Post Thy Cannon Build...
 

It seems like the "Post Your Build" Threads are fairly popular on here and a good way to help out new players with avoiding some mistakes.
I know it did for me. It also serves as bragging rights for the Vets.

Unfortunately I haven't seen one here focusing specifically on the cannon skills.
(If I missed it someone point me to it please)
:bookishfj7:

So...
Post your build and Discuss...

:pirate41:
Cannon

-=Combat Skill=-
(*/5) Shoot
-=Ammo=-
(*/5) Round Shot - 450 to 900 damage Maxed
(*/5) Chain Shot
(*/5) Grape Shot
(*/5) Firebrand
(*/5) Thunderbolt - 1050 to 2100 damage Maxed
(*/5) Explosive
(*/5) Fury - 855 to 1710 damage Maxed
-=Passive Skills=-
(*/5) Rapid Reload
(*/5) Barrage
(*/5) Shrapnel
(*/26) Total


:skull:Here's Mine @ Lv16 Cannon:skull:
-=Combat Skill=-
(2/5) Shoot
-=Ammo=-
(2/5) Round Shot
(*/5) Chain Shot
(*/5) Grape Shot
(1/5) Firebrand
(5/5) Thunderbolt
(*/5) Explosive
(*/5) Fury
-=Passive Skills=-
(5/5) Rapid Reload
(1/5) Barrage
(*/5) Shrapnel
(*/26) Total

I've been hoarding the points since I'm unsure if I'm gonna dump them into passives or ammo skills yet.

:ss_pirate_ship:

(2/5) Shoot
(5/5) Round Shot
(0/5) Chain Shot
(1/5) Grape Shot (Good for boarding the new skel flagships)
(1/5) Firebrand
(5/5) Thunderbolt
(0/5) Explosive (Massive damage but has slow loading and bad aim)
(5/5) Fury
-=Passive Skills=-
(3/5) Rapid Reload
(3/5) Barrage
(0/5) Shrapnel
(26/26) Total

So is rapid reload and barrage really noticeable?

Rapid reload is very useful if you want to be able to fire a volley quickly enough

-=Combat Skill=-
(3/5) Shoot
-=Ammo=-
(4/5) Round Shot - 450 to 900 damage Maxed
(0/5) Chain Shot
(0/5) Grape Shot
(0/5) Firebrand
(5/5) Thunderbolt - 1050 to 2100 damage Maxed
(0/5) Explosive
(5/5) Fury - 855 to 1710 damage Maxed
-=Passive Skills=-
(5/5) Rapid Reload
(*/5) Barrage
(*/5) Shrapnel
(*/25) Total

I'm only 21 in cannon, so that's why there are 4 missing.

I'm planning on maxing Round Shot. Haven't decided what to do with the rest.

And yes, rapid reload is very noticeable.

Aye, Playin around with thunderbolt I can see where the quicker re-load time is handy.

Does Fury allow you more than one shot at a time?
Seems like for a skill that does less max damage than a skill that opens many levels earlier it should have a better bonus.

*Planned Build*

-=Combat Skill=-
(1/5) Shoot
-=Ammo=-
(1/5) Round Shot
(0/5) Chain Shot
(5/5) Grape Shot
(0/5) Firebrand
(0/5) Thunderbolt
(0/5) Explosive
(5/5) Fury
-=Passive Skills=-
(5/5) Rapid Reload
(5/5) Barrage
(5/5) Shrapnel
(27/26) Total

Well that sucks... perhaps a point'll come out of Shrapnel. Who knows?

Not sure on my build, haven't looked at it in a few days. I know I have lightning maxed, 1 on fire, 1 on explosive and 4/5 on fury. Last point will be going on fury, I am at lvl 24 atm. Rapid reload is noticeable. And fury shots, you get 3 at a time like others.

Yes, you can fire 3 at a time, just like round shot. The screen goes white when you fire, so you're blind for a fraction of a second after firing. A bit distracting, but nothing worse than that.

The Shoot skill reduces the time between each of those 3 shots. I have Shoot at 3, and it fires pretty much as fast as I can click the mouse.

My first pirate had it at 4, but I can only click so fast, and decided to see if I could save a point. The difference doesn't seem to be that much. I don't have to wait before I can fire, like I did when it was at 2.

So Fire kinda does the same thing like youre saying fury does?
Big red blast when it comes out or longer and bigger?

Anyone know the max damages for chain, grape, fire, and explosive?

