Ok, dunno if it has been posted before, but it seems me not that this kind of topic is already in the forum.
So...I wonder which are the best ways to improve the skills of the character and the crew. I have not played this game for long time, so i think that my ways are not the best, even because some skills go up really fast, while others not.
Ok i begin with the list of skills and the way(s) on how to improve them that i know:
<b>Personal Skills:</b>
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Leadership:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> From my experience of the game, the faster way to improve this skill is by completing quests.
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Light/Medium/Heavy Weapons:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> Obviously using them a lot. I grind in the caverns to make them level fast or assault a ship without my crew. It is hard, but it makes you improve your weapon skills the most.
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Pistols:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> Same as the melee weapons, but it seems to improve a lot much faster than them.
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Luck:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> I really don't know how it works. In early game I used to play dices or cards with random people in the tavern. But when I reach about 20 of Luck, it does not advance very fast...I don't know other certain ways to improve this skill, but it seems that going through the game makes it advance in some ways i couldn't find.
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Stealth:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> I really hate this skill. The only way to improve it that I know is smuggling. But when I reach about 40 of Stealth, it slows down. And being discovered by guards 4 on 5 times, it gets really annoying later in the game. Someone knows a better way to improve Stealth without having the impulse to break your keyboards every now and then?
<b>Ship Skills:</b>
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Navigation:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> It's very simple and fast to improve this skill. You can deliver cargos for the merchants in the store, or you can navigate inside the storms. Note that going straightforward does not improve anything (or at least it seemed me so), so you have to turn constantly your ship in the storm.
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Cannons:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> The only way that I know to improve this skill is by shooting with them (don't think you have to hit enemy ships, but I cannot be sure).
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Accuracy:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> I think that the only way to improve this skill is to actually hit the enemy ships, but I am not very sure about this. It only seemed me obvious.
(or maybe I am switching the ways to improve between those 2 skills? Dunno, I wait for enlightment <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="
" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />)
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Grappling:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> Go grappling some ships. Nothing more (in my experience).
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Defence:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> Ok, this is another of the skills that I am not sure on how they work. I think that blocking enemy attacks in personal fights adds a little experience to this skill. The other way is to getting hit (???) in naval battles.
Like Cannons, Accuracy and Grappling, I find this skill to be very annoying to level up, if I make comparison between the other skills.
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Repair:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> Repairing damaged ships in the shipyard. Best way to improve this skill and the navigation skill together is to enter a storm and make your ship very damaged before going back in the world map. But naval battles are also good, but much less in my opinion.
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Trade:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> My favourite skill. I made some errands early in the game and in a little time i found myself with Navigation and Commerce at 100 and 2 or 3 millions of piasters. Even buying from traders improves this skill, maybe this is the best way to it, but I prefer the other, at least when I am below 100 or Navigation, even because making those errands improves your reputation.
<b>Crew:</b>
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Navigators:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> Enter storms and wait for them to reach their maximum level.
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Cannoners:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> Firing at the other ships. But i find it much more hard to improve in comparison with the skill of navigators.
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Soldiers:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> Win the battle after grappling a ship. The only thing that bugs me is...(i tell you that I have defense skill at 60 more or less, but both talents)...that after winning a battle my crew is hit so hard that it makes it useless to improve them, because I have to hire other sailors that lower my crew skills :\
Dunno if it is only me, but I have Authority at 8 and Leadership at 70 more or less, but i find always sailors with max 1 high stat, while the others 2 are terrible. I don't care about Navigators, but able soldiers are very hard to find (found only in one island in more than a year sailing).
So, anyone can tell me if there are other ways to improve these skills and especially the crew? I know that for ship skills and talents I can hire officers, but I like having a capable captain with all the skills maxed, especially for taking the more talents I can. So when I take colonies I can leave my officers as governors without doubts (dunno if there are colonies in this game, or how they work, but based on the first game, I suppose the mechanincs are the same...or am I wrong?)
