[Dan_OB]

My experience is very different from Edward's. I agree with Mac that the Sloop is a much better ship then the numbers suggest. It is not only much faster and more agile then other ships, it is also a much smaller target.

...Shots from NPC ships can be avoided just as easily from a war galleon as a war sloop (it goes by the skills of the captain - tacking/windcatcher, etc.)

I couldn't disagree more. Thats like saying you can drive a slalom race just as easily in a SUV as with a sports car. The Galleon is a huge, slow moving , and sluggish target. It will get hit and get hit a lot if you get close to an enemy. no matter what your skills are. Whereas with a sloop I might get hit with one broadside getting in position ( and I often can manage to avoid that) but that is usually it, except maybe some stray cannon fire if I get sloppy. Speed and maneuverability are just as important as hull strength in judging the quality of a ship.

Note also that the pitch and yaw of each cannon on a war sloop varies more than a war frigate (and cannon pitch and yaw varies a lot more on a war frigate, than on a war galleon.) So if you get a war sloop, you're inadvertently being cruel to your gunners (unless they memorize every cannon offset.)

True enough, if you want to make your crew sea sick the sloop is the ship for you. lol. To compensate for this I get behind the enemy close enough that missing almost isn't an option and try to keep the ship as steady as possible while maintaining relative position. But you are right, shooting cannons tends to be trickier on a sloop. I've been on cannons on many sloops I didn't find it much more difficult on a sloop as other ships, but a lot depends on how the captain drives.

For plunder, if you sail alone a lot, then you will want the heavy-duty broadsides of the war galleon.

Your not the only one to say this, but I still couldn't disagree more. There are 3 different ways I sail solo:

1. Use cannon only - park my ship at a good distance from the enemy ( just beyond compass range) tag it with thunderbolts so it comes towards me and once in compass range start hitting it with fire or lead. Sinking the ship before it can broadside me.

In this case I don't care what kind of ship it is, as long as it has a cannon and floats.

2. Using strictly broadsides. I n this case I prefer the sloop first and then the frigate. How anyone can stand driving the big, fat, slow, lumbering, clumsy, sluggish barge we call a galleon is beyond my comprehension. I'd rather swim out and bang my head against the hull of the enemy ship then sail solo on a galleon ( not that I've actually tried this technique).

3. if my target is in a cluster of nasty looking enemies, draw it out with cannon till it is alone then attack it with broadsides. Ship choice is the same as number 2.

I also prefer the sloop for quest that require particular ships ( say the ever allusive Corvette). You can cover more ground faster and if you see one off at distance you can catch it.

That said, if I have a reasonably capable crew and the object is plunder then I like the galleon because then maneuverability and speed aren't so important and the extra cargo room is.

For helping crew mates get rep I like the frigate, it has the most attack options and can take a beating if necessary.

This is getting longer then I like, but I'll make one final point. I prefer the sloop because it suits ME. What Edward or others say will not change that, not because I don't have a high regard for their opinions, I do, but rather because through my own experience and experimentation I have learned that the sloop fits my style to a T. Others, through the same methodology reach other conclusions about what best suits THEM. The only wrong answer is to let others decide for you instead of finding out for yourself.