50 hours in - some intermediate questions?

[TheHaney]

Hey folks!

 

Still loving the game. Can't wait to see what other content the devs come up with! Hopefully we get our playerbase higher soon. I have some questions now that I have more time in-game:

 

- Hostility Missions: From what I understand, these are essentially fleet missions that raise hostility on certain ports, and once hostility hits 100% there's a PB scheduled 22 hours later. Correct me if that's wrong. On that note, does the faction that controls that port get a notification of any sort that hostility missions are being ran? Or do they just need to occasionally check the map info?

- Certain things on the map seem to update in realtime while other things do not. What's the update time on goods availability/prices/etc?

- Repairs in-battle vs OW vs port: Since I can't make kits myself (which I'm seriously reconsidering), I rely on drops/purchases. With that in mind, is there EVER a scenario (with stacked buffs) that gives better repair returns in-battle versus on the OW? Do the folks that manufacture their own kits find it actually cheaper to repair that way rather than spend money in port?

- Wind. The wind in OW seems to always be blowing in the least convenient direction. How is it determined? How can I plan routes around it?

- Heavy Rattlesnake. I was gifted one of these very early on and it's simply refused to sink whenever I use it. It's marvelous. I've noticed it doesn't spawn as AI and the prices for it are insane; how is this acquired? Is it a rare blueprint?

- Crafting! I'm somewhat hesitant to get deep into crafting (because missions seem to give much better returns at my Captain rank compared to hauling goods from all corners of the Caribbean just to build Lynxes) but I know I'll need to eventually. Do people generally just stick to the method of hauling the cheapest resources they can find to one central location, or are shipbuilders usually relying on clan help?

- PvP combat: I've only been in one PvP fight (I was chased down by a fella in an Endymion while in a Renommee), and it went fairly well. Neither of us died but he used faaar more repair kits than I did before he gave up and managed to escape. I don't think he expected a live oak Renom with carronades (I was running missions, don't judge). I've also developed an odd skill of combating attempts to push me into the wind. Anyway, the damn battle wore on for over an hour... is this normal? There was so much retreat-and-repair action going on I was ready to give up out of sheer exhaustion.

- Lastly, regarding that PvP fight: Both my stern and bow chasers were inoperable fairly quickly into the fight. Was this bad luck, skill on the attacker's part or what? That had never happened to me before.

 

Whew, lots of questions. Normally I'd rely on a wiki but the Naval Action wiki's are... rough. Thanks in advance for the help!

Edited November 17, 2017 by TheHaney

[Liq]

5 minutes ago, TheHaney said:

Hostility Missions: From what I understand, these are essentially fleet missions that raise hostility on certain ports, and once hostility hits 100% there's a PB scheduled 22 hours later. Correct me if that's wrong. On that note, does the faction that controls that port get a notification of any sort that hostility missions are being ran? Or do they just need to occasionally check the map info?

You do not get a notification that hostility is being rasied. Best to check the map every now and then. (Hostility missions are open for the whole time so you can jump it if you see an enemy raising hostility in your ports area.)

5 minutes ago, TheHaney said:

- Certain things on the map seem to update in realtime while other things do not. What's the update time on goods availability/prices/etc?

 

After Server maintenance time, which should be at around 09.00 - 10.00 server time

6 minutes ago, TheHaney said:

Wind. The wind in OW seems to always be blowing in the least convenient direction. How is it determined? How can I plan routes around it?

It turns counter-clockwise (slowly though; cant remember the time it takes for one 360° wind turn)

7 minutes ago, TheHaney said:

Heavy Rattlesnake. I was gifted one of these very early on and it's simply refused to sink whenever I use it. It's marvelous. I've noticed it doesn't spawn as AI and the prices for it are insane; how is this acquired? Is it a rare blueprint?

You should be able to craft the heavy rattlesnake regularly (might have to get a Blue Print and Permit for it first from the admiralty shop though; not sure if the h-rattler is an admiratly ship.)

8 minutes ago, TheHaney said:

Crafting! I'm somewhat hesitant to get deep into crafting (because missions seem to give much better returns at my Captain rank compared to hauling goods from all corners of the Caribbean just to build Lynxes) but I know I'll need to eventually. Do people generally just stick to the method of hauling the cheapest resources they can find to one central location, or are shipbuilders usually relying on clan help?

Generally the biggest crafting hubs with the biggest market (supply and demand) are the capital ports. The new nations which start off without a capital have to get their own base. Usually its one or two ports where all the big busines happens.

11 minutes ago, TheHaney said:

PvP combat: I've only been in one PvP fight (I was chased down by a fella in an Endymion while in a Renommee), and it went fairly well. Neither of us died but he used faaar more repair kits than I did before he gave up and managed to escape. I don't think he expected a live oak Renom with carronades (I was running missions, don't judge). I've also developed an odd skill of combating attempts to push me into the wind. Anyway, the damn battle wore on for over an hour... is this normal? There was so much retreat-and-repair action going on I was ready to give up out of sheer exhaustion.

Yes, due to ability of repairing every 12 minutes, it comes down to kiting / running a lot. (Little tip: When you press the HOME key once, you get into the free cam mode. Sail to the ship of which you want to check the speed, and press the HOME key again, free cam will now kind of lock with your ships speed. that way you can check if you are faster / slower, and can judge if its worth it to chase / run).

[Kloothommel]

9 minutes ago, TheHaney said:

Thanks for the responses!

 

Also, I almost forgot: Dock space? Does buying extra docks only give you extra docks for that outpost, or is it effective across all of your outposts? Does that also scale like OP costs do?

