Guide Charles Warmonk's Guide to Sailing

[Charles Warmonk]

Charles Warmonk’s Guide to Sailing​

This guide will be going over 5 most important aspects of sailing to be aware of in order of importance, explaining, and should be shared with players of any skill level. This guide is to make you the most effective sailor you can possible. I will start by explaining how to prepare yours pirate for sailing, ship control, sailing location, as well as a few advanced tips and tricks for different types of sailing goals. (Such as leveling, questing, loot runs, and the infamously grindy material runs.)

Spoiler: Disclaimer!

Disclaimer: This guide IS NOT on how to level, it is sailing effectiveness. Leveling guide for sailing will be covered in a different guide or expanded on this guide at a later time…

What should I know first? – Awareness of skill points and how they effect your sailing. Sailing is a more tactical system of combat than looting, meaning you must be aware of key components that will affect your skills. Such as what boost damage, damage type, accuracy, and ship navigation.

What boost ship’s Damage? – There are FOUR different factors that affect your broadsides damage;

1. The First, and most known one is your Left & Right Broadside skills on your sailing points. Once maxed, you will gain a 20% damage buff to all cannonballs released from them.

2. The second, is your ammo [cannon skill] level. Round shot is your basic cannonball of your ship's broadsides, if your Round shot is level 1, it will only do 259 to 517. However, when it is maxed, it will do 518 to 1035. [Doubling your broadsides damage]

3. The third would be your passive skills on Sailing, Cannon, and Grenade. [3 parts]​

A: On Sailing you’ll want the skill Taskmaster. This will improve your reload time of your broadsides by 15% at max rank.

B: On cannon, you’ll want Barrage at max rank for the 25% more bonus damage to ALL Cannonball & grenade types.

C: While on Grenade, you’ll want Demolitions which increases the Area of Effect [AOE] of your cannonballs and grenades. This will increase your accuracy to hit and is an irreplaceable skill if you loot with siege regardless.
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4. Forth and last thing is your level. Just the same as you deal lower damage to enemies with red tags, you will do less damage to higher level ships.

[Game Note: Unlike enemies, ships do not have color level tags like enemies. However, they have the same looting properties as looting on land. This means you’re likely to get BETTER loot from higher level ships than lower level ones.]​

Do you have Ship Recommendations? - Yes, as well as explanations for what each ship specialties.

Sloop: This ship lacks cargo, broadsides, and cannons. However, it is very useful for questing & getting from island to island quickly.

Galleon: This should should ONLY be used if you want to challenge yourself and are a solo player, the ship has the most broadsides in the game and most cargo space.

Frigate: A ship made for a large crew, if you don't wanna focus on killing ships by yourselves and have a lot of cremates, I'd recommend this ship.

Brig: This ship is a Jack of All Trades [Skill at all master of none].​

What Upgrade should I get? - That one depends on what you want to use your ship for...

Copperhead: -10% Speed, 80% more armor, and 15% Explosive chance. - Very good for solo material runs and solo SvS.

Skull & Crossbones: 10% more turning, 65% more armor and 50% Fury chance. - A well balanced upgrade for all aspects of the game.

Fortune Hunter: 10% more speed, 10% more turning, 50% more cargo, 45% Firebrand chance. - Really only good if you have a large crew and want to do long material runs without porting.

Firestorm: 20% more turning, 14% more speed, 60% Firebrand chance. - Don't get this... it's just bad.

Storm Chaser: 10% more turning, 20% more speed, 45% Thunderbolt chance. - This upgrade is nearly identical to Skull & Crossbones, but it gives a bit of armor away for speed, and actually is still in testing if it does more damage than Fury. [Currently in testing...]​

What Rigging should I get? - Between Full Sail, Open Fire, and Take Cover.

Each skill can be upgraded twice and directly gives anyone on the ship a +2 boost the the specialized skill. However, due to the very minor few seconds it gives to Open Fire, I would simply suggest investing in Full Sail for optimal speed or Take Cover if you are still an inexperienced or leveling sailor. My Reasoning beyond this is, rank 7 Open Fire doesn't last long enough to shoot 2 broadsides... so you gain nothing from any boost past rank 5.

[Game Note: Each Rigging type changes the shade of your ships coloring... many people choose their Rigging to make their hull Darker/Lighter to create their own "style" of ship instead of paying attention to the buff it gives.]​

Ok, how do I actually get my broadsides to HIT things now? T_T - Well, this one is a bit complicated to explain in words... so allow me to give you a few examples with some picture examples.