So...I wonder which are the best ways to improve the skills of the character and the crew. I have not played this game for long time, so i think that my ways are not the best, even because some skills go up really fast, while others not.
Ok i begin with the list of skills and the way(s) on how to improve them that i know:
<b>Personal Skills:</b>
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Leadership:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> From my experience of the game, the faster way to improve this skill is by completing quests.
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Light/Medium/Heavy Weapons:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> Obviously using them a lot. I grind in the caverns to make them level fast or assault a ship without my crew. It is hard, but it makes you improve your weapon skills the most.
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Pistols:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> Same as the melee weapons, but it seems to improve a lot much faster than them.
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Luck:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> I really don't know how it works. In early game I used to play dices or cards with random people in the tavern. But when I reach about 20 of Luck, it does not advance very fast...I don't know other certain ways to improve this skill, but it seems that going through the game makes it advance in some ways i couldn't find.
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Stealth:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> I really hate this skill. The only way to improve it that I know is smuggling. But when I reach about 40 of Stealth, it slows down. And being discovered by guards 4 on 5 times, it gets really annoying later in the game. Someone knows a better way to improve Stealth without having the impulse to break your keyboards every now and then?
<b>Ship Skills:</b>
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Navigation:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> It's very simple and fast to improve this skill. You can deliver cargos for the merchants in the store, or you can navigate inside the storms. Note that going straightforward does not improve anything (or at least it seemed me so), so you have to turn constantly your ship in the storm.
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Cannons:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> The only way that I know to improve this skill is by shooting with them (don't think you have to hit enemy ships, but I cannot be sure).
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Accuracy:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> I think that the only way to improve this skill is to actually hit the enemy ships, but I am not very sure about this. It only seemed me obvious.
(or maybe I am switching the ways to improve between those 2 skills? Dunno, I wait for enlightment <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="
" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />)<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Grappling:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> Go grappling some ships. Nothing more (in my experience).
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Defence:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> Ok, this is another of the skills that I am not sure on how they work. I think that blocking enemy attacks in personal fights adds a little experience to this skill. The other way is to getting hit (???) in naval battles.
Like Cannons, Accuracy and Grappling, I find this skill to be very annoying to level up, if I make comparison between the other skills.
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Repair:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> Repairing damaged ships in the shipyard. Best way to improve this skill and the navigation skill together is to enter a storm and make your ship very damaged before going back in the world map. But naval battles are also good, but much less in my opinion.
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Trade:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> My favourite skill. I made some errands early in the game and in a little time i found myself with Navigation and Commerce at 100 and 2 or 3 millions of piasters. Even buying from traders improves this skill, maybe this is the best way to it, but I prefer the other, at least when I am below 100 or Navigation, even because making those errands improves your reputation.
<b>Crew:</b>
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Navigators:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> Enter storms and wait for them to reach their maximum level.
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Cannoners:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> Firing at the other ships. But i find it much more hard to improve in comparison with the skill of navigators.
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Soldiers:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> Win the battle after grappling a ship. The only thing that bugs me is...(i tell you that I have defense skill at 60 more or less, but both talents)...that after winning a battle my crew is hit so hard that it makes it useless to improve them, because I have to hire other sailors that lower my crew skills :\
Dunno if it is only me, but I have Authority at 8 and Leadership at 70 more or less, but i find always sailors with max 1 high stat, while the others 2 are terrible. I don't care about Navigators, but able soldiers are very hard to find (found only in one island in more than a year sailing).
So, anyone can tell me if there are other ways to improve these skills and especially the crew? I know that for ship skills and talents I can hire officers, but I like having a capable captain with all the skills maxed, especially for taking the more talents I can. So when I take colonies I can leave my officers as governors without doubts (dunno if there are colonies in this game, or how they work, but based on the first game, I suppose the mechanincs are the same...or am I wrong?)
:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" /> You are just going to have to learn the hard way.