Code:
What I have What I wish I had, now
4/5 shoot 5/5 shoot
3/5 round shot 4/5 round shot
1/5 chain shot 0/5 chain shot
1/5 grape shot 1/5 grape shot
1/5 firebrand 0/5 firebrand
2/5 thunderbolt 1/5 thunderbolt
1/5 explosive 0/5 explosive
2/5 fury 0/5 fury
5/5 rapid reload 5/5 rapid reload
4/5 barrage 5/5 barrage
2/5 shrapnel 5/5 shrapnel
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.