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| Pillars of Eternity 2 Online Walkthrough by David Milward |
SHIP COMBAT
There are different types of options you can take when you encounter a potentially hostile ship.
Avoiding or Provoking Through Flags
There are various flags that you can fly on the mast of your ship. You can fly your own Dyrwoodan flag that you start the game with, which signifies that you are the fabled Watcher of Caed Nua. That means other ships will not normally attack you. But there are exceptions. Crookspur Slaver Ships will attack on sight, unless you've gone far enough in an alliance with their partners, the Principi. If you have enough negative reputation with a faction, that faction's ships will attack you on sight.
You can change flags to one of the factions. That means you can avoid being attacked by ships of that faction, but ships from that faction's rivals may attack you on sight. Royal Deadfire Company ships will attack on sight if you if you fly Principi or Vailian Trading Company flags. Vailian Trading Company ships will attack on sight if you fly Royal Deadfire Company or Principi flags.
Keep in mind that this describes how to avoid hostile ship encounters altogether. The next sections describe when you make contact with a ship, and the ship encounter menu is brought up.
Surrender
One option is to surrender, which involves giving up some gold and some of your stash items to avoid further hostilities. It invariably results in a loss of Morale for your crew.
Fleeing
Base chance to Flee is 45%. It gets adjusted positively or negatively by several factors. These factors include your ship's speed relative to the other ship, your Rank as a Captain compared to the other Captain's Rank, and the distance you start off from each other.
You cannot flee if your Sails have 0 Health.
Also, fleeing from an inferior ship results in a loss of morale for the Crew.
Intimidate
You can instead try to scare the other ship into giving some their money and items, like Food to you. It involves a comparison of both your Rank as Captain against the Rank of the other ship's Captain, as well as your ship's number of Defenders (Companions plus Crew Members) versus the enemy ship's number of Defenders. If your aggregate measure on both factors outweighs those of the other ship, you'll succeed.
Keep in mind that Intimidating a ship from a Faction means that the crew of that ship live to spread word of you, and that means losing reputation with that Faction.
Boarding
You can decide to board the other ship. That means combat as though you were exploring a dungeon, but the staging area for the battle is both your ships joined together by planks.
Your party of up to five participates in the fight. Additional help comes from either any additional Companions or Sidekicks you may have recruited beyond who's in your core party and/or Crew Members.
The number of additional participants who can fight alongside your core party depends on what type of ship you're sailing in. The Sloop and the Voyager allow a maximum of four additional participants. The Dhow, the Galleon and the Junk allow a maximum of six additional participants.
Any additional Companions or Sidekicks you may have recruited will take priority over Crew Members for purposes of participating in boarding battles.
If you have more Companions or Sidekicks than what your ship allows to participate, the Companions or Sidekicks will be drawn at random from whoever you recruited until the maximum is reached.
If Crew Members participate in the fight, they will also be drawn at random from your Crew until the maximum allowed by the ship is reached.
If you want Crew Members to participate in boarding battles, they will advance levels the more experience they acquire. They tend to get experience faster from ship to ship combat than boarding battles. The Ogre named Birtia, the Vithrack named Big Mouth, and the Death Godlike named Handsome Eliam are said to be very powerful during boarding fights.
The advantage of boarding battles is that you get all the available loot from the ship after you win. You won't get as much if you sink it with Cannons.
Ship to Ship Combat
Crew Members
An explanation of what the crew do during ship combat is a good place to start. Some of the crew actually don't have a direct role during ship combat. The Navigator helps the ship travel faster over the World Map. The Cook means you use up less Food while sailing outside of combat.
Deckhands having higher ranks in being Deckhands help the ship have faster Combat Speed.
The Helmsman is responsible for Turning or Jibing the ship. Higher ranks in Helmsman also improves the chances of avoiding getting hit during a Turn or Jibe.
The Cannoneers aim and fire the Cannons at the enemy ship. Higher Ranks in Cannoneer means greater likelihood of hitting the enemy ship, and also greater likelihood of inflicting an emergency (e.g., Flooding, Deck Fire) that impairs the ship and that the other ship's crew may have to respond to.
