Skelly forts-doing them is a risk and waiting for them to be done is a risk because both cost time and require patience and both can go wrong quickly without planning ahead.
To successfully sabotage a crew at a skelly fort and nab their hard earned swag like the dark scallywag that you are, a few golden rules need to be followed in my experience. Have gunpowder barrels in the crows nest and stock up on resources, max out on resources if possible or get as close as you can to filling your barrels full.
Secondly you need to figure out which active skelly fort it is well in advance to going anywhere near it. Navigator has his work cut out for him on this one because he has to determine the distance, direction and time it will take to get there. Once you think the nav has pin pointed the correct skelly fort, do not direct your ship toward it but rather give that location a wide berth. Sail in a direction that keeps you at a considerable distance from the area so that you are not seen by a lookout - sail in a way that you could be mistakenly judged for sailing in a direction that gives the impression that you are too far away to be a concern- sailing in a direction that does not look to be toward the fort.
Navigator needs to be on point during this whole process and as you draw nearer to the fort location, he needs to be telling you which large islands are surrounding it. On your way, use rocks and islands to deliberately lose visibility of the active fort from all parts of the ship including the crows nest and stop at some of these islands to make it look like your on a voyage and totally disinterested in what's going on under that giant skull cloud in the sky. If you can't see it because of an island, then whoever is there can't see you because of that very same island and the longer you are unseen, the more likely any previous sighting of you will be disregarded as a non threat.
Long before you have established a secret position behind a large island near and adjacent to the active skelly fort, cease using game chat, the in game speech wheel and anything with a scope as your main goal at this point is not only to keep the ship out of view but also to be completely undetectable by any nearby players. Glare from scopes will give you away. So, after some time, tacking your way like a giant serpent ready to lunge at its prey from behind an island- you will be behind a nearby island-
At this point, you want to get the ship still but positioned and ready to move with sails up but angled well in favour of the winds direction and anchor raised unless there is a storm over you. Your deckhand should then get off the ship and go round to the side of the island that's hiding you where the skelly fort is visible and without using a glass, he needs to try to see if a ship is present. For the purpose of this sabotage tip, we will say that in this instance another galleon is anchored at the skelly fort.
If the deckhand / scout can't see clearly enough he needs to see if he can swim closer perhaps positioning himself atop a rock closer to the fort. Two main things the scout needs to look for is additional ships incoming toward your location which will threaten your plan- or ships heading toward the skelly fort.
Two ships fighting over a fort could work to your advantage as this will use up both of their resources but it could also result in a long drawn out wait for the skull cloud to fade away which is the other thing your scout will need to tell you the moment it happens. If you chosen sabotage, WAIT IT OUT, attacking will only entangle you in a battle you are not guaranteed to win and all your effort to be unseen will be utterly wasted. Patience is key.
After what may be some time, one way or another, the skull cloud should disappear because one crew or another will have successfully killed the skelly captain and the key to the vault where all that shiny swag is will be in their possession.
One of three things typically happens at this point...
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The crew open the vault and begin ferrying its loot from the island to their ship.
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They hold onto the key and wait to see if they have company. Which is why your hidden and waiting.
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They automatically sail away with the key and come back later. Might be a problem. Might not. Who's better at sails? How much cannonballs, bananas and planks do they have in comparison to you?
some will wait then sail away with the key to throw you off their scent, some may even try to hide the key on the fort island or the loot-keep this in mind. Some things are not worth chasing, I would not chase this for too long... if you have to give chase that's fine but if you don't then this plan does work when executed well.
So,
You have an option here, you can send a second crew member off ship to swim over to the fort while it's still active and if they have the bananas, the ammo and the time, they may survive the sharks and the skellys long enough to get there, hopefully remain undetected and up into a vantage point like a cannon tower or the enemies crows nest - to be able to send back intel on what the crew does once the captain drops the key but this is risky as hell and I would not recommend inexperienced players try it in case they give away your only advantage other than what should be superior resources, "stealth."
Your best course of action is to wait for 30-40 or even 60 seconds after the skull cloud disappears before launching a full scale assault on the skelly fort crew.
