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Offensive or Defensive Rigging for my Skull and Bones War Frigate?
- Thread starter AEM
- Start date
Pharaoh
Notorious Pirate
Your name immediately reminded of the car performance brand AEM(Advanced Engine Management) that I have experience with, anyway...
On the topic, what kind of sailing do you engage in mostly on said ship? Do you go into mat runs, loot runs, both, SvS? Depending on your style of sailing and what kind of tactics you use, adjust accordingly with either protecting your hull or boosting deck and broadside capabilities. Also take into consideration the stats that the Skull n Bones mod applies in terms of armor at levels IV, V, VI accordingly.
Hope this helped, I myself wish there was a way to have a "tryout" of a certain ship upgrade at no cost to see if its a good fit and then, if satisfied, purchase from shipwright for full price.
On the topic, what kind of sailing do you engage in mostly on said ship? Do you go into mat runs, loot runs, both, SvS? Depending on your style of sailing and what kind of tactics you use, adjust accordingly with either protecting your hull or boosting deck and broadside capabilities. Also take into consideration the stats that the Skull n Bones mod applies in terms of armor at levels IV, V, VI accordingly.
Hope this helped, I myself wish there was a way to have a "tryout" of a certain ship upgrade at no cost to see if its a good fit and then, if satisfied, purchase from shipwright for full price.
Captain Bren
Notorious Pirate
I think offensive rigging would be good for a S&B War Frigate, if you have your fury ammo maxed out as well, You really won't need to worry about the take cover command until a Treasure Fleet or a Battle-Royale... and the occasional Corsair.
AEM
Dockworker
Haha, yeah I know, but they do have good cold air intakes!
I plan on doing mat runs and SvS. And I totally agree we need to have a preview or trial of some sort because I have the blood red bandit sails and the offensive rigging makes the color look like dirt now.
Thanks, I haven't reached S&B just yet but I plan to and will retrain my cannon skills to max fury.
Sky Kiwi
Pirate Master
For PvP and SvS, leveling Open Fire above level 1 is only useful if you have a crew.
In PvE, Take Cover is only needed to absorb one broadside if you mess up. If you take another broadside, you're doing things horribly wrong, because you should have used the initial "Get Out Of Jail Free Card" of Take Cover to escape the situation you found yourself in. TC should only be used to make up for a mistake - otherwise, you shouldn't be getting hit anyway. So with that said, there's basically no reason to have TC above level 1 for PvE.
SvS is a different demon though. The enemy ships now have competent cannoneers, and you'll probably be taking shots the entire time you're dishing them out. So the important thing to note here is, which one benefits the most in their prime situation? If you're playing a friendly game of captains only (ie no gunners), having Take Cover above 1 is useless, just like PvE. However, if the enemy ship has cannoneers, and you're in a cutthroat battle for team glory, I believe Take Cover is much more potent than Open Fire. This is largely because Take Cover lasts almost twice as long. The damage reduction on Take Cover is astounding, and it's also worth noting that Take Cover actually benefits from levels above 5 - while Open Fire doesn't benefit at all from being over 5 at this time.
So basically, if you plan to be taking a lot of damage while you sail (which should ONLY be during SvS with gunners), take defensive. Otherwise, offensive.
In PvE, Take Cover is only needed to absorb one broadside if you mess up. If you take another broadside, you're doing things horribly wrong, because you should have used the initial "Get Out Of Jail Free Card" of Take Cover to escape the situation you found yourself in. TC should only be used to make up for a mistake - otherwise, you shouldn't be getting hit anyway. So with that said, there's basically no reason to have TC above level 1 for PvE.
SvS is a different demon though. The enemy ships now have competent cannoneers, and you'll probably be taking shots the entire time you're dishing them out. So the important thing to note here is, which one benefits the most in their prime situation? If you're playing a friendly game of captains only (ie no gunners), having Take Cover above 1 is useless, just like PvE. However, if the enemy ship has cannoneers, and you're in a cutthroat battle for team glory, I believe Take Cover is much more potent than Open Fire. This is largely because Take Cover lasts almost twice as long. The damage reduction on Take Cover is astounding, and it's also worth noting that Take Cover actually benefits from levels above 5 - while Open Fire doesn't benefit at all from being over 5 at this time.
So basically, if you plan to be taking a lot of damage while you sail (which should ONLY be during SvS with gunners), take defensive. Otherwise, offensive.
