Some tips please.

[Deathman16]

I started the game with gof, to find it's incredibly hard to get started, I start with a bounty with four guns, and am unsure how to go forward.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Well, I would suggest you move forward carefully as you are on the bottom of the food chain. You are not going to win any battles at sea right away so you need to lure your opponents within gun range of the forts to soften them up and then move in for the capture. You will learn to conserve your crew in order to keep their skills up as new hires from a tavern have no skills to speak of.

Likewise spend a lot of time on land working on your fighting skills. Above all remember that you are starting off on the bottom and can not just go charging in expecting to win.

 

[darkevil]

If you can :
1) choose fast ships (like schooners, brigs or sloops) for making money by buying and selling your cargo into store from island (check goods that one particular store need, buy the good to another store who sell it at low price then go to the store who buy it with a higher price).

2) Make mission : you can give a mission by store's keepers, governors, moneylanders, shipyarders, in taverns by speaking with the bartender and even in speaking with citizens you can have missions. Missions type are ; escort ships, transport money or goods, search gems, kill outlaws, destroy/capture pirates ships, rescue hostage (wives or husbands). Those who give you missions, will do it if you have a good reputation. Avoid any mission meaning combat at start of the game.

3) If you have to face ennemy ships try to attract them near a friendly fort or ships. If you can, take cover just aside the fort or ship; it will make heavy damage on ships and crew then you can afterward board that ships with minimum loss...

4) Even if you have to flee a rude fight, you gain experience. You can level pretty good if you repair often you ship (at a cost).

Save your game often! And reload if thing goes wrong...