Don't give away your presence before you need to, its the one thing you can use in this situation to guarantee your success if the rest works out.
By this point if they have not seen you and have not been otherwise interrupted, they have likely assumed they are in a quiet server or just lucky no one is around bothering them...if they have opened the skelly fort vault, by the countdown of 30-60 seconds, all of the most valuable loot will likely be sitting on their ship and the rest will still be on the island.
Time to approach!
On approach, make sure the deckhands are managing the sails impeccably as you need to get there fast. If you don't get there in time they may leave or worse, secure all the loot, then leave. If they see you or if they have seen you they will likely leave straight after they obtain the key.
The scout during the beginning of your approach should be back onboard via a mermaid. As soon as the cloud goes the scout should come back and Start getting ready to drop sails once their on deck.
If everything has gone to plan this far you will be in a good position to come up alongside their ship and block their way out. Providing they have had no further trouble and you have been quick and mostly unseen up until now.
On approach, eventually have someone standing by anchor. The ship should be positioned correctly for an attack in the last leg of the approach.
The wheel needs to be straight when you drop the anchor or you will lose your angle for the gunners waiting to rain hell down on the enemy vessel - on approach, timing is absolutely everything. If one person is distracted, if something is done too early or too late, it may all have been a massive waste of time. Timing is everything. Make sure that whoever is on standby for the anchor begins to drop it at the right time, make sure they are familiar with how long it takes. Roughly it is 2 seconds to release the anchor and a further 4 long seconds for it to actually drop and stop the ship so this has to be timed perfectly to land your ship parallel to the anchored one- in order to give the cannons a good angle and reasonable distance for causing maximum damage upon stopping.
Just before the ship roars to a halt the crows nest guy needs to immediately grab a gunpowder barrel and jump off the crows nest into the water and get under the enemy vessel to release the barrel upward toward its keel like a depth charge while the deck hands vary their cannon hits along the hull below and then above the water line. don't hit your bomber.
Remember hitting the same place multiple times does not do more damage, it's about placement.
Once the first gunpowder barrel goes off the crows nest guy needs to try to board their ship quickly, to drop their anchor if need be and then to head to their crows nest for a second gunpowder barrel which they hopefully have stashed there to repeat the same depth charge tactic a second time, the second explosion should finish the job but If there is no gunpowder barrel, go down and cause general distraction and mayhem for crew members attempting repairs. Eating their bananas and firing pot shots off at them with the blunder should do it. Jump around and try not to die for as long as possible. Keep them chasing you as water floods into their ship.
Once the deckhands and nav start firing cannons, the helmsman needs to watch ladders for boarders. Left and right. Once the first set of cannon balls have been unloaded, the nav will likely have damage control to deal with if return fire has occured or an enemy has used the same gunpowder barrel tactic. The other deckhand will need to assist the helmsman with boarders unless damage control needs assistance. Should all go to plan, the enemy ship will sink and the boarders will be dead and likely your crows nest guy will be on the ferry of the damned with the enemy crew mocking them via emotes and the in game speech wheel to add insult to injury.
Now is the time everyone raises sails, raises anchor and gets off the ship to grab the loot floating in the water and in the vault. One person takes it onboard, the next stashes it in the bilge, keep it fast and circular. From the vault to the shore from the shore to the ship. Etc etc.
Don't put skulls above deck or in the captains cabin. More on that later.
The helmsman at this point should reposition the ship for ease of access for the crew grabbing the loot and also readying for a quick getaway.
Crows nest guy will respawn and get back in the crows nest to keep a look out for bitter hopeful vengeance or other stealthy crews incoming.
The Crew should Grab the stronghold stuff and the most valuable items and if need be, the ship needs to flee before an enemy vessel is anywhere close to mess up the operation.
If you need to flee...Leave the deckhand brhind to hide treasure on the fort island and then once the enemy vessel is near, the deckhand should grab a mermaid back to the ship to avoid giving away its location and then he should re-assume his role.
If you have a successful escape, go to a far and distant outpost NOT the nearest one- and make sure there is NO ONE around before docking and unloading your stolen loot!
