Expedition Fleets!

[combatlizzy]

Originally Posted by Sven Osymthe

No, they do not respawn.

Any thank goodness for that Sven

[CarribeanThunder]

Well, the Expedition Fleet had just launched again just now. We won yet again - my Dark Cobra is pretty maneuverable ( What else would you expect from a War Sloop? ).

I managed to sail my own ship without a crew - going from Cannons to Sailing in just a few seconds - never sinking. I also possibly managed to sink the Leviathan with an Explosive ( It was the last cannonball the Leviathan could take - it went down with a blast! ).

Here are some more pictures of this battle:

Edit: While I originally planned on getting a few shots, I ended up getting more than 14! This should be a good enough amount of pictures:

[Sven Osymthe]

Nice screens

I like the design for the EITC flags, it's a minor detail, but it makes the sails more interesting

[Rannulf]

I can't wait till this hits open!

[muffin pirate]

ct you really need to finish that quest

[MacIronhawk]

Wow, great screenshots Thunder!

I honestly can't wait until this hits open, because I'm sure me and my sloop on test wouldn't win.

[CarribeanThunder]

Originally Posted by muffin pirate

ct you really need to finish that quest

That's a little off topic.

Anyway, I don't want to finish the quest because I like the Harrow Staff better than the Vile Staff.

[Edward Edgemenace]

Dang. I still keep missing these. They sound very exciting!

When you are level 1 trying to sink that first navy ship, you learn to move your ship forward/backward with 4 second timing so that you don't get hit. When in the original boss battle, you can you that same 4 second forward/4 sec back to avoid all the shots from the 1st three forts.

I'm very curious to know if that same forward/back (with different timing?) works effectively on these guys. It seems to me from what I've heard, that avoiding the incoming shots is a life or death factor here. Is that an accurate assessment?

[Captain Whale]

Aye Edward that would be a correct assessment.

The problem with yer tactic in this situation is you are only avoiding one maybe two volleys. When you fire on one of the escorts or the SOTL they ALL will target you no matter where they are sitting and they have a very long range. A captain I was sailing with the other day used this tactic to stay at the front of the SOTL and it worked to some extent against it. The SOTL has no forward guns but we were taking fire from all the escorts as well and you just can't dodge it all.

The Tyrants however have front guns as they are Frigate class ships. 4 forward guns have the explosive ammo as well as the long range. This tactic doesn't work so well against them.

All of the Fleet ships seem to be able to target multiple enemies at once as well continue moving without sails. It was nice that they would divert fire to non pirate enemy ships but that has been removed so you have to watch your surroundings as well. We were taken out the other day by a Bloodhound using explosive shot from our rear.

I have yet to do one of these without sinking at least once. I have tried sailing around the fleet at range letting the crew fire with thunder rounds but we are still within broadside range of our targets. Not an easy prospect to be sure.

Captain Whale

[CarribeanThunder]

Aye, Captain Whale, all that is true. The Forward/Backward tactic works. However, with all the firing of Firebrand, Explosive and maybe an occasional Round Shot ( Or Chain Shot or Grapeshot if you get a Monarch/Phantom to latch on to you ), it's quite difficult to NOT get hit.

In most of those pictures ( And some others ), I had been sailing alone - in all of them ( With the exception of one or two pictures ), I am driving my War Sloop, the Shadow Cobra. I had not been sunk at any time in any of the Fleet Battles, but I did receive a lot of damage, and ended up porting every now and then to repair. I actually aim at getting pictures, as well as doing the most damage that I can possibly do, but in most cases, even as a Lv50 Pirate with Lv30 Cannons, I, and many, MANY others, do not do very much damage as:

1: Both the EITC Tyrant and the SotL ( EITC Tyrant = Lv69-71 : SotL = Lv79-81 )

2: Well, they ARE pretty large ships.

The one thing I would like is if Disney gave the EITC Tyrants the same War Frigate look/size that the original War Frigate Goliath had - meaning that the EITC Tyrants were as large as the original Goliath, not the size of any regular War frigate ( They ARE, after all, the protecters of the Ship Of The Line, you expect them NOT to look special? Well, they already DO have that extra darkened lining on their sides ).

Also, have you noticed a pattern in the new ships' levels?

Navy Bastion - Lv59-61
EITC Tyrant - Lv69-71
EITC SotL - Lv79-81
....Interesting...

[Edward Edgemenace]

Finally! And not just one, but a double! Two expedition fleets launched within a couple minutes of each other (1st expedition wasn't even past cutthroat when second launched.)

I had been sailing with a crew when I remembered some of the experiments I wanted to try. Tried to tell them not to board my ship, since I was trying weird stuff, but didn't have time to explain. So a lot of us went to jail. :-)

Oddly, the "light sloop up the aft" method worked remarkably well. I'm sure it only worked because there were so many other pirate ships pestering the Tyrants.



Yes, that's right...6 royals from the Level 81 Conqueror. (Light sloop only holds six...a crew mate on a frigate said they got 7 royals from that same ship sinking.)

[skullduggery bones]

Aye Ed but it would take you an age to take down the SOTL in yer lil ole sloop hehe!

[Tom Sharkwash]

Why is there a treasure chest on the Conqueror?

[KeeperOfTheCode]

El Patron's weapons, aye?

[Captain Whale]

Ahoy Tom,

The treasure chest marks the fleet as a target. It starts on the SOTL but if that is sunk it will transfer to one of the remaining escort ships. You must sink all the ships in the fleet to achieve victory.

Captain Whale