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War stories

LarryHookins

LarryHookins

Buccaneer
Staff member
Storm Modder
I've got a couple of stories to share that I hope you'll enjoy. Every now and then something memorable happens in a battle, and here are a couple of times it did.

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A couple of days ago, I was testing the food bug for quest characters and had to depart Falaise many many times. One of the departures was memorable.

When I exited the dock to go to my ship, I was flying a Portugese flag. The French fort was there, of course. But the bay included a British lineship, a Dutch 74 gun man of war, and a large pirate merchant ship, possibly a caravelle or galleon. There were also a few miscellaneous smaller ships sailing with the larger ones. All three sides were at war with all the others, and the French fort was firing at anything that moved. Except me... with the Portugese flag I was neutral to everyone but the pirates!

I said the heck with testing, and just sailed out of the way of the combatants and watched. All the smaller ships were either sunk or surrendered. The British lineship finally surrendered first, then the pirate ship. The Oiseau and I were untouched. It was a glorious battle. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

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Tonight I was testing some new code. I'd already captured two ships and the last ship I wanted to capture was a cutter. I was in a sloop. I couldn't use sail-to because the cutter was faster. And indeed I couldn't catch the thing. But I kept forcing it to try to go upwind to escape, and finally cut the distance down from 1300 yards to 660, then the wind changed. There was no way I'd catch this guy. So... I looked in my cargo hold for something to dump to see if I could get a little extra speed. The only things I had worth dumping were my cannonballs and grapes... a mere 4 cwt of cargo. I wasn't going to dump my planks and sailcloth, because it was nearing midnight and I knew my ship would be repaired and I may be fast enough to catch the cutter. I kept my chainshot, because as soon as I got in range I planned to shoot out the cutter's sails.

I dumped the 4 ctw of cannon ammo, and suddenly I had about a knot of speed increase. Just 4 cwt! I was able to use sail-to on the cutter, and shot out his sails as planned. That little puppy was mine, and just before midnight. I'd been sailing for an hour or so of real time (no time compression for me, thank you) and going north from Redmond put me right off the coast of Cuba when I went to the world map. I wonder if you can end up *inside* an island like that. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

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Oh yeah... you guys haven't seen my new chainshot code. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" /> It automatically aims higher if you use automatic firing to intentionally hit the sails. To get the best effect sometimes you have to either fire directly from the front or back of the enemy ship to hit more than one sail at a time, or manually aim for specific sails. It will fire high, medium or low on the sails, randomly, and you can knock a ship down to 30% sails with just a few broadsides if you're lucky. It's fun!

Please add more war stories. I love to read those.

Hook
 
<img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/hi.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":gday" border="0" alt="hi.gif" /> there, Hook.

I've not been around here that much lately and haven't had any time to test or just play the game in ages. I can remember some epic battles and chases from the last couple of years, however particulars have since faded from my mind a little, so I'll be looking forward to getting back into it and will most certainly post any great new actions I experience here.

That's really cool to hear that a ship's lading does have a noticeable effect on performance.

Cheers, matey <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/par-ty.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheers" border="0" alt="par-ty.gif" />
 
i have been unable to play PotC for nearly a year. i have one very memorable battle from one of my last adventures in the Caribbean, before i had to format my PC. it was one of the days when i felt like playing the role of a Vice Admiral [Nelson, of course!].

i was sailing back to Redmond after buying as much cinnamon as i could carry in the cargo hold of the prode of my fleet at the time, HMS Dreadnaught, a red MOW with the best stats i had ever found in an MOW in terms of speed. it had a stunning 13.0 speed, which, at the time, was unheard of for me. i had the largest size cannons available loaded on the ship, and over 12000 cannonballs onboard. the rest of the cargo was loaded with cinnamon and Sandal. i had only 1 ship with me, a battleship MM named HMS Defiance. it carried my sailcloth and planks. i was nearly within range of Redmond island, when i was stopped by a Spanish fleet. i thought "ok. bring it on! i'm in a mood for a fight!", and engaged. it was night time. what i didn't count on was facing 6 MOWs, and 2 Battleships, all with their broadsides facing me, inside their firing range. imagine 398 cannonballs hitting my MOW. yes, it was like the Battle of Trafalgar all over again, except these guys knew how to shoot!

