Lack of Pirates

[Dark Shinji]

Ok, I'm getting next to no pirates on all my cruises.  I'm doing board em' missions and the crew of my frigate has very good swordsmanship skill.  It comes into battle every-so-often and gets only gold (not that that is a bad thing), but I need pirates.  I got only 19 to watch over 140+ captives!  I got no guards at my palace!  This is really dangerous.  HELP!

[Severous]

Hello Dark Shinji

I tend to have the opposite problem - too many pirates.

I suggest:

1) For immediate Pirates use the pressgang edict on unskilled captives.  Best possible pick are captives that are unemployed, high courage, close to town, really tired & hungry and have learnt few if any skills.  Dont pressgang a hauler carrying a load of goods!

2) You have 'Board-em' settings.  Bit of a two edged sword that.  Risk to your existing Pirates but supposed to capture more.  Try setting 'Big Spender' as well.  Cuts the cash your island earns but supposed to sway battles in your favour as enemy surrender easier to join your cause.

3) Try using smaller ships.  This statement might be contested by others.  My theory is that big ships have a fearsome broadside. All battles start with one round of this.  There are many encounters against smaller ships. Against your Frigate the few it catches are pulverised with few survivors.  A smaller ship with a high notoriety Captain will rely on cowering the enemy into submission. I suspect your Frigate has many KIAs also which need replacements.

My best Scum haul in TJs 'Random Scenario' im playing this last couple of weeks is: Schooner 'Sooner Chance it' Henry Morgan commanding.  Was at sea 13 days (departure to mooring up again). Full crew, cutlass, and cannon but no muskets. Boardem and Big Spender. He  returned a hero with 30 Scum for loss of 2 crew. Had taken out a Pirate Brigantine and Pirate Frigate which had both managed to catch his faster schooner that had attempted to flee on both ocassions.  The stuff of epic novels but the settings used increased the chances of such an outcome.

You can play the game so the captives dont need Guards or Overseers on safety grounds.  Guards can be dispensed with early in the game.  Later, fear inspiring buildings and decor (hanging skeletons and hands) will work wonders. Must ensure the captives are well feed and rested.  Do this and you dont need Religion either which really boosts productivity for farmers, woodcutters and miners.

Good luck

[Dark Shinji]

1) For immediate Pirates use the press-gang edict on unskilled captives.  Best possible pick are captives that are unemployed, high courage, close to town, really tired & hungry and have learned few if any skills.  Don't press-gang a hauler carrying a load of goods!

But I'm also running low on captives too.  Sure I got 140+, but they can't service everything.

2) You have 'Board-em' settings.  Bit of a two edged sword that.  Risk to your existing Pirates but supposed to capture more.  Try setting 'Big Spender' as well.  Cuts the cash your island earns but supposed to sway battles in your favor as enemy surrender easier to join your cause.

On a few Board em' missions I've had all my pirates come home, even in areas with heavy naval activity.  I always use big spender because it draws in the new pirates.  But I still have problems.

3) Try using smaller ships.  This statement might be contested by others.  My theory is that big ships have a fearsome broadside. All battles start with one round of this.  There are many encounters against smaller ships. Against your Frigate the few it catches are pulverized with few survivors.  A smaller ship with a high notoriety Captain will rely on cowering the enemy into submission. I suspect your Frigate has many KIAs also which need replacements.

I've actually had a lot of new pirates come in when I used a Snow (yes, a Snow) with full cannons, muskets, and cutlasses.  The little Snow went out on a Pound em' mission, engaged in one battle, and came back with 15+ new pirates.

And they say Snows are too weak to cruise.  Fah!

[Severous]

Need captives... then repeated raids with a Snow will sort that out.  You will lose you a few pirates along the way.  Unless you are really unlucky you will soon make headway on the numbers.

I have had shortages of captives and scum pirates at one stage.  See the scenario ive been reporting on the other board.  I sent the Snow raiding time after time to address the captive situation. The schooner(s) brought in new scum...but then I ended up spending a fortune on rations.

A balancing act or put another way....gameplay.  

[Coconut Kid]

... A balancing act, or put another way = gameplay. 

You have to learn all the tricks of the game.

Severous' recruitment formula is good. But Dark Shinji scoffs at all suggestions.

I think a Frigate really needs to cruise as part of a fleet with the fastest ship to catch the prey while the Frigate comes up to join the fun.

3) Try using smaller ships.  This statement might be contested by others.  My theory is that big ships have a fearsome broadside. All battles start with one round of this [pound 'em].  There are many encounters against smaller ships. Against your Frigate the few it catches are pulverised with few survivors.  A smaller ship with a high notoriety Captain will rely on cowering the enemy into submission. I suspect your Frigate has many KIAs also which need replacements.

Yes, I do not accept that theory as stated. Big ships are slower and need help catching smaller ships. It is only the first round which is automatically a pound 'em, so only the one fastest of the fleet will be engaged in that round against the single enemy. However, the theory about killing the enemy crew fails because the game allocates pound 'em damage almost all to the ship - especially to reduce speed.¹ There are simply too many variables in play to concoct a single victory formula.

It's best to examine all the factors in the game. If you are able to manage six ships in an optimum way, you are a good player.



¹Remember:

• The enemy is always a single ship, not a fleet.
• The enemy ship has all the characteristics of your ship, randomly generated.
  • Physical data.
  • Its Operational Orders determine its action for second and next to last rounds.
  • Captain, Leaders and Crew with normal data characteristics.
• The number of second and subsequent combat rounds are determined by the algorithm for each round, with the last round being always the board 'em round by default
  • The Board 'em round is special round tripped by the end of the algorithm for the previous round.
  • The action taken by the ships in the second and next to last round is determined by the operational orders of that ship
    • Pound 'em is to stand off at a distance (beyond musket shot) and by cannon destroy the hull of the ship until it is sinking and unable to resist boarding. Plunder will be little more than the cash (gold) in the poop deck and the few wretches clinging to the wreckage - you could search for more, but why bother? If the ship being attacked is good at it, the Pirate King will get a sunk notice.
    • Harass 'em is to dare to come close enough to shoot the crew with muskets (and perhaps a few small cannon) until they are so few or so demoralized that the ship can not resist boarding. If the ship being attacked is good at it, your ship may limp home (I think) with hardly anyone aboard; or be captured and sunk.
    • Board 'em limits your ship to hand-to-hand combat in the last round and no action at all after the first round. It is the classic pirate maneuver - sneak up and jump them. It works well with small or medium, fast ships. It isn't for the big ships because why not use their arms in the intermediate rounds? Likely no enemy ship has this operational order.
• Just as the first round is pound 'em, the last round is board 'em.