How to Battle

One of the most valuable skills in The Turbulent Seas is combat. Whether it is a means of protecting your cargo, or pirating merchants, knowing how to properly use your ship and its weapons is vital. We will be going over the basics of fighting on the seas, making sure you and your ships stay dry. 

Arming Your Ship

Before you get involved in any action on the water, it’s important to acknowledge the logistics of fighting and the importance of being adequately armed. One of the main reasons people sink is their lack of preparation for battle, make sure you have an edge over the enemy and always restock your ship before and after fights.

• Ammunition

One of the most vital components of a warship, is vital you stay on top of your ammunition game. If you are interested in buying ammunition for cheap and in bulk, head over to angon outpost. Here you can buy barrels of standard rounds for 30 doubloons each, you receive a total of 30 rounds per barrel. You can also craft ammunition using 3 iron, however, this is highly inefficient.

• Magazines

The Turbulent Seas has two types of magazines to store your ammunition, an internal magazine, and an external magazine. The internal magazine stores 250 rounds, it takes up 0.5 weight on your ship and appears as two red barrels with standard rounds stacked on top. It is commonly placed using a glitch to be used above deck by placing it near the ceiling of your ship.

On the other hand, external magazines, or just “magazines” are placed on top of the ship like barrels. They are placed near cannons, autoloading them when fired (refer to right image). They are slim and smaller in size compared to regular magazines, they are rectangular and brown in colour. 

• Cannons

These are the weapons of your ship and they are placed using the drydock. Ships vary in the number of cannons, sloops having 2, schooners 4, brigs 8, and galleons 24. They are usually on the side of the ship, however, the brig also has two bow cannons called “chasers”, useful for pirating and chasing down ships. As mentioned earlier, cannons can be auto-loaded by placing external magazines near them, some people put multiple for more ammunition. 

Using Cannons

If you want to know how to use your ship for battle, it is important to understand how to use your primary weapon, the cannon. Once you learn how to properly aim, and efficiently fire, the battle is almost always in your favour. 

• Aiming

Unlike some weapons, cannons are inaccurate and difficult to manage, if you want to hit your target, you need to get an eye for it. It is usually difficult to determine the proper angle required to hit ranged targets. However, a good rule of thumb is to aim slightly above the enemy ship. Your cannon will have to be angled higher, the longer away they are. A cannonball is unlikely to hit if you aim directly at long-distance targets, however, the closer they are, the better it is to aim directly at the boat. After firing a few shots, it is easier to determine the proper aim. The sweet spot to hit an enemy ship is the waterline, it ensures the hole will be leaking and makes repairs more difficult. If you hit the ship too high, the hole will be exposed, and not leak, leaving the ship intact. 

Repairs

 Arguably the most important part of the battle, keeping your ship repaired and dry is vital for victory. It is given that you will encounter a few leaks during battle, so it is important you come prepared. If your ship gets shot, the time is ticking for you to repair it, leave the holes for too long, and your hull will flood with water and sink. The only way to repair holes is with wooden planks, ensure you have a considerable amount for repairs. It takes one plank to repair one hole, being sparing with this and only fixing holes that are leaking. You will also need buckets, it’s best if you have multiple, to scoop the water out, as you have to be outside to empty your buckets. Over the course of the battle, constantly checking for water in the hull, it’s important to have at least one person in charge of repairs during battle if possible.

Maneuvering 

Depending on what ship you have, you will want to adjust how you maneuver your ship towards the enemy. It is important to attempt to stay out of their line of fire, by actively steering away from the sides of their ship, you can prevent heavy casualties. An effective position is exposing your sides at the enemy’s stern or bow, where they have little to no cannons. It allows you to fire at their ship without them retaliating. To efficiently turn, you can take advantage of “anchor turns”, by turning the helm fully in one direction and dropping the anchor, the ship will efficiently rotate where you intended. It allows for quick and decisive moves that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. When you are chasing a ship, and they are not making turns, angle the sails to increase your speed and catch up with them, especially useful with the brig’s chasers. Somebody should constantly be on the helm to adapt to the enemy’s position, keeping things in your favour.

Utilizing Crew

Although you can solo in a fight, whatever ship you have, it functions better with other crew members. Crew should be assigned their primary jobs prior to battle, so all aspects of the fight are covered. There should be at least one person for each job, such as manning the helm, making repairs, and firing cannons. There can also be collaborative efforts, raising the anchor, or angling sails is done better as a team. Your crew can also board the enemy ship if they are close and stagnant. Sometimes, dropping the enemy’s anchor, or killing the captain, can turn the tides of a battle. As you and your crew grow more knowledgeable, this process will become easier. Rapid communication is also important, ensuring everybody is up to date, this is best done in a VC.  

Knowing how to battle in TTS opens up many new opportunities within the game. Once you know the basics, it is up to you to grow your knowledge and update your skills.