of course, after that initial broadside bombardment, i engaged, really annoyed and losing my temper over the damage they had done, since i had recently bought the ship, and managed to keep it almost perfect from Redmond, to Oxbay, to Conciecao, and was planning to end it with Redmond [ i was collecting Sandal and Cinnamon to sell it at Redmond for a ton of cash]. i started doing my S shaped bombardment, firing one broadside, turning around and firing the other, then turning the other way and firing the first again, then turning back and firing...etc. after that strategy was used, i managed to sink 4 MOWs, and 1 Battleship. i saw an MOW come close to me, and i jumped to the captain's cabin to prepare my crew for a boarding, dumping all the best blades i had into the weapons chest, or whatever it was called. i then made sure i had my Cardinal's guard and Brace of large pistols armed, with plenty of ammo, and went back into sailing mode, then boarded the MOW. i tore through the decks quite easily, with only a few losses and a couple of small healing potions used. after looting everything worth taking, i left the ship to sink. i was flat out of officers, so i had to let it sink, of course taking all the cargo i needed from it. i noticed it didn't have any planks or sailcloth, which was a problem since i was getting close to sinking with the Dreadnaught. i got back to sailing mode to find 2 of the last 3 MOWs chasing my battleship. i disengaged the MOW and battleship i was fighting, and went after the 2 chasing my battleship, since it was the key to my success in this battle. as i closed in with the Dreadnaught, which were in better condition than the MOWs i was chasing, one of the MOWs turned to aim a broadside at me. i turned in the opposite direction, to engage it with the more healthy side of my ship, since i had about 5 cannons working on my left side, of an original 45. the right side, which i was about to engage the MOW with, had about 38 cannons [i wrote down some of the details, since i knew it would be an interesting battle from the begining of it. i was planning to write a little story about Trafalgar before Trafalgar...]. it fired first, then i did. it managed to rake me, and all i managed to do was dismast it i continued after the other one, and got hit in the stern. i turned the camera, to find the MOW i disengaged at the beginning turning to aim it's broadside at me. the battleship was the one who had just shot me. i was nearly on top of the MOW chasing my Battleship, so i decided i'd use the 180 turn ability, hoping my ship would turn left, so that the broadsides would have enough range to hit the MOW i was chasing. i fired, and the weak broadside with 5 shots hit the MOW chasing my Battleship. it turned on me. meanwhile, the Battleship i had disengaged earlier had fired another broadside at me, and brought me to near sinking. i ended up with 2 broadsides hitting me at the same time, coing from the 2 MOWs, and i was sunk. luckily, i managed to get a life boat, and sail away without the 2 MOWs chasing me, and my battleship with 1 3rd of it's original integrity left. i reached redmond, annoyed at my loss of profit, but decided i'd loan a couple of hundred from the Loanshark there, and buy me a replacement MOW. the MOW i got was of british design, and was 13.4 speed, which made my mouth hit the ground. it was faster than my previous ship, and was now the fastest MOW i had ever sailed. i named it HMS Victory. i took the cannonballs in my Battleship, and loaded them onto my MOW, along with half it's cargo of Planks, sailcloth and various ammo types. i brought my other battleship, HMS Vanguard, out of berthing, and made sure i sold what was left on the Defiance to help with the repairs. i then split the 9000 cannonballs between the ships, and continued my adventure. the next thing on my agenda was to sack Isla Muella.....

that was my most memorable Battle in PotC. i am actually stunned at the number of MOWs i came across in that battle. i didn't think it was possible, but it apparently was....
 
Well, my most memorable battle was with stock <i>Black Pearl</i> . Of course, this little devil has many HP, so I've decided, "the hell with with the cannons... Ramming speed!" <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

Well, at least I did have mass advantage, so I've managed to drag the <i>Pearl</i> for quite a distance, until I've noticed we're getting close to the island. So, I've turned right, losing my bowsprit in the process, but it certainly was worth it, for <i>Pearl</i> was heading straight into the rocks <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" />

So, she rammed the island quite nicely, coming to the dead stop, so I've had time to turn around. Seeing that I've had a stationary target, I've rammed her <b>again</b>, catching her between the rock and the hard place (my freshly captured governor MoW <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile2.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":))" border="0" alt="smile2.gif" />

The rest of the battle was, compared to this, quite uneventful. Finally, after 24 hours of game time I've managed to dismast her completely and sink her (I swear, it had to be the weight of all those fired shots that finally sank her <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile2.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":))" border="0" alt="smile2.gif" />

So, yeah, this boss battle was innovative and quite fun <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />
 
LOL!! I never thought to try and RAM the Black Pearl! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/piratesing.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":shock" border="0" alt="piratesing.gif" />
 
and with an MOW, as well! poor old Jack! if he was complaining because of forks and spoons being shot at the Pearl, what do you think he's gonna say now? we have a ruddy great ship squashing the Black Pearl! litterally! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/jackhat.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":j2" border="0" alt="jackhat.gif" /> LOL!

so, Doober...what are YOUR finest moments at sea?
 
excellent stories folks <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/me.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":onya" border="0" alt="me.gif" />

I dont often get upto the bigger ships, so my battles often turn into hit+runs. Still an amusing recent battle happend while i was on the 'visit pirate island for govenor silhard' quest. After my first mistake when going there of not raising a pirate flag(yeah i ran away), i was better pre-pared this time.

