WilyJaymes
Honorable Pirate
Have you ever wanted to do a peaceful mat run away from the madness that pervades the waves of Abassa? I'll teach you how to do it. In this guide, I'll be describing, as well as illustrating, a maneuver that I developed which will help you and your crew dish out maximum damage to hunters & warships while taking none. The Loop of Death works with a crew, and even with going solo. *Only works on hunters & warships*
*Update* I have noticed that hunters seem to break away from the loop now. It appears to be due to a tweak in either their speed or turning radius. I'm using the same ship and build that I used when making this guide, so that is not a factor. Hunters will not mirror my turning speed, resulting in me out running them, becoming perpendicular, and their AI shifting. I'll need to test further to find a way around this.
To do this efficiently, you'll need two things:
1. Sharp turning
2. Powerful broadsides (if solo)
I would strongly recommend throwing some points into the tacking skill. You will need it. Here's my sailing build. Use it as a point of reference and customize to your liking.
What is the Loop of Death?
The basic idea behind this maneuver is to keep your ship in a continuous position of having ideal firing angles for both your crew and broadsides. Here's a brief description before you get to the illustration: Enemy ships are stupid. You can take advantage of that by forcing their bows to 'stick' to your side, while your ship will be at a slightly more acute angle relative to them. As a result, all of the enemy ship's shots will miss, but you and your crew will have the easiest opportunity to pummel it with everything you've got. Seriously, it'll be such an easy shot, even those level 6 people who scream "PoRt pOrt p0rT" will be able to hit the target.
Initiating the Loop:
Firstly, in order for this to work, both you and the enemy ship must be turning in the same direction. You may be thinking, "Oh, but that's a 50/50 deal. What if they don't cooperate?" I'll teach you how to get around that as well. The trick is to wait and let them come to you from behind. Let them make the first move, then copy it. While waiting for the next spawn, stop your ship, then position your stern to be facing one of the islands where they come from. When the approaching hunter gets close, it'll begin to turn. Pay close attention. As soon as you notice, you want to open your sails and mimic the movement. After that, it's as easy as holding down the A or D key.
Being tangled in the jaws of a copperhead war brig is a nasty thing. This scorned siren went down with one broadside. It may be different for you, but that's the cool thing. You can keep going in the loop until your broadsides are off cooldown and do it again, and again, until the target finally sinks.
When warships appear, the procedure isn't much different. Here's another picture though to clear up any possible issues you might encounter:
When I was working on getting these screenshots, I actually did mess up and turned too much. The Battle-Royale ending up shifting and I took a full explosive broadside...Should've hired a stuntman...
Do keep in mind that this probably will not work in crowded areas. Other sailors will likely not know what you're doing, and get in the way. Some catch on to the plan, but most don't.
Later on I would love to make a guide on fleet tactics - with more than one player. Sadly the conditions required to practice and develop techniques for that sort of thing are so rare. If any of you readers want to take a shot at it, let me know. Or, just keep an eye out for me on the sea. My two main ships are:
1. Shadow Queen - skull&bones war frigate
2. Iron Mariner - copperhead war brig
Anyhow, I hope the Loop of Death proves to be useful while on your non-party mat runs. Good luck, and thanks for reading!
*Update* I have noticed that hunters seem to break away from the loop now. It appears to be due to a tweak in either their speed or turning radius. I'm using the same ship and build that I used when making this guide, so that is not a factor. Hunters will not mirror my turning speed, resulting in me out running them, becoming perpendicular, and their AI shifting. I'll need to test further to find a way around this.
To do this efficiently, you'll need two things:
1. Sharp turning
2. Powerful broadsides (if solo)
I would strongly recommend throwing some points into the tacking skill. You will need it. Here's my sailing build. Use it as a point of reference and customize to your liking.
What is the Loop of Death?
The basic idea behind this maneuver is to keep your ship in a continuous position of having ideal firing angles for both your crew and broadsides. Here's a brief description before you get to the illustration: Enemy ships are stupid. You can take advantage of that by forcing their bows to 'stick' to your side, while your ship will be at a slightly more acute angle relative to them. As a result, all of the enemy ship's shots will miss, but you and your crew will have the easiest opportunity to pummel it with everything you've got. Seriously, it'll be such an easy shot, even those level 6 people who scream "PoRt pOrt p0rT" will be able to hit the target.
Initiating the Loop:
Firstly, in order for this to work, both you and the enemy ship must be turning in the same direction. You may be thinking, "Oh, but that's a 50/50 deal. What if they don't cooperate?" I'll teach you how to get around that as well. The trick is to wait and let them come to you from behind. Let them make the first move, then copy it. While waiting for the next spawn, stop your ship, then position your stern to be facing one of the islands where they come from. When the approaching hunter gets close, it'll begin to turn. Pay close attention. As soon as you notice, you want to open your sails and mimic the movement. After that, it's as easy as holding down the A or D key.
Being tangled in the jaws of a copperhead war brig is a nasty thing. This scorned siren went down with one broadside. It may be different for you, but that's the cool thing. You can keep going in the loop until your broadsides are off cooldown and do it again, and again, until the target finally sinks.
When warships appear, the procedure isn't much different. Here's another picture though to clear up any possible issues you might encounter:
When I was working on getting these screenshots, I actually did mess up and turned too much. The Battle-Royale ending up shifting and I took a full explosive broadside...Should've hired a stuntman...
Do keep in mind that this probably will not work in crowded areas. Other sailors will likely not know what you're doing, and get in the way. Some catch on to the plan, but most don't.
Later on I would love to make a guide on fleet tactics - with more than one player. Sadly the conditions required to practice and develop techniques for that sort of thing are so rare. If any of you readers want to take a shot at it, let me know. Or, just keep an eye out for me on the sea. My two main ships are:
1. Shadow Queen - skull&bones war frigate
2. Iron Mariner - copperhead war brig
Anyhow, I hope the Loop of Death proves to be useful while on your non-party mat runs. Good luck, and thanks for reading!
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