Guide Misha's Guide to Ship Customization [2019 REVAMP]

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Misha

Site Founder
Hey there folks, and welcome to my guide on Ship Upgrades in TLOPO. The information in this guide relates to ship customization, which is unlocked upon obtaining a medium-class vessel, such as a Sloop.

Before we get started, I'd like to remind you that this guide uses sources such as the POTCO Wikia, and thus most of the information is likely correct. However, if you catch something that is outdated or incorrect, please reply as to let me know.

INTRODUCTION

Below are the direct calculations as to the price increase per ship and class, which can be used as reference in pricing for Gold and Materials. Do take note that all ship upgrades are consistent with the below chart, and will always be directly influenced by the type of ship you are driving.

Medium Class
Sloop - 100% Materials & Gold
Galleon - 125% Material & Gold
Frigate - 150% Material & Gold
Brig - 175% Material & Gold
War Class
War Sloop - 200% Material & Gold
War Galleon - 225% Material & Gold
War Frigate - 250% Material & Gold
War Brig - 275% Material & Gold

For those of you who are just starting your voyage in TLOPO, I would urge you to read the second portion of my High Seas Guide, explaining ship runs and other information that may become useful to you as you go along, found here.

TIER I - III UPGRADE PATHS

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The Streamlined tree is identified by the coaxed wind mark shown above, which is the top path and the first we will be discussing. It should be noted that this upgrade path is tied with Reinforced for the most material-heavy upgrades of Tiers 1 through 3, and takes heavy amounts of Oak and Pine to progress.

Streamlined ships can be identified from afar as the brightest marking a ship can have, sporting Beige primary that covers the main deck and the lower hull, as well as a set of Sea Blue stripes across the upper hull, as shown here:
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After progressing up to Tier 3, captains can upgrade Streamlined ships up one of two paths, being Firestorm and Storm Chaser.



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The Cargo tree is relatively self explanatory, marked by a chest being held on a levy. Especially useful for players who are looking to take the extra time to gather as much loot as possible, ships sporting cargo can have a maximum of 60% additional cargo which is calculated off of the ship's base cargo amount.

Currently, Galleons and Brigs benefit the most from the Cargo upgrade as they sport the highest base cargo, followed very closely behind by Frigates. As well, the Cargo upgrade is unique in that it takes minimal amounts of raw material, and instead is paid for primarily with gold, which is often easier to obtain in bulk.

Cargo upgrade ships can be identified as having a decorated and dark wooden hull, featuring additional planks aboard the deck and lower hull, including additional decor along the upper hull, shown here:
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Upon completion of Cargo III, Cargo Ships have three available upgrade paths that can be chosen, which are Fortune Hunter, Skull & Bones and Firestorm.

NOTE: Firestorm and Skull & Bones do NOT currently retain the additional cargo gained through the Cargo tree, and will instead be reduced back to the ship's respective base cargo.



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The final ship path that Users can pick is what you'd imagine a tank in any sort of MMORPG being. This thing eats hits and dishes right back out like no tomorrow! Ships in this upgrade tree get a massive 54% boost to the ship's armor while losing 10% of its speed.

Reinforced ships are identified by a purple-grey tint along the main deck and lower hull, along with a darker grey metal band spanning the entire upper hull area of the ship, as shown here:
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Completing Reinforced III grants access to either the Copperhead or Skull & Bones upgrades.​
 
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TIER IV - VI UPGRADES

It should be noted from this point on that I will be referring to upgrades that effect the shot that leaves your broadsides, not the cannon ammo. However, leveling up your cannon and upgrading the skill Barrage as well as the respective shot will increase the damage output.



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NOTE: Copperheads have recently been reverted to their POTCO counterparts, and will only ever shoot a single explosive from their broadsides, as opposed to the original TLOPO variant that was not capped out.

The behemoth upgrade of TLOPO, the Copperhead upgrade enhances your broadsides with the chance to lob a volatile explosive round at your opponents starting at a 5% chance at Tier 4, up to 15% at Tier 6. Once fully upgraded, Copperhead ships sport a maximum of 80% extra armor to your name as well.

Copperheads are easily one of the hardest upgrade trees to fulfill, as upgrading these ships take monumental amounts of Iron and Steel to complete, so you best be ready to start that grueling process early!

The looks and strength go right along with the power of this ship, Copperheads feature a Bronze reinforcement to the upper hull and main decks, as well as a dark green color scheme on the lower hull:
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NOTE: Copperheads retain the -10% overall speed reduction obtained from upgrading through the Reinforced upgrade tree, even if you were to switch from Skull and Bones to Copperhead post-upgrade.

EFFECTIVE RAMS FOR COPPERHEADS
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At current time, I would highly recommend the Steel Cannon Ram over the Priming Rams as the Critical round shot can consistently whittle your opponent down if you cannot seem to fire an Explosive.



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Skull and Bones begin your ship with a 15% chance to fire Fury from your broadsides at Tier 4, to a maximum of 50% at Tier 6. As well, this upgrade gives you marginal armor increases, up to a maximum of an extra 65%. The broadsides of this ship upgrade are rather consistent compared to the other hard-hitting broadsides, however, they aren't quite as potent as Stormchaser, for instance.

S&B ships follow the trend of looking intimidating as blazes when you see it, sporting a dark grey for the main deck as well as upper and lower hulls, and skulls with a gold trim along the interior design of the main deck:
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Being that this upgrade can be obtained through both the Reinforced and Cargo trees, you have a choice in whether you want to spend more gold or material to get to the same place.

