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In Top Lords, Trade Contracts do two jobs. You spend them to refresh your Trade Wagons for better cargo, and you submit them to board your alliance Cargo Ship, where more contracts give you higher boarding priority. Since the October 28 patch, Super Mode uses free refreshes first, so you spend fewer contracts.
Updated October 2026
Wagons and the Cargo Ship are one of the steadiest sources of rewards in Top Lords, and they are also where many players waste contracts. Here is how each part works now, and how to get more out of the same contracts.
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What are Trade Contracts used for?
| Use | What you get | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Refreshing Trade Wagons | A chance at better cargo, and Royal Wagons | Use free refreshes first |
| Boarding the Cargo Ship | A seat in a cabin and its rewards | More contracts means more priority, not a sure seat |
How do Trade Wagons work?
You send out wagons with cargo and get the rewards when they arrive. Before you send one, you can refresh it to roll for better cargo. Refreshes cost Trade Contracts unless you have a free one.
What changed in Super Mode (October 28)?
- Free refreshes go first. In Super Mode, each wagon's free refreshes are now used before any contracts, so you spend fewer.
- Royal Wagons cost less to reach. If a refresh would turn a wagon into a Royal Wagon, it costs only 1 Trade Contract, or nothing if a free refresh is left.
- Map fix. The Royal Wagon no longer shows wrong when you zoom the world map.
What is a Royal Trade Wagon?
A Royal Wagon carries better rewards than a normal one. Besides lucky refreshes, the King has a weekly King Skill called Royal Trade Wagons: the next four Wagons refreshed for each Lord in the Kingdom become Royal Trade Wagons. If your King uses it, refresh your wagons while it is active. More in our Royal Titles and King Skills guide.
How does Cargo Ship boarding work?
The official rules from the October 19 update:
- The default submission is three Trade Contracts. If you are short, Gems can cover the gap.
- The more contracts you submit, the higher your boarding priority.
- If you are not selected, your contracts come back by Mail, including the ones you covered with Gems. The Gems you spent do not come back.
The fan guide on toplordsintel (checked October 2026) adds more detail: an R4 or R5 picks the Captain for the regular ship, the ship prepares for four hours and then leaves on its own, there are four cabins with different rewards, and the alliance needs at least 20 members. New Alliance Cargo Ship rules took effect on September 11, so check the ship screen in game for your exact limits.
Source: the official Top Lords Discord announcements, read October 30, 2026. Numbers the game team only showed as images are not repeated here, so check those in game.
What are the plunder rules?
| Target | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cargo Ship | Each successful plunder takes three cargo pieces from three different Lords | Official, Oct 19 |
| Cargo Ship | The Captain's exclusive cabin can no longer be plundered | Official, Oct 19 |
| Cargo Ship | A ship can be plundered up to three times per voyage | Fan guide |
| Trade Wagons | You can plunder a few wagons per day, only from Lords outside your alliance, and a wagon cannot drop below half of its cargo | Fan guide |
| Trade Wagons | Escort fights do not cost soldiers | Fan guide |
Fan guide limits can change with updates. If a number matters for your plan, check it in game.
How do King Skills and the Trade Protection Law affect wagons?
The King can issue a Trade Protection Law that asks Lords not to plunder each other's wagons. It is not a hard block. A Lord can still plunder, but they get a warning first and the violation is recorded, so the King can punish them later. Read the scope of the law: it can cover only some alliances, by Alliance Power Ranking or by Castle location.
A good week for wagons is one where the King runs the Trade Protection Law and the Royal Trade Wagons skill together.
How to get more from your Trade Contracts
- Turn on Super Mode and let the free refreshes go first.
- Refresh during Royal Trade Wagons. Ask your R4s to post in alliance chat when the King uses it.
- Send wagons when your Kingdom has a Trade Protection Law and you are covered by its scope.
- Do not cover Cargo Ship contracts with Gems by default. If you miss the seat, the contracts come back but the Gems do not. Use Gems only for a ship you really want to be on.
- Submit more contracts for the cabin you want when your alliance is fighting for seats.
- Plunder smart. The Captain's own cabin is safe now, so aim at the passenger cargo.
For more ways to save resources, see our Top Lords tips and tricks. For when Cargo Ship and other events land in the week, see the events calendar.
Where Packsify fits
Saving contracts is one way to get more from the game. Getting more from the packs you buy is the other. Packsify buys the Top Lords packs you pick through the official Apple App Store or Google Play, so your budget goes further on the packs you already buy. Read how to top up Top Lords for the step by step.
Running an alliance or a Kingdom?
When your members order through your alliance link, you get alliance rewards and can share them with your members. See the Alliance Dashboard.
Want to compare notes with players from other servers? The Play Smarter Community is the independent players' Discord that Packsify runs. It is not the official Top Lords server.
More Top Lords guides: Royal Titles and King Skills, events calendar, Top Lords updates.
Packsify is an independent service, not affiliated with Top Lords or its publisher.
FAQ
How do you get a Royal Wagon in Top Lords?⌄
What happens to my Trade Contracts if I am not picked for the Cargo Ship?⌄
Can the Captain's cabin be plundered in Top Lords?⌄
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