Sailing Lessons

[musicalklutz]

Whoot!

The Dueces are out tonight
For an awesome night
Grab your rum
For a fun and dirty night!

Eh, that song needs some work, but whatever. Point is its a dueces night! Yay!

[Sarah]

Originally Posted by Eliza Creststeel

Remember mates, we're not here to JUDGE the various classes of vessel - but to help fellow pirates make the MOST of the ship they have.

Of COURSE!

Just a sailing lesson for those who need some pointers. No contest here. Beware, there may be some dirt throwing though...

[Basil Dreadflint]

For tonight, I plan to sail Frigates only. What we cover will apply to light, regular or War. We will deal with solo, small crew (5 or less), and large crew (9 or more). Believe it or not, I would never sail a frigate with a crew of 6 to 8.
We will discuss the differences in sailing for ships, for gold, for cannon rep, and for sailing rep.


Rather than try to cover all of this in chat, I have decided to post some of it here.

Some generic Sailing Guidelines:
(Remember, these are just guidelines, not hard and fast rules) There is no absolute 'right' or 'wrong' way to sail. Everyone has their own things they like or don't like.

Captains:
Know your ship! Make sure you know the location and the sight plan for every cannon. Some cannons have more range of motion than others. Depending on the ship, and the cannon placement, you get coverage differently. The Sloop has NO cannons that can shoot straight in front of you. The Upper rear cannons on a Galleon can, and so can the front guns on a Frigate. But they have different amounts of overlap. A captain should know the target area of every cannon. It means his crew gets the best shooting area.

Use your compass! Zoom in as tight as possible. If the ship is just on the edge of your compass, it is at the far reach of roundshot and fire. Beyond the egde of the compass, is thundershot only range. (This isn't absolutely true, but it is an effective way to do it.)

When sailing with a crew:
The size of the crew determines the best tactic to use.
The goal of the sailing also makes an impact on how the captain should handle the ship.

If your goal is to sink a certain number, quantity, of a certain size or type of ship, then you need to launch from the most convienent place. If you are after Corvettes, it makes no sense to launch from PDF. Make sure that the person who's quest you are on is in position to get some shots off on the enemy. It is usually preferable to have everyone gun from the same side of the ship. (If the crew and the ship are of the right size and type.)

Stay out away from the enemy ship. Frigates are not good for rapid raids, in-fighting, or extreme close range. Let your gunners tag it and have it approach you. It is easier to control your own position, and run away if you have to.
Gunners, if at all possible, on the first shot, don't shoot the enemy ship if it is facing you. Wait til it turns away. You get more shots in before it can approach you.


If your goal is for cannon rep for your crew, then the captain should place the ship in the position that the gunners can get the best shots. The captain also should NOT use broadsides, unless HIS/HER ship is in danger of sinking. The gunners should shoot their LOWEST damage shot as much as possible. The more hits it takes to sink the enemy ship, the higher the rep each gunner will earn. A real nice trick is to take out a flagship, then, after grappling, let the crew shoot it with grapeshot, chain and hooks for at least 3 minutes before boarding. Another item, the gunners should concentrate their fire to take the sails off the enemy ship first. Peeling the sails before doing any deck damage gets you way more rep, and immobilizes the enemy. This gives the captain the chance to refocus your fire in event another ship has spawned or approached you.

The gunners should respect the captain. If the captain says to stop shooting, do so. If the captain wishes to call out specific targets, the crew should not just randomly shoot anything that moves. Gunners also, Know how your captain is planning to operate. Some captains want to get some cannon time while sailing. If this is the case, then the captains guns, the ones on the wheel deck, are off limits to others.

The bump approach: (frigates only) I normally don't use this, but I know a few who do.
Use your speed, full sail and/or ramming speed, to run right up and slam into the side of the enemy ship. Drop sails for a second, the enemy ship will turn, you follow it. It will put your front guns right up the enemies back end. Your cannoneeers can just pick it apart. The downside to this is that you will definitely take some damage every time you run up to bump the enemy.

If your goal is nothing but gold, then everyone should shoot their highest level shot and then stop shooting just before the ship sinks. Let the captain finish the sinking using broadsides. This lets his treasure sense take effect, and it will increase the number of royals slightly. (This is a pure Plunder Party tactic.)