The Surgeon heals up Injured Crew Members, and can put them back into action.
The Boatswain is the person who assigns crew members to nullify those same emergencies when they happen to your ship. The higher the Ranks in Boatswain that your Boatswain has, and the more spare Crew Members that you can assign to the emergency, the faster that emergency will be nullified and ended.
If you're wanting to participate in ship combat instead of boarding battles, it is best to go with those Crew Members who start off with Ranks in only one of the crew skills. The reason is that Crew Members can only acquire a maximum of four skill Ranks. A Crew Member who starts with Ranks in more than one skill can only ever hope to acquire at most three Ranks in a given skill. A Crew Member who starts off with Ranks in only one skill can specialize in that skill exclusively, and attain the fourth rank in the Skill. That makes a real difference in performance during ship combat.
Cathenna Stormheart, Ora the Mad, Pig-Sticker Rukowa, Ragged Cerrow, Rum-Dumb Riggere and Tuliak Longfoot make the best Deckhands. Llendreth makes the best Helmsman. Luca makes the best Boatswain. Baltia, Coin-Counter Foeldas and Vanizzi make the best Cannoneers. You can't get a four Rank Surgeon, but Big Mouth or Eld Engrim will suffice.
It also helps to have spare Crew Members for your ship. You can call on them to deal with any emergencies as assigned by the Boatswain. They can also fill in for any of your usual Crew Members who get Injured. Sometimes it helps to have the spares as generalists, because that gives you options about where you sub them if the need arises. On that point, Emeini in my opinion makes for the best spare. She is the only Crew Member that has five Ranks, three in Cannoneer, one in Deckhand, and one in Helmsman.
Getting Into Position
One option is to retreat, or sometimes the other ship will retreat. If you ever get 600m or further from the enemy ship, the encounter will end. The other ship will also have full Health, even if you had damaged it during the encounter.
If it's going to be a fight, it's a matter of getting the enemy within the ideal range of your Cannons. Your Cannons can hit an enemy ship that's outside of its ideal range, but that involves making an attack roll despite an Accuracy penalty. A lot of ship build configurations will have Cannons on one side that are better for short-range fire like Vailian Hullbreakers and Magranite Flamethrowers, while the other side is equipped with Cannons that are better for long-range fire like Imperial Long Guns and Iron Thunderers.
The battle starts off with both ships facing each other forward and straight on. The distance between the ships is random, but always less than 600m to begin with. The decision you make is based on your own Cannons, the other ship's Cannons, and the distance between the ships.
So for example, the ship may be packed with Cannons that are good for long-range firing, but may be lacking Cannons that can hit up close. If you have good close-range Cannons like Vailian Hullbreakers and Magranite Flamethrowers, then the recommended strategy is to sail forward to close the distance, bring the enemy ship within the ideal range of your cannons, and outside the ideal range of its Cannons. The AI will sometimes realize what you're doing, and then crash itself into your ship to start a boarding battle. So you may need to be prepared for that.
The reverse could be true as well. The ship may have great-close range Cannons, but lack for long-range ones. If you have Cannons like Imperial Long Guns and Iron Thunderers, first Jibe so that your rear is facing the enemy ship. Then sail forward, but with the effect of putting more distance between yourself and the enemy ship. Sometimes the enemy ship will realize what you're doing, and will follow you. Having a fast ship can be an advantage for this kind of strategy.
Once you are within your desired range, now it's a matter of turning your ship to be perpendicular to the enemy ship, so that your Cannons are facing it. "Turn portside (left)" if the Cannons you want to use are on the right side of your ship. "Turn starboard (right)" if the Cannons you want to use are on the left side.
An advantage of using the Voyager is that its Cannons don't fire from the sides. It has two mounted on its front end, and one on its rear. That means, assuming you didn't need to jibe, that you can start firing without having to turn once you get within the range you want. That also ties in with the other advantage, that maintaining its forward-facing position can make it harder to hit.
Cannon Fire
It is usually best to not fire your Cannons just after moving. Turning and especially Jibing will impose penalties on the Accuracy of Cannon fire.
