Why do You Prefer Smaller Ships? My Case for Biggies

[Yui108]

In Pirates, once I am in a few months into the game, I am never in anything smaller than a Large Frigate or a War Galleon. At higher levels (I play swashbuckler ) the higher troop capacity is also great for two reasons-

1: If your Baron Raymondo, Marquis or just plain warship hunting, often the captain of the opposing ship is an excellent swordsman, and you need the 1 man left - surrender rule just to win.

2: Also, if your pumping up the town your going to use a home port with immigrants and mayors but it keeps on getting raided by a country ( example in my old game was Trinidad, beautiful wife for goodies n' tips and for replenishing also good to sail on the west wind to capture the baron and the like so I made it a wealthy capital but Barbados kept pestering ) to just walk into the violating city(ies) and convert. A Large Frigate, which is what I roll until I manage to get the English or French reallllll pissed off can take 375 with Triple Bunks.

Also 48 guns is very, very nice. People say they don't want to damage the opposing ship. Well at Count ( I think ) level you get repairs free in ALL ports. It's fairly easy just pirate hunting in the early game to get count from all nations as well.

And running with the wind, I find Frigates are FASTER than sloops. Also yes, it does suck in big ships that sometimes smaller prey can slip away when they're going into the wind ( you stink going into it ) but really big deal, if a couple regular sloops and a war canoe get away. With ship sales that's 1,000 gold doubloons max. Also just position yourself so your going into the wind against them if you really have to catch a fast smuggler 9/10 you'll catch em that way.

 

[Yui108]

no one cares...

 

[loki59]

I usually get Blackbeards Frigate early in my games but leave Morgan and his Large Frigate alone so he can build up more gold. At the first sign of a Large Frigate or Ship of the Line I jump all over them. I never keep any Fast, War or Flag Galleons, they sail like dogs.

 

[Yui108]

very true. I just got a ship of the line, at 20

 

[Sir_Lancelot]

What ship I prefer depends on the situation. A pinnace or merchantman is never first choice. The pinnace is just too small, and the merchantman is not very big, not very fast, not very maneuverable, not particualry good at anything.

When I chose a small ship I chose a sloop. This is if I need to sail shallow waters or wants its agility. And if I don't need many men or cannons.

I often chose a barque, it is maneuverable and can carry much more cargo than a sloop. But later in the game I usually had a frigate or a galleon of some kind as my flag ship. This because the need for many men and cargo capacity.

Note that I played the original version, the last PC version have more ship types and are more advanced in every way.

 

[Yui108]

Barques are more realistic now. They are bloody awful and only used as merchant class grain transports.

 

[Sir_Lancelot]

I didn't know they were particular unrealistic.

Barques was sometimes used by other pirates, or hunters. -For the same reason I liked this ship I guess.
It's been many years so I'm not sure - but I think typically pirates had smaller ships and the hunters bigger ships?

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I often find myself in a Frigate I unwittingly capture, though in principle I vastly prefer a vessel from the Brig class. They're as manouverable as a sloop, but with the capacity to run with the wind, carry enough guns to be a real threat to almost anything they will throw at you, and have a decent amount of storage and health. They're still fragile enough, though, to make the game fun; in a Ship of the Line or Large Frigate, even, it's just a boring Turkey Shoot.

 

[Yui108]

Well I hardly ever do ship battles, it's just great in a SoTL to be able to take anything at sea no worries. And in the right conditions their faster/more maneuverable than a sloop.

 

[IronMan2055]

Barques are more realistic now. They are bloody awful and only used as merchant class grain transports.

I'd hardly call anything in Pirates realistic, A real pirate was lucky to have 4 cannons, and the most Henry Morgan (as you know the #1 pirate) ever had was 12 and that was sent from the monarchy and was considered "gigantic" (couldn't think of a better word, but gigantic in power)

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I'd hardly call anything in Pirates realistic, A real pirate was lucky to have 4 cannons, and the most Henry Morgan (as you know the #1 pirate) ever had was 12 and that was sent from the monarchy and was considered "gigantic" (couldn't think of a better word, but gigantic in power)

That's not true at all. There were great (as in large) pirate expeditions and fleets that sported great numbers of guns. For example, François l'Ollonais took eight ships and six hundred pirates from Tortuga and sacked Maricaibo and Gibraltar, and later, with seven hundred pirates, pillaged Puerto Bello. Blackbeard's ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge sported forty guns. Captain Kidd's privateer Adventure Galley was able to bring 34 guns to bear. Don't say that pirates weren't well armed, if they were anything, it was that.

 

[Sir_Lancelot]

That's not true at all. There were great (as in large) pirate expeditions and fleets that sported great numbers of guns. For example, François l'Ollonais took eight ships and six hundred pirates from Tortuga and sacked Maricaibo and Gibraltar, and later, with seven hundred pirates, pillaged Puerto Bello. Blackbeard's ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge sported forty guns. Captain Kidd's privateer Adventure Galley was able to bring 34 guns to bear. Don't say that pirates weren't well armed, if they were anything, it was that.

I'd believe you are right.
As for Edward Teach (aka Blackbeard), he attacked war ships too (but not often). His last battle were against the Royal Navy, the governor in Virginia (or maybe was it N. Carolina) sent two ships to destroy Teach. The military officer in charge of the operation chose sloops for tactical reasons, Teach would not expect that. They found the pirates and surprised them, but instead of fleeing Teach attacked. The navy was not prepared to defend themselves, and Teach and his crew almost won. Teach however fell in battle after they boarded the navy's flag ship, and the pirates then gave up. BBC made a documentary film on this.

Edward Teach did actually achieve his ultimate goal: To not be forgotten!

 

[Rusty Edge]

Large Frigates and Royal Sloops are my favorites. When it's time to cash out I keep the frigate, because if I'm any good the Spanish will send me well equiped Royal Sloops.


When teaching my niece to play, I found that she couldn't lead a target with a broadside, she culd completely miss a treasure galleon with a large frigate.


So I captured a pinace for her and had her try that. It worked so well that she captured a war canoe and switched her flag to it. Now she can safely dance around the stern , cut them down with grape shot, then board and fence.

Of course Nintendo DS has taught her to click one or two keys rapidly- not what I'd call fencing, but it's effective.

 

[IronMan2055]

Black beard sailed over a hundred years after when pirates takes place so of course he will be better armed as for Frenchy, a large crew doesn't mean alot of canons.

 

[Yui108]

Black beard sailed over a hundred years after when pirates takes place so of course he will be better armed as for Frenchy, a large crew doesn't mean alot of canons.

100 years? He pirated 1714-1718 from 1680 thats 34 years. From the primary era basis of the game it's 50. Considering auto-retire (51) for 1680 would be 1713 .

Blackbears time is not much different at all as well in that naval warfare was much the same 1590-1845

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

EDIT: nvm