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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.
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