The "Hold Position" option adds +20 to the Accuracy of your Cannon fire. You ideally want to use it before the first time you fire a Cannon volley, and after that just the round before your Cannons have reloaded. Keep in mind that the option also means your ship will be easier to hit as well.
Note that you can choose what type of ammunition to use before you actually fire off the Cannons at the enemy ship. Chainshot has a 75% chance of damaging the sails, and a 25% chance of causing Injury to at least one Above-Deck Crew Member (e.g., Deckhands, Helmsman, Boatswain). This can be the preferred ammunition if you first want to immobilize the ship in order to keep it at your preferred range. A ship with its Sails reduced to 0 Health can only Half-Sail in the direction it's facing. It can't turn or jibe.
Grapeshot has a 75% chance of causing Injuries to Above-Deck Crew Members, and a 25% chance of damaging the sails. Injuries can cripple a ship's functions, unless that Crew Member is replaced by a spare. For example, Injuring the Helmsman means the ship can't turn. Injuring Deckhands reduces the ship's speed. Furthermore, a valid strategy is to first Injure as many enemy Crew Members as you can with Grapeshot, and select the option to board them. The result is a boarding battle where the Injured Crew Members can't participate in the fight. This strategy works better with Cannons that take less time to reload, like Dyrwoodan Hognoses. Also keep in mind that your efforts can get neutralized if the enemy ship has a very good Surgeon who can quickly put the Injured Crew Members back into action.
Cannonball has an 80% chance of damaging the Hull, a 10% chance of damaging the Sails, and a 10% chance on causing Injury to Below-Deck Crew Members (e.g., Cannoneers). This is the ammunition to use when you're intent on sinking the enemy ship.
Magranite Flamethrowers and Wyrmtongues always have a 40% chance to damage the Hull, a 40% chance to damage the Sails, a 10% chance to cause Injury to Above-Deck Crew Members, and a 10% chance to cause Injury to Below-Deck Crew Members. It doesn't matter what kind of ammunition you select. They also have an increased chance to start Sail Fires or Deck Fires as emergency events.
Raking Hits are the equivalent of Critical Hits in Ship Combat. They cause double damage to Hull or Sails, and may cause Injury to more than one Crew Member. Raking Hits are also more likely the closer the ships are to each other, and the more Accuracy the Cannoneers can shoot with.
Cannon fire can also cause emergency events in addition to straight damage. The events affect your ship until you assign crew members to deal with them, and the crew members take the time needed to end them. As previously mentioned, having a good Boatswain means your spare crew members can get rid of these emergency events faster.
Damaged Hull kicks in once your Hull health is less than 50%. It doesn't have an effect per round, but it means an enduring additional -10 penalty to Hull Health until you deal with and expend 10 Repair Supplies in the process. Likewise, Damaged Sails kicks in once your Sails health is less than 50%. It also means an enduring additional -10 penalty to Sails Health until you deal with and expend 10 Repair Supplies in the process.
There are other emergency events that can happen at any time during ship combat. The greater the Accuracy of the attack roll that hit the ship, the more likely it will also cause an emergency event. They also have a negative effect each round until they are dealt with by spare Crew Members. They are as follows:
In Between
Barring having Magranite Flamethrowers that can fire every other round, it'll take some time to reload the Cannons you just shot.
Sometimes, if the Cannons on the other side will also have the enemy ship in their range, you can Jibe so that they'll be ready to fire off.
Sometimes you can pass the rounds leading up to reloading by going Full Speed. If your ship is perpendicular to the enemy ship, you'll circle around it without changing the distance in between. That also has the advantage of decreasing the Accuracy of enemy Cannon shots fired at you. The more Combat Speed your ship has, the greatly the penalty imposed on rolls to hit your ship. You can only use the Half-Sail option, which covers half the distance of the Full-Sail option, if your Sails have been reduced to 0 Health.
If you have to deal with an emergency event on account of return fire, you should take the time between shots to assign spare Crew Members to deal with it. Also, don't use Full-Sail or Half-Sail if one of your Crew Members has gone overboard and you don't want to lose that Crew Member permanently. The overboard Crew Member will drown if you decide to sail any distance.
