- Fleet Configuration (How your fleets should be setup)
- Fleet Set-up (What ships do you have, lots or few?)
- General personality. (Is your playstyle an aggressive one?)
Fleet Configuration:
The first thing I will talk about is a factor called Fleet configuration, I have seen many people with Ship of the Lines but stupid configurations however this guide is to help them understand, fleet configurations as a whole. Fleet Configuration is the way the player sets up a designated fleet.
1) Have a good amount of tails, I see a lot of people flying around with one tail and 4 Ship of the Line in one fleet - Which those people, I am not saying they deserved what happened - But it was stupidity to have such. I personally believe two to three tails will be fine (It depends on the designated fleet size, what types of ships etc). As this requires your opponent to cast 20 to 30 Call Levithans, to get to your fleets or zero you.
If it is a Ship of the Line fleet I would recommend this fleet layout:
--> Ship of the Line, Ship of the Line, Cutter, Cutter, Cutter (Highly recommended - The first Ship of the Line can be placed at 60 attributes, adding to that unique firepower. Players with this configuration do not really get attacked - RedJack02 as an example, he has had this for a while now.)
--> Ship of the Line, Ship of the Line, Frigate, Cutter, Cutter (An ok configuration, but 20 Call Levithans leads to a 20,000 ransom per attack which could lead to a defleet. This is for people that want that added firepower)
--> Ship of the Line, Ship of the Line, Large Frigate, Cutter, Cutter (Bad Configuration, but if you want that extra power you can, but this means after 20 Call Levithans you will be paying a 45,000 ransom per hit which is a lot!)
If it is a Man of War fleet I would recommend this fleet layout:
--> Man of War, Ship of the Line, Cutter, Cutter, Cutter ( Highly recommended - Due to your fleet already being juicy how it is, it is recommended to have up to 3 tails, all level 10. Meaning the target would have to drain you to get at his ships within a short period of time)
--> Man of War, Ship of the Line, Frigate, Cutter, Cutter (Medium to highly recommended - If you want that extra power this is a good reccomendation but please keep in mind, your fleet is worth 60 Million gold coins - Plus a trophy)
--> Man of War, Ship of the LIne, Large Frigate, Cutter, Cutter (Not recommended - With the Large Frigate you are looking at a 45,000 gold coin ransom. After 20 Call Levithans)
2) Decide what you need - When you build a fleet, are you looking for a 'wow' factor when players cast Spy Network or are you looking for a secure fleet to attack players with, and not be taken advantage of? Of course if it is the wow factor, I would go with the Bad Configuration for it is worth over 40 Million gold coins - Whilst providing a 'dedicated' amount of firepower. If you are looking for the secure fleet, which will not be taken advantage of I would choose the 'highly' recommended fleet layout, based above. One Ship of the Line can beat 3 Ship of the Line's as long as it is 60 attributes with various other 'researches'.
3) How many combat fleets are you looking to have? If you are planning to have multiple, state of the art fleets - Or one major fleet with 'side' warfleets such as ones with Brig of Wars or Frigates - This is what you have to pay attention to. Per fleet has a set amount of 'gold coins' you must have out in your 'purse' at any given time.What configuration will these 'Side warfleets be? Below is recommended configurations:
For Frigates I would recommend:
--> Frigate, Frigate, Frigate, Cutter, Cutter (Highly recommended - If you have multiple of these fleets, this is recommended for you as to the pirate mind he will think you will always follow the 2x or 3x cutter rule. Whilst 3 frigates are able to beat one or two Ship of the Line(s) )
--> Frigate, Frigate, Frigate, Brig of War, Cutter ( Medium to High Reccomendation - This is for the people that have multiple fleets - But do not want to loose added firepower due to risks that may not involve them. With the Brig of War being able to beat a poorly stacked Frigate, but doing this means 10 Call Levithans = 10,000 per attack.)
