[League]

Hey all, it's the inestimable League. After long having sailed with a Sloop, I've wanted to have a War Sloop more than anything else in the game. I've sailed evasively with the Sloop, to the greatest amount of fun I've had playing the game. However, to get the War Sloop, I'd have to get aroun 2500 and sell my Sloop and Frigate. Well, to get to the point, I sailed in my Frigate with an amazing crew and a deliberate tact, all to great success. I'm thinking I'll keep the Frigate and just earn more money, enough to buy without selling the Frig. All in all though, I've learned a few ways to sail without getting hit for each ship:

The Sloop Class
1. This is somewhat easy, and I picked this up by myself. The point is to just get behind a ship, get behind it to where it can't hit you, turn sideways while staying behind it, and broadsiding it. You then return into position, turn to the other side, and follow through again. It's the way to sail evasively, and it's the thing to do if you're in position (that is, behind a ship or within cannon range, in which case you activate Full Sail or Ramming Speed--preferably the first as you can turn--to get behind it). You can do this easily enough by yourself, and it's the funnest way to sail I find.

2. The second way is a little something I picked up from the Gadflies (buzz!). This is what you do when you're a ways ahead of your targeted ship. A crew is optimal. Here, you rely on your ships speed to sail, just like with the first way, though on the contrary, you're trying to stay a good deal ahead. When you have a good distance on your enemy, you turn sideways, lambast your enemy with the broadsides, and have your crew shoot your enemy down. You either stay in this position and have your crew (if any) continue to fire, or you turn 180* (that's a degree sign mind you!) and fire your other broadside. When the enemy ship gets too close, (if it gets that far,) you just merely hooky. (You'll have to ask Lu for the exact term, as I forgot it.) Hookying is turning around, so you're going away from the ship coming at you, gaining distance, and turning back again so your side faces it. With a comfortable distance and comfortable time to do it, this works very well.

The Galleon Class
1. This should be a no-brainer, but here it goes. (Actually, I only came up with ways for the Frigate and Sloop classes, so this may just be the idealogue of common knowledge. It's not something worked through from experience.) Taking advantage of its broadsides, you should do this when you're ways behind a ship. Merely tag the ship with a cannon, so it comes toward you, or lambast it with a broadside. Since you're behind it, you can take good advantage of the time it takes to turn around. A crew onboard will make quick work of an approaching ship. A decent one that is. You don't want to turn, as that limits crew fire quite a bit. Unlike with the Sloop, you're probably not fast enough to gain good distance, unless you have something like Lightning to take out sails, in which case work should be short. Here is also where you can take advantage of a fuller crew. You can even take turns firing broadsides.

2. If you're a ways in front of a ship, and you're in a Galleon or War Galleon, then you actually can get the leisure of turning, due to the front-facing rear cannons. You have to turn so that these cannons are able to hit the target, however, so you want the front to be facing whatever it is you're fighting as you turn. Tag it with a broadside or a cannon. This is, essentially, the first, without the turnaround time, but with additional broadsides. The only thing that makes this potentially worthwile is the front-facing rear cannons, mind you. As you can see, I don't have much love for the Galleon class.

The Frigate Class
1. This one is great, and I don't know of anyone else doing it aside from a few of my crews. Regardless, it takes advantage of the biggest perks available to a Frigate: the number of people you can have on board, and front cannons. Merely get behind a ship, with your crew filling as many of the frontmost cannons that can shoot forward as possible. Watching the ship ahead on the compass, stay behind it--if you see the ship change angle, change angle so that you're still in line with it. You can stay behind it, out of the range of fire, as your crew just shoots it. Utter genius, and probably my third favorite tricks. I call it the Forward Lateral.
Pic: (enemy ship, going forward) <=><=> (your frigate, w/ face in it's rear)

2. This second one is even better, and likewise, I know of none else doing it aside from me. It takes advantage of the same perks, and is even of the same nature of the first. Again, fill your front cannons and tower cannons. Have one of them shoot a ship that is a ways ahead (but still within range), or broadside it yourself. Then, start backing up. That's right, you sail... in reverse! As the ship ahead is pursuing, you're fleeing. And you're fleeing while firing. Since the distance is good enough, you can take time to trun and broadside. This allows the side of whichever broadside you're using to fire as well. Afterwards, you merely straighten your path, get back in line with the enemy, and continue in reverse. This is superior to the first in that you can get rep easier (without leaving position), and, instead of following your enemy, you're leading them. Better than the first, and my second favorite trick to perform. I call this the Reverse Lateral.
Pic: (enemy ship, going forward, facing forward) ========>>========<> (your frigate, facing their ship, going in reverse)

Well, feel free to leave the ways you sail in this thread. Personally, I love the Frigate tricks, and I've branded them with my name. If you can, leave a better trick or two to perform with the Galleon class, as I'm a stranger to them.