Across all your outposts. And yes.

Edited November 17, 2017 by Cornelis Tromp

[Aster]

dock space is global and yes it scales, the last 2 are 4.5mill and 9 mill for 20 which is max

[TheHaney]

Thanks for the responses!

 

Also, I almost forgot: Dock space? Does buying extra docks only give you extra docks for that outpost, or is it effective across all of your outposts? Does that also scale like OP costs do?

Edited November 17, 2017 by TheHaney

[Liq]

edit, too slow

Edited November 17, 2017 by Liq

[Archaos]

20 minutes ago, TheHaney said:

- Crafting! I'm somewhat hesitant to get deep into crafting (because missions seem to give much better returns at my Captain rank compared to hauling goods from all corners of the Caribbean just to build Lynxes) but I know I'll need to eventually. Do people generally just stick to the method of hauling the cheapest resources they can find to one central location, or are shipbuilders usually relying on clan help?

Hauling goods can be profitable, but it is not much better than you can get from just doing missions in the safe zone. Hauling trade goods can give a good profit on some runs, but remember to take into account the tax to be paid at each end. 

I do not really find much profit in hauling crafting goods unless you can get hold of some rare goods. The problem with hauling crafting goods is you are not guaranteed to sell them immediately for profit at your destination. I guess if you knew a ship crafter who would give you a reasonable price to haul goods it might be worthwhile, but again the profit margins would be very small.

If you do haul trade goods remember to check out the trade missions available at the ports, you can come up with some good missions now and again that not only turn a good profit but also give you some xp and craft xp. I got a good one the other day where there was lots of the required trade goods available in ports close by and it was not a heavy cargo so I went with an Indiaman and 2 Indiamen in fleet and bought up all the trade goods I could close by and shipped them to the delivery port, luckily I had outposts in both mission port and delivery port so once I did one bulk delivery I just had to teleport back to the mission port and pick up the mission again and teleport back to deliver. If I can remember correctly I was able to take that mission over 90 times just by teleporting back and forth, making several million in profits and earning over 4.5k xp and crafting xp. If I can remember correctly the trade item was tobacco and the mission was to deliver 60 each time and I think the payment was something like 30k per run.

[TheHaney]

Now that's interesting... I thought I couldn't take items with me when I teleport to a different OP? Or did you use the tow tool? Unsure of how that all works.

 

EDIT: oh wait, I think I misread, you hauled way more than the requested items and then kept picking the mission again. Gottit!

Edited November 17, 2017 by TheHaney

[George Washington]

This game is not new player friendly and requires all players to go through you tube , forums and guides in order to figure out how everything works. This includes hostility movement, port battle schedules and other events. You even have to convert server time in order to figure out when is port battle might happen.  Not a single server , mail or other notification is now present in game. Glad your post might shine some light and change Developer view on how to improve this game and make it more 'Action' like, accessible and new player friendly. 

-Repairs in-battle vs OW vs port: Since I can't make kits myself (which I'm seriously reconsidering), I rely on drops/purchases.

Keeps players from pvp big time. 

Edited November 17, 2017 by George Washington

[Aster]

Glad to see you like the heavy rat. If you plan to get into ship crafting your biggest pain is going to be storage space as the parts will take up most of your warehouse in a port. If you do want to get into crafting though I would urge you to get a t1 ship yard and just start making small ships as soon as you can. Also do try to find a port owned by a clan with the labor hour reductions (40%) that will speed up your crafting growth a lot as hours are usually the bottle neck.

In terms of money making trade is king. If your new capture some trade brigs and run goods (Caribbean) from county towns (small dots) to the county capital (Big dot). These are super short, fairly safe runs that will net you a nice profit. In terms of trade missions I think they are pretty worthless atm you make plenty more money just doing normal trade.

Edited November 17, 2017 by Aster

[Archaos]

18 hours ago, Aster said:

In terms of money making trade is king. If your new capture some trade brigs and run goods (Caribbean) from county towns (small dots) to the county capital (Big dot). These are super short, fairly safe runs that will net you a nice profit. In terms of trade missions I think they are pretty worthless atm you make plenty more money just doing normal trade.

Do not discount trade missions they can enhance your profits while at the same time giving you additional XP and craft XP.

For example today there is a mission at Brewers to deliver 10 Madagascar jewels to Belize and available in the port is 175 Madagascar Jewels selling for 12065g each (a bit expensive for the jewels but still a profit to be made). So lets say you bought 170 of them to complete the mission 17 times it would cost you 2256155g to buy once you include tax which is 5% at the port. You could sail them direct to Belize and sell them at 28237g each which would give you 4320261g once 10% tax at Belize was considered, thus a profit if 432026 -2256155=2064106g profit, which is nice.

But if you were to do it via the trade missions you would have done 17 missions each giving you 324725g which would be 17x324725=5520325g after you take away your costs of 2256155g to buy would leave you with a profit of 3264170g and at the same time you would also have received 850 xp and 850 craft xp. I know I would rather take the 1.2 million extra gold as well as the XP.

The only issue with this run is that you would need 5 Indiamen to transport it and Brewers is a shallow water port, but it proves that trade missions are not just a waste of time, you just need to look out for ones that give you the greatest benefit. The run from Brewers to Belize would take around 40 minutes with a good wind. You just need to have an outpost in both ports to teleport back and forth to pick up the missions again.

Edit: BTW in case anyone is going there to get the jewels, I already bought them

 

Edited November 18, 2017 by Archaos