Phantom Fleet Formations: Guide to All Four Layouts

Build Your Fleet Before Planning Its Formation

A ghost fleet still needs a course through cannon fire. Phantom Fleet formations let you change how Hollow King and its escorts assemble as you fight through naval blockades. Learn to adjust Phantom Fleet formations alongside your steering so you can respond when the battle changes.

You command Hollow King in a single-player naval action roguelite. Enemy ships provide the souls that let you recruit escorts, turning your lone ghost ship into a growing fleet. Formation choices give you another decision to make while steering, choosing upgrades, and activating skills.

Start by understanding how that fleet develops during a voyage.

Fleet event	What happens
You sink enemy ships	Their souls become available to harvest
You harvest souls while recruiting escorts	You build the fleet accompanying Hollow King
Your fleet reaches capacity	Additional souls are absorbed as power
Your voyage ends in sinking	The fleet growth earned during that voyage is lost

Keep sinking enemy vessels after filling your fleet. Souls still contribute power, so reaching capacity does not end their usefulness.

Separate fleet management from card selection, too. Recruiting escorts grows your fleet, while level-up cards let you strengthen cannon fire, reinforce your hull, or learn supernatural abilities. Both contribute to your voyage, but they give you different decisions to manage.

Before switching layouts, look at the immediate situation: your direction of travel, incoming cannon fire, nearby enemies, and the escorts accompanying you. Give yourself room to watch the fleet respond instead of making every adjustment while navigating a barrage.

Understand the Four Phantom Fleet Formations

Phantom Fleet formations include wedge, line abreast, line astern, and circular escort. These names describe different fleet arrangements; choose between them as the battle develops.

Formation	Basic arrangement described by its name
Wedge	A wedge-shaped layout
Line abreast	A side-by-side line
Line astern	A line with ships following one another
Circular escort	A circular escort arrangement

Use the names to recognize each layout, then watch how your escorts move alongside Hollow King. Pay particular attention during turns, because steering involves momentum and turning speed.

Wedge

Select wedge and watch the fleet while holding a clear course. Then observe the arrangement during a turn. Keep your attention on the route ahead as well as the escorts around you.

Use this exercise to connect the formation you selected with the movement you see. Avoid making several unrelated changes at once; steering, skill activation, and a formation switch can otherwise compete for your attention.

Line Abreast

Select line abreast and inspect the fleet’s side-by-side arrangement. Look across the formation while keeping incoming fire in view.

Before steering toward a new target, check the surrounding ships and projectiles. Account for Hollow King’s turning speed instead of aiming directly at an enemy and expecting the ship to change direction immediately.

Line Astern

Select line astern and watch the ships following your course. Compare the arrangement during forward travel and while turning.

Practice making deliberate course changes. Since Hollow King moves automatically, keep planning where the ship will travel after the current maneuver. Continue watching enemy fire while checking the fleet behind you.

Circular Escort

Select circular escort and observe the arrangement around your ghost ship. Keep the surrounding battle in view rather than watching only the enemy directly ahead.

Use this layout as another opportunity to practice awareness while steering. Check your next route, nearby threats, and available movement options before committing to a chase.

Work through all four arrangements without assigning them fixed jobs. Change formation to suit the battle, and judge each decision alongside the course you are steering. A layout choice is only one part of commanding the fleet.

Combine Formation Changes With Steering and Timing

Phantom Fleet formations belong in the same decision-making process as movement. Hollow King advances automatically, but you choose its course. Momentum and turning speed matter when navigating cannon fire and positioning for attacks.

Give turns time to develop. Watch the direction your ship is actually traveling, then adjust your intended route around incoming fire. Keep your next maneuver in mind before approaching a naval blockade or chasing a fleeing vessel.

Movement mechanic	What it does
Automatic forward movement	Hollow King advances without continuous forward input
Steering	You determine the ship’s course
Momentum and turning speed	They affect how you maneuver
Soul Boost	Provides an option for escaping danger
Dropping anchor	Stops your ship

Use Soul Boost when you need to escape danger. Drop anchor when stopping is the action you want. Keep both options in mind while planning your route, especially when forward movement would carry you into an unfavorable position.

Cannon fire happens automatically, and manually activated skills add decisions of their own. Keep steering while your cannons fire; attacking does not remove the need to navigate.

When several threats demand attention, simplify your immediate objective:

• Steer away from incoming fire.
• Use Soul Boost to escape danger when needed.
• Drop anchor when you need to stop.
• Reassess your formation as the situation changes.
• Activate manual skills while maintaining awareness of your course.

Avoid chasing a treasure ship without watching the water ahead. Fleeing treasure ships offer additional opportunities to grow, but the pursuit still takes place among enemy vessels and cannon fire. Keep navigation part of the chase.

