MikeCK

Because my perk lets me have 2 ships in my fleet besides the one I'm sailing.

If your having trouble in combat, consider getting the "fleet" perk. Not only does it allow you to Cap ships but because you can have 3 ships in your fleet, it means you can bring 2 ships into combat and still cap. i bought a live oak surprise and added it to my fleet with me sailing my Endymion. My AI controlled surprise takes a lot of the punishment my suped-up Endymion normally would. Once it looks like my surprise might sink, I order it to retreat. having an AI buddy REALLY helps out in combat. I'm good enough that I don't need it for equal fights but nevertheless, it helps either way

mikeCK 51 minutes ago Renommee or Surprise hands down. I'm partial to the Reno because of its aesthetics and great turn rate....makes it so much easier to board. BUT, in reality, of the two, the Surprise has the edge. It carries a lot of firepower for its size and - the biggest advantage over the Reno (besides more guns)- has 2 bow chasers. It's 4 stern chasers and speed at all points outside of close hauled make it able to escape if you are in over your head Anything smaller than a Reno makes taking down Gros Ventures a problem. Not that you can't but you lose a lot of crew and such. I sure as hell wouldn't attack a GV with a privateer escort in a Pickle. Anything bigger than a surprise and you start getting into turn rate and speed issues. The larger ships that start having issues when trying to board a Snow, Lynx or Pickle. The Essex (my favorite overall) has no bow chasers. The Frigate is slow. The Trinc can't turn. I'm big on turn rate because even with good manual sailing and an enemy at 50% sails, it can be tough to board smaller trader ships. If you choose the Reno, don't put any guns on the weather deck. It only carries 3 6-lb cannons per broadside up there and it saves a lot of weight....so MORE speed. I would recommend carronades (32lb) if your just taking on traders So, in my opinion, considering hold space, speed, turn rate and damage potential, the Surprise is the best suited for that with the Reno a good second choice

Ok. Wasn't sure

Is there any way in the future that we might be able to load - let's say- the carronades on the weather deck/spar-deck with grape, while the cannons on the gun-deck are loaded with ball? I'm assuming that in reality gun crews would be able to use different loads on different decks. For example on my surprise I have 18 pound carronades up top which I would really prefer to load with chain shot or grape up close to tear at the rigging but I want to be able to pound the hull with my 9 pound is below. Is this even possible in the future and if so, considered?

It's is a pretty epic single player game. Go on the PvE forum. You cannot be attacked by, nor can you attack human players. It's all you vs the AI when and where you want. You don't even have to talk to anyone.

I love the endurance and provision ideas. In fact, when I first bought this, I thought I had to purchase and store fish and food for the trip (and that's what it was for). I was disappointed to find that I could sail for as long as I wanted with an empty hold

"Maneuverability" is my term. He used "handling".

I should clarify my first sentence of the original post where part of what I said appears to of been deleted. The book I had read that stated the French build superiority in general was "broadsides" by Nathan Miller

Hodo, I had understood this to be the opposite. Because British ships were deployed for long lengths of time and had more crew per ship the British built their ships for more comfort. An example would be more height between decks then friendships which were very cramped . The French did not generally conduct long-term patrols. Is this not correct?

Recently however, I read in a book called "French build ships were notI have recently read several books on both the sailing ships of the era and the battles/tactics. Concerning French vs. British built ships, a book called "Broadsides" stated that French build ships were not only faster and better handling than they are British counterparts but also more durable and of a higher quality. This view on French versus British ships seems to be the conventional wisdom. Recently however, I read in a book called " fighting ships in the Napoleonic era". In this book the author claims that the traditional view is a myth. He admits that French ships were faster and were generally more maneuverable; however, he states that they were not in fact more durable or better built. They used iron nails and other expedient measures which overtime would dissolve and rot causing the ship to split where as the British used other methods that made for a much more sturdy and durable ship. The reasoning is that because British ships were on patrol for much greater periods of time they needed to be durable and able to operate in the ocean environment for years at a time before repair. They also stayed out for longer periods of time on patrol. The french ships were often in Port and we're not being used like the British ships were so they did not need to be as durable or is long-lasting. So basically are French ships better at everything? Or are French ships faster and more maneuverable but British ships far more durable, comfortable with headroom and better able to sustain punishment ?

Op wrote: "First, PVE missions. Open during 30 minutes this missions is the WORST IDEA EVER. If anyone want to play in pve, he don't want see a players go in his mission. How increase his level if anyone can enter in your mission, to destroy you or destroy all IA ships? How to go with 1st rate to capture IA to increase your money whitout the risk of trade? PVE become useless and more dangerous than PVP." ok, first, aren't we overreacting a bit with "PvE becoming useless and more dangerous than PvP? BUT, I do agree that this is annoying. It happened to me about 8 times when I was hunting a lot of trader brigs/snows/Lynx in my Reno trying to make money on ships and goods while getting exp. WHY? WHY would you jump into a battle with a player who is intentionally attacking a trade ship and then proceed to sink the trader?? You HAVE to know the player is trying to cap the ship right? Most of the guys who did it to me were in 4th or 5th rates....they can't possibly get enough exp and gold to make sinking a cutter that important. In all but 1 of those times, the player entering my battle sunk the trader ship. On 3 occasions I was ACTUALLY FIGHTING ON THE BOARDING screen. Guys circle around pounding the trader while I'm clearly boarding. I've got 200 men and the trader has 15....are you really worried I might lose. I don't think anything needs to be changed in the games code wise, just the mind of the players. If you want to fight with another person, invite a friend and find your own ship, play a duel or go play PvP.

Ok. When refitted with the 40 32lb carronades and 6 12lb guns, am I correct in assuming the 12lb cannons were on the weather deck? If so, is there any reason it couldn't use the admiralty established 18lb guns and those 12s on the weather deck? Or any evidence it could?

I do turn off carronades unless I'm close in. I always fire them in seperate broadsides. But, like i said, I'm not a very good gunner. While you guys might be able to hit a ship at 250 with carronades, I can't. Takes me 3 shots or so to dial in so 50% gone. I can get them all in at 100 yards single fire...broadsides is a toss up. I think I'll go for Maturins advice and carry the 12lbs. Realistic or not. I've read SOME material on the Essex but everything I read only mentions the 32lb carronades she carried. Nothing I found states the Cannon sized she COULD carry. Maybe what the British put on her but from what I understand, Americans liked to cram as many (heaviest possible) guns on a ship

Sailing an Essex. On previous ships I have always used long guns on the gun-deck with carronades on the weather deck because ALL other 5th rates only allow for 6lb cannons on the weather deck. I found 6lb cannons- for me- are all but usless over 100 yds as they bounce off everything. In close they don't do much damage (nor mediums either) and still ricochet off any angled hull. Because of this, I always used carronades on the weather deck so I could get good damage and penetration up really close at least. Now however, my Essex can carry 12- 12lb medium/long cannons on the weather deck BUT, it also allows an upgrade for carronades....32lb carronades to be exact. I had been using 32lb carronades which I figured would complement the longer range firepower of my 14-18lb long guns on the gun-deck. I'm finding though that out past 100 yards, I can't hit crap and even if I do, the carronade ball bounces if there is anything other than a 90 degree angle. From 50-100 yds, a broadside of 6 will see 3-4 hit because of the inherent inaccuracies of the carronade. Should I go with 12- 12lb long guns or 12-32lb carronades? Keep in mind that I'm not a very good manual sailor nor am I very accurate