With a Frigate: I have found that the ideal crew size for a frigate is 2 to 5, and 9 or more.
If 2 to 5 total in crew, the captain can have all the gunners on the front guns. All enemy target ships should be dead in front. Let the enemy approach, and start backing up.(Down Arrow on kybd.) You can back up as fast as the enemy ship approaches, keeping them at a set distance. Once your gunners finish taking off the sails, stop backing up.
If 9 or more in crew: Split your guns to both sides. Try to keep them even. Now you can attack on both sides.

For crews of 6, 7, 8, or even 9. I prefer the Galleon. We can discuss that for the next time.

One last item: I may not make it ingame til around 9 Eastern. I apologize, but something came up RL.

[Basil Dreadflint]

Monday evening's sailing lessons went pretty well. Here is the results of what we did.

Sailing Solo

When sailing a frigate solo, you have a nice advantage. If you want to park and use the cannon, there is one on either side of you, and you don't have to run 'around' the staircase in order to use it.

Most enemy ships are better at turning clockwise than they are at turning CCW. Use your PORT (left) side cannons, and circle CCW around them in order to minimze them shooting back at you.

Also, use your sails to help you. Once in awhile, raise your sails and stop, pause for a few seconds, then drop the sails. The enemy will shoot behind you.

Remember, your broadsides can't shoot near as far as your manned cannons. Ideal range is about 3/4 the compass distance, when the compass has been zoomed in. That is close enough to do good damage, but far enough that the enemy has trouble finding you.

Try to stay in FRONT of the enemy ship. Don't circle so far around it that you are facing their broadsides. Again, use your sails to help you.

BROADSIDES

Broadsides (Bs) can only hit a certain angle. About 30 degrees in front of you, to about 60 degrees behind you. The most effective Bs is when the enemy is slightly behind you. About 15 degrees. Use your compass to guide you.


Sailing in small crew

Have your gunners use the front cannons. The Capt aims directly at the target enemy. Your gunners should tell you when they "Tag" the enemy.

As soon as you see the enemy health display, STOP. let the enemy ship come to you. Watch your compass, and when it is about 3 ship lengths in front of you (Compass distance) use the Down arrow key to start backing up. Keep backing up until either all the sails are removed, or until the enemy is sunk.

The Capt is responsible to watch for other enemy ships approaching from the sides, or behind. If something big starts hitting you, run forward, toward the original enemy. Use broadsides, or run right past him, if you have to. Don't risk losing what plunder you already have, just to get one more.

Sail for rep for the gunners. The person at the wheel will setup the gunners for the best shooting. (Even if the capt doesn't shoot, he will still earn rep.)
Next, we will sail for Gold. Let the gunners shoot the enemy, but just before the enemy sinks, the gunners stop shooting, and the Capt finishes the ship by broadsides. If the Capt has treasure sense, it provides extra royals if he does the final shot.



Sailing with a large crew

If you have up to 7 gunners, you can have everyone on one side of the ship. I use Starboard. Front right upper and lower, 3 on main deck, one on mid deck, and one on Capt's gun. The trick here is to place your ship at the right angle that everyone can hit the target. Knowing your guns and their range of motion is important.

Stop the ship. It is much easier for your gunners to hit a target coming right at them, than it is if you are circling. Keep your distance. Don't drive right up against the enemy ship.

If you have 6 or more Gunners, you can split them in half, and attack enemies on both sides. For 6 , 7, or 8 gunners, I prefer the Galleon, but the frigate can be pretty effective, too.

Once the crew goes above that limit, they are too big for the Gall, so then I come back to the frigate.

[JM Ohara]

Thanks for the lesson Basil! It's funny but as often as I sail solo I never thought to check the range toward the front on my captains guns. It was quite a shock to find they fire straight ahead too!

While I sail with a galleon rather than a frigate, yesterday I sailed with a small crew for rep and gold. I used the aiming from the frigate lesson to place my ship square in range for them, and they walked away with nearly 1,000 gold each for just two runs! (I have two points in Treasure Sense. Might be 3) Myself I came in just over a thousand. Cost of ship repairs total over both runs? 1 gold! And we took down a Dreadnoght and a Bohemoth without a scratch! This works great!

[Dr. Zeppers]

Interesting, but I find the enemy ships almost always turn counter clockwise.
That is, they turn to THEIR left.

