Guide to Public Plundering

[Radulf_Stormfury]

Soooo......

I decided to give the new "public" boarding option a real effort today and I had a great deal of success with it. Here are a few things you might find helpful should you decide to give it a try.

What defines a successful public ship?
- Consistently full shipmate compliment
- Lots of cheers and "thank you's" from people
- Consistently large plunder hauls
- People have fun (most important)

I've learned just how rewarding it is to land with a full hold and a full deck and hear everyone's gratitude for the fun they had and the gold they made. It's just great

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Before you even launch, turn on the crew matching feature and set it so anyone can join. It will work best if you are already on a reasonably busy server. I will explain my reasoning later

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Now for some points to remember

* People will come and go, a LOT.
* YOU are the captain of YOUR ship.
* You will constantly have to "maintain" the crew. (see below)
* You may have to deal with "personalities"
* You must do everything you can to NOT get sunk
* Use local chat when on your ship
* Be nice and help people have fun

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Crew Maintenance

Not every member of your crew will be aboard your ship, and not everyone aboard your ship will be a member of your crew - know this!

* Again, you should have the crew matching feature active! This provides a somewhat reliable trickle of people for your crew and increases your chances of having a full compliment of shipmates!

You will find yourself getting VERY busy adding people to your crew as they trickle aboard your ship. In this case, the annoying crew icon (it's a tankard, NOT a mug) is very helpful in identifying whom on your ship is and is not a member of your crew. As for inviting people to your crew - you will likely have a LOT of new players on your ship, so if someone declines your invitation, it's likely he or she hit the wrong button. If someone declines, wait a few moments, then ask them again. Should they decline a second time, leave them be.

Invite people to your crew when your tactical situation permits. DO NOT get sunk just because you are trying to be helpful. Your crew tends to thin out fast if you get sunk (trust me).


At times, you will need to kick people out of your crew. Some reasons may include the following:

* Not boarding your ship at all.
* Launching his or her own ship even though it's painfully obvious that it's YOUR crew. This is rude, do not hesitate to kick people from your crew for it.
* Rude or inappropriate behavior

Dealing with "personalities"
Yes, you'll probably have to do it. Just plain and simple people skills will help you here. No special magic formula for this one.

Why have a crew? (see below)

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So, what makes people choose your public ship over another? Well, imagine you are a person about to board a public ship. Here are some things you may consider before making your choice.

* Ship Class,
I've had more full decks with my War Frigate than my War Galleon; probably because the Frigate has a much higher coolness factor than the "picnic basket that drives like a thrown brick." I think it's safe to say people would much rather board a War Frigate than any other ship class.

* Number of Crewmates already on board,
A ship with several people already on board is very attractive to people. Why? It shows that there are other people who like being on your ship; therefore, your potential crewmate may think he or she will like it too. The more people on your ship, the more people will want to board your ship. Now - having a crew increases the chances that people will stay with you for at least a few trips, thereby increasing your chances of having a full deck and a lot of fun!!!

* Amount of cargo already loaded,
It's a good idea to dunk a few ships as you set out; even if they're small. Having at least a few cargo slots filled with something shows that you can actually sink ships and make money/rep for your crew. You will do well to land as soon as possible once your hold is full. A ship hulking around with a full hold will not be attractive to people looking to line their pockets with gold.

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Getting Sunk

DO NOT get sunk. You must do everything you can to avoid this. Should you be sunk, you can expect your crew to dissipate.


Of course, having a full deck makes this far less likely

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I know this "guide" is nowhere near comprehensive, but it should at least be enough to get you started!

Have fun!!

Rad

[Kitfisto]

Very helpful, I can't seem to get a full crew. Will this apply in privateering crews?

[Rackat]

Originally Posted by Kitfisto

Very helpful, I can't seem to get a full crew. Will this apply in privateering crews?

The Privateering is a bit different, Kit. This is a very good guide for public "Hey, let's go make some gold" trips. With Privateering, you usually have to start with a couple of crew members before others will join. And honestly, most will not join a ship that is low on Score/Bounty. Every pirate likes to win, savvy?

For Privateering I would recommend the following:

- Privateer often, the more people see your ship, the more it will become "known"
- Always leave the Privateer crew recruit feature open so people can join your ship.
- Start with a crew of your friends/guildmates the first few times you go out. As your ship becomes known for doing good, it will become more "popular with those that only want to man a cannon rather than sail.

- If you go out by yourself, expect not to do very well. Most Privateers ships have some crew and the time between broadsides will get you sunk repeatedly and often.

[Arioch]

Privateering is a completely different situation for getting crew.

Your bounty has a lot to do with attracting crew as well as your current score.

If you start off and your score is ZERO but your bounty is 100 which is the current MAX for any single pirate starting off then that is a clear indication to potential crew that you are one pirate who does not sink very easily nor very often.

Plain and simple high bounty and high score in privateering attracts crew. Now if you are a seasoned pirate and well known you gather your own reputation and become famous or infamous depending on your habits. (those that are know and hated for glitching)

Not going to name any pirates as it will most surely be edited out but if you privateer a lot on abassa on andaba server you tend to recognize the names of the pirates that are very successful.

However a lot of those ships tend to not be open to the public at least not very often. You sorta gotta know someone to get on board.

If your good at sailing or cannon and you play a lot people will remember you

You can always use the french or spanish chat option to recruit crew members but as before your bounty and score will attract them but when doing this most important is to ASK for volunteers and not to whine or complain that you need crew as those that do rarely if ever get support.

A good captain never whines or complains or makes excuses .....he may curse and cuss whilst sinking but not whine or whimper in front of the crew.