New player questions about weapon upgardes

[Byng57]

I have been playing NA since Christmas and am very pleased with the game. ​I agree with some of the forum comments about the possibility of a more structured "career" option for new players.

However by taking part in small battles and Open World attacks I am learning (slowly) how to make the best of the Basic Cutter's small cannons and the no-risk no -cost setup for new players certainly helps.

 

Perhaps someone could help with some questions about upgrading weapons.

 

1. Is it possible to upgrade the cannons on the basic cutter and, if so, is this the best strategy or is it better to hold onto gold to buy another ship later on. 

 

2. I read that if you buy one cannon it will replace all the guns on one side of your ship? Is this correct and are there any restrictions - e.g do you have to fill up stern chaser positions first ? 

 

3. If you have upgraded weapons and are sunk do you loose them straight away or only when you loose your last durability "life".

 

Thanks in advance for your help and apologies to admin if I have submitted this post in the wrong area. 

[SteelSandwich]

In regard to you questions, i have decided to take this picture as visual aid:

 

1. Yes, it is possible to upgrade your guns. In the image above you see the 'equipment' tab in port. It shows the stats of your ships, as well as the customization (modules) and the armament.

As shows, you see that it has standard guns equip called 'base medium cannons, which are class 10. Under neath the guns you see 8-10/8-8. What this means is that you can equip cannons(either longs or mediums) of class 8-10 or carronades of class 8-8 (so only class 8 is allowed). The lower the gun class, the higher the gun caliber.

If you go to the shop, you can click on the cannon classes.

This will show you the following options:

6pounder long (8th class)

6pounder medium (8th class)

12pounder carronade (8th class)

This is the heaviest and most optimal armament options of the cutters.

 

2. That is correct. Currently you buy and equip per gun deck, regardless of the amount of canons stationed there. I.e. buying 12 pounders for bow chasers(which are 2 cannons) on a ship of the line is just as expensive as buying them for the broadside(which can be up to 14 cannons per deck). The order in which you place does not matter.

 

3. Lost with your last durability.

[Ink]

Welcome, Byng57!
 
this guide might be quite helpful to get started, it is not 100% up to date tho  but still helpful

 

Also, there is the more recent video guide under the spoiler:

[Byng57]

Thanks to SteelSandwich for the very clear answer to my questions.

 

Thanks also to Ink for pointing me in the right direction for the guides.

[Count Maurice Benyovszky]

Carronades are pretty good on "starting" ships, higher damage than long cannons and faster reload. (You will fight on short distances mostly)
However when you'll be walking somewhere further down the road to the bigger ships, Long or Medium cannons will be more suitable.
Since you'll be fighting bigger ships it is advised to keep the distance and use Long Cannons (they have greater range, more penetration and are more accurate than carronades).
You always want to aim for the waterline of enemies, that way when the cannonball penetrates the hull enemies will have more leaks which will speed up the whole sinking process of their ships.

[Byng57]

Thanks for the advice.

At the moment I am using 6lb cannons to avoid being pounded from long range, but I will try carronades and get closer !