Shape Your Fleet’s Fighting Style With Upgrades

Phantom Fleet formations work alongside a build that changes throughout the voyage. Every level-up offers three cards, and you choose one. Those choices can strengthen cannon fire, reinforce the hull, or add supernatural skills.

You can equip up to five automatic skills. The abilities you select early and upgrade fully help shape how the fleet fights, so consider your existing choices whenever another card selection appears.

Build option	Role in your voyage
Cannon upgrades	Strengthen cannon fire
Hull upgrades	Reinforce your ship’s hull
Supernatural skill cards	Add abilities to your fighting style
Automatic skills	Occupy up to five equipped slots
Continued skill upgrades	Develop the abilities you have chosen

Read each choice in relation to your current build. Keep track of which abilities you already have and which ones you are developing. Use the next card decision to continue shaping that fighting style.

Your spectral arsenal includes wraiths that circle enemy ships, Kraken tentacles that strike vessels, torpedoes, and lightning. Other powers send a tidal wave outward from Hollow King or awaken the fleet in turquoise ghostfire.

Keep those effects in view while steering. Automatic attacks let you concentrate on your course, but manually activated skills still require your timing and attention.

After adding or upgrading an ability, observe the next engagement before making another formation change. Watch your cannon fire, spectral attacks, and escorts together. Connect the visible action with the choices you have made during the voyage.

Keep upgrade decisions and movement decisions working together. Strengthening your hull contributes to your build; accounting for momentum remains part of navigating incoming fire. Developing cannon fire changes your offensive strength; choosing your course still determines where you sail during the attack.

Adapt Across the Seas and Prepare for the Next Voyage

Phantom Fleet formations remain part of a larger voyage through ten sea regions. Your enemies include pirate ships, naval warships, merchant vessels, fast ships, fireships, and whalers. You also encounter organized naval formations and command ships with their own skills.

Watch the current encounter before committing to a target. Follow the movement of nearby vessels, look for incoming fire, and keep track of your route through the battle.

Against organized naval formations, inspect the arrangement ahead before steering into the engagement. Against command ships, watch for their skills as well as cannon fire. When pursuing treasure ships, maintain awareness of other enemies instead of focusing entirely on the fleeing target.

Stronger fleets await in each new region. Revisit your formation choice as you advance, and keep checking whether your current course gives you room to maneuver.

Use Sinking to Plan Your Shipyard Spending

When Hollow King sinks, the cards and fleet growth earned during that voyage are lost. The next attempt begins in the first region. Permanent shipyard upgrades purchased with Soul Essence remain.

The shipyard lets you improve your hull, cannon fire, maneuverability, and escorts. Use the problems you encountered during the voyage to direct your attention:

• Inspect hull upgrades after a voyage where surviving damage was difficult.
• Inspect cannon upgrades when planning to strengthen your attacks.
• Inspect maneuverability upgrades when you want to improve ship handling.
• Inspect escort upgrades when developing your fleet.

Keep temporary growth and permanent upgrades separate in your planning. Recruiting a larger fleet during a voyage contributes to that attempt; purchasing shipyard upgrades carries growth into later departures.

Difficulty progression follows a clear sequence: clear every region on Easy to unlock Normal, then complete Normal to unlock Hard. Work toward the difficulty you have unlocked while continuing to develop the shipyard.

Practice With a Clear Objective

Choose one aspect of fleet command to watch during an engagement. Focus on turning with a particular layout, using Soul Boost to escape, stopping with the anchor, or following how an upgraded ability affects the fight.

Give each decision your attention without losing sight of navigation. The goal is to make formation selection part of your normal battle awareness alongside steering and attacks.

You can download the free Phantom Fleet demo on Steam to take command of Hollow King on Windows. Use your voyages to get comfortable with fleet arrangements, card choices, and the movement tools that keep you involved throughout the battle.

FAQ

What Phantom Fleet formations can you choose?

Phantom Fleet formations include wedge, line abreast, line astern, and circular escort. You can change formation to suit the battle while commanding Hollow King and its escorts.

How do you recruit escorts?

Harvest souls from enemy ships you sink to recruit escorts. Once your fleet is full, additional souls are absorbed as power, so keep collecting them as the voyage continues.

How do Soul Boost and the anchor affect movement?

Hollow King moves forward automatically while you control its course. Use Soul Boost to escape danger, or drop anchor to stop. Account for momentum and turning speed when planning maneuvers.

What carries over after your ship sinks?

Permanent shipyard upgrades purchased with Soul Essence remain. Cards and fleet growth earned during the voyage are lost, and your next attempt starts in the first region. Shipyard improvements cover your hull, cannon fire, maneuverability, and escorts.