On Sailing

[Bartholomew Foulsteel]

How can you take on those big juicy flagships without getting sunk all the time? Well me hearties, here’s what ye need to know!

• Watch your ship damage status indicator. No, I’m not talking about the little bar that shows how damaged your ship is (although that is very important, too), I’m referring to the 3D ship indicator you have in the upper left of your screen. This indicator, well, it indicates where your ship is damaged. Click on it and move it around to inspect where your ship is damaged. Once you can tell where your ship is most damaged, don’t give the enemy the opportunity to shoot that same area. Enemy ships can sink you very quickly if you don’t pay attention to this critical indicator.

• Use your compass. I know many people don’t like the compass, and a lot of people actually turn it off. However your compass is the best way to:

o Remain situationally aware, and

o Line up your enemy for broadsides (see below).

• Adjust your point of view. I always zoom all the way out (roll the middle mouse wheel towards me) and take a higher point of view on my ships (right click and hold the mouse button, and move the mouse so I have a vantage point view aboive and behind my ship). I try to have the horizon bisect my compass so I can have an easy indicator of when enemy ships are directly 90* from me, which gives me better broadside attacks. It gives me a better all around view and allows me to better see in front of my ship—it really gets those pesky sails out of my way.

• Rotate your view while sailing to look around. Really, it’s okay. I look all over and see what ships are out there when I’m sailing. If you don’t look around, all you see is an angle off the front and then you have to sail in circles to get a good view of what ships are out there. Easy way to get back to the high and rear locked view? Hit the up arrow key.

• Check your map frequently. When things start getting hairy is a bad time to need to find out where the closest landfall is. Knowing where the nearest opportunity to dock is can make a difference between looting and swimming.

• Invest a point in Ramming Speed. Seriously, this skill will get you out of trouble fast! Ramming Speed makes you go twice as fast as Full Sail for half the time—in other words you’ll get as far away as you would with Full Sail, faster. This skill has saved my poop deck numerous times. There are few things as satisfying as using Ramming Speed, and then seeing those spectral cannon shots missing you because you just outran them!

• Attack enemy ships from the port (left) side. What difference can that make? Plenty! A vast majority of the time, when you have a side of your ship towards the enemy, and they’re barreling down on you, they will swerve to their port side, exposing their starboard (right) side broadsides and deck guns. If you are exposing your starboard side, they are going to get a couple of good shot in on you—and with some of these ships, that’s all it takes. However, if your port side is exposed, all you need to do is accelerate and you’ll stay to their fore. If you’re stopped, raise the sails; if you’re already sailing, use Full Sail or Ramming Speed and *poof*—free and clear for another series of broadsides.

Hope this helps out a bit. Fair sailing, mates!