--> Frigate, Frigate, Frigate, Frigate, Cutter ( Medium Reccomendation - This is for those that consider anything below Frigate in terms of fighting weak, although it would deliver a 20,000 ransom if a scallywag was to cast Call Levs on you, which could loose to bigger fleets being lost. I would not recommend having more then 3 of these fleets set-up - Learnt this from Ayecappy when he tried to raid me)
--> Frigate, Frigate, Frigate, Frigate, Brig of War (Not Recommended - Although this could wield a lot of firepower it is not recommended. Per attack would cost you a additional 10,000 I have not seen many people actually running with this. But this could lead to your main fleets being captured - Which is the least what I want, right?)
Brig of War Fleet Reccomendations:
--> Brig of War, Brig of War, Brig of War, Cutter, Cutter (Highly Recommended - This would be able to beat a frigate fleet if stacked correctly, for the same reasons as the frigate fleet is setup, this is setup the same - 20 Call Levs for it to be a 10,000 cost for ransom)
--> Brig of War, Brig of War, Brig of War, Sloop of War, Cutter ( Medium to Highly Recommended - If you are looking for that tad bit extra firepower but afraid of pirates this is the ideal setup for you. With the extra Sloop of War, this can and will provide that winning blow against a similar fleet, with 10 Call Levithans being needed to 'blow' a 5,000 gold coin ransom)
--> Brig of War, Brig of War, Brig of War, Brig, Cutter (Medium recommended - Same reasons as the frigate fleets similar setup, if you are looking for a bit more firepower this is for you - Be warned though, with 10 Call Levithans you are looking up a 7,500 gold coin ransom per attack!)
--> Brig of War, Brig of War, Brig of War, Brig, Brigatine (Not recommended - Same reasons as the last one, although it will wield major results, by simple attacks on this fleet you are looking at a 6,000 gold coin ransom. )
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Fleet Set-up
When it comes to fleet set-up there has been several 'pieces' of advice that people have been following which is fine and dandy. First we will define what is Fleet Set-Up? It is how your fleets are setup as a whole. Meaning how many Merchant fleets you have vs War Fleets etc. Now lets get to it. The wise, maybe drunk Sir Henry Morgan advices players to have 250,000 gold coins on them at all times per 50 Ships. Meaning if you have 200 Ships, you will need 1,000,000 gold coins which is considerably cheap (If they are merchant ships, of course). However I purpose you to carry 500,000 gold coins per 50 Ships, not for the pirates to feast on but to make sure you are safe.
When it comes to War Fleets, I would advice you to have twice the amount it costs to build the fleet on you. Example(s) are based below:
--> Ship of the Line, Ship of the Line, Cutter, Cutter, Cutter. If you have one fleet like this, you will need roughly 3,600,000 gold coins on you per fleet you own.
--> Frigate, Frigate, Frigate, Cutter, Cutter. If you have a fleet like this - You will need 1,250,000 gold coins per fleet you own.
--> Brig of War, Brig of War, Brig of War, Cutter, Cutter. If you have a fleet like this - You will need 750,000 per fleet you own.
I will give you an example (Following the recommended examples, of course):
- A player has 200 Ships. - 2,000,000 in my eyes just for these.
- He has two main fleets with Ship of the Lines in. - 7,200,000 will be needed in your purse.
- He has three Frigate fleets. - 3,750,000 will be needed in your purse
- He has 2 Brig of War fleets - 1,500,000 gold coins in your purse.
The total cost of this would be: 14,450,000 gold coins total - This does not include his active times or general personality.
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General Personality:
Now the final thing is your general personality. What are you like, are you aggressive to some players - Do you cast Voodoo on others? If so chances are you will have to be more active if you have 'stronger' war fleet configurations and carry more when you are not active. However if you are more peaceful, perhaps you can get away with having 'under' the recommended amount at certain times. Or can maintain that 'level' constantly.
Now you may be asking, how can I trust this?
Well in summer I will build 3 Ship of the Line fleets, 2 Frigate fleets and 3 Brig of War fleets - And use this as an 'guide'.
Disclaimer: This is advice, if you disagree you disagree. But I believe this is as solid as it can get.
Until next time,
Avery