And for those with shrapnel...
Is it worth a point just to have your cannon balls explode?
In theory it sounds good. Exploding balls seems like more damage for a skill you already possess.
Do they explode as it comes out or on impact?
Does it lessen the range?

It's a big white blast, not a big red blast.

I didn't put any points into chain, grape, fire or explosive. Not worth it, IMHO.

Here is Ali's:

(1/5) Shoot
(4/5) Round Shot
(1/5) Chain Shot
(1/5) Grape Shot
(3/5) Firebrand
(5/5) Thunderbolt
(1/5) Explosive
(5/5) Fury
(0/5) Rapid Reload
(0/5) Barrage
(1/5) Shrapnel

She's at 24, so I actually have points to mess with if I want, but I don't really need them. :)

(2/5) Shoot
(4/5) Round Shot
(2/5) Chain Shot
(*/5) Grape Shot
(1/5) Firebrand
(1/5) Thunderbolt
(1/5) Explosive
(*/5) Fury
(3/5) Rapid Reload
(3/5) Barrage
(1/5) Shrapnel

I would like to max out Thunderbolt, Rapid Reload, Barrage and Round Shot (free balls are always good)

Debating on Fury if it is worth it or not. I regret Explosive but had to try it.

I think fury doing 400 points less than t-bolt but being able to rapidly fire off 3 shots of it with the same reload time as t-bolt makes it way worth it.

Yeah the range may not be the same but it seems like the massive damage in such a short amount of time when you need it in close situations makes it worth it.

I hit Level 20 on cannons today and this is exactly the info I needed. Thanks to all who posted (especially Bilgepump whose builds I seem to be copying for every weapon!). I had skill points saved up so I sunk all 5 of them in Fury as soon as I got it today and I am not disappointed. I now use Thunderbolts to draw ships in and Fury to finish them off.

I also wasn't sure about Rapid Reload as I hadn't noticed much difference putting two points in it. Today I maxed it (5/5) and it now makes a HUGE difference. I actually "accidentally" finished off a Man-O-War I was trying to draw in with Thunderbolts b/c they were firing so fast that I pumped two extra shots into the ship I had not planned on!

Maxed Rapid Reload definitely makes Fury worth it. It allows you to get three shots off right after each other thus doing 2565-5130 total damage for the three shots.

I don't mind the point I put in Firebrand (it helped me to level) but Chain Shot was a complete waste. I was never able to take down a mast with it whereas I now do it with ease with Thunderbolt. I have nothing in Grape Shot and don't need it. Someone mentioned it helped when boarding ships but that isn't a problem for me. When I was a n00b, I couldn't hit the side of a barn with a cannonball, but as I have leveled, my aim has improved dramatically. Therefore if I need to kill enemies before boarding a ship, I simply do it with Round Shot (or perhaps Firebrand). After all, you have 5 minutes to board a ship which is plenty of time to shoot anyone on deck.

Everyone says Explosive is a waste so I skipped it. I don't see the usefulness of Shrapnel. I am going to have to use my remaining points somewhere so they may go in Barrage only b/c there is nothing left.

So that leaves me with:
-=Combat Skill=-
(2/5) Shoot
-=Ammo=-
(1/5) Round Shot
(1/5) Chain Shot (ugh)
(0/5) Grape Shot
(1/5) Firebrand
(5/5) Thunderbolt
(0/5) Explosive
(5/5) Fury
-=Passive Skills=-
(5/5) Rapid Reload
(0/5) Barrage
(0/5) Shrapnel
(19/20) Total

Barrage seems good since it ups the percentage of damage done with what i'm assuming is ALL your cannon ammo.

Would be a shame if it only helped the cannon balls meaning round shot.

I agree with you on the rapid re-load. Dumped 5 points into it and it does well.

Just hit lv16 today so its time to save for max fury when it opens.

Not sure if I'll put anymore into Shoot since it says it ups the shooting speed by 25% right now. How fast do you really need to pump off three shots. Seems like it shoots fast enough as it is right now.

Not sure about anymore into round shot either. With 150+ shots of T-bolt, Fury and Firebrand do you really ever use the round shot anymore? Boat gets full before I'm out of ammo so I just take a trip back to the shop. Yeah they cost money and round shot is free but money well spent in my opinion. Rather put the points into an overall damage bonus like barrage then stock it up in one type of ammo thats rarely used.

It helped me level up with two points but I wish I could have one back now. On shoot as well. I woulda put them into shrapnel and explosive just to unlock them.

