Video of capturing bigger AI?

[Farrago]

I’ve never been good at this: using a smaller ship to capture a bigger AI. While I’m not particularly good at (or brave enough) at killing a bigger AI ship with a smaller, I do know a few techniques to get it done. However, solo vs a bigger AI, I have a hell of a time capturing it. Can anyone point me to videos or streams of players who do this well?

[Gregory Rainsborough]

10 minutes ago, Farrago said:

I’ve never been good at this: using a smaller ship to capture a bigger AI. While I’m not particularly good at (or brave enough) at killing a bigger AI ship with a smaller, I do know a few techniques to get it done. However, solo vs a bigger AI, I have a hell of a time capturing it. Can anyone point me to videos or streams of players who do this well?

Do you mean like a snow boarding a decrewed wasa with so it has less crew or when it hasn't been decrewed?

I can always do a video of something like that if the former is what you.

[Farrago]

3 minutes ago, Gregory Rainsborough said:

Do you mean like a snow boarding a decrewed wasa with so it has less crew or when it hasn't been decrewed?

I can always do a video of something like that if the former is what you.

Not looking for the boarding action as much as how a smaller ship can stay out of enough AI broadsides to get the crew low enough.

[Farrago]

2 minutes ago, Wraith said:

Do you mean AI with more crew upon boarding? 

In general you're far better off on decrewing a ship substantially via stern raking first before boarding, but you can get away with an un-modded ship, against an AI of equal or even substantially more crew (assuming you at least have marines) by being extremely conservative in boarding, but extremely skillful in setting up a "T" configuration when pulling them into boarding so you're on their stern... and then raking them repeatedly while in boarding.

You can fund multiple examples of this T configuration on YouTube.

As I told Greg, I’m not talking about the boarding as much as I am about getting the AI in condition to board. AI tends to want to do a turn battle. A smaller ship with better turn radius can get a few tight turns in for stern rakes but I always end up taking too many broadsides from the bigger ship to continue the decrewing.

[Farrago]

4 minutes ago, Wraith said:

In a smaller ship (e.g. a snow, prince, requin, etc.) in my experience the key is to not sail past the stern during their effort to tack.  I usually depower and back my sails to stop on my raking pass, rake, and then actually induce them to commit to their tack, then power up and tack behind them after they commit, keeping their stern facing toward you and making sure you never take a broadside that isn't against you when you're fully angled.  

This way you should only ever see them fire a single broadside, and that's when you're fully angled to them, and otherwise you're just raking them repeatedly.  

It helps after you've taken out their rudder and on lighter ships you may find putting a load or two of chain into them slows them enough to make staying outside boarding range, and always safe from a broadside as you tack behind them, much easier.  Note that even doing so it's possible to still lose a mast from time to time even if you're bouncing a lot of shots due to bow raking shots and random misses hitting your masts.

This of course all depends on the ship you're sailing, its deceleration and acceleration relative to the turn rate of the ship you're fighting, etc.

Thanks. I suspected what you described is what I needed to learn. In some ways, perhaps it’s easier in a snow or prince vs a 3rd or bigger instead of being in a 5th rate???

[[MCC] Die Antwoord]

I'm always impressed by players who manage to take on bigger ships, heck even an equal power AI can be a challenge sometimes... I've been farming AI in my Christian lately and it's amazing to see how much damage a 4th rate can do on a full 90 deg broadside. Heck, I'm fairly sure they do about 2x damage.

Even a Wasa in my Christian when we do that initial side-by-side pass will usually strip me of more armor than I can and I'm sporting 2 carronade decks on a sturdy white oak Christian... And I'm using double charge on my longs too.

[Bragan Benigaris]

16 hours ago, Wraith said:

So, you're pretty much committed to doing it in 5th rates or something that can carry a heavier, higher-pen broadside.  I'd suggest a relatively lightly built, turn-rate optimized carro-fit hercules or reno if you're going to be practicing on line ships.

16 hours ago, Farrago said:

Thanks. I suspected what you described is what I needed to learn. In some ways, perhaps it’s easier in a snow or prince vs a 3rd or bigger instead of being in a 5th rate???

Take a Herc and try to find a lonely USS - the delta between the turn rates of these two ships is one of the biggest. The USS has only 24pdrs instead the 32pdrs of the bigger SOLs (or smaller like Wasa), so if you overshot during raking or your angle isn't good enough it doesn't hurt too much. The USS also has a lower crew count than the other  3rd rates and even some 4th rates. Within 2-3 trys - you can use redeemed Hercs with medium guns to minimize eventual loss - you have got the hang of it. 

[Farrago]

5 hours ago, Bragan Benigaris said:

Take a Herc and try to find a lonely USS - the delta between the turn rates of these two ships is one of the biggest. The USS has only 24pdrs instead the 32pdrs of the bigger SOLs (or smaller like Wasa), so if you overshot during raking or your angle isn't good enough it doesn't hurt too much. The USS also has a lower crew count than the other  3rd rates and even some 4th rates. Within 2-3 trys - you can use redeemed Hercs with medium guns to minimize eventual loss - you have got the hang of it. 

Thanks for the advice. I’ll give it a go.