Overview
(Unfinished) A breakdown on various avenues of the game, including combat help, pirating help, navigational help, crafting help, adventure help, etc. Will be updated as much as time and opportunity allows.
The Basics of Navigation.
When you are first exploring the world in your barca, learning the basics of maneuvering and navigation are key.
Shortcut hotkeys are also important, especially later on when you’re pvp’ing more.
Some handy shortcuts are:
Pg Up – Zooms Camera In
Pg Dn – Zooms Camera Out. (Scroll wheel does this also)
W – Opens sails incrementally
S – Closes sails incrementally
Delete – Anchors your ship
A and D -Turn Left and Right (respectively) in increments.
N – Open Cargo screen
V – Open Ship information window
B – Open Ship Parts window
I – Open equipment screen
O – Opens Inventory
C – Character information window
X – Skills window
Z – Player Search
Q – quest window
E – Storyline window
H – Area shout
` – Opens Custom Slots
Spacebar – Fire Cannons in battle
Tab – Select nearest object/person
R – Switch to /tell of most recent sender
G – Switch to Company Chat
F – Switch to Say chat
J – Switch to Party Chat
L – Open Friend List window
T – Open Discoveries window
M – Opens Map
(More to be Added Later!)
Tips on Battle Maneuvering at Sea.
Maneuvering
Maneuvering is the all important tactic in any pvp/npc battle on the seas. One wrong turn could mean a critical shot that can sink you instantly, so knowing where and when to turn is extremely valuable.
Below I’ll explain a small tactic to keep in mind when facing a player opponent.
In Figure 1 I’ve drawn a common situation encountered in PVP.
In the picture, on the left is your Current situation, and on the right is the Goal you wish to have, so you have more space to maneuver and defend yourself from enemy shots.
In Figure 2 I’ve drawn the right and wrong way of turning your ship to avoid enemy fire.
Now, when you’re faced with the choice of which direction to turn to reach your goal, you want to minimize the potential for damage dealt to you.
In the figure above, marked in GREEN is the approximate ranges of each of the enemy’s cannons. His Port and Starboard sides, and his Bow and Stern. As the two ships pass by one another, you need to turn around to face the other direction, however turning the wrong way will expose your vital spots for a longer period of time to the enemy’s broadside cannons.
If you turn TOWARDS your enemy, your Bow (nose) stays in the enemy’s broadside range for a long time, thus giving him the chance to nail you on the nose with a full crit as you’re trying to straighten out, and he has the option to turn and keep your nose in his range of fire.
However, turning AWAY from your enemy to swing around is the better option. Your Stern (tail) is exposed only briefly in line to his broadsides and as he continues to sail, his broadsides will only have YOUR broadsides as a target, instead of your nose as you’re trying to straighten out.