Any tips for starting crews?

[Snorri]

I am pretty new at this and I have been starting crews lately sailing out of Padres. With the crew utility it seems to fill up with some random people pretty quickly but I have noticed that no one seems to speak. If they do they scream in local chat, other times they come aboard my ship and then leave the crew but stay on board.

Are there any tips to managing crews a bit better? Also why do most people never ever talk? Its like they have no chat interface at all when I try to talk to some people.

Thank you

[Eustace the Monk]

I try to only crew with people who are in my guild or on the friends list, so they are always chatting. It just irritates me too much to be on a crew like the one you mentioned. It does, however, limit the crews I can be on, since we are a guild of 36 and I only have 18 people on my friends list (8 from the guild). I guess I'm just too selective with who I keep on there. I wish I knew a better way to get a good crew for you.

Loot Hard!

[Chris]

yea i dont like crewing random people although it is nice to be abale to choose levels u want its very odd when someone u dont know is on your ship

[Shadow Cat]

LOL I tried random crewing to see what would happen when it came out... over the course of about half an hour I got NO ONE. Still can't get anyone on my crew to this day. XD

[Lucy]

once i made a few friends I just started sailing, the ones interested in manning a cannon show up, it just takes some time building trust with others, so that they know your good on a crew, cannon and or steering.

[Snorri]

Lucy you aren't the Lucy from DeosShadow are you?

And thank you all, hopefuly I will be able to establish a friends list from crewing more often . Not any on it yet and my guild is just starting so I'm alone there. Luckily with a few drinks dealing with the random strangers screaming to take the helm of my ship is getting a bit easier :P

[Lucy]

Since I don't know what Deoshadow is I'm guessing no, lol.

I used to jump at any chance to join a crew or let anyone from the docks join my sailing ventures. I'm pretty picky these days, if its my boat, I'm steering and I expect my gunners to follow directions and not shoot at everything, those people don't get crew'd the next time around. I'm also picky about who I gun for as well, I expect them to keep me informed about what there plan/target is and get us back to port with a full hull, kamakazi Captains don't do it for me, lol.

I'd rather have one good gunner than than ten trying to do what they want.

[Angel]

I would much rather crew with guildmates or friends. You never know what your gonna get for random crewing. I dont mind sailing but randomly shooting at everything and getting u sunk......noo

[Sarah]

Snorri, we all have to start somewhere. Remember that. Some ventures turn out great, you make new friends, and all have the same goal in mind. Others, not so much. But really, what are you losing?? A few bits of gold to repair your ship. At least you get to keep quest items even if you sink.

My bit of advise, if the pirates are around the same level as you, and are willing to crew, go for it. If the pirates are way above your level and willing to crew, go for it. If it's a level one pirate, and is willing to crew, go for it, and show them the ropes.

Lay out the rules before you shove off. You're the Captain, it's your ship. You are allowed to lay down some rules. "Only shoot at so-and-so" "Shoot what I call out" et al.
If you're the crew member, listen to the Captain. If the Captain ain't talking, ASK what they are looking for. If they don't answer, find a new one.

Lastly, try a Guild. Paruse the threads here and see if one catches your fancy. Many a time I've shouted out to guild members when I needed help sinkining something for a quest, and they ALL wanted to jump on board. Not enough cannons for all of ye! LOL!

Fair Winds Mate!

[Steely Jim]

I don't know if you meant specifically the new crew options, if so then just chalk this up to another idea for the bin, but I've had really good success with people met through this forum. The upshot is that even if you don't hear from people ho post regularly, you still often hear from people who read the forums, and the upshot there is you usually get players who already have some awareness of good crew etiquette because they read it here. I have to admit a lot of the crews I've sailed with started outside the POTCO Crews and Mateys forum here; however, with a little planning ahead, you find you have better luck picking up better random crew members.

For me, I sort of just accepted that I had no reason to own a war galleon unless I was going to take a crew aboard, and so I just started responding to random threads where people were looking to sail or needed sailing help.

[Moody Grimm]

I take any random gunner that comes along, and steer the ship like I am the only one aboard. That way, I stay out of range of enemy fire, while picking them off. The extra gunners are icing on the cake. My method fills the hull a little slower than others, but I get to shore with a full war galleon nearly every time.

[League]

Set limits to people who are within a decent level range close to you. 18 & up people are fine for me. Get ready to kick people out who don't do much to your liking.

Then again, some people like me just join a crew to make the most of XP.

[Mattress]

If you want crew but don't really care who you get then run into tortuga on the first server and shout "who wants to crew on my war ........." people normally come flocking, not really high level though.

If you want high level crew that have decent cannons then your best chance if probably your guild or befirend some high levels first and ask them if they want to go plundering.

[Lucy]

the only real issue with varied levels in your crew is cannon usage, if you have one or two players with lightning, chances are the onces with out will never get a shot in as they do not have the range the lightning has.

[Snorri]

Thank you all for the tips