SimCity BuildIt Seaport & Cargo Ships: Golden Keys Guide
SimCity BuildIt Seaport & Cargo Ships: Golden Keys Guide
SimCity BuildIt seaport and cargo ships are the best Golden Key farm in the early and mid game. The Cargo Ship Dock sits outside your city limits, takes shipment requests, and pays Golden Keys when you fill them. For mayors saving keys for a University or a Heliport, simcity buildit cargo ship dock deliveries are the daily habit that makes it happen.
The Cargo Ship Dock is a non-city building used to complete cargo shipments for Golden Keys. A ship arrives with a list of items it wants — usually factory and commercial goods — and a timer. Fill the list before the timer runs out and you earn a Golden Key, plus Simoleons and other rewards. Miss the timer and the ship leaves, and you wait for the next one.
Golden Keys are the currency that buys specialization buildings: Landscape, Education, Transportation and more. The wiki lists the ways to earn them as cargo ship deliveries, Contest of Mayors, event tracks, video ads, gift bubbles, Vu disasters, Design Challenges, the Mayor’s Pass, the Golden Chest, and purchase with SimCash. Of those, cargo ships are the most reliable daily source, because a ship arrives on a schedule you can plan around, while Contest rewards come weekly and Vu disasters need items.
Export HQ is the regional version of the same idea. There is one Export HQ in each region, and completing its deliveries earns regional Simoleons — the currency for regional hot spots, forests and upgrades. A mayor who works both the Cargo Ship Dock in the capital and the Export HQ in each region earns two currencies at once, which is the efficient way to develop regions.
Practical advice: keep a stock of common shipment items ready — the goods your factories make fastest — so a ship never waits on a slow production slot. Do not send a ship away empty if you can fill even part of the order; a partial shipment is better than no shipment. And check the dock every time you open the game, because a ship that arrived while you were away may be close to its deadline.
FAQ
What is the Cargo Ship Dock?
A non-city building used to complete cargo shipments for Golden Keys.
How do I earn Golden Keys from ships?
Fill a ship’s item list before its timer runs out. A completed shipment pays a Golden Key.
What is Export HQ?
The regional delivery building, one per region. Its deliveries earn regional Simoleons.
What are Golden Keys used for?
Buying specialization buildings that cost Golden Keys, and upgrading War disasters.
What happens if a ship’s timer runs out?
The ship leaves without its reward, and you wait for the next ship to arrive.
Learn more in our unlimited money, SimCash and keys guide and on the SimCity BuildIt homepage.