Have I made a mistake advancing in rank?

[SlashCo]

So I started playing this game recently and so far it's been quite fun. My problem is that every time I divided the plunder, I'd advance in rank (currently up to Rogue) because I thought "hey, that's way the game is supposed to go, I gain experience and all that". Except now, some of the bigger battles and especially the quest ones (like Raymondo and Montalban) have become virtually impossible. These villains (who are oddly completely unaffected by age) move so fast that I simply can't win any swordfights no matter what I do. Another thing I noticed is that during naval battles, their war galleons zip around the water like hyperactive gnats, while my supposedly-nimble Sloop of War is nearly stationary and can barely even turn sometimes.

I like this game, but right now the difficulty and frustration are beginning to override the fun factor. Unless there is something obvious I'm missing, I will probably look for some cheat codes to see the ending and then uninstall it. A pity.

 

[Rheinmetall]

Rank = Difficulty. So if you advance, your game will get harder. The difficulty also affects the score you get at the end of the game. Play on the easier levels first and advance only when you feel confident with your skills.

 

[loki59]

There are no cheat codes for this game. If you're not doing well at a particular level, the game also lets you go to a lower difficulty level when you divide the plunder. It's a good idea to get the quests that involve Montalban done early in your career. Mendoza and Raymondo are only fair swordsmen, if you're having trouble with them you can hit their ships with more grapeshot to reduce their crew, this makes your sword duel easier for you. You can reduce your opponents crew to 1 and it will only take one hit with your sword to cause them to surrender.

 

[rupertlittlebea]

1 - don't divide plunder, it costs 6 months of your very short pirating career

2 - winning strategy in fencing -> "Just Keep Thrusting"
ok, once in a while at higher levels you slash high/low instead
and get your fencing gear before trying to take down that military/treasure ship

3 - The object is to plunder, not engage in gunnery duels . . .
so "Board Baby Board"

 

[knowltok2]

At high levels, sword fighting is about blocking and dodging first, then counter-attacking and watching the red bar at the bottom.

 

[Yui108]

So I started playing this game recently and so far it's been quite fun. My problem is that every time I divided the plunder, I'd advance in rank (currently up to Rogue) because I thought "hey, that's way the game is supposed to go, I gain experience and all that". Except now, some of the bigger battles and especially the quest ones (like Raymondo and Montalban) have become virtually impossible. These villains (who are oddly completely unaffected by age) move so fast that I simply can't win any swordfights no matter what I do. Another thing I noticed is that during naval battles, their war galleons zip around the water like hyperactive gnats, while my supposedly-nimble Sloop of War is nearly stationary and can barely even turn sometimes.

I like this game, but right now the difficulty and frustration are beginning to override the fun factor. Unless there is something obvious I'm missing, I will probably look for some cheat codes to see the ending and then uninstall it. A pity.

Start on the hardest difficulty at the beginning so you can use your youth when you need it. And it isn't too hard, just practice!

 

[TheLlama]

Also, take a skill in sword fighting. It is the hardest thing to do at higher levels, IMO.

 

[civ_king]

It ain't that hard Llama...

 

[Pacifist46]

It is hard. Especially if, like me, you're playing it on your laptop, which has NO NUMPAD, so you have to click on the symbol in the corner for which move you want to do.

 

[Civman33]

So I started playing this game recently and so far it's been quite fun. My problem is that every time I divided the plunder, I'd advance in rank (currently up to Rogue) because I thought "hey, that's way the game is supposed to go, I gain experience and all that". Except now, some of the bigger battles and especially the quest ones (like Raymondo and Montalban) have become virtually impossible. These villains (who are oddly completely unaffected by age) move so fast that I simply can't win any swordfights no matter what I do. Another thing I noticed is that during naval battles, their war galleons zip around the water like hyperactive gnats, while my supposedly-nimble Sloop of War is nearly stationary and can barely even turn sometimes.

I like this game, but right now the difficulty and frustration are beginning to override the fun factor. Unless there is something obvious I'm missing, I will probably look for some cheat codes to see the ending and then uninstall it. A pity.

Well, it's all of your pirates age. The longer your pirate buccaneers, the harder it gets.

Welcome to the forums SlashCo!

