Trying bigger ships for the first time

[Barbancourt]

I have only dabbled in the regular game, so I can only sail the little boats like the basic cutter, trader brig, and my favorite the privateer.  I can only attack the minnows with these, and easily stop and board small prey with the agile cutter and privateer.  I got on the test server this week and with free money and full access to ships and I was able to test a Trincomalee - my first large ship.  It was harder to use than I expected.  I tried attacking some armed NPC brigs for the first time.  They outmanouvered me so badly I could not come close to attempting a boarding, and at the same time they were pecking me to death.  I couldn't get close enough as we circled each other to effectively use grape to remove crew.  Even after partially demasting one I still had to give up boarding and sink it because the thing set me on fire and put leaks in my ship.  Next I attacked a bigger ship - I forget which, but still much less than my combat rating.  I was not outmanouvered as much and camped its tail for repeated raking, but it was still pecking me to death in return every few passes and especially as I tried to slow it for boarding. Even after taking down a mast I couldn't board in a reasonable amount of time and had to sink it to get out of there.

Is capturing ships solo with something like a Trincomalee a reasonable goal?  My first attempts I tried my usual combination of chaining sails down to 50%, removing stern armor, and stern raking with grape.  The enemy just continued to punish me with ball the whole time, so I had to give that up.  I switched to using ball and trying to take down masts, but it took too long. 

Edited April 28, 2017 by rownd

[Thonys]

GOOD GOOD ,just keep sailing ,and you will enjoy living on the water  

[captain pips]

were you using manual sails with your trincomalee?

if not,watch some tutorials for manual sailing on youtube.after reaching frigate class it is absolutly necassary.

Edited April 28, 2017 by captain pips

[Barbancourt]

3 minutes ago, captain pips said:

were you using manual sails with your trincomalee?

No...I can imagine how much I"m giong to sink trying to learn that, LOL 

[captain pips]

dont worry.its quite easy and there are some good tutorials for that on youtube in different languages.for which nation are you playing?

if you are dutch i could provide you with some ships for testing and leveling untill the wipe.

 

Edited April 28, 2017 by captain pips

[Barbancourt]

I made a different nation on each server to see different parts of the map.  Dutch on PVP2 I think, but not on the others.  I'm taking advantage of the free money and rank on the test server to try new things. 

 

[captain pips]

good idea,but you keep your rank and crafting xp after the wipe.leveling up on the live server is not a complete waste of time.

if you try manual sailing, chance the z to x or c for the rear sails, as long as you are not using american keyboard....after that it´s simple and need just a bit of practice.

Edited April 28, 2017 by captain pips

[Vernon Merrill]

Trinc isnt necessarily the best for boarding as the turn radius is pretty dismal...  That being said, yes, learn the basics of manual sails and de-powering.  The fail-safe way is to chain them to at least 75% while angling your own ship to deflect as many of their broadsides as possible.  Once you've slowed them down, a couple decent rakes should take down their crew.  Hit the boarding prep button and physically push them into the wind.  MOST ships under 75% sail (give or take) will drop below 3.3 knts even if trying a full tack.  And remember, their crew (and yours) are very vulnerable after starting to prep for boarding so give them some grape while you're pushing them into the wind.  

Good luck and there is no substitute for practice...

[Challenge]

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbeHuoF7Hxc

This is a good lesson on sail management. Covers the basic nicely.

 

 

[_Masterviolin]

Trincomalee is an unforgiving sailor. She tacks poorly with a poor turn rate, and her heel makes it very, very difficult to hit enemies at certain points of sail. I would strongly recommend you try out the Belle Poule! She is lighter yes, but is a stout ship that sails sweetly with a fine turn rate, decent speed and admirable sailing qualities as an excellent learning ship. She mounts 12pdrs versus Trinc's 18pdrs. 

Oh and of course, I adore the Essex as a stout 18pdr ship with admirable sailing qualities, decent speed and a fine broadside atop an excellent turn rate. She lacks bow/stern chasers which could be a make-break deal for you, but I find she is a damn fine combat vessel!

Edited April 29, 2017 by _Masterviolin

[Norfolk nChance]

Rownd,

 

Great work. All advice above totally agree with. Good to play in the other ships to see how different they all are. Get to know the Renomee and Surprise really well. Then Frigate as a base to compare the other ships. This turns better than the frigate... this delivers better fire power than the frigate, this looks better than the frigate... you get the idea. 

 

Like said above good sail management. Try this when you've time. Learn the ins and outs of a particular boat.

Tag an AI Trade ship. Let it go it doesn't matter. After the ship has gone. you'll still be left in the Battle arena for a long time. So use this time to "Sea Trail" it. Challenge's youtube or others watch and try to copy. So How fast can you turn her through 360... whats her max speed? Max speed to depower etc etc

Always put her into "Irons". Facing directly into the wind. Practice turning out from a standing start, sails up. Try and see if you can reverse your ship... YES that's correct, your ship as a reverse gear... a bit of practice and it could help you out of some sticky PvP situations...

 

A new ship, like a new girlfriend... a bit of work.... no no no no I'll stop there...

 

Norfolk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Barbancourt]

After reading the latest patch notes, these ships might be out of my reach for a very long time. 

 

[Barbancourt]

I tried to fight a rattlesnake today, and got my rear kicked badly when I failed to knock down any masts.  Maybe that's because I was never able to close the distance enough?  It's hardly worth aiming with the amount the waves toss the ship in the span of a broadside.  The guns also always seem to load just as a swell hits.   

 

I'm back in the privateer for a little bit....

Edited May 1, 2017 by rownd