The first thing I want to make clear, is ships do not target where a ship is AT, but were they are going to be in the next 2 seconds. Meaning they predict were the ship is going.

Spoiler: Example of aiming.

I missed...

[Game Note: This is why when targeting a hunter/warship in hyper sonic, your broadsides will aim directly behind you or shoot really far away. Because if the hunter was staying at his hyper sonic speed, that's were he would be in 2 seconds.]
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Now that you know this, here is an advanced tip on how to see your ships range/target radius. The first thing you want to do is have your compass on zoom x3. [Fully zoomed in] Then you want to take a quick look at this picture below, you can reach as far as 80% of the compass's range, [All ships have the same range] Yes, the broadsides will sometimes aim OUTSIDE this range, because it will predict were the ship is going in 2 seconds. However, they have to be within this yellow radius in order to be targeted.

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Broadsides Range & Radius

How to make broadsides hit 100% of the time - Got you interested now huh? How to get your broadsides shots to always hit is simply for non-hunter/warships.

Don't let them aggro onto you. As I just explained above, the broadsides predict were the ship will be and THEN shoot. So all you have to do is stay out of their range, fire 1 shot off and sink them! But, how do you tell the range a ship aggros onto you? The compass!

All you have to do is have your compass zoomed in x3. [Fully zoomed] and keep them out of the 30% size of the ships radius! [Picture provided]

[Game Note: All ships aggro at the same distance.]​

Great! Now where can I find some good ships to farm! - There are 4 popular locations that are fantastic for all sailors!

You want to start either behind Kingshead, or behind Tormenta. Then you want to do a round around the back of your respected starting point heading barely in front, or behind Del Fuego and to the other starting point. As shown here on the map provided.

[Game Note: The highest level ships in the share spawn points behind Tormenta and Del Feugo, so if you don't see a Juggernaut behind Tormenta, it's likely behind Del Feugo and visa versa.]
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That's all I have for you now! Sadly I am pressed for time and created this over the weekend! It will likely be subject to change/edits in the future so make sure to keep a weathered eye out!

If you have ANY questions, comments, or concerns please leave a comment below and I would be more than HAPPY to provide any clarity as requested.

 

[Beggar]

Full Sail rigging is the best because it makes your sails bright and shiny!

 

[Ben Phantomfox]

Who doesn't like bright and shiny sails?

 

[Eric Sailcutter]

A lot of things in this that I don't agree with and many others that may depend on what you want out of your ship. To say that any of the ships are better or worse in a general sense is wrong, quite surprisingly, Disney did a fantastic job balancing the ships and their upgrades, much better than land combat in this regard. You will find that Stormchaser broadsides are in fact much more powerful than Skull and Bones ones by the way, you can see that by simple calculation and confirm it easily by experimentation. Of course there is a lot that is right or generally what I would do for general sailing in this guide also. Additionally, sailing skill allocation is much more forgiving and less effective, for the same reason, than other skill builds are as to how effective you can be. I find very little difference in my performance between 25 points allocated vs 30 points.

 

[Crashalot]

A lot of things in this that I don't agree with and many others that may depend on what you want out of your ship. To say that any of the ships are better or worse in a general sense is wrong, quite surprisingly, Disney did a fantastic job balancing the ships and their upgrades, much better than land combat in this regard. You will find that Stormchaser broadsides are in fact much more powerful than Skull and Bones ones by the way, you can see that by simple calculation and confirm it easily by experimentation. Of course there is a lot that is right or generally what I would do for general sailing in this guide also. Additionally, sailing skill allocation is much more forgiving and less effective, for the same reason, than other skill builds are as to how effective you can be. I find very little difference in my performance between 25 points allocated vs 30 points.

Agreed on all counts.
The ships all have pros and cons and each player decides what they like and there's no best option.
I always choose the Storm Chaser for speed and power, the Copperhead for power and armor and the Skull and Bones for the heck of it.
All my ships are always war brigs, because it's how I like to sail.
And as Eric has stated, simple math determines the power each shot has. A single thunderbolt is more powerful than a single fury.
EDIT 50% fury means you get 50 furies out of 100 shot.
45% thunderbolt is the same math, 45 bolts for every 100 shots.
Since each thunderbolt is stronger than each fury, there's really no argument here.
Math does not lie.
However, it all depends on the skill points you give each ammo type.
My comment assumes all ammo types mentioned are at max value.

