Get rid of AI fleets restricts ships for solo player

[UberAegis]

As stated in the title if player AI fleets are removed all solo players will only go as high as a surprise. Even in my constitution I find smaller and faster ships can stern camp with impunity.perhaps it is down to my (in)ability but trying to adjust sails,change tack has no effect. Also there have been numerous posts of players stating they can take upto first rates in a surprise. I understand peoples frustration at Ai fleets but I also want to see a large variety of ships in the ow and not just the speedwagons. For people not in a clan the only way they can do this is to have one or two Ai ships to cover their stern. As an aside I would love to see a training ground where different ship types can fight in order to develop new strategies.

[Cmdr RideZ]

As stern camping is pretty devastating atm. Surprises are numerous.  Also Surprise is easy to sail, forgiving when doing mistakes.  It has 4 stern chasers and it sails well upwind.  So it is very good at escaping.  Many Surprise captains escape after using their sail repair, as sails/masts are their weakness.  Another thing is to get your side open, and use hull repair and escape.  So escaping from situation is easier in a Surprise than in many other ships.

Also, new guys, they do not know how to sail so well, they are not that good at avoiding rakes.  They learn how to rake tho, and they go sail their Surprises.  Benefits from raking are huge when fighting vs new guys.  This is the reason why I do not like the current rakes, like many probably know.  When fighting against a better captain, rakes are not that important any more.  Learning curve after "learn to rake" gets pretty steep.  This is the part where the games combat mechanism starts to shine.  Sad that raking is shadowing the combat, many wont probably ever understand that the combat mechanism offers a lot more.

 

I saw a screen shot one day...

[Vernon Merrill]

I always try and stern-rake whenever possible.  Why?  Because crew is the only thing that cant be repaired/replaced.  And it has a great domino effect on the opponent's capabilities as far as sailing/reloading.  I typically have used the Renommee in the past, but I've been experimenting with a Surprise lately.  What ship I sail largely depends on whether I'm solo or with a partner.

[Corona Lisa]

1 hour ago, UberAegis said:

As stated in the title if player AI fleets are removed all solo players will only go as high as a surprise. Even in my constitution I find smaller and faster ships can stern camp with impunity.perhaps it is down to my (in)ability but trying to adjust sails,change tack has no effect. Also there have been numerous posts of players stating they can take upto first rates in a surprise. I understand peoples frustration at Ai fleets but I also want to see a large variety of ships in the ow and not just the speedwagons. For people not in a clan the only way they can do this is to have one or two Ai ships to cover their stern.

Each ship has its purpose, and small ships like the Surprise excel at solo fights against bigger ships. For everything else its useless (low HP, low mast thickness), so a Surprise will get destroyed by groups.

Imo you should be scared when using a bigger ship solo, because thats its mayor weakness.

 

And if you focus the masts with a Constitution against an equally skilled Surprise player you should be able to demast him and win the fight.

[dumpert]

in fact, in any fight between equally skilled players bigger ship wins. no exeptions.

[Hethwill, the Red Duke]

Wind wind wind...

... also, not all battles need to be a running battle ( full sail and turn and burn ) and not all battles must end in sinking ships or capturing them.

Retreating with style is a valid tactic.

 

[UberAegis]

Some very interesting replies. I m guessing i m just getting onto that steep learning curve, i can manual sail and i ve watched you tube videos on how to discourage stern camping. I m not a prolific pvp`er but in the battles i ve had i did manage to get afew broadsides on target but i was aiming for the hull,perhaps i should have chained to reduce my opponents manuvrebility.As i said in the opening post it would be great to have an area under the missions tab where different ship set ups can be used to work out new tactics,perhaps with more experienced players. As a casual player it s a bit painful to lose a connie every time a strategy goes south :-).Anyway thanks for all the advice.

[Hethwill, the Red Duke]

Plan your cruises and balance what you can gain against what you can afford to lose. The more you play the better you get.

[UberAegis]

Thanks wraith. i was aware of the duel room but my understanding was only similar br ships could compete against each other.so for example i couldn t fight a connie against a surprise to try anti stern camping tactics. you are probably right in that i could learn a lot from dueling a more experienced player in terms of trying to maintain the wind etc.thanks again

[Corona Lisa]

2 hours ago, UberAegis said:

Some very interesting replies. I m guessing i m just getting onto that steep learning curve, i can manual sail and i ve watched you tube videos on how to discourage stern camping. I m not a prolific pvp`er but in the battles i ve had i did manage to get afew broadsides on target but i was aiming for the hull,perhaps i should have chained to reduce my opponents manuvrebility.As i said in the opening post it would be great to have an area under the missions tab where different ship set ups can be used to work out new tactics,perhaps with more experienced players. As a casual player it s a bit painful to lose a connie every time a strategy goes south :-).Anyway thanks for all the advice.

These channels have some nice small fights, there you can learn the most imo:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChVUdxOMHL22LULqhv6iRYA

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWNlO2hIeJxofeo--nUxqLQ

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWonEt5fiDzQAGLGxOeQL2A