Me and a friend just tried to sink a Ghost Sloop to no avail, and it ended up sinking us instead. We fought for at least 20 minutes, while it was partially distracted killing a Megalodon, and had at least 20 shots hit below their waterline. After that, it instead sank us, and we lost out on probably a couple hundred thousand gold's-worth of loot.
Earlier today, we had to outrun another Ghost Sloop while overloaded with treasure, and we used chainshot to try and demast the ship. We watched as four of the shots phased right through the mast and kept going, and we used more than a fair share of blunderbombs and firebombs to try and get it off our tail. The chainshot that DID hit the mast didn't seem to do... Anything, really. They just kept right on sailing. The only thing that stopped them was us pulling up to the outpost and docking. They turned away after that.
So Rare, uh... What gives? Just how much health do the Ghost Sloops have? You make them unsinkable intentionally? Sure seems that way.
Ghost Sloop Health
I think you are speaking of the Skeleton sloops, they take approximately 10 cannon shots to sink if you place them well. As all the skeleton vessels they do not bucket water out, but will repair the damage you do. Keep in mind that shooting the same spot has a limited effect, once a tier 3 hole is created all it does little other than possibly preventing the repair by knocking back the one holding the planks, after which they walk back and start hammering again.
Regarding chainshots, they are useless against them. They don't move based on the wind, but by the magical nature of the seas... they don't abide by the natural order.
I sank one with 5 hits yesterday, it’s really not that hard once you learn how.
Just hit them a couple times, if you’re not solo board them, then just spawn camp them. If you are solo just keep shooting them with canons, max you’ll need to shoot should be around 15.
It can take a bit of practice but eventually you’ll be able to sink one in under a minute.
@delhandril from the sound of it you are pretty new to the game? Skeleton ships don't have health, they sink when water hits their top deck, just like you do. Don't waste chainshot on the skeleton ships, they are powered by magic, not wind, and as you discovered the chainshot does nothing. As for sinkimg them, it should take only 5-10 shots. The key things to remember is to hit the sloop as close to the water as possible. Shots near the top deck and to the masts do no damage that water can get into. The skeletons can repair holes, but not bail water, so hit them as many times as you can in quick succession so they don't have time to repair. Also remember that there are 3 levels of holes: small, medium, and large, that get bigger each time you hit in the same spot. So hit the sloop 2 or 3 times in one spot and then move your aim to another spot. And finally, if all else fails you can run your ship alongside theirs so they are too close to hit you with cannons, and sink them by bailing water from your ship onto theirs.
