienced Human 150 10 250 1 1 0.3 0.3
Velia,Epheria
Powerful Giant 150 8 500 1 1 1 1 Iliya
Dreaming of a Full Haul Giant 150 13 400 0.2 1.4 0.2 0.2 Epheria. Iliya
Honest Human 120 7 200 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 Iliya
Strong Human 100 8 250 0.5 0.5 1.5 1.5 Iliya
Smart Giant 100 5 500 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4
Velia,Epheria
Diligent Goblin 80 10 100 0.3 0.3 2 2 Iliya
Calculating Dwarf 150 10 300 0.3 1.2 0.3 0.3
Velia,Epheria
Confident Dwarf 100 5 300 0.3 0.3 3 0.6
Velia,Epheria
Tough Human 100 5 300 0.3 0.3 0.6 3
Velia,Epheria
Enamored Goblin 150 10 300 0.2 1.6 0.2 0.2
Velia,Epheria
Treasure-Seeking Dwarf 110 5 300 0.2 0.2 4 0.8
Velia,Epheria
Tenacious Dwarf 100 5 300 0.2 0.2 0.8 4 Velia
Quick-Witted Giant 150 10 500 0.2 0.2 0.2 3 0.2 5 0.2 Velia,Iliya
Quick Goblin 100 10 250 0.2 1.5 0.2 0.2 3.0 0.2 0.2 Velia,Iliya
Realistic Dwarf 100 10 300 0.2 0.2 3 0.2 0.2 0.2 15 Velia,Iliya
Curious Human 100 10 300 0.2 1 0.2 1 1 3 0.2 Velia,Iliya

 

FocusFire Sailors for Cannon Buffs

In patch 4/22/2020, BDO added 4 new sailors that specialize in enhancing your ship’s cannons. These new stats impact the FocusFire skill and improve on cannon speed, range, accuracy, and angle. Read more about FocusFire.

Race Appetite Cabin Cost Weight Base Speed Base Accel Base Turn Base Brake Force (Range) Focus (Accuracy) Vision (Angle) Location
Quick-Witted Giant 150 10 500 0.2 0.2 0.2 3 0.2 5 0.2 Velia,Iliya
Quick Goblin 100 10 250 0.2 1.5 0.2 0.2 3.0 0.2 0.2 Velia,Iliya
Realistic Dwarf 100 10 300 0.2 0.2 3 0.2 0.2 0.2 15 Velia,Iliya
Curious Human 100 10 300 0.2 1 0.2 1 1 3 0.2 Velia,Iliya

 

Detailed Sailor Stat Info

Thank you to the work of RENGEREL and Sheen <Torrent> and Torrent guildies for the following Sailor resources!

Sailor Stat Image

Sailor Spreadsheet

 

Thank you to SakushibaYoski for the Sailor stat tables below. They will help you choose the best Sailors.

Sailor Stats (10 Cabin Slots)

 Sailor combinations and stats for ships with 10 Cabins.

10 Cabin Slots: Cabin Cost Weight Base Speed Base Accel Base Turn Base Brake Amount
Born-in-the-Sea 10 500 2 0,3 0,3 0,3
Ambitious 10 200 1,6 0,2 0,2 0,2
Innocent 10 200 1,2 0,3 0,3 0,3
Experienced 10 250 1 1 0,3 0,3
Powerful 8 500 1 1 1 1
Honest 7 200 0,5 0,5 0,5 0,5
Strong 8 250 0,5 0,5 1,5 1,5
Smart 10 1000 0,8 0,8 0,8 0,8 2
Diligent 10 100 0,3 0,3 2 2
Calculating 10 300 0,3 1,2 0,3 0,3
Confident 10 600 0,6 0,6 6 1,2 2
Tough 10 600 0,6 0,6 1,2 6 2
Enamored 10 300 0,2 1,6 0,2 0,2
Treasure-Seeking 10 600 0,4 0,4 8 1,6 2
Tenacious 10 600 0,4 0,4 1,6 8 2
Smart+Confident 10 800 0,7 0,7 3,4 1 2
Smart+Tough 10 800 0,7 0,7 1 3,4 2
Smart+Treasure-Seeking
 10 800 0,6 0,6 4,4 1,2 2
Smart+Tenacious 10 800 0,6 0,6 1,2 4,4 2
Confident+Tough 10 600 0,6 0,6 3,6 3,6 2
Confident+Treasure-Seeking
 10 600 0,5 0,5 7 1,4 2
Confident+Tenacious
 10 600 0,5 0,5 3,8 4,6 2
Tough+Treasure-Seeking
 10 600 0,5 0,5 4,6 3,8 2
Tough+Tenacious 10 600 0,5 0,5 1,4 7 2
Treasure-Seeking+Tenacious
 10 600 0,4 0,4 4,8 4,8 2