*New Planned Build*

-=Combat Skill=-
(2/5) Shoot
-=Ammo=-
(1/5) Round Shot
(0/5) Chain Shot
(5/5) Grape Shot
(0/5) Firebrand
(5/5) Thunderbolt
(0/5) Explosive
(5/5) Fury
-=Passive Skills=-
(*/5) Rapid Reload
(5/5) Barrage
(*/5) Shrapnel
(23*/26) Total

That leaves 3*, with deviant info at the astericks' placings. Sadly, to up to shrapnel and a fast enough reload for the Thunder, I may have to take out points from something else. Shoot @2 I find fast enough, so I'm thinking that it'll have to come from the grape shot...

Grape shot is pretty much useless.

No matter how many people you shoot they will keep coming till you board.

I'm awaiting for ship PvP. Granted, all points dedicated have only been alloted on my Test Pirate (not on a Test Server, mind you). My other pirates have a sitting wealth of skill points, namely the namesake League, who has sailed alot with the Gads (Yea Yea!).

According to its description, it disables an enemy.

Cannon

-=Combat Skill=-
(3/5) Shoot - to shoot Fury faster
-=Ammo=-
(1/5) Round Shot - 450 to 900 damage Maxed - hafta get to Fury somehow
(*/5) Chain Shot
(*/5) Grape Shot
(*/5) Firebrand
(5/5) Thunderbolt - 1050 to 2100 damage Maxed - hit that ship trying to disappear from sight
(*/5) Explosive
(5/5) Fury - 855 to 1710 damage Maxed - major damage to hull...sinks most ships in 2 turns
-=Passive Skills=-
(5/5) Rapid Reload - not as useful w Fury but really fun right after Thunderbolt
(5/5) Barrage - good for grenades also; 25% increase for 5 pts is a good deal
(1/5) Shrapnel - ey, y not
(25/26) Total - last skill pt for explosive or grape...haven't decided yet

Yeah, the 5/5 Barrage with 5/5 of a shot is real good. Anywhoo, I wanted the dots at the bottom of the screen to be organized in an organized manner, but with the grapple, it all just looks painfully un-Leagish.

I would advice new players avoiding putting points on round shot since now you can carry ammo pouches and not very likly to run out of ammo for your special type cannons. and maxxing shoot and rapid reload can compensate for that fact earlier on.

(5/5) Shoot
(1/5) Round Shot
(0/5) Chain Shot
(0/5) Grape Shot (Good for boarding the new skel flagships)
(0/5) Firebrand
(5/5) Thunderbolt
(0/5) Explosive (Massive damage but has slow loading and bad aim)
(5/5) Fury
-=Passive Skills=-
(5/5) Rapid Reload
(5/5) Barrage
(0/5) Shrapnel
(26/26) Total

26 lvls!!! Theres only 25!!!! I mastered it and i says mastered lvl 25 not 26!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Relax, you get one point on cannonshot and cannonball when starting (you don't get to place these point) so even though there are 25 level's there actually 26 points used :)

:ship:

Shoot ~ 4/5 :pirate41:

Round shot ~ 2/5 :treas1:

Chain ~ 2/5 :forum smiley parrot

Grapeshot ~ 1/5 :pirate31:

Firebrand ~ 2/5 :plunder:

Thunderbolt ~ 5/5 :smiley-channel.de_g

Explosive ~ 1/5 :Pirate7:

Fury ~ 2/5 :icon_treasure_chest

Rapid reload ~ 3/5 :zn3lnn:

Barrage ~ 3/5 :pirate2do0:

Shrapnel ~ 1/5 :smiley_toxic:

26/26 :ss_wtp-ani:

Here's mine I mastered cannons the other day so i guess i'll post it now.

Combat Skill
(4/5) Shoot

Ammo Skill
(2/5) Round Shot
(2/5) Chain Shot
(1/5) Grape Shot
(2/5) Firebrand
(5/5) Thunderbolt
(1/5) Explosives
(5/5) Fury

Passive Skill
(2/5) Rapid Reload
(1/5) Barrage
(1/5) Shrapnel

If I knew then what i know now I wouldn't of put points in chain shot but I had basic access at the time so owell.I mainly only use thunderbolt and Grape Shot anyways.

mine are:

shoot: 1/5
round: 2/5
chain: 1/5 (uggghhh)
grape: 1/5

i am lvl 5 at cannon

-=Combat Skill=-
(1/5) Shoot
-=Ammo=-
(2/5) Round Shot - 450 to 900 damage Maxed
(2/5) Chain Shot
(1/5) Grape Shot
(4/5) Firebrand
(5/5) Thunderbolt - 1050 to 2100 damage Maxed
(1/5) Explosive
(2/5) Fury - 855 to 1710 damage Maxed
-=Passive Skills=-
(1/5) Rapid Reload
(1/5) Barrage
(1/5) Shrapnel
(21/26) Total

