The ULTIMATE Sailing Guide

[tayseth]

It's been ages :/ Got several parts done, revising.

[CarribeanThunder]

Originally Posted by Nate Swordwalker

Just one thing - Colossus enemies can get up to 36. Great guide though mate!

Correction: Colossus Levels are Lv35-37.
Also, the Man-O-War Flagship, as far as I know, doesn't go near Rumrunner's Isle. It goes from Kingshead, between the Privateering Islands, near Cangrejos.
This is to help you out with the Treasure Fleet part of your guide. I stole this off of a post I made on another thread.

1: The War Sloop is the best ship to use against the Fleets as they're fast and agile. The downside is that their hull is unfortunately pretty weak.
2: Take the War Frigates out first, as they usually reach you faster than the Ship Of The Line does. However, as mentioned by Corai, the ships keep the same speed even if you take down every single mast and put 20 elephants on board, so try not to pay too much attention to the sails. The Ship Of The Line's front sail should also go down to make it easier to hit the front, but even if it's still up you won't have much of a problem damaging it.
3: Knock down the front sail and front main mast - this makes it easier to hit the hull when they're facing you.
4: When first engaged, the War Frigates will usually get close to you before firing, take this time to knock down the sails I mentioned should be taken down.
5: To keep speed when turning, lightly tap the [→] or [←] keys.
6: If you dare do close combat with a War Frigate, which might or might not mess you up, go forward and backwards to dodge the oncoming cannonballs. Keep going forward to get up speed so you avoid the EITC Tyrant's Explosive Broadsides.
7: For some reason, the War Frigates who are supposed to protect the ship that carry the GOOD loot hold the good loot. I've gotten the majority of Loot Skull Chests I've gained from Fleets FROM the War Frigates - two or three times from the Ship Of The Line. Apparently, they don't trust their own leader to carry the goods...
8: When it is just you and the Ship Of The Line, keep your distance from it for a little bit, but also let it come to you. When it gets close, start moving. You want to keep at it's front so it's unable to fire at you. To do this, you want to keep going in a circle around it going counter-clockwise mainly because NPC ships almost ALWAYS turn left ( Or right, as you'd be watching ) when they get to you. When turning, you want to keep 6 Knots, but you also don't want to turn that quickly. Do the light-key-tap strategy mentioned for close-combat with ther War Frigates.
9: The biggest threat would be the EITC Conqueror, as it has both Chainshot and Explosive. At first engagement, it will use Explosive Broadsides and Chainshot upper-deck guns. Eventually, it will use Roundshot broadsides, while keeping the Chainshot. Towards the end where it's nearly sunk, it might ( Well, it has for me ) use Explosive for BOTH the Broadsides and upper-deck guns in a last ditch attempt to destroy you before you sink it. Even if you do go down, though, you will be able to catch up to it as long as it isn't too far down the line.
( This might not be completely true all the time, but it's happened to me ).
10: I suggest landing after taking down all four War Frigates to collect your loot in case you sink fighting the Ship Of The Line - also because you might get something good.
11: Due to a bug, enemy ship broadsides tend to hit their hull when used, causing the Broadside to stop before it even gets halfway to you, but there's a chance some shots will get by. This is helpful - as the sailor of your ship, you want to keep an eye out for explosions on the Explosive Broadside users' hull. When you see this, you want to go backwards if you are not close to the ship. If you are close, and don't have max speed yet, keep moving - the speed up will allow you to dodge. If you have max speed, either Full/Ramming Speed, or stop altogether. When you're up close to the enemy, use Take Cover just in case, as you'll most likely get hit.
12: The best and final tactic would be the Open Fire/Leadership combination ( Rank 5 Open Fire recommended ). When this is used, make sure your gunners use Fury if they have some left to maximize damage. Explosive is also recommended, but Fury will deal more damage faster anyway.

[Captain Lightflame]

this written great and very informative ty.

[Jim seapaine]

Originally Posted by tayseth

4. Dying.. Nobody likes it when you die. You’ll pretty much lose almost all of your crew if you sink, especially if you happen to have 2 loot skull chests on your cargo.

sounds like this part actually happened to you when you mentioned the 2 skull chests mate