A query into ship building.

Waffles

Sea Legs
Greetings my brothers and sisters of completely legitimate financial gain. I, like many of us in this game, have decided to work on ship upgrades. I also, like many more of us in this game, have low funds. So I'd like some opinions from the community. I've narrowed my next ship upgrade down to one of three choices; a Fortune Hunter War Galleon for looting, a Copperhead War Brig, or a Storm Chaser War Brig. I do know each of these ships are unique from each other, so any opinions on which ship to fun first would be greatly appreciated. At first I thought the War Galleon since I could use the extra space to get more loot and get more gold to fund other ships... but I've found other ways of gold making that are much more lucrative... and legal in the eyes of the Navy. So, again, opinions please. :)
 
Copperhead War Brig is the most expensive combo you can do but definitely a pretty good one. Personally, I find the War Galleon too cumbersome, and adding a Fortune Hunter upgrade to it would make filling it up take forever. Out of those three I'd pick the Storm Chaser War Brig, least expensive upgrade path, while still having a very good ship. A Fortune Hunter War Brig wouldn't be a bad option either although that is kind of what everyone does.
 
I'd like to avoid a Fortune Hunter War Brig since I like the Brig as more of an assault ship, something with enough broadsides that I can use solo and enough top side cannons for a crew. I know the Frigate is viewed as the most attack orientated ship (skipping over light sloop since it can't be upgraded, sorry to those who love it) but I personally dislike the looks of it. And the Galleon is built such that its hard for the top cannons to hit much that isn't straight to its side....
So, all of that information as well as what you said considered... maybe do a Storm Chaser War Brig and then a Copper Head War Galleon? Fast assault craft and a heavy armored, high damage but slow bruiser of a ship.
 
All the ships in the game are great and it's hard to recommend one over any other except the Copperhead that has been screwed up by the developers seemingly because many SvSers have no clue how to deal with a slug with short range explosives. There're lots of considerations and in my opinion none should be overlooked I look at them in this order:
  1. My #1 consideration is looks, pick a ship that really appeals to you.
  2. Broadside power, the order should be 1) Copperhead, 2) Stormchaser, 3) Skull and Bones, 4) Firestorm, and 5) Treasure Hunter but since the Copperhead is messed up it is now #2, lol, pun intended. Ship type figures into this since sloops are a bit underpowered.
  3. Maneuverability, 1) Firestorm, 2) about equal Stormchaser and Treasure Hunter with the Stormchaser having the edge in speed and the Treasure Hunter in turning, 3) Skull and Bones, 4) Copperhead. Ship type figures here due to galleons being a bit sluggish.
  4. Hardiness, 1) Copperhead, 2) Skull and Bones, 3) Treasure Hunter, 4) equal Stormchaser and Firestorm. Ship type figures here with taller ships, galleons and brigs, being more fragile due to them being easier to hit but surprise, sloops have less hull but are hard to hit making them very reasonable in hardiness.
  5. Sailing items, charts and rams that you have or believe you can get in the near term.
All in all there is a lot to consider. There are many people that will tell you it's simple, just pick this, lol; to that I say poppycock, I can pretty much make any ship go great.

I will say that I personally am not a fan of Copperheads or any galleons due to their slowness and also not a fan of Treasure Hunters due to the huge cargo hold, it takes forever to fill, and weak broadsides. Of course you don't have to fill your hold every run so my complaint about the hold of Treasure Hunters is psychological and not real and I do admit that Treasure Hunters sail great, you need a good crew to make up for the weak broadsides but if you have friends that like to sail with you it may be the option for you, they are great all around performers.

There's a lot to be said for the Stormchasers, I think more people will recommend them than any other since their broadsides are the most powerful and they are the fastest, but they are a bit fragile.

I made the mistake of building a Firestorm War Sloop as it is the most maneuverable ship but ended up being dissatisfied with the weak broadsides that were really exposed when the 4th slot opened and I built a Firestorm War Brig. After seeing the speed and power of the Firestorm War Brig, it's amazing with the Cajun Ram, I switched my sloop to a Stormchaser, much more satisfying.

I could go on and on about ships as they are my passion in this game but I guess that I already threw so much stuff in here that it may not be super helpful. What ever you pick I'm sure it will be a gas to sail. Good luck and fair winds!
 
Actually, all of that information has been super helpful. Personally, based purely on cosmetic looks alone, I think the Skull and Bones looks best.. but if I take the broadsides and the ship sailing mechanics into consideration, Skull and Bones is only just above Firestorm.. which are just above no upgrades. My personal favorite based on those same sailing mechanics is Copperhead. I'd rather have a slower, tank of a ship that slides right up to another War Ship, takes a broadside like its nothing, and then just unloads a huge broadside of its own that cripples the enemy ship in a single salvo. Yes, this sounds a lot like having a personal SOTL even if its slower than a Galleon and does a full turn once every new moon. StormChasers are pretty close to that, but their armor is a lot weaker so not quite what I was looking for... not to mention I'd rather stack the StormChaser speed on a War Sloop because 26 knots travel time is lovely. I'm not really a fan of medium speed, high damage, I'd rather be slow, tanky, and deal high damage, or incredibly fast and agile with high damage.

So, @Eric Sailcutter , you seem like someone who enjoys the sailing and ship aspect of the game as much as I do.. what would you recommend for something that's hard hitting as well as incredibly tanky? Any ship type, any upgrades, just what would be a couple suggestions for tanky, heavy hitting ships? The Voodoo staffs of the ships, so to speak?
 
Actually, all of that information has been super helpful. Personally, based purely on cosmetic looks alone, I think the Skull and Bones looks best.. but if I take the broadsides and the ship sailing mechanics into consideration, Skull and Bones is only just above Firestorm.. which are just above no upgrades. My personal favorite based on those same sailing mechanics is Copperhead. I'd rather have a slower, tank of a ship that slides right up to another War Ship, takes a broadside like its nothing, and then just unloads a huge broadside of its own that cripples the enemy ship in a single salvo. Yes, this sounds a lot like having a personal SOTL even if its slower than a Galleon and does a full turn once every new moon. StormChasers are pretty close to that, but their armor is a lot weaker so not quite what I was looking for... not to mention I'd rather stack the StormChaser speed on a War Sloop because 26 knots travel time is lovely. I'm not really a fan of medium speed, high damage, I'd rather be slow, tanky, and deal high damage, or incredibly fast and agile with high damage.

So, @Eric Sailcutter , you seem like someone who enjoys the sailing and ship aspect of the game as much as I do.. what would you recommend for something that's hard hitting as well as incredibly tanky? Any ship type, any upgrades, just what would be a couple suggestions for tanky, heavy hitting ships? The Voodoo staffs of the ships, so to speak?
if not a Copperhead of some sort I’d go with the Skull and Bones War Frigate, I have one and a fits the bill with a Steel Ram. You can’t beat Copperheads for tankieness though. For me sailing is all about position and the slowness of the Copperhead just doesn’t get me where I want to be.
 
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Alright. Thank you for the input.
I'm thinking of making a Skull and Bones War Frigate, along with Storm Chaser War Brig and War Sloop, then most likely a Copperhead War Frigate. Have those be my 4 main ships, they maybe make some others on alts
 
Alright. Thank you for the input.
I'm thinking of making a Skull and Bones War Frigate, along with Storm Chaser War Brig and War Sloop, then most likely a Copperhead War Frigate. Have those be my 4 main ships, they maybe make some others on alts
All excellent choices that will give you some variety.
 
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