(2/5) Shoot
(2/5) Round Shot
(2/5) Chain Shot
(2/5) Grape Shot
(1/5) Firebrand
(5/5) Thunderbolt
(1/5) Explosive
(5/5) Fury
(4/5) Rapid Reload
(1/5) Barrage
(1/5) Shrapnel
(26/26) Total

Here is my planned build leaving out the skills I don't plan on sinking any points into.

Combat Skills
2-4/5 Shoot

Ammo
1/5 Round Shot (default)
5/5 Thunderbolt
5/5 Fury

Passive Skills
5/5 Rapid Reload
5/5 Barrage

23-25/26

My questions are the following:

How big of a difference is there from 2 to 4 points in shoot? I currently have shoot at 2/5 and I can usually get off all 3 shots with only the occasional misfire (click too early and have to make an extra click to fire off one of the 3 shots). Would 3 make it so that I would be all set and be able to pump all 3 shots out in a quick series of clicks? Would 4 be overkill where it would be pretty much humanly impossible to click that fast to fire off all three shots that quickly?

How is Shrapnel? Is it worth the one point to unlock it? Depending on how many points I have left over (from deciding if I should go either 2, 3 or 4 in shoot) would I be better off unlocking another ammo type or sinking the extra points into shrapnel or maybe just one of those points into shrapnel and one into an ammo type?

How well does Grape Shot perform in ship PvP? Is it worth the 5 points if you plan on PvPing? Would one point suffice in PvP? Would one of the other 3 ammo types (Chain Shot, Firebrand or Explosive) be a better investment over Grape Shot?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm just trying to get a good idea on what I should and what I shouldn't take due to the lack of respecing that seems to be missing in this game. Has there been any hints as to a possible respecing quest of some sort in the near future?

My highest pirates are 21
(1/5) Shoot
(3/5) Round Shot
(1/5) Chain Shot
(1/5) Grape Shot
(4/5) Firebrand
(5/5) Thunderbolt
(1/5) Explosive
(2/5) Fury
(2/5) Rapid Reload
(1/5) Barrage
(0/5) Shrapnel
Is that 21? lol

How can it do 900 damage?
I'm on rank three for round shot and can get only 652 at the most. Or does it mean at the most at rank five?
Sorry I don't udnerstand how a rank one round shot is better than my rank three.

All my cannon build is teh same. I'm saving skill poiints. Round shot rak three and fireball rank two and all the others are rank one.

People tell me my cannon (rank 4 shoot on one, rank 5 on another) sounds like a machine gun. All three cannonballs leave in about one second. (Rank 4 a little more than a second, rank 5 a little less. Rank 2 shoots three cannonballs in about 2 seconds.)

Prior to SvS, I regretted sinking two points into it. Now I don't know.

Grape shot is invaluable in SvS. If you are close enough to use it, it stuns ALL crew members on the enemy ship (including the driver.) Most glitches break when the glitch perpetrator dies...so a few shots of grape, causes cheater boats to stop auto-repairing suddenly. They don't last long, once that happens.

I've been trying to start that rumor myself, but Big D doesn't seem to want to cooperate. "Delete and start pirate over" has been the modus operandi.

So I guess I'm stuck between 3 different builds. Which one looks the best in everyone's opinion?

Build 1
Combat Skills
3/5 Shoot

Ammo
1/5 Round Shot (default)
1/5 Grape Shot
5/5 Thunderbolt
5/5 Fury

Passive Skills
5/5 Rapid Reload
5/5 Barrage
1/5 Shrapnel
26/26

Build 2
Combat Skills
4/5 Shoot

Ammo
1/5 Round Shot (default)
1/5 Grape Shot
5/5 Thunderbolt
5/5 Fury

Passive Skills
5/5 Rapid Reload
5/5 Barrage

26/26

Build 3
Combat Skills
5/5 Shoot

Ammo
1/5 Round Shot (default)
5/5 Thunderbolt
5/5 Fury

Passive Skills
5/5 Rapid Reload
5/5 Barrage

26/26

Build 3 seems to be the least likely option that I would choose because I plan on PvPing and Grape Shot sounds like its a skill well needed. I guess the only question left is this:

Is...
Shoot 4/5 > Shoot 3/5 + 1/5 Shrapnel?