So when sailing solo you turn around them counter clockwise (left broadside cannons blasting them, making a left hand circle) in similar fashion so their broadside cannons never come in line with your ship. (a real naval strategy/tactic referred to as Capping the T)

[Crazypirate]

Hum I have found that it all depends on your approach Zep sometimes the turn left sometimes right depnding on their relationship to you in the screenie the sloop is turning in a clockwise cirlce as I follow it

[Dr. Zeppers]

Well I almost never go after navy ferrets/vipers, my experience was with all the bigger game ships.
For example, ships that I have lured by cannon shot, coming straight at my boat always turn left/counterclockwise when they get close to my ship.
I've studied and counted on it, and used it to master cannons and sailing on 3 different pirates!

[davy redflint]

bring me dingy.....yes i still have it lol

[combatlizzy]

I also do alot of sailing by meself & I utilize a war galleon for that. Am not that great with a frigate due to lack of practice even though they are faster. But with the guild competition in the works, it makes it very difficult for this pirate to attend. But a great idea...

[lostmymarbles]

Btw Basil... nice job.

Everyone does seem to have their own way with sailing. And to be honest, I've mostly solo sailed.

But when sailing with a crew, if it's my crew, I prefer a small one with everyone on front guns. (just love that you can back up the ships)

Now though, when you graciously offer one of my baby pirates the helm of one of your warships, I'll have a clearer idea of your sailing strategy and can actually use it. (I'm always at odds as to what to do with a large crew.)

Personally regarding, purchasing ships.. I take the light sloop, buy the Frigate, buy the War Frigate, buy the War Galleon (sell the light sloop), then lastly buy the War Sloop (sell regular Frigate).

Thanks for putting this together. I'll be here for the next sailing. Let me know if you need any of my ships (can use Kelly or Cat that night)

[Eliza Creststeel]

Basil, this is awesome stuff you've posted. Just some random thoughts -

On the Ferret / Viper issue, you're never gonna' get a good haul by plowing through those mosquitos ('but, I might find spices' - no, you won't.) and try pulling beside one in a War Galleon... often times your broadsides will OVERSHOOT, LOL.

Something you touched on - one of my own commandments is to Trust Your Gunners! Trying to twist and turn to use broadsides will only make them miss and deck guns do a lot more damage - especially with a trained gunny work it. Let the enemies come to you.

One of my favorite Solo tactics is Serpentine. My initial broadside will get an enemy in pursuit then I simply turn in an S-pattern to bring broadsides to bear - fire - then turn hard over to switch sides. Excellent for taking down big boys with a regular sized vessel.

[Sven Niscadae]

Originally Posted by Eliza Creststeel

On the Ferret / Viper issue, you're never gonna' get a good haul by plowing through those mosquitos ('but, I might find spices' - no, you won't.) and try pulling beside one in a War Galleon... often times your broadsides will OVERSHOOT, LOL.

If you are finding yourself in a position where you are overshooting, you can raise your chances of hitting them with broadsides (if you are fairly close to them) by turning your ship away from the enemy ship thus tilting it and aiming your broadsides at a downward angle. Don't tilt the ship too far though as the broadsides may fire straight into the water. Not too useful if you're sailing optimally but it's something to keep in mind if you're ever in that situation.

Originally Posted by Eliza

Trying to twist and turn to use broadsides will only make them miss

Not to mention make them sea sick!

Originally Posted by Zep

Well I almost never go after navy ferrets/vipers, my experience was with all the bigger game ships.
For example, ships that I have lured by cannon shot, coming straight at my boat always turn left/counterclockwise when they get close to my ship.
I've studied and counted on it, and used it to master cannons and sailing on 3 different pirates!

I can verify that. I've noticed this behavior as well if they're coming straight at you.

[CarribeanThunder]

This Sailing/Driving lesson activity sounds fun. I may not be part of the DW guild, but I'd like to see this for my self ( I do, in fact, do close combat with my War Frigate, the Shadow Cobra, and I'm quite good at it. I have a good strategy for Close Combat, if you would like to know, say so! ). If I can come along, let me know everything I should know. Plus, I'll take a class or whatever you'd like to call it, to see how YOU guys sail. Why should I not learn more?
Anyway, thanks for reading...

[Sarah]

The sailing lesson nights are open to all. Check the thread for updates when we plan another.