Eric Sailcutter
Pirate Lord
I favor the offensive rigging for The Skull and Bones because the broadsides are a bit on the weak side compared to a Copperhead and it has some boost to armor already. I like the Skull and Bones for two reasons: 1. the looks are wonderful for a pirate ship. and 2. tis a good all-around ship with middle of the road stats on just about everything. The offensive rigging just addresses the most serious of it's weaknesses. Sky is right however about using take cover for SvS, SvS is completely different. In SvS you will need to take cover in order to match up with faster and more maneuverable ships. The Skull and Bones will be outmaneuvered by all the other upgraded ships except copperheads, this requires take cover, planning ahead in your maneuvering, and a good crew if you are to do well.
Sky Kiwi
Pirate Master
I thought I mentioned it, but I guess not. You don't need to increase Open Fire at all for broadsides, that makes no difference. No matter what level your skills are, you can only get one broadside hit in during Open Fire, and since Open Fire levels only increase time and not power, that means an Open Fire 1 broadside is the same as an Open Fire 7 broadside.
If it's because you're having difficulty landing a full broadside during Open Fire, here's a trick - you don't need to call Open Fire before you shoot! Even if the cannonballs are not glowing, they still do extra damage if you have the Open Fire status on. What I do is I fire my broadside first (unless I'm super close), and wait to see if it's going to hit my target, and if it is I call Open Fire before the shots land.
AEM
Dockworker
I rarely play on my own ship for SvS (if there is anybody playing it) so I guess I'll just go with offensive rigging.
Haha, but sadly, back when I stopped playing POTCO, brigs weren't a thing so I never got to use it or fully appreciate it. I plan on a war brig for my second ship so maybe I'll use your advice for it.
Haha, but sadly, back when I stopped playing POTCO, brigs weren't a thing so I never got to use it or fully appreciate it. I plan on a war brig for my second ship so maybe I'll use your advice for it.
Squidgallows
Honorable Pirate
If you want a good defensive ship, go for the Copperhead War Galleon.
Eric Sailcutter
Pirate Lord
It is very true that both these skills are good at lvl 1 and that there are diminishing returns on ranking them higher. The rigging upgrades are just a bonus that gives you "free" points on them, you are obliged to take them. As I said before I favor open fire for loot and mat runs and because it gives your crew more fire power and gives you a chance to use both broadsides under open fire. I favor take cover for SvS because of the more nimble ships you will encounter there.
Eric Sailcutter
Pirate Lord
Oh,come now, "Crash " , this is a thread about rigging upgrades to the Skull and Bones War Frigate, something that I know quite a bit about, it's not about which upgrade path one should choose. I totally love all the different upgrades and wish I could have them all.
C
Crashalot
Eric, I know yer upset at choosing the wrong warship and rigging, and I understand that completely...
I'm just trying to help other pirates avoid the pit falls!
LOLOL!!! (<- that means I'm joking, of course...)
Eric Sailcutter
Pirate Lord
lol, I love your Stormchaser War Birg, though I would likely have used speed rigging for such a ship as it is a ship of extremes with a plenty powerful broadside already. Of course I have the mats to make any ship I would like and still choose to keep my Skull and Bones War Frigate. I like the look, the forward firing cannons, and the sturdiness of it. It is not a ship of extremes like your Stormchaser it is a good looking compromise and works well for its purpose as a crewing ship.
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C
Crashalot
Yes, your ship is tops! And you do sort of manage to sail it well enough...
Will Callecutter
Honorable Pirate
Hey, just wanted to point out that there is a way to do this. You need leadership, 5 points into taskmaster, and 5 points into open fire (the open fire points must be sailing points, because the boosts from riggings and sea items don't currently work). To do it:
1) Fire 1st broadside
2) Right before it hits, use open fire
3) Use leadership
4) Fire 2nd broadside
Due to the travel time of the cannonballs, the 2nd broadside must be targeted at a ship close by, otherwise open fire will run out.
If you want to target your first broadside at a ship at long range, there is an alternate method you can use which will give you more time to fire the second broadside. Fire your first at a ship at long range and use leadership immediately after. This will allow your broadside to reload as much as possible before you have to call in open fire. Don't do this for ships at short or medium range, otherwise you won't be able to use open fire in time.
I don't recommend this to anyone that never sails with a crew. Because this method requires leadership, which takes a long time to reload, you can't do this very often and it's not worth spending points on open fire just so you have the ability to do it. This is more of a little bonus for those who have open fire maxed anyway.