Frustration with Cannoneers

Dreadful

Dreadful

Notorious Pirate
So, I like to go on public ships sometimes and help out on material runs and such. It only actually goes well about ~50% of the time due to crashes, the captain docking, or just sinking. But it still goes well a lot of the time. However, when I open my ship up to the public, I almost always have less-than-good results.While I certainly crash at an annoying rate, I don't have trouble with docking or sinking. And the crashes, while frustrating, are not the main cause of my troubles. It seems to be my cannoneers. I guess in reality I usually don't exceed 4 or 5 people on my ship, but that should be enough for a decent material run.

But the cannoneers that I do have just seem to be generally.. not great. I'm not asking them to have level 30 cannon with fury maxed out and the best cannon rod available, but it would be nice if they could sink a ship before it can fire a good few broadsides at me. It also helps if they can hit from an awkward angle or a semi-long range. A lot of times, when I get on public ships, the captain will fight ships in a way that forces me to shoot at awkward angles, long ranges, or switch cannons/sides of the ship just to get a few hits in. But when I do, the ship usually gets sunk before it can do very much damage, and we're able to keep this kind of pace up allowing us to stay at sea longer. And in between battles, I'll repair any damage we took during the last fight.

I just wish everyone who boarded a public ship had this kind of common sense - switch sides if you have to, account for the movement of the ship (so many people miss shots because they're shooting where the ship is, rather than where it will be), and repair when you get a chance. It helps everyone on the ship, including yourself, because it helps the ships to go down faster and your ship to stay afloat. That's really the goal of any plundering run - stay afloat and sink stuff. But I rarely encounter a cannoneer who does these kinds of things instinctively and without needing to be asked/told. I never say anything, as I'd honestly rather just dock sooner than have to pester people about the stuff they're doing wrong, but it gets frustrating because I can't do material runs and level sailing at the same time anymore. If I want to get good loot out at sea, I have to board a public ship and just hope that at least some of the people there know what they're doing.

My frustrations originate in my personal inability to stay at sea for very long at all. The ship AI, as it is, doesn't really allow you to both dodge and get your cannoneers in a good position, so while I try to do both, I'm usually sacrificing at least part of one of those two things. It doesn't help that take cover and open fire are broken, either, but it also shouldn't be that big of an issue. I guess the tl;dr version is this: Don't board a public ship if you aren't going to repair, hit more than you miss, and just be a generally good cannoneer. I don't think that's asking for much, personally.

-end rant-
 
Dreadful said:
So, I like to go on public ships sometimes and help out on material runs and such. It only actually goes well about ~50% of the time due to crashes, the captain docking, or just sinking. But it still goes well a lot of the time. However, when I open my ship up to the public, I almost always have less-than-good results.While I certainly crash at an annoying rate, I don't have trouble with docking or sinking. And the crashes, while frustrating, are not the main cause of my troubles. It seems to be my cannoneers. I guess in reality I usually don't exceed 4 or 5 people on my ship, but that should be enough for a decent material run.

But the cannoneers that I do have just seem to be generally.. not great. I'm not asking them to have level 30 cannon with fury maxed out and the best cannon rod available, but it would be nice if they could sink a ship before it can fire a good few broadsides at me. It also helps if they can hit from an awkward angle or a semi-long range. A lot of times, when I get on public ships, the captain will fight ships in a way that forces me to shoot at awkward angles, long ranges, or switch cannons/sides of the ship just to get a few hits in. But when I do, the ship usually gets sunk before it can do very much damage, and we're able to keep this kind of pace up allowing us to stay at sea longer. And in between battles, I'll repair any damage we took during the last fight.

I just wish everyone who boarded a public ship had this kind of common sense - switch sides if you have to, account for the movement of the ship (so many people miss shots because they're shooting where the ship is, rather than where it will be), and repair when you get a chance. It helps everyone on the ship, including yourself, because it helps the ships to go down faster and your ship to stay afloat. That's really the goal of any plundering run - stay afloat and sink stuff. But I rarely encounter a cannoneer who does these kinds of things instinctively and without needing to be asked/told. I never say anything, as I'd honestly rather just dock sooner than have to pester people about the stuff they're doing wrong, but it gets frustrating because I can't do material runs and level sailing at the same time anymore. If I want to get good loot out at sea, I have to board a public ship and just hope that at least some of the people there know what they're doing.

My frustrations originate in my personal inability to stay at sea for very long at all. The ship AI, as it is, doesn't really allow you to both dodge and get your cannoneers in a good position, so while I try to do both, I'm usually sacrificing at least part of one of those two things. It doesn't help that take cover and open fire are broken, either, but it also shouldn't be that big of an issue. I guess the tl;dr version is this: Don't board a public ship if you aren't going to repair, hit more than you miss, and just be a generally good cannoneer. I don't think that's asking for much, personally.

