One question about naval combat

[xzar_monty]

I have now faced three or four battles at sea. My strategy has always been this: I try to close down the enemy vessel as quickly as possible and then engage in face-to-face onboard combat. During my fast approach, I have been hit by enemy cannon fire, but never more than once per approach, and the damage done has been easy to deal with afterwards. I have never once fired my own cannons.

 

The question is: is there anything to be gained from a different approach to naval combat? Would I gain something by sinking enemy ships, for instance? My logical guess is that I would lose the loot, which I don't want to do, and this is why I use the strategy I have.

[abaris]

I did the close in and board approach at the start. Now I'm trying to take advantage of my ship. Keeping the distance and firing different sorts of ammunitions. If you start out with chainshot and have a pretty experienced crew, you can make the enemy a sitting duck. If you fire grapeshot, you can reduce their crew and make them less reactive.

 

It's all about knowing your own strengths and avoiding enemies you're not ready to engage because they're above your level of expertise.

[Hulk'O'Saurus]

I've mostly soloed Deadfire, and so I wanted to sink enemy ships, because to board them I'd need my build to be at 20. Instead I use the guns to get quick early boost in XP and cash from bounties. 

Edited November 3, 2018 by Hulk'O'Saurus

[xzar_monty]

What happens to loot if you sink enemy ships?

[Frak]

What happens to loot if you sink enemy ships?

You get loot also when sinking ships. I'm not sure whether you get the same amoun of loot. I would imagine it to be less ('cause sinking), but haven't verified

 

 

OP: The advantage to softening them up with cannons is that, if you injure them (and their surgeon) you will face less when boarding.

[Boeroer]

You get the same loot and more nautical experience (gaining ranks for you and your crew- making ship fights easier).

Edited November 3, 2018 by Boeroer

[xzar_monty]

You get the same loot and more nautical experience (gaining ranks for you and your crewa- making ship fights easier).

 

Ok. This was very good information, thank you. So there is a difference between the two approaches (ship to ship combat vs. boarding).

[abaris]

 

What happens to loot if you sink enemy ships?

You get loot also when sinking ships. I'm not sure whether you get the same amoun of loot. I would imagine it to be less ('cause sinking), but haven't verified

 

 

OP: The advantage to softening them up with cannons is that, if you injure them (and their surgeon) you will face less when boarding.

 

 

 

You get the exact same amount.

[InsaneCommander]

Sometimes I get them to near 0 hull health and then I board, getting to experience both naval combat and boarding. But most of the time I just sink then asap.

[Aranduin]

You get the same loot and more nautical experience (gaining ranks for you and your crew- making ship fights easier).

 

I think you could lose loot when you sink a ship.

Is a pity. In my opinion the game can reward the aboard versus desytroy the nemy ship with more loot.  You have more time for loot the enemy ship.

[Boeroer]

At the moment you gain the same loot. So: no mechanical/powergaming reason to board.

[xzar_monty]

I believe I will still try to board whenever possible. The only reason for this is that naval combat gets pretty boring quite quickly. It's not bad, but it's nothing great either.

[Boeroer]

My "problem" with boarding fights is:

 

- you start unstealthed and you have to pause manually

- your squishiest party member will get focused-fired by guns as soon as combat starts

 

That's annoying. Sure, I can give him a large shield with modal and the problem is solved. Or I skip that and bombard the enemy ship out of the water with one salvo of five double bronzers and spare me one more loading screen.  

[xzar_monty]

My "problem" with boarding fights is:

 

- you start unstealthed and you have to pause manually

- your squishiest party member will get focused-fired by guns as soon as combat starts

 

I agree on the manual pause thing, that's a design flaw in my view. Stealth is not really realistic, given that the enemy vessel has seen you coming, although I understand why someone might disagree. And yes, the squishied member problem is there, too.

 

I still prefer to board.

[abaris]

I believe I will still try to board whenever possible. The only reason for this is that naval combat gets pretty boring quite quickly. It's not bad, but it's nothing great either.

 

Problem with this, your crew will get less experience that way. So upcoming fights are much more tedious than with a trained crew. Also, depending on your opponent, some of them can quite easily blow you out of the water with two or three broadsides, while you're approaching. Trying to injure their crew in the first stages of the battle on the other hand, buys you a lot of time to make up your own strategy.

[InsaneCommander]

- your squishiest party member will get focused-fired by guns as soon as combat starts

 

This could be another "bug". Has anyone reported it?

[xzar_monty]

 

I believe I will still try to board whenever possible. The only reason for this is that naval combat gets pretty boring quite quickly. It's not bad, but it's nothing great either.

 

Problem with this, your crew will get less experience that way. So upcoming fights are much more tedious than with a trained crew. Also, depending on your opponent, some of them can quite easily blow you out of the water with two or three broadsides, while you're approaching. Trying to injure their crew in the first stages of the battle on the other hand, buys you a lot of time to make up your own strategy.

 

 

You may well be right. So far, I have faced one superior opponent that I decided it was wise to run away from, as they indeed might have sunk me with their broadsides.

 

Incidentally, it appears to me that the Defiant is particularly good when it comes to outrunning other ships. Or perhaps I have just been very lucky with how the wind blows.

[abaris]

 

 

I believe I will still try to board whenever possible. The only reason for this is that naval combat gets pretty boring quite quickly. It's not bad, but it's nothing great either.

 

Problem with this, your crew will get less experience that way. So upcoming fights are much more tedious than with a trained crew. Also, depending on your opponent, some of them can quite easily blow you out of the water with two or three broadsides, while you're approaching. Trying to injure their crew in the first stages of the battle on the other hand, buys you a lot of time to make up your own strategy.

 

 

You may well be right. So far, I have faced one superior opponent that I decided it was wise to run away from, as they indeed might have sunk me with their broadsides.

 

Incidentally, it appears to me that the Defiant is particularly good when it comes to outrunning other ships. Or perhaps I have just been very lucky with how the wind blows.

 

 

The Defiant is very manoevarable. Given the right upgrades, it can sink most of the stronger opponents without taking too much damage. It takes just one turn to jibe and - depending on your guns - can fire at every second turn.

 

If it wasn't for the many crew members you pick up on your journey, I wouldn't have changed her for something larger.

Edited November 6, 2018 by abaris

[rjshae]

After a few naval battle's I'm starting to think that an approach using scaled-down version of the world map interface would be more enjoyable for the maneuvering aspects. The text-only interface quickly loses its appeal.

Edited November 6, 2018 by rjshae