POS : Pirates of the Black Sea

Pirates of the Black Sea introduces the Ottoman Empire as a new faction. By the early 1700s, the Ottomans successfully developed a "Great Fleet" of heavily armed sailing ships of the line, replacing traditional rowed galleys to better match European and Venetian naval capabilities. Alongside the sailing ships, the empire maintained a "Slim Fleet" of light, draft-oared vessels (such as galleys and gunboats) essential for navigating shallow coastal waters and inland operations, particularly the Danube River. Shifting away from its 16th-century Mediterranean galley supremacy, the empire was forced to develop a modern sailing fleet of broadside warships to counter the rising maritime power of Russia and Venice.