-end rant-
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So very true and that is precisely why i avoid public ships and have my ship set to only allow one of two types of people. Guild mates and those on my friends list.

I still remember one of the times i dealt with a really new gunner (And i mean really new. I literally had to divide my attention between using ship abilities and giving him corrections I.E Aim up! Adjust Left! You're aiming to low! etc etc).

At most i probably focused at least 50% of my attention on this one person. Ouch.....
 
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You have to expect a certain number of newbies, because joining a crew is the only practical way to level that skill. If everyone could just let the captain start engagements with a solid long range broadside and not simultaneously snipe everything that comes into range, that'd be great.
:cannon:
 
I could be wrong here but:

Often times when I sailed I had your same exact question while I was on a wheel until I found out was they were actually hitting the ship, lag was just making their cannons appear to miss the enemy ship by a mile. I don't know why it does this but for some reason when you're on wheel, it makes your cannoneers looks like they can't hit anything even if it was right in front of them.
 
Stephen Teague said:
Often times when I sailed I had your same exact question while I was on a wheel until I found out was they were actually hitting the ship, lag was just making their cannons appear to miss the enemy ship by a mile. I don't know why it does this but for some reason when you're on wheel, it makes your cannoneers looks like they can't hit anything even if it was right in front of them.
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Likewise if you're on cannons and the captain seems to be throwing her ship around making it impossible to aim. Mostly lag.
 
Stephen Teague said:
I could be wrong here but:

Often times when I sailed I had your same exact question while I was on a wheel until I found out was they were actually hitting the ship, lag was just making their cannons appear to miss the enemy ship by a mile. I don't know why it does this but for some reason when you're on wheel, it makes your cannoneers looks like they can't hit anything even if it was right in front of them.
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Yeah, this is the case sometimes, but a lot of times the ships just aren't taking damage at all.
 
what I think the responsibility of a canon pick up is - and what I try to do
1. ask for crew and thank crew lead - skills and loot is a gift
2. if a cannon isnt avail repair, if no ships are in range repair and call out your repairing
3. if skills are low wait for broad sides to signal a target or a higher level to tag sails, try to get a feel for the arc of the ammo
4. keep eye on the compass, your helmsman is usually guiding you to the target
5. if you need ammo call it out and try to time it when no ships are in range
6. disengage guns before port
7. dont waste premium ammo unless you can hit hull or tear sails down
8. look for the weak spot (fire on hull) and target that even basic ammo will continue to penetrate and increase damage
Nothing is more rewarding than a sailing crew that works well together you can sail for hours and gain alot of loot and skill fast
and always thank your crew before departing
 
ceejay said:
The only way for guildless new players to get better is to practice by crewing public ships. I'm not sure what to tell you.
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Well, there is another way. You can take a light sloop out and use high sided navy ships for target practise (Not EITC, they have close range explosives) and their broadsides will sail harmlessly overhead. It's not hugely entertaining, mind.
 
I enjoy using the cannon and repair when its needed. I'm also pretty good at hitting ships at a distance and while on the move but unfortunately most of the time lag makes it near impossible to hit anything or predict a smooth movement of an enemy ship. I haven't been on public a while because players are starting to jump around the ship making lag even worse. And when the captain dc's someone takes the wheel and no matter how much I say keep the ship safe till capn returns they go into a nest of enemies and sink his ship. And so everyone looses the loot they have worked for and the captain will have to pay for a full repair of his ship when he gets back on. Another thing I've noticed that doesn't work is when the captain calls for repairs and most jump off cannon to do so, he/she starts attacking and taking more damage. This makes repair work futile as the ship is taking damage at the same rate as we are reparing..sometimes even more because now the captain has less on cannons OR pirates will stop repairing when they hear we are taking fire and go back to the cannons leaving the ship unrepaired. Just my observation.
 
I also try to work out whether the capn and crew are going for rep (strip sails first) or loot (go straight for the sink) as many times gone for sails for rep and been told I'm not sinking them fast enough lol and on other gone straight for hull and been told to go for sails to get rep.. So this being made clear in crew would be helpful to maintain order on shots.
 
LunaStorm said:
I enjoy using the cannon and repair when its needed. I'm also pretty good at hitting ships at a distance and while on the move but unfortunately most of the time lag makes it near impossible to hit anything or predict a smooth movement of an enemy ship. I haven't been on public a while because players are starting to jump around the ship making lag even worse. And when the captain dc's someone takes the wheel and no matter how much I say keep the ship safe till capn returns they go into a nest of enemies and sink his ship. And so everyone looses the loot they have worked for and the captain will have to pay for a full repair of his ship when he gets back on. Another thing I've noticed that doesn't work is when the captain calls for repairs and most jump off cannon to do so, he/she starts attacking and taking more damage. This makes repair work futile as the ship is taking damage at the same rate as we are reparing..sometimes even more because now the captain has less on cannons OR pirates will stop repairing when they hear we are taking fire and go back to the cannons leaving the ship unrepaired. Just my observation.
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YEA awesome point if you join a public sship ONLY take helm when asked to - OMG VERY VITAL point
 
Mharr said:
Well, there is another way. You can take a light sloop out and use high sided navy ships for target practise (Not EITC, they have close range explosives) and their broadsides will sail harmlessly overhead. It's not hugely entertaining, mind.
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LOL Not entertaining, too true. But it doesn't level your cannoneering, does it? Oh, wait, unless you mean to leave the wheel and go man your own cannon with no one piloting the ship? Hm, honestly that never occurred to me. And it probably wouldn't occur to a new player. Still, good point.
 