 

[King of Town]

It is hard. Especially if, like me, you're playing it on your laptop, which has NO NUMPAD, so you have to click on the symbol in the corner for which move you want to do.

Brutal. At one time I considered getting a laptop for gaming because my desktop sucks. Then I thought about the mouse and numpad problem.

 

[Crime Doesn't Pay]

You could just rebind the keys to something else.

 

[civplayah]

1 - don't divide plunder, it costs 6 months of your very short pirating career

It's not that simple for me. How do you keep your crew satisfied???

 

[rupertlittlebea]

How do you keep your crew satisfied???

its a simple matter of gold.

 

[Diamondeye]

You will eventually need to divide plunder, but having a well-sized influx of gold (and the instrument items) as well as keeping plenty of food around will stretch the time between the divisions. You should be playing the hardest difficulty after one or two divisions, imho, when you have had a bit of time to establish fame/a proper flagship as well as items. So start on Rogue/Swashbuckler.

And I always pick Medicine skill - it helps you to not age as fast. If you have all (relevant) items, it is possible (although hard!) to outfence Marquis Montalban with a Rapier (since he uses Cutlass), but you have to be damn concentrated for minutes!

I need to get back to this game soon, I can feel that... I'd probably be butchered on Rogue, though...

 

[Guardian_PL]

You will eventually need to divide plunder, but having a well-sized influx of gold (and the instrument items) as well as keeping plenty of food around will stretch the time between the divisions. You should be playing the hardest difficulty after one or two divisions, imho, when you have had a bit of time to establish fame/a proper flagship as well as items. So start on Rogue/Swashbuckler.

And I always pick Medicine skill - it helps you to not age as fast. If you have all (relevant) items, it is possible (although hard!) to outfence Marquis Montalban with a Rapier (since he uses Cutlass), but you have to be damn concentrated for minutes!

I need to get back to this game soon, I can feel that... I'd probably be butchered on Rogue, though...

I can see that it's been a while since you've played - from the latest patch Montalban uses Rapier, and therefore Skill at Fencing is a common choice on a Swashbuckler.

As for dividing the plunder, just don't. Never. Not even once. Try to gather enough gold to keep ~1000gold per crew member - that way they won't go into mutiny, and by gradually increasing your loot you'll be able to play literally forever with your crew getting happier and happier (I think it's sth like 2000gold per crew member to keep them content, and so on).

Best course of action is to nail Montalban rather soon, before your health will drop - you can get ~120k gold off him, do some Lost Cities (50k per each city) and you should be set

 

[Azash]

It ain't that hard Llama...

Montalban on Swashbuckler. 'nuff said.

 

[ScottieX]

I always thought that the dividing of the plunder made your crew reset their happiness again (which makes sense since it is a new crew). So I would do it maybe one or two times on the PC and console versions. then I would very quickly get back up to 1000 gold or so per pirate and not worry about it for a while.

Was that a mistake? It seemed to work ok. as far as I remember I got the top rank for every country and all the rewards on both platforms on swashbuckler.

Of course on the old version I could divide the fleet and anchor some pirates somwhere while I divided the plunder, then pick them up later - handy.

 

[T-hawk]

That's about normal for an experienced player. Divide the plunder once in a career, maybe twice. Then once you nail Montalban and a Lost City or two, you'll have enough gold to play forever without dividing.

It's possible to complete the game without ever dividing the plunder, if you're really good at getting gold quickly. Some players like to do that for the challenge, though there's no particular need to do so other than for the challenge itself.

 

[civ_king]

It is hard. Especially if, like me, you're playing it on your laptop, which has NO NUMPAD, so you have to click on the symbol in the corner for which move you want to do.

That explains it all!

Montalban on Swashbuckler. 'nuff said.

Owned him with all three weapons

That's about normal for an experienced player. Divide the plunder once in a career, maybe twice. Then once you nail Montalban and a Lost City or two, you'll have enough gold to play forever without dividing.

It's possible to complete the game without ever dividing the plunder, if you're really good at getting gold quickly. Some players like to do that for the challenge, though there's no particular need to do so other than for the challenge itself.

That's why I stick with the Mail Runner, very fast, well armed, low crew and Sacking Montalban and a lost city keeps them happy forever, I do this forever unless I get a SotL! Royal Sloops are good ships too