 

[Charles Warmonk]

Agreed on all counts.
The ships all have pros and cons and each player decides what they like and there's no best option.
I always choose the Storm Chaser for speed and power, the Copperhead for power and armor and the Skull and Bones for the heck of it.
All my ships are always war brigs, because it's how I like to sail.
And as Eric has stated, simple math determines the power each shot has. A single thunderbolt is more powerful than a single fury.
45% fury means you get 45 furies out of 100 shot.
45% thunderbolt is the same math.
Since each thunderbolt is stronger than each fury, there's really no argument here.
Math does not lie.
However, it all depends on the skill points you give each ammo type.
My comment assumes all ammo types mentioned are at max value.

But you get 50% Fury.
Also, Skull & Bones gives you more armor.
When on LOOT runs, you want consistent sinks. - Thunderbolt might be stronger over time, but not as consist of sinks as Skull & Bones.

 

[Crashalot]

But you get 50% Fury.
Also, Skull & Bones gives you more armor.
When on LOOT runs, you want consistent sinks. - Thunderbolt might be stronger over time, but not as consist of sinks as Skull & Bones.

The math still doesn't add up Charles. Fury is less powerful than thunderbolt.
The thunderbolt is more powerful shot per shot.
Perhaps you're confusing when on cannons, where for each reload you get 3 furies and only 1 thunderbolt?
Also, do you have max cannon skill points on the ammo for each?
I have both ships at level 6 war brig.
Only the storm chaser level 6 will sink any npc ship out there consistently, every time, not counting warships and hunters, in one shot. There's no "over time" factor. One shot, one kill, every time.
The skull and bones does a nice job, but it's not always a 100% kill every time you shoot.
It's math.
And I didn't mention armor in that equation above, btw.
I have no use for armor personally.

 

[Charles Warmonk]

The math still doesn't add up Charles. Fury is less powerful than thunderbolt.
The thunderbolt is more powerful shot per shot.
Perhaps you're confusing when on cannons, where for each reload you get 3 furies and only 1 thunderbolt?
Also, do you have max cannon skill points on the ammo for each?
I have both ships at level 6 war brig.
Only the storm chaser level 6 will sink any npc ship out there consistently, every time, not counting warships and hunters, in one shot. There's no "over time" factor. One shot, one kill, every time.
The skull and bones does a nice job, but it's not always a 100% kill every time you shoot.
It's math.
And I didn't mention armor in that equation above, btw.
I have no use for armor personally.

Did you see me say Fury was stronger above? I said it was in testing, I think you are all missing the objective of this guide... >.>

 

[Crashalot]

Did you see me say Fury was stronger above? I said it was in testing, I think you are all missing the objective of this guide... >.>

Charles, all I said was it's math.

 

[Eric Sailcutter]

But you get 50% Fury.
Also, Skull & Bones gives you more armor.
When on LOOT runs, you want consistent sinks. - Thunderbolt might be stronger over time, but not as consist of sinks as Skull & Bones.

Stormchasers are more consistent than Skull and Bones in war class ships for sure, in regular class I'm not absolutely sure, as I've not sailed regular class Skull and Bones, but still think they are pretty surely more reliable. Your chance of wiffing is not much different with 45% vs 50% of each shot and thunderbolt is twice as powerful a shot so there really is no room for debate, all you need do is check the math and test it in game to easily see the difference. I'm not talking about armor here at all and you are right to point out that Stormchasers are more fragile, as I said earlier: the ship balance is excellent in this game.

 

[Charles Warmonk]

Stormchasers are more consistent than Skull and Bones in war class ships for sure, in regular class I'm not absolutely sure, as I've not sailed regular class Skull and Bones, but still think they are pretty surely more reliable. Your chance of wiffing is not much different with 45% vs 50% of each shot and thunderbolt is twice as powerful a shot so there really is no room for debate, all you need do is check the math and test it in game to easily see the difference. I'm not talking about armor here at all and you are right to point out that Stormchasers are more fragile, as I said earlier: the ship balance is excellent in this game.

I won't discuss this further because it's not the reason of the guide to debate what upgrade is better. It's telling you how to sail better and RECOMMENDATIONS. [Meaning personal input at the end.]