Defending as a Solo Sloop

  • After a textbook example of what NOT to do by a 2 man sloop attacking me lastnight I felt the need to help those who may struggle with PvP either on the offensive or defensive side.

    Don't buy an Umbrella in the Rain
    Prepare for war in peacetime by getting your boat supplied at all possible opportunities. Stop at supply barrels or jump overboard and fill your pockets and mermaid back if you're in a hurry. Move your cannonballs to the top barrel right away as it's easier to open. Or better yet place a cannonball crate between the guns at the foot of the mast. Rowboats help a lot to supply and quickly move loot from the island to your ship so scan for them and dock one when you can. When sailing or disembarking on an island, empty your pockets so you can get more supplies. Keep some bananas though at all times.

    Load your guns and keep them loaded. With the radial menu for CCBs you can fire the first shot to aim and load the CCB right away and better your chances of adjusting and hitting your mark.

    Mooring
    If you're solo and approaching an island to quest, if you drop anchor, lift it up right away. My technique is to raise sail and coast in (takes practice but trust me it will help) and then drop anchor to stop any drifting when you are in the right spot. It should a place easy to get back aboard and give you plenty of advance notice of approaching ships.

    Alternatively you may want to come in hot and drop anchor for a spectacular skidding stop but this takes some practice to get the timing right. Drop the anchor and raise right away again (after raising sails) Our crew calls this Stop, Drop and Roll.

    The main reason you don't want the anchor down and the sails raised is that you want to be able to choose fight or flight. You can make a quick getaway or you can spin the ship for a broadside.

    The Best Defence is a Good Offence
    When a ship approaches and see them coming you have a choice. You may see what the want and risk trusting a "We're Friendly" but if they are approaching in silence I will always take that as a hostile action and quickly respond in kind.

    And even a "We're Friendly!" will usually illicit a "We're not" response from me. I trust no one. It's the best tip I can give you for solo play.

    You will have the best chance of putting the odds in your favour by firing first. If you make a few good hits they may even see that you are not worth the trouble and sale on by. But this sloop needed a harder lesson.

    Battle Stations
    The attacking sloop made it's first mistake by approaching on my broadside. This leaves the attacker at a disadvantage because you can fire on them (and kill them if you're a good shot) before the are even in a position to return fire. Which is what went down. The crewmate on the cannon was killed and when the ship was turning into position the sloop had taken so many of my fire that the remaining pirate had no choice but to start repairs instead of firing back.

    This is a great time to unleash any Cursed Cannonballs you may have as you will have the easiest time lining up the shot. I would suggest an anchor or rigging ball early so it stops them in their tracks. This works on all ship types. For Galleons maybe a ballast ball and see if they are a crew that lazily neglects patching holes on the second deck. If so, you will create a lot of panicked pirates.

    If you can kill one of them (on a sloop) and put enough holes in their ship to give them pause, this is where the battle is ultimately decided. If you are outnumbered you will have to make sure they sink. So patch any holes below decks ASAP and bucket the best you can. Ignore the mid deck holes as time is of the essence. You need to stop the other ship from repairing. Cannon yourself over to the ship and with any hope they are not watching ladders. Most likely they are repairing or at the helm adjusting for a shot on you. You need to dispatch the crew as fast as you can especially if they were quick on repairs. If they aren't anchored at this point, you will want to steer them into an island or at least keep them out of range of your ship. Both if you can manage it. If they are anchored then reload and restock on bananas. Take supplies if you have the chance and next will be the duels.

    Weapons of Choice
    I personally default to Cutlass/Pistol. Well rounded and you will never be caught defenceless. It's good to note what your enemies are carrying as you can get one shot with a blunderbuss and you are better off hanging back until they fire and must reload. I like to open with a cutlass charge so practice this one. It will take half their health and has a good chance of knocking them off their boat. If this happens you are golden as you can watch their ladders until they sink. If you can kill the whole crew and have time, check their crows nest for kegs. Light and drop, light and drop and they will be sunk and dead in no time. Snipers do a lot of damage but are not easy to master and have long load times. Best to have a crewmate cover you with one of these but we are on our own so here we are.

    Finish the Job
    They should be close to sinking at this point or sunk and in the water. Watch for mermaids and I hope you reloaded and filled up on bananas. Jump in the water and look for swimmers. If they have Blunders just keep your distance. Damage at range is minimal. You can line up a pistol shot as they try and close the gap. Don't cutlass charge in water, it is useless. Two pistol shots will kill them unless they heal. If you run out of ammo then swim back to your ship and they will most likely get eaten by sharks while you wait for loot to float up.

    Watch Ladders
    If you want to switch to blunderbuss at this point, that's up to you. It's a great defence weapon. Just listen for swimmers. This game is full of audio queues to tell you what is happening and the one for a player boarding your ship is very clear. Aiming down sight on a pirate on a ladder will one shot them. If you have a pistol though you will want to cutlass them instead as it will be a bigger knockback and won't allow them to grab the ladder again or jump over the gunwales. You can pistol shot when they swim.

    Profit
    If they were silly enough to have loot before attacking you then they have donated generously to your cause and you can now loot at your leisure. Watch out for floating kegs and mermaids though. You are not 100% safe until the mermaid despawns.

    Hope this helps my fellow SOLO SLOOPERS . Fair winds and following seas!

    -Capt. Punch

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  • @m1sterpunch Nicely put together. Something to add, and this is more for times when you are solo and get the kraken, meg or skelly ship that proves to be to much. But get a rowboat as fast as you can and keep it. I stock the storage on the rowboat with at least 10 bananas. If you get a kraken attack and don't see a path to victory. Load your loot, starting with most valuable, onto the rowboat.

    The rowboat can also serve for PvP situations. If you are fleeing a ship, you can put a piece of low level loot into the rowboat and simply drop it from your ship. The other ship has a choice, send someone to investigate, continue to chase you and ignore, or stop completely to grab the loot. If the other boat is there solely for the PvP this won't help, but if they are just trying to be pirates and get your loot, it could at minimum leave their boat shorthanded or possibly even end the chase.

  • @nofears-fun
    I meant it as a guide against other attacking players and not PvE but yes the rowboat would fall under supplying the ship. The stock of "banana rations" on the dinghy is an excellent idea. Also using a rowboat at an empty fort makes for quickly supplying and you can unload most to your ship stores while underway. The decoy ploy is a good one but I'd rather board them and take THEIR rowboat filled with goods.

    If they do have a rowboat however, detach it so that it will allow you to get back to your own ship faster with loot if they are all dead.

  • @m1sterpunch nice to help people mate

  • Thanks all.

    I love this game and playing alone sometimes can be a challenge that can turn people away from the game. These tips help me not get too salty when outnumbered. Even against a 4 man galleon you have a chance, remember that. Play to your strengths and find their weaknesses. If you find the crew uncoordinated, it's possibly an open crew and you can easily divide and conquer. Outmaneuver them and make them waste their resources. Bait the crew to try and board and leave them in the water stranded. It's fun and satisfying when you can earn a win by outsmarting your opponent even if it wins you no loot.

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