EFFECTIVE RAMS FOR SKULL & BONES
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Steel Ram is a better value when using Skull & Bones, however, if you are gunning to increase the damage of your Fury, then you can't go wrong with Haunted Ram.



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Found solely after completing the grind through the material-heavy Streamlined tree, Stormchasers retain the speed bonuses applied through the aforementioned upgrades, as well as applying a starting 15% chance to fire Thunderbolt from the broadsides, to a maximum of 45% at Tier 6.

Whilst not the most expensive tree off the bat, upgrading a Stormchaser will dig into your Pine supplies and run you dry, so be sure to have an overabundance or start running for materials early on!

Stormchasers sport a darker blue and grey color scheme across the main deck, and a sea-to-navy blue across the upper to lower hull. As well, the interior design of the upgrade features lightning bolts to give an electrifying feel:
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EFFECTIVE RAMS FOR STORMCHASERS
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Typically I would also recommend Steel Ram, however, due to the high chance of Thunderbolt from the broadsides, it is recommended to try to use Phantom Ram if you have it.



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Fortune Hunter is an upgrade exclusive to the cargo tree and is essentially the equivalent of if someone doesn't want to part ways with Cargo's tremendous quantity upgrades, but wants to continue upgrading their ship.

Along with a marginal 10% armor increase after Tier 4, Fortune Hunter gives your vessel a chance of 15% to release firebrand at Tier 4, upped to 45% at Tier 6. This upgrade as stated prior retains that additional 50% cargo space.

Fortune Hunter vessels take on one of the most unique designs in the Caribbean, featuring a tar black deck and lower hull, and featuring the crimson and gold typically only found on Treasure Fleet escorts:
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EFFECTIVE RAMS FOR FORTUNE HUNTERS
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Unlike the Firestorm upgrade, Fortune Hunters can get away with not upgrading the Firebrand shot in correspondence with the broadside, instead opting in for Steel Cannon Ram due to the sub-50% broadside chance of Firebrand at max. It is still however recommended to upgrade your shot and use Cajun Ram if you have it.



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The overlooked love-child of Fortune Hunter and Streamlined, Firestorm upgrade is obtainable both through Streamlined and Cargo, similar to Skull & Bones can be managed to use either more Material or Gold to boot.

Sporting a 20% beginning chance to shoot Firebrand at Tier 4, Firestorms can hit a maximum of 60% at Tier 6! This upgrade sports an additional boost of speed, likely from Streamlined, as well as a noticeable boost in Turning, allowing for much sharper turns in combination with the Come About! skill.

Atop of this, Firestorm ships sport a deck and lower hull spotted with molten and charred wood, as well as a blazing decal along the interior and trimming:
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EFFECTIVE RAMS FOR FIRESTORMS
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As mentioned before, Firestorms are ride-or-die on the high Firebrand chance from its broadsides, meaning that it'd be foolish not to upgrade your cannons specifically for it and use a Cajun Ram if you own one. Steel Ram could still be used to somewhat effectiveness, but with much less value due to the extra 15% Firebrand compared to Fortune Hunter.


EDITS

v1.01 - Firestorm Image Updated for better resolution.
v1.02 - Reworked and adjusted the layout of the entire guide.
v1.03 - Reworded and adjusted different text to make it easier to follow.
v1.04 - Added Cannon Ram suggestions to certain upgrades.
v1.05 - Recreated the upgrade path photos to be at a higher quality.
v2.0 - Revamped the guide and imagery to be more consistent and to-the-point.
v2.01 - Removed Best-in-Class for a future guide.​
 
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Great guide as always Misha! I have a few nit-picky things to improve it though, mostly with the rams. As it is now, and as I understand it, Priming ram is slightly better than Iron Priming Ram (compound of less explosives and more round shots); Haunted Ram is better than Revenant Ram for Skull&Bones; and this wasn't the focus of your guide, but you mention that Skull & Bones can often do the most per broadside damage when it is actually now Stormchasers due to lightning shots on broadsides having a higher base damage than fury shots.
 
Great guide as always Misha! I have a few nit-picky things to improve it though, mostly with the rams. As it is now, and as I understand it, Priming ram is slightly better than Iron Priming Ram (compound of less explosives and more round shots); Haunted Ram is better than Revenant Ram for Skull&Bones; and this wasn't the focus of your guide, but you mention that Skull & Bones can often do the most per broadside damage when it is actually now Stormchasers due to lightning shots on broadsides having a higher base damage than fury shots.

Hey @Ned_Reddavis,

Firstly, Thank you! I appreciate the feedback and you are in fact correct.

I still believe that Iron Priming is simply better due to the extra point into explosive, but I will definitely put it up as a contender since it buffs equal parts of the broadside. I truly forgot also that Haunted Ram existed, and I appreciate you reminding me of that.

Thirdly, I didn't even think about Stormchaser, so I will take that extra portion down. Thanks again!
 
Amazing guide! As a proud owner of a War Frigate, I wanted to make sure I chose the perfect upgrade that suits my playstyle and this helped me choose! Im going Reinforced>Skull and Bones (or copperhead, depends if my style has changed by then :) ).
 
Amazing guide! As a proud owner of a War Frigate, I wanted to make sure I chose the perfect upgrade that suits my playstyle and this helped me choose! Im going Reinforced>Skull and Bones (or copperhead, depends if my style has changed by then :) ).

Ahoy @Owens,

I'm glad that I could help your verify your decision to continue upgrading your War Frigate! From personal experience, a War Frigate with Copperhead is fantastic, and I would recommend Copperhead down the road if you don't end up switching during your grind!

Thanks for the feedback! :D
 
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