I have finally come to understand that being duo on a Brigantine is more productive/beneficial than being duo on a Sloop. Being triple on a Galleon, better than triple on a Brig.
This is only true if you actually use teamwork of course.
Before brigantine came out, only 2 friends of mine were often in the game, meaning we had to sail the galleon as 3 people. The thing is, this was no problem whatsoever, even in PVP settings we managed to come out as the victor in most cases. I have also come to realize how less useful a second person is on my "solo" Sloop. This second person is mostly just an "Extra life" on my sloop, for the most of my times on the sloop, I managed to handle it pretty much perfectly alone.
With the brigantine out, most people will 3 man it, but the third person will be most likely useless. Another "Extra Life" so to speak. Not entirely useless, of course. But wont contribute much to the ships effort.
My friend defined this extra player as "Diminishing returns" to the effective gameplay. Not that it is worse to max out the number of players allowed, but you wont be gaining as much as you would than if you had a bigger ship.
Here are some of the advantages you get from the brigantine or the Galleon without that 1 player to max out the number:
2-man Brigantine
- You get to have 2 cannons firing at a ship (This is assuming you are good with multitasking with the ship)
- You get to move faster due to the ships nature, sails arent a problem if you work with a teammate
- Solo-ing the brig is not a problem much either when the situation calls for it.
The real weakness I found with the brig is how fast it can sink.
3-man Galleon
A lot of the same applies from what I wrote about the brig.
- You get 1 extra cannon firing
- move faster (but ofcourse not as agile as a sloop or a brig)
- Bailing the galleon is a tad bit harder, but it also does not sink as hard as the brigantine does. Meaning, you get to take hits where they dont matter much.
Other strengths:
- You get to invite your last player in while sailing without a hassle.
- You will more likely work with the team and make the ship work like a maxed out ship
Admitted weaknesses:
- You dont have as much of an opportunity to dare for boarding or have an extra person for repairs/helm. So multitasking will be required. Boarding in general is not an issue to combat, but the worry for repairs/bailing could hinder some executions you have in mind.
- 4 manning a galleon is always desirable as it has the least ammount of diminishing returns when maxed out. Just know that 3 manning a galleon may be better for you than maxing out a brigantine.
Why the extra person is "useless"
Not useless, but the only thing you will have him do is:
- Try to board
- Repair
- Helmsman
Boarding can be easily neglected, Being on the helm while many other things are happening is pretty useless. The only best thing you can have the extra person do (on a sloop or Brigantine) is Repair.
Or atleast, this is all my opinion. I have come to appreciate simply making a ship work and it pays off. The brigantine has made my duo runs great, as well as galleon with trio.