 

Sailor Stats (30 Cabin Slots)

  Sailor stats for ships with 30 Cabins.

30 Cabin Slots: Cabin Cost Weight Base Speed Base Accel Base Turn Base Brake Amount
Born-in-the-Sea 30 1500 6 0,9 0,9 0,9 3
Ambitious 30 600 4,8 0,6 0,6 0,6 3
Innocent 30 600 3,6 0,9 0,9 0,9 3
Experienced 30 750 3 3 0,9 0,9 3
Powerful 24 1500 3 3 3 3 3
Honest 28 800 2 2 2 2 4
Strong 24 750 1,5 1,5 4,5 4,5 3
Smart 30 3000 2,4 2,4 2,4 2,4 6
Diligent 30 300 0,9 0,9 6 6 3
Calculating 30 900 0,9 3,6 0,9 0,9 3
Confident 30 1800 1,8 1,8 18 3,6 6
Tough 30 1800 1,8 1,8 3,6 18 6
Enamored 30 900 0,6 4,8 0,6 0,6 3
Treasure-Seeking 30 1800 1,2 1,2 24 4,8 6
Tenacious 30 1800 1,2 1,2 4,8 24 6

  Sailor combination options and stats for ships with 30 Cabins.

30 Cabin Slots: Cabin Cost Weight Base Speed Base Accel Base Turn Base Brake Amount
3xPowerful+1xSmart
 29 2000 3,4 3,4 3,4 3,4 4
3xPowerful+1xConfident
 29 1800 3,3 3,3 6 3,6 4
3xPowerful+1xTough
 29 1800 3,3 3,3 3,6 6 4
3xPowerful+1xTreasure-Seeking
 29 1800 3,2 3,2 7 3,8 4
3xPowerful+1xTenacious
 29 1800 3,2 3,2 3,8 7 4
Options
3xHonest+1xPowerful
 29 1100 2,5 2,5 2,5 2,5 4
3xHonest+1xStrong
 29 850 2 2 3 3 4
3xHonest+1xSmart
 26 1100 1,9 1,9 1,9 1,9 4
3xHonest+1xConfident
 26 900 1,8 1,8 4,5 2,1 4
3xHonest+1xTough
 26 900 1,8 1,8 2,1 4,5 4
3xHonest+1xTreasure-Seeking
 26 900 1,7 1,7 5,5 2,3 4
3xHonest+1xTenacious
 26 900 1,7 1,7 2,3 5,5 4
Options
3xStrong+1xSmart
 29 1250 1,9 1,9 4,9 4,9 4
3xStrong+1xConfident
 29 1050 1,8 1,8 7,5 5,1 4
3xStrong+1xTough
 29 1050 1,8 1,8 5,1 7,5 4
3xStrong+1xTreasure-Seeking
 29 1050 1,7 1,7 8,5 5,3 4
3xStrong+1xTenacious
 29 1050 1,7 1,7 5,3 8,5 4
Random choice:
2xBorn-in-the-Sea+1xEnamored
 30 1300 4,3 1,8 0,9 0,9

Pearl Sailor Items

You can have a maximum of 50 Sailor slots. You can buy up to 40 per account with real $$$.

1 Captain’s Medallion = 500 Pearls = 1 Sailor Slot

BDO Pearl Sailor Slots: Captain's Medallion

There is also an item that will instantly cure a sick Sailor and recover his Condition to 100%.

1 Tears of the Star = 50 Pearls = 1 Cured Sailor

Sources & Additional Info