If any Crew Members get injured, switch them into the spare compartments and put a spare Crew Member to the task that the now Injured Crew Member had been handling.
Ship Builds
Now it's time to cover some possible ship builds to give you some ideas of how to go about things.
Fully Armored Galleon
This is one of my favorite builds. The Galleon has the most Hull Health of any ship, but also the lowest Combat Speed. So I go all in on both points by upgrading the Hull to The Red Dream and the Sails to Gulskin Sails. I have one side all Vailian Hullbreakers, and another side Haeferic's Nose and three Iron Thunderers.
This build is a resignation to the ship getting hit and taking damage, and therefore not even caring about Combat Speed. But with four powerful cannons on each side to cover either short-range or long-range fire, it can usually outlast any other ship. If I'm a little past 250m starting distance, I'll close in just a little to put the enemy within range of the Vailian Hullbreakers. Any longer than that, I'll go the other side for Haeferic's Nose and the Iron Thunderers.
Flamethrowing Dhow
Another of my favorite builds. I upgrade a Dhow with Dragonwing Sails as soon as I can to increase its Combat Speed. I have one side lined with Magranite Flamethrowers. The other side has Haeferic's Nose and two Aedyr Channel Guns.
My strategy, whenever I can, is to race within 100m range as fast I can with the superior speed of the upgraded Dhow. Turn to face my Magranite Flamethrowers against them, Hold Position, fire, Hold Position, fire, rinse and repeat. The Magranite Flamethrowers need a narrow and optimum set of conditions to do their thing, which is to fire off at very close range every other round. But once you can get that set up, it's truly devastating. The Magranite Flamethrowers will frequently Injure Crew Members and set Deck Fires to keep the enemy ship paralyzed. Whether you want to board to mop up a depleted Crew or fire away until you sink the ship is up to you. Keep in mind the enemy ship AI may realize the danger, and command the Ship to board you. If you can handle the boarding battle, then roll with it.
There is a kind of ship set up that will give me pause against going for that strategy. It's when I'm faced with either a Galleon or Junk lined with Vailian Hullbreakers. Raking Hits up close from those things can sink a Dhow in an instant.
I will instead put myself past 500m range, beyond even the range of Iron Thunderers. I then go with firing Haeferic's Nose and Aedyr Channel Guns, Full-Sail with high Combat Speed three times to minimize the chances of getting hit, fire, rinse and repeat. Sometimes the enemy ship AI won't fire until you Hold Position, which can help this strategy.
Double-Bronzer Junk
This is another popular build, and one that I myself have used once in a while. Double Bronzers do more damage on Hit than any other Cannon, but they take 8 rounds to reload.
The concept is to have a Junk fitted with 10 Double Bronzers, 5 on each side. Fire one volley at the enemy ship. Jibe for 3 rounds, Hold Position, and fire another volley. When this works the way it's hoped for, it's a rare ship that can survive two such volleys. But if that happens, jibe again and Hold Position. By that time the Double Bronzers that you first fired will have reloaded for a third volley.
It's awesome when it works. But it also requires a narrow optimum range (250m to 350m), and some pretty cooperative play from the enemy ship to work as intended. It can struggle when the enemy ship AI takes the ship out of that optimum range either by closing in or putting some more distance between the ships.
Final Thoughts
Boarding battles get more loot out the ship encounter. Ship battles get more experience points for your Crew Members.
My personal preference is to be ready for both. Spare Companions or Sidekicks who are properly developed and equipped can make a lot of boarding battles a breeze, even in Path of the Damned. They also won't suffer any permanent Injuries should they get knocked out during boarding battles. And the boarding battles can provide a steady stream of cash and goods when you need it.
Sometimes I may want to do ship combat instead. Sometimes there is a ship where I'd be outmatched by higher-level enemies during a boarding battle. That won't mean squat if they drown after I sink their ship. Or sometimes I've taken on a new Crew Member, and want to break that newbie in fast.
That's why I like to have specialist Crew Members who will be aces during ship combat, and leaving boarding battles to spare Companions or Sidekicks. Like I said, be ready for both.
