Trader's Survival Guide

[Powderhorn]

Apologies for not seeing your request for info sooner. Thank you, Robert Calder, for explaining it.

[Long Beard]

I actually made a large post of tips. Hovered over the post button for an hour before I came to my senses   

So anyway, I will say one thing just because I feel bad!  Don't put all your cargo in one ship. Do multiple trips to minimise your losses.

 

Oh and did I already mention, take an escort?

[Powderhorn]

Honestly, the biggest tip I can suggest is: Don't AFK sail. Never assume "I'm in safe waters."

I cannot count the number of times I've sailed up to traders without them reacting at all until the attack circle went up.

[Jonathan Villiers]

Great guide and i can just agree to most of it. Canons or no canons is kind of a dogma. I personally tend to have 4 pounders on my LGV. Lightweight enough not to slow you down too much and not to bind to many hands but still very usable to take down enemys crew and sails. Then as stated rely on all kinds of defensive and some offensive boarding upgrades like Marines, Boarding parties, Barricades, Grog Rations etc. But overall i totally agree, speed is your friend to not have to fight at all and plan your route wisely. Thanks for your input, mate!

[peluso]

very very good  I was very useful.

[surfimp]

Awareness

Sailing is simple you set sail and go from point A to point B. Wrong! Sailing requires route planning and awareness. You must know what is happening around you. Open map (M) and examine enemy ports and start thinking how you are going to make a trip. Most Traders don’t realize one simple mistake, sailing next to the land or coast is a death wish. Skilled sailors will sail away from land, but will slightly keep it in the view to use it for orientation purposes. Such strategy gives Traders more flexibility when sails spotted on the horizon.

Gankers are lazy and usually stay next to ports or coast/islands and prey on easy targets. Very small % actually goes hunting into a deep ocean. Why? Chance of finding targets is almost 0 and that is why you have to be there to survive your journeys.

One addition to this, that I think is an essential component of "awareness":

Being aware of the way the wind will shift in counterclockwise rotation, and planning your departure time accordingly.

 

When I'm hunting player traders on the US East Coast, I've noticed that players will plan their routes such that they're always sailing with favorable wind. For example, they'll depart Charleston when the wind is out of the NE, putting them on a run or broad reach, and sail down to a port south of Sunbury, arriving with the wind on their beam out of the NW or W. They'll conduct their business, and then depart and return the direction from which they came, taking advantage of the wind's shift - which, having shifted close to 180*, is now once again putting them on a broad reach or run.

 

One advantage to coasting in a setting like this (US East Coast) as opposed to sailing offshore is that there are numerous friendly NPC fleets that can be sucked into a battle circle for reinforcement (or to cause a "BR difference too high" attack failure), as well as many friendly ports that can often be gotten into before the attacker gets close, especially if a defensive tag is used. So it's really a bit more of an "it depends" type of situation when it comes to coasting versus sailing offshore, just on the edge of visibility to shore. There can be good reasons to do each.

Edited May 2, 2016 by surfimp

[Long Beard]

Honestly, the biggest tip I can suggest is: Don't AFK sail. Never assume "I'm in safe waters."

I cannot count the number of times I've sailed up to traders without them reacting at all until the attack circle went up.

 

Seen worse. Same as above, but completely afk during battle too. 

[surfimp]

Seen worse. Same as above, but completely afk during battle too.

I made this image for people like that:

[Barbancourt]

Seen worse. Same as above, but completely afk during battle too. 

 

Heh, there is life beyond the keyboard.  On longer hauls I'm gonna go feed the pets, vacuum, make a mai tai...something.  Watching the waves go by 10-15 minutes at a stretch over and over is a bit much.  That cutter grounded against the coastline at full sail is me...I'll be back in 5, no worries.  

Edited May 5, 2016 by rownd

[shizniticus]

I'm new, but this occurred to me. 

 

If you don't have guns, you can't initiate a battle with another AI trader and win. You can escape, but the will most likely still be in the area waiting to pounce.

 

If you have guns and capture the trader, you can then captain the captured trader and teleport your valuable goods in ship, to your capital and live to try again.

[Cabral]

I'm new, but this occurred to me. 

 

If you don't have guns, you can't initiate a battle with another AI trader and win. You can escape, but the will most likely still be in the area waiting to pounce.

 

If you have guns and capture the trader, you can then captain the captured trader and teleport your valuable goods in ship, to your capital and live to try again.

 You can't teleport goods, only empty ships.

[ajffighter86]

Two things I highly recommend: reinforced sails (any quality will do, but they cannot be crafted and I was personally lucky enough to get two exceptional reinforced sail mods during the bottle bonanza over the summer, and no, I will not sell them for any price, they mean more to me than marines), also, rigging specialist officer perk.

 

The first thing the enemy will do if they catch your trader in battle is shoot at your sails with chain shot.

 

The next thing they will do is shoot at your sails with chain shot.

 

And finally, they will shoot at your sails with chain shot.

 

Then they will attempt to dismast your vessel if they haven't already started by this point.

 

Just when you think it is over, they will probably continue to shoot at your sails with chain shot and continue after the battle is over and you have been boarded, just because.

 

On a trader, the extra crew penalty needed for reinforced sails is irrelevant, since you usually have extra crew anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then after you have logged off and gone to bed and you think the nightmare is over, you will still continue to hear the ripping of cloth in your sleep.

Edited September 28, 2016 by ajffighter86

[Ragor]

Just ordered my new sails. Every hit with chains should reinforce them.

 

Edited September 29, 2016 by Ragor

[shizniticus]

 You can't teleport goods, only empty ships.

..doh.