Quick Shots
1)Do the tutorials: They are easy to do and they give good rewards. You can even find other guides in how to do them if you stuck somewhere. Some even have images!
2)If you have started with a CUTTER, DO NOT ATTACK the RED PEARL! The level 1 cutter you have, will most probably lose the fight. First level your cutter (level 2 or 3) then hit the RED PEARL. You can still beat it with two attacks but it might spoil your NPC win ratio. If you do not mind the ratio, attack it.
3)Get as many loans as soon as possible. IF you can, pay them fast, this way you will get more loans later. Go for 50k at first, then for about 300k, then for about 1 million. If a loan spirals out of your ability to pay, its better to msg the banker and arrange a deal than anything else.
Pirate/Privateer Path
You will use your turns to make Gold through NPC and player farming.
With the gold you get, build 10 howkers. Then create a Level 10 Sloop, a Level 10 Brig, A Level 10 Cutter and a Level 10 Brig of War in this order.
The 10 howkers will generate enough gold coins for you to pay your loans. Use your war fleet to attack players for profit and NPCs...
Merchant Path
You will use your turns to build more trade ships. Don't waste turns anywhere else. Keep the rest goodies (ie country missions) for later (once captains cost more than a shiny new war fleet perhaps).
With the gold you get, build howkers or fluyts.
Seek trade advice elsewhere - Generally, the best way to trade nowadays is to use party cards but these require a large warehouse (funding through loans) and credits. So unless you can get both at the same time, skip it and go for simple trading.
GENERAL ADVICE
HOW TO - NPC FARMING
-Sell all voodoo card presents you get in the players market.
-Only keep Coastal Piracy and Pacifism. Buy these from the market with the credits you get. About 10 from each will do for a decent start.
-Use your war fleet. The more ships you have, the greater the gold rewards (and enemy ship strength).
Objectives for the first week
-Marry a daughter (Pick Tortuga/Thorakas or Chalkos one) - You need her daily voodoo present.
-Build a level 10 Sloop - Use this to farm NPC fleets and other small players.
-Build 10 howkers - No matter what, you need a small trading fleet.
-Become a Pirate (Can be tricky - if your nation is not in top 20, switch to a nation that has many players in the Plunder sceeen, ie Midway Islands) or Start the country missions
Both options are good. Choose depending on your playing style. Pirates get halved upkeep and more while titles offer better bonuses in the long run.
-Find a good guild - Don't create one if you are clueless
-Get a presents partner +1 Present daily
Common Problems
-You will run out of turns: Try not to instant travel.
-You will have trouble building the ships: Its called material sortage, you will need to setup trade routes just for supplies.
-You will need gold coins; Get loans or help from other people. You can always pay them later.
-Login AT LEAST once per day - if you run out of things to do, explore the game and read guides.
-The start with a cutter is much different than you can possibly understand as a newcomer. In this case, read this guide - its outdated but helpful.
Extra update on February, 2017:
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Key changes are:
-Ships Market
-Credits Exchange
-Shipwreck Hunting
-Royal Stipends
For a newcomer, the most important of all are the Royal Stipends: Joining the nation that offers the best stipends for newcomers (You should look up to Captain rank mostly) is considered one of the top moves.
Credits exchange, once you see where the price usually stand, is a feature that awards activity. You can make millions per day once you can reach the full capacity (no bank - 50M, 25M in gold and 25M in credits).
Ships Market can be used to build ships faster. You save on turns and materials that you would otherwise need to carry. The deals at the market if you combine all costs, are better than if you build them yourself (not always). You could arrange a deal through the tavern with other players for bundle purchase of Howkers perhaps, on a low price surely.
Shipwreck Hunting is not really viable for a newcomer.
If you still play by day 3, you are in a guild and you like the game, consider buying credits. There will be no better moment to buy credits than when you are a newcomer. Not only for the newcomer packs but because the great boost credits can give early on.
