How Do I Disable Ship Combat?

[Kexby]

I've just endured my first ship combat. It was absolutely dreadful!

 

I hated it so much that I actually didn't finish it, I used ctrl+alt+del to quit the game in the middle of it.

 

I've heard that this 'feature' is supposed to be optional and you can completely avoid it if you want to. But I've searched through options and the ship's settings, but I can't find any way to disable it.

 

Does anybody know?

[anathanielh]

You don't disable it. You can either close to board (This causes you to take a little damage) or enter ship combat and sail up to the enemy ship.

 

There is also a mod to remove damage from "close to board". Mods don't disable achievements and are easy to add to the game, so give it a try if you like.

Edited August 4, 2018 by anathanielh

[try2handing]

It's not so much "disable it" but rather "avoid the worst of it".

 

If your ship has faster movement rate, you can simply turn around and keep running away until you get out of ship combat (once the distance hits 600, IIRC).

 

Or, do the opposite. Head straight toward the enemy ship by spamming option #1 every turn. When the other ship is within your range you can board them, and have yourself some good oldschool party-based brawl. Unless the enemy crew has overwhelming power, you should at least have a more pleasant time fighting them this way. Just make sure to recruit party members, equip them with decent equipment and level them properly.

 

Or, you don't even have to manually rush at the enemy ship. Just select option #2 "Close to Board" when the ship combat starts. It does the charging part automatically for you. Your ship and crew will suffer damage - more than if you do this manually. Just don't do this too often in a short time, cause the ship and crew need time to recover.

 

All in all, it's not THAT bad, though. Take it slow, recruit crew members, upgrade your ship, the ship combat will eventually get pretty fun.

Edited August 4, 2018 by try2handing

[Kexby]

Thanks for the answers folks. I think I'll try modding this.

 

If I can just increase my ship's speed to something outrageous, then perhaps I can just outrun enemy ships whenever I encounter them and never have to engage in ship combat again

[pstone]

Apart from just boarding the enemy ship (starts normal party combat), you can outrun them. If you are in good standing with the faction they belong to, you also don't get attacked automatically anymore (but need to initiate combat yourself).

Edited August 4, 2018 by pstone

[M4xw0lf]

Shooting enemy ships to bits is a nice source of XP and monies.

[Boeroer]

I also don't like it too much, but once you get the hang of it it's not too bad - also because the loot can be very good.

[AndreaColombo]

Close to board all the time. Show them who’s boss on your own terms ;D

[M4xw0lf]

On lower levels some boarding battles can be absolute suicide.

[Karkarov]

There are many good guides on how to win ship battles, even with just the starter ship, starter crews, and low end guns.  That said, it is best to avoid ship combat early game until you can get better guns, and a decent ship.  Then you can sail around looking for small ships to beat, leveling your crew, which then makes it much easier to beat the real ships.

It is actually one of the most rewarding aspects of the game, if you learn how to play it.  Everyone hates it at first, and that is because the game does a crap job of teaching you how it works, or how to play it.

Edited August 4, 2018 by Karkarov

[HoopleDoople]

There are many good guides on how to win ship battles, even with just the starter ship, starter crews, and low end guns.  That said, it is best to avoid ship combat early game until you can get better guns, and a decent ship.  Then you can sail around looking for small ships to beat, leveling your crew, which then makes it much easier to beat the real ships.

 

It is actually one of the most rewarding aspects of the game, if you learn how to play it.  Everyone hates it at first, and that is because the game does a crap job of teaching you how it works, or how to play it.

 

Rewarding in terms of loot and experience, sure. Rewarding in terms of being an enjoyable way to spend your time, (IMO) no. It's annoying and frustrating until you learn the mechanics, then boring and repetitive after you do. I vastly prefer closing to board and engaging in the well designed standard combat instead of the tacked on ship combat mini-game. Even if the enemies and ship layout are pretty similar, at least I can mix up the party members and tactics I'm using.

[Karkarov]

Rewarding in terms of loot and experience, sure. Rewarding in terms of being an enjoyable way to spend your time, (IMO) no. It's annoying and frustrating until you learn the mechanics, then boring and repetitive after you do. I vastly prefer closing to board and engaging in the well designed standard combat instead of the tacked on ship combat mini-game. Even if the enemies and ship layout are pretty similar, at least I can mix up the party members and tactics I'm using.

Opinions, everyone has one.  I vastly prefer the ship combat, because it is ludicrously faster than "closing to board" and fighting it out, it also costs less money due to less repairs, and it gives my crew more exp making the next ship battle that much easier.

Edited August 4, 2018 by Karkarov