Navigating the Caribbean
The
Spanish Main is a tough and dangerous place to navigate a fleet through! You
have to constantly look out for shoals, the direction of winds, enemy flags,
other pirates, and be weary of landscapes shown on treasure maps. Things can
get more hectic than live squid caught in fishing net!
My first piece of wisdom is to have this map in hand at all times. It is the most important navigational tool in Pirates! and it isn't even in the game!
Click to Enlarge
The next and equally crucial part of navigating is abiding by wind direction. On lower difficulties ('Apprentice'), wind is nothing more but a factor of the speed your ship will travel at. You'll be able to sail into the wind easily, but slowly. But on higher difficulties, the wind controls where you travel more than you do yourself.
Tip: Use the wind reach diagram when choosing a proper ship to match the current wind's direction.
Now that we know the area and how to sail, ya need access to a vessel! Ships are only obtained by winning sea battles. Afterwards when it's time to plunder, you'll have the option to take the enemy's ship. If you want to patch up any damage made to it, visit a local, friendly merchant.
The following are the different types of ships available to a salty dog like you (straight from the manual):
Note: There are two sizes to describe these ships: small and big. Any boat with the cargo space 0-100 tons is small and 100-160 is large.
Spanish
Galleon
Best
Speed: 7-15 leagues
Best Point
of Sailing: Broad Reach
Maximum #
of Cannons:
36 guns
Typical # of Cannons:
20-24 guns
Maximum Personnel:
288 men
Typical Crew and Passengers: 275 men
Cargo Space:
160 tons
Spanish
War Galleon
Best
Speed: 7-15 leagues
Best Point
of Sailing: Broad Reach or Running Reach
Maximum #
of Cannons: 32 guns
Typical # of Cannons: 28-32 guns
Maximum Personnel:
256 men
Typical Crew and Passengers:
250 men
Cargo Space:
140 tons
Fast
Galleon
Best
Speed: 9-12 leagues
Best Point
of Sailing: Broad Reach or Running Reach
Maximum #
of Cannons: 28 guns
Typical # of Cannons: 24 guns
Maximum Personnel:
224 men
Typical Crew and Passengers: 215 men
Cargo Space:
120 tons
Frigate
Best
Speed: 9-12 leagues
Best Point
of Sailing: Broad Reach or Running Reach
Maximum #
of Cannons:
28 guns
Typical # of Cannons:
26-28 guns
Maximum Personnel:
224 men
Typical Crew and Passengers: 190 men
Cargo Space:
120 tons
Merchantman
Best
Speed: 9-12 leagues
Best Point
of Sailing: Broad Reach
Maximum #
of Cannons:
24 guns
Typical # of Cannons:
6-12 guns
Maximum Personnel:
198 men
Typical Crew and Passengers: 2-45 men
Cargo Space:
100 tons
Cargo
Fluyt
Best
Speed: 9-12 leagues
Best Point
of Sailing: Running Reach
Maximum #
of Cannons:
20 guns
Typical # of Cannons:
4-12 guns
Maximum Personnel:
160 men
Typical Crew and Passengers: 12-24 men
Cargo Space:
80 tons
Barque
Best
Speed: 9-12 leagues
Best Point
of Sailing: Broad Beam Reach
Maximum #
of Cannons:
16 guns
Typical # of Cannons:
4-6 guns
Maximum Personnel:
128 men
Typical Crew and Passengers: 12-36 men
Cargo Space:
60 tons
Sloop
Best
Speed: 9-10 leagues
Best Point
of Sailing: Broad Reach or Broad Beam
Reach
Maximum #
of Cannons:
12 guns
Typical # of Cannons:
4-6 guns
Maximum Personnel:
96 men
Typical Crew and Passengers: 8-12 men
Cargo Space:
40 tons
Pinnacle
Best
Speed: 9-10 leagues
Best Point
of Sailing: Broad Beam Reach or Broad
Reach
Maximum #
of Cannons:
8 guns
Typical # of Cannons:
2-4 guns
Maximum Personnel:
64 men
Typical Crew and Passengers: 8-12 men
Cargo Space:
20 tons
"Sail ho!" When sailing the waters your look-out man may ho a nearby ship.
This window will remind you of the area's primary nationality and let you choose to 'Investigate' further or ignore the ship and 'Continue Voyage'.
By choosing 'Investigate', a new window of options opens and the ships true colors will become visible.
'Close for battle' takes you to the sea battle screen (*more on that in the Sea Battle entry) to fight off the enemy (or friendly) vessel.
'Hail for news' is similar to the news bulletin boards in town taverns. If you're nowhere near a town and want to continue voyaging, getting news on the fly this way is the only way to stay in touch with current events.
'Sail away' let's you continue your voyage.
Some aggressive ships that are commandeered by pirates can trigger sea battles even if you decide to ignore and sail away.
After defeating a pirate vessel, you'll have the option of investigating the commander. You can ask about the locations of the Treasure Fleet or Sliver Train...
...Or you can hold him for ransom instead.
A visit of the Governors will inform you how much the pirate's family is willing to pay for his safe return. You can choose to take the offer or hold on to him for more time and wait until the price rises.
Sailing too close or directly into shoals equals almost instant disaster for large vessels and even some smaller ones too. Stay as far away as possible to those beached nightmares!
Maps to treasures or lost family members are almost always ambiguous and require a sharp eye to find where to dig. Always keep a look out for land formations and the kind on maps!
The final lesson in navigation doesn't take place on water, rather by foot. By sailing a ship to hit land, a small crew will embark on land for searching or traveling.
Movement is much slower than sailing in this mode but it's the only way to dig up treasure on land.
You can also choose to march, or attack on foot, into towns this way.
