Licinio Chiavari

Yesterday evening I dropped an eye to Light Ship weekly event leaderboard. Can someone explain how is possible to sink 10 ships in 3 battles with 429 medium BR or 5 in 2 battles with 680 medium BR... using a PRIVATEER (or even lighter ship). Please note this week event is for 7th rates and so privateer with her super 6x18pd carros is the a "biggest" ship available and 680 BR means sinking 1st and 2nd rates... 2/3 sunk in a single (max time 1hr30m) battle. Incredible feats I even doubt possible firing all the time against AFK ships (damage output vs side HP wise). "Thinking the worst is a sin, still you'll rarely end up being wrong" (G.Andreotti - italian politician).

I'd not mix "fun" and "efficiency" The problem with 6th rates... is boarding: they are nimble and can tack high on speed... if properly handled. PS: And indeed it's a case where crew count differ. A lot.

Against people without a clue, even a not boarding fitted against marines could win (as Banished often pointed out). Against people with a clue, I'll simply read your melee value versus mine while you attack and I stay in brace. If numbers are close (and they ARE close if the attacker has Barricades even with Marines too vs. my not geared crew) I'll simply stay in brace. Even if I'd lose a bit more crew than the attacker losses will be so close (with a slow related morale loss) I'll have plenty time to safely disengage. Against people having an idea, muskets alone dont suffice if your attack is not so strong to oblige them to swap defend... even best muskets cant kill morale while enemy stays in brace (effectiveness of Musket Volley on brace is less than 1/4-5th than on defend if I remember correctly). Therefore you NEED a sufficient melee attack to force defender to swap Defend and then kill him with muskets. If he stays brace... you simply kill him with attacks. Attack you'd hamper with barricades. Note: I'm speaking of boardings with similar crew/deck count.

Redoutable refit trim is only bonus. Barricade reduces hard your melee value while attacking. So definately not a good choise for a boarder... Aside trying to trick a subpar boarder: let him board you, wait his attack, last second defend: huge losses for him and huge morale loss. Keep the fight. When he will disengage, counterboard him (boarding timer - 60 sec - works for who started the boarder... Not the defender) and hope to break him before he disengages again. Therefore a pretty limited use for a boarder. Great for defense: a single book almost counters 4+ boarding book/ups (then someone still says boarding is in attacker favour...).

Are you sure? Because I definately hitted harder on FP, with reduced melee on attack. Still not an issue now being different.

Redoutable refit is very strong with +20% melee and firepower. Still only on AI ships, so only crew space, with related limits. I hoped for long all refits being randomly available also on crafted ships. I have a fake trading LGV (FIR/crew + redoutable) boarding fitted that got a nice amount of kills against unsuspecting raiders.

Honestly I used Barricade offensively with muskets... And worked as a charm.

Means that your melee while attacking will be heavily reduced (40%). But sameway your melee while defending will be higher. Previously Barricades buffed also Firepower... so the effect of FireDeckGun, Grenades and Muskets. Now it reduces by 30% the damage received from enemy firepower (so the same actions). Just for further information. Your and enemy melee and FP values are (approximately) the damage espected to be done to the enemy. As a tactical note: Barricades book makes (with that single book) a ship able to defend from a full boarder both while attacking and musketeeing (with mods): simply stay brace and disengage (granted similar crew count and decks... and you were prepped).

Yes and nay... I'd like some reasonable (like fishing ones) mods for traders aside speed+speed+speed and the more speed. On other hand... limited sense if fishing stays like now.

I do remember a post about revamping fishing (and whaling) as an "active" action and not a simply passive one. It could interesting as alternative PvE activity.

As I repeated more than a few times, NA is more "experience" centered than "skill" centered. So with xebec I gathered quite some. Honestly, they are months almost not farming KPR as in the past. And hunting more in PZ. Is it more appreciable? And I did a couple PZ with Renomee in Nassau/Deadman... doing the same I did with Requin. Again: NA is matter of mainly experience. What one get as experience with a ship, often can be used to be better with others too. About "only noobs and casuals", they are a bunch. Still majority of prey are still top rank so technically not newbies. I duelled Sverne Req v Req. He will point that he was on his alt. I'd point I was raiding fitted, with only AoSH as shiny book and Elite Pirate like him. One hour and half later I sunk him. It was close and interesting. And quite stressing. Hulio and I attacked Durin on his Bellona with our 2 requins; I do not think it could be defined an unbalanced battle. He was very close to die. Even after 893 crew killed by me we were still unable to stop and board him due to combo DD+rum. Still he could confirm he sweated a lot to get out safely. I think we made the mistake of trying to board him in place of simply hugging him. About killing a Requin with a Prince: never tried. Technically I see limited reasons using a Prince. I killed Requin with Privateer (another ship I love to use).

