Originally posted by cato:

Whats the quickest way to repair ships? I have about 8 ships next to a large city I own and i've been clicking the repair button for 5 turns and the ships are still not repaired which makes me think I'm doing something wrong.

I am not sure I understand the problem. You have a ship which has the "heal inside" button enabled, you press the button, it starts repairing it and the next turn it is still damaged?
Or the button is disabled?
Boats could be repaired in cities with the "Boat" specialization. Other ships can be repaired only within a shipyard with that specialiation.

If you are not talking about "heal inside" action but either "heal-self" or "recover" these are different types of healing and only increases the attack and health values partially.

I am just copy/pasting here a part of the manual focusing on unit healing:

Damaged or injured units can be repaired or healed in cities and/or buildings, so-called “servicemen”, that have a specialization for this type of unit. Quick information where these are located can be obtained in the Strategic Overview (F4). Simply select the unit type in the tabs on the left, and the icons on the map will show not only your units but also their builders and servicemen, or use the list and see all these information presented in as a list.

Another way to quickly find the nearest serviceman is to select the damaged or injured unit and then hover over a city or building; the tooltip shows where the unit can be repaired or healed.

All mobile units have an Auto-heal ability that counts on the unit’s own restorative functions and intrinsic medics, carpenters, et al. Damaged units recover 3-5% of their current Attack Strength and Health every turn, which makes the process of regaining full strength free but very lengthy. The Auto-heal is 2x faster when the unit is inside in its “builder” (City, Shipyard or Stable).

There are other options how a unit can regain strength when damaged or injured: Self-heal , Recover inside actions. and Heal

Self-healing can be imagined as the basic medical care soldiers got in military camps; the time required to restore their full strength would be directly linked to the severity of their injuries, but note that although this action is also free, the unit is immobilized during the process, and both these actions drastically reduce the ability of the unit to defend itself if attacked (-50% and -60% Defense Penalty). The unit regains 10% of its current Attack Strength and Health per turn, so any serious injuries will heal for a long time.

Recovering can be imagined as replenishing the ranks with new recruits or conscripts. This means Recover can be only executed when a unit is close to a city from which the new recruits can be drawn. This way you can get men and their basic equipment and armaments, but no proper training; thus, the unit recovers its strength, but its Experience points are reduced. Note that its Loyalty and Morale may be affected if the cities from which the replacements are drawn have low Loyalty and/or General Morale. This action requires resources to attract men to join the army. The unit regains 20% of its default Attack Strength and Health per turn.

On the other hand, the Heal inside action (X) can be executed only when a unit is moved into a city with the correct specialization (where, as you can imagine, exist a recruitment and training center, storage with armaments and equipment, etc.). Using the Heal action restores the full strength of the unit much faster and in fact costs less.

Generally, the more injured or damaged the unit is, the better off it will be if it sent to the nearest city to Heal inside. Naturally there could be situations when this isn’t possible, which would be the right time to use Recover and Self-healing.

The “Medics” improvement is an option that enables a unit to recover its strength automatically over several turns without any additional costs. It increases Attack Strength and Health by 25% of its current strength every turn. It can be either trained as an improvement or it can be temporarily received in the healing temple Asklepeion or by visiting Naiads (if Myths & Legends feature is enabled in the game). Units can be also healed without incurring further costs in cities with “Hospital" improvement.

Yeah I was trying a variety of all those buttons but after 5+ turns the ships still weren't fully repaired. Is ship repair linked to city population just like land units are?

I've been enjoying this game its good fun. I've had it for a few years but only recently dived into it fully. There are some UI issues though which become apparent once your empire become large. An auto repair button until fully healed would've been great as well as an auto upgrade farms button for settlers, just minimise repetitive busywork.

Originally posted by cato:

Yeah I was trying a variety of all those buttons but after 5+ turns the ships still weren't fully repaired.

When you go through the text from manual you will find out that different healing options have different impact on the health increase, different costs and different conditions.

Originally posted by cato:

Is ship repair linked to city population just like land units are?

In general, yes. When you for example execute "recover" it will take citizens from the neariest cities.

Originally posted by cato:

An auto repair button until fully healed would've been great as well

There is a reason why it is not implemented explained here https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/783210/discussions/0/1735463620101148303/#c1735463620101963358

Fair comment. It was a minor gripe, overall its a good game lots of depth which I like.

I've also got Imperium Greek wars which I haven't really played yet but I thought I'd give this game a go first.

Originally posted by cato:

I've also got Imperium Greek wars which I haven't really played yet but I thought I'd give this game a go first.

I would say that it is a good way to go. Aggressors is simpler so also easier to learn. Once you get into Imperiums, you will really just need to learn the new mechanics (and some improvements of already existing ones).