As someone who drove a lot in POTCO, and joined public ships a lot both in POTCO and here in TLOPO, much of what has been said can be fixed by the Captain. Simple requests (ok. commands) help a lot. So when driving I sometimes ask for repairs, and try to stay out of battles for 2 minutes. REPAIR PLS! Then BACK ON CANNONS PLS! Not hard. I generally don't ask for cannoneers to switch sides. Totally up to them.

When manning cannons, I watch to see if people are going for sails or just going for sinks. And I listen for commands like the ones above. I watch to see if I need to switch sides. And I stay away from ships with more crew than guns on one side. Since I am pretty good at most of the repair puzzles (except patching - ugh!) I don't mind repairing. I have no clue if the game rewards people for doing repairs - it should.

But yeah, you do get folks that seem that riding a ship is fun, shooting cannons is work, and repairing ships is drudgery. I truly hate that.
 
Dreadful said:
So, I like to go on public ships sometimes and help out on material runs and such. It only actually goes well about ~50% of the time due to crashes, the captain docking, or just sinking. But it still goes well a lot of the time. However, when I open my ship up to the public, I almost always have less-than-good results.While I certainly crash at an annoying rate, I don't have trouble with docking or sinking. And the crashes, while frustrating, are not the main cause of my troubles. It seems to be my cannoneers. I guess in reality I usually don't exceed 4 or 5 people on my ship, but that should be enough for a decent material run.

But the cannoneers that I do have just seem to be generally.. not great. I'm not asking them to have level 30 cannon with fury maxed out and the best cannon rod available, but it would be nice if they could sink a ship before it can fire a good few broadsides at me. It also helps if they can hit from an awkward angle or a semi-long range. A lot of times, when I get on public ships, the captain will fight ships in a way that forces me to shoot at awkward angles, long ranges, or switch cannons/sides of the ship just to get a few hits in. But when I do, the ship usually gets sunk before it can do very much damage, and we're able to keep this kind of pace up allowing us to stay at sea longer. And in between battles, I'll repair any damage we took during the last fight.

I just wish everyone who boarded a public ship had this kind of common sense - switch sides if you have to, account for the movement of the ship (so many people miss shots because they're shooting where the ship is, rather than where it will be), and repair when you get a chance. It helps everyone on the ship, including yourself, because it helps the ships to go down faster and your ship to stay afloat. That's really the goal of any plundering run - stay afloat and sink stuff. But I rarely encounter a cannoneer who does these kinds of things instinctively and without needing to be asked/told. I never say anything, as I'd honestly rather just dock sooner than have to pester people about the stuff they're doing wrong, but it gets frustrating because I can't do material runs and level sailing at the same time anymore. If I want to get good loot out at sea, I have to board a public ship and just hope that at least some of the people there know what they're doing.

My frustrations originate in my personal inability to stay at sea for very long at all. The ship AI, as it is, doesn't really allow you to both dodge and get your cannoneers in a good position, so while I try to do both, I'm usually sacrificing at least part of one of those two things. It doesn't help that take cover and open fire are broken, either, but it also shouldn't be that big of an issue. I guess the tl;dr version is this: Don't board a public ship if you aren't going to repair, hit more than you miss, and just be a generally good cannoneer. I don't think that's asking for much, personally.

-end rant-
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My advice; learn how to solo sail and rely on yourself. Then, no matter how bad your crew, you are in charge. You're the captain. If my crew repairs at a mediocre rate, I'm already ahead. If they sink a ship, even better. Be a better captain and you'll always find a better crew.
 
Crashalot said:
My advice; learn how to solo sail and rely on yourself. Then, no matter how bad your crew, you are in charge. You're the captain. If my crew repairs at a mediocre rate, I'm already ahead. If they sink a ship, even better. Be a better captain and you'll always find a better crew.
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I think I sail pretty well. As I've said before, to me, the current form of sailing due to the current ship AI is at best a frustrating mix of keeping out of enemy range and getting your crew good shots at the enemy. Usually, doing both isn't all that possible, and so either the crew will be getting poor shots or we'll be taking some damage. And while I can solo sail and be alright, having cannoneers speeds up the process, and helps tremendously against hunters. I mean, doing a solo mat run seems to be nigh impossible as it is, unless you're on a light sloop.
 
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