From reading other posts it seems that the DoT effects in this game is quite useless for most of the weapon skills but I am not sure if it holds true for Shrapnel.

The machine gun cannon fire does sound kinda cool though :)

I personally put 5 in shoot, and 5 in reload.

Regarding 5 in "Shoot". Your timing your shots with regular cannon balls, it may seem adequate, but the effect is generally more dramatic in my experience on the other forms of cannon shot. Similarly 5 in reload is a must as well. (IMO)

I try to hold off on applying points to Schrapnel or Barrage as I believe these also effect grenades and should be left alone until grenades are mastered (the hardest item to master).

I'd liek to ask.
How can someone with a round shot of rank two have 450 to 900 damage while my rank three round shot can only do 370 something to 650 + something.

Sorry but it seems impossible to have a rank two to out damage a rank three.

If I went with build #1 then wouldn't that limit my options in PvP? Thunderbolt, Fury, Rapid Reload and Barrage all seem like skills you would want to sink 5 points into.

Does Fury shoot a lot less as rapid as regular Round Shot? Is that why 5/5 Shoot would be needed?

In response to holding off points, I understand waiting until everything is maxed to sink points into any skill that increases damage. I'm loving being able to sink some points early on into Shoot and maxing Rapid Reload to increase my overall damage, not my damage per shot.

First, Im not a PVPer/SvSer. (although ive done some SvS)

One thing that applies to the SvS (and NPC battlers). Hitting the same spot multiple times increases your score and damage. Hit 3 different spots, it spreads out with smaller numbers. Shorten the frequency between shots, shorten the distance between where the shots strike.

Different cannon shots have different reload/firing rates. Even with lightning being one shot at a time, I found that "Shoot" still helped it.

It seems some people have decided that a rank one shot can do more damage than my rank four shot.

How is it that mine says I can only do 300 to 600?
It seems funny to me.
I still haven't gotten an answer, not to be rude.

I've noticed people putting 450-900 for shot.
Sorry but shot can do less than 450.
Mine does only 300 to 600 at rank four which seems funny when someone's posting taht their rank one shot can do more damage.

Am I the only one confused here?
Because my round shot can do 900 damage. Sorry i'm jsut confused.

When I first got it, fury was just fantastic. When I was first without it, I learned that it isn't so much the extra damage from fury, so much as the extra damage from my level (notoriety and cannon) that made the difference. Firebrand was great for leveling up, but later just an annoyance. (Convenient for triggering flagship glitches, but little else.) Explosive is...well, 'nuff said. Thunder is nice to have in a BB, nice for hitting really long distance NPCs and a cheat in SvS (that I hope is eliminated soon.)

So the only two ammo types that aren't infinite would be grape and thunder; nothing can substitute for them. Higher than rank 1? Bah. More damage, when the goal is to stun? More damage, when the goal is to bring that Juggernaut TO ME? More damage, when the goal is to harass a ship that is running away, by snapping its mast?

It's just that at some point, I had a realization about the "special ammo" types - all that running around to restock, was running around for the sake of running around. The "weak" ammo isn't so weak...its damage is a factor of your current level. And you get three separate chances to hit, instead of just one.


By the way, my rank 3 round shot deals "338 to 675 damage" but I've never seen anything greater in magnitude than "-360" in SvS, without Open Fire (usually WAY lower, like "-288" or "-24".) For NPC ships, damage is almost always "-482" for each cannonball; "-964" with open fire.

The "people" listing 450-900 damage for rank 1 shot, probably was looking at maximum NPC damage while under Open Fire. If instead, they used the skill panel numbers, I'm sure it would indicate something more palatable for you.

I agree with that 99%.
The 450-900 confused me as my round shot can only do 600 something at the most.(what a lie!) It says that's the most while I can do about 800 damage using it.
As far as explosive. It's gotten me out of getting sunk twice now. But the waiting so long is what gets me.
If it could shoot farther and you could hold more of it at a cheaper price I think it would be one of the most liked amos.

-=Combat Skill=-
(1/5) Shoot
-=Ammo=-
(5/5) Round Shot - 450 to 900 damage Maxed
(1/5) Chain Shot
(1/5) Grape Shot
(2/5) Firebrand
(5/5) Thunderbolt - 1050 to 2100 damage Maxed
(1/5) Explosive
(5/5) Fury - 855 to 1710 damage Maxed
-=Passive Skills=-
(1/5) Rapid Reload
(0/5) Barrage
(0/5) Shrapnel
(26/26) Total