I suppose a lone raiding Requin being nicely fitted. How many same-level geared Privateer do you routinely meet? Even a not Requin heavy user like Banished puts on her elite pirate. How many Privateers with elite rig you met? That's indeed not relevant OW speed wise. So: how many with copper+NHR+AoSH to start with?

Very wise and technically correct informations. Thank you as usual.

Really. Put aside numbers. And try in OW. Really. I am a decent players, not terrible not close to really good ones. Still I have more hours on requin than anybody I think. And I assure you: Requin OW speed are simply that: TERRIBLE. Far inferior than it could look like looking at numbers. As long as a medium* requin user get catched by a Privateer expert (ask ROVERS) downwind he'll have a bad time get out safely. Seriously: you're a famed veteran. Still I saw you on requin. It's not "your" ship and it was clearly noticeable: there are some requin users, not famed at all that are better than you. Nothing bad... I hate and I'm not good at all with Hercules and small 5th rates in general; I'm better with something bigger. I know I'm good with requin (time matters): a privateer (and I use mine too quite often) would tag a Requin on his call. Not to repeat AGAIN: a skilled privateer cant beat a skilled requin... but with a noticeble experience gap it's douable with far less pain than can be supposed.

Because a not elite rigged requin is slower and not capped. Because a Privateer is VASTLY faster in OW and VASTLY nimbler... so Privateer will choose the tag, both distance and position: like the right distance and being upwind. That said. OBVIOUSLY a skilled requin user will no be beaten by same skilled privateer... like a skilled Snow will not succeed in sterncamping a skilled Agamennon. Like a skilled Prince will not beat a same skilled requin because the latter knows the weaknesses of the prince and will exploit them and not let prince exploiting his. Skill (and I prefer more calling it experience) can fill the ship gap, in some cases. Like this one. But getting back to the topic... a requin with longs will be able to defend from this kind of attack (both from long geared Priv or Prince). A carroed one will be a sitting duck with limited options aside hoping being able to chain with stern chasers. That was the original point.

it's using a requin like a Niagara I prefer sterncamp as needed and brutal boarding against bigger stuff. Again simlar far low ship, as stated: mid range gunnery. EDIT: I hugged sometimes even if a bit unreal technique. That said... I do not consider hugging like doing a gunnery duel

My Privateer t/t with Elite Pirate "flys" 15.5 from close haul to broad reach. No Requin is faster. And close haul I keep 15.5 kts even with 80% sails. So I can keep up an Elite pirate rigged Requin for long... and a normal pirate rigged one in any direction even if damaged... but (especially a carro requin vs my longs) I'll never has to repair hull. So, again: I have no need to chain a requin. Thanks again for confirming Requin is far from so called P2W.

Another total unreal feature... Sniping masts from full speed rolling deck ship to another one 100-200+ mt away. As stated one million time: mast fell. Yes. VERY SELDOM due to direct damage but due to rigging damage. And this direct damage... ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO BE DONE ON PURPOSE aside spraying in the masts.

I did sometimes good tags on requin (and other boarders) starting the board and killing the enemy BEFORE the end of battle start timer (1'30''). Even if nice for farming... it's not exactly nice for the "receiving part". Therefore a minimum tag distance, as proposed in the past not last by Hethwill, around 400-500 mt should be reasonable... even if itìll be abused to escape, kite etc...

The real maximum speed of any hull depends on shape and waterline lenght. Any ship should have a base speed like now and a maximum speed. With wood (and weights in general) hurting less... because if a ship is over lighty... she gets some extra ballast. Depending on mods, fitting, and also woods you can get up to maximum one. Better quality of built or mods, easier to get closer to maximum.

Another good point. Critical (or hull - unsure of english wording) speed should be the way

Correct. I meant only that Surprise is not so bigger than requin. That said... Often in real Age of Sail battles ended in melees among groups of big or not so big ships

5 minutes... sometimes 30 seconds. Depends on tag. That's a problem of gun distance battle join. As stated in the past. The problem of boarding is... the silliness and reduced skill in boarding mini-combat. That's make a fundamental mechanic so hated and so partially absurd.

A: pretty normal you're dead being boarded by 2 times your crew. Yours for every enemy. B: We sunk you and him both on Niagaras and on Surps. Please note that Requin is not so smaller than a Surprise. C. Thank you Sir.

Starting a boarding vs someone having a clue is less easy than depicted. UnRealistic? A better trained (marines + nassau + ...), better geared (muskets, grenades, sabres,...) and sometimes better lead (slight more experience of player) crew, fully prepared by minutes for boarding... boarding an inferior crew un prepared... What's weird in the first killing the latter? TBH (aside weird OPness of muskets) the strange is how long it takes to kill the latter. And not to speak about we are talking about AGE OF SAIL NAVAL COMBAT... Boarding was the most common outcome and end of a combat.