I came in from the north tip of the Island as i dont like turning up right near the port(going from mini-map to 3D sailing) with all the ships close around me. So i decided to sail in from distance, to keep an eye out etc. Things were going ok, i had 4 pirate ships around, all in neutral state. The two nearer the port were my concern. So i continued in when the Skooner decided they didnt like my pirate flag design(i guess?) and became active.

I'm sailing a stock Lugger(british design) so i have a top speed of just over 15 knots and 12x 4pound cannons. My problem was the skooner was both faster and better armed.

Anyway i got into a bit of a panic(F..k s..t darn! curses! etc) and headed towards the coast where there are a collection of rocky outcrops in the sea. I wasn't thinking straight and was too focused on my mission of landing at the port to realise i would have probably been better of just attempting to get away, using the wind as i have a slight advantage over a schooner when sailing into the wind(its a very slight advantage, maybe a total of 5 degrees on the compass i think!).

So here i am trying to hide(what was i thinking?) in the rocks, when the other pirate ship, bigger - i think a brig of somekind(i'm not that familiar with all of the new skins/ships in the mods) decided it wanted to join the fun of sink the little blue boat.

I spent about 30mins just weaving in and out of those rocks, slowly getting shot to hell with little payback as hitting anything with a 4-pounder is about as effective as blowing them a kiss imho(note to self: never take a boat with a 4 pounder limit again!).

Then i got my lucky break, a combination of exactly the right circumstances or it was davy jones for me and my crew. A 34 knot wind blowing in exactly the direction i was facing( i was wedged between the coast and a rock outcrop, trying to avoid cannon balls) came up, the brig and the schooner were busy negotiating the rocks and each other, so i thought darn it lets get out of here. I knew in my damaged state the schooner had the legs on me in a straight out race, but i was pretty confident i could still out run the bigger ship.

I clipped along at a nice 12 knots to get as much distance between the pirates and myself then turned around the headland to head into the wind as close as i could, my speed dropped to around 3 knots, and with slight sounds of sails flapping loosely in the wind i slowly watched the distance between us grow(like very slowly). to be fair the schooner did try a bit of tacking to keep up with me, but well i guess their hearts weren't into it as they eventualy gave up.

It was a sweet escape, tempered by my knowing it was entirely my fault for making a wrong decision and i would have quite substantial repair bills when i next called at port. Still i lived and learned.
 
I'm not much of a story teller, but one of my most proud moments was sailing a tartane while at level 2 on Swashbuckler, I was able to evade the guns of a Fast Merchantman and board her, after a TOUGH boarding action (anyone playing on Swashbuckler knows what I mean), I captured her. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/par-ty.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheers" border="0" alt="par-ty.gif" />

Sorry, no fierce cannon battle, you don't really get those when sailed tartanes. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/urgh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":urgh" border="0" alt="urgh.gif" />
 
<!--quoteo(post=168886:date=Oct 26 2006, 05:58 PM:name=Doober)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Doober @ Oct 26 2006, 05:58 PM) [snapback]168886[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
.....
Sorry, no fierce cannon battle, you don't really get those when sailed tartanes. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/urgh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":urgh" border="0" alt="urgh.gif" />
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I'm coming around to the tartane way of thinking. I've only tried one once but it was fun <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

<!--quoteo(post=168886:date=Oct 26 2006, 05:58 PM:name=Hook)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Hook @ Oct 26 2006, 05:58 PM) [snapback]168886[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
Oh yeah... you guys haven't seen my new chainshot code. It automatically aims higher if you use automatic firing to intentionally hit the sails. To get the best effect sometimes you have to either fire directly from the front or back of the enemy ship to hit more than one sail at a time, or manually aim for specific sails. It will fire high, medium or low on the sails, randomly, and you can knock a ship down to 30% sails with just a few broadsides if you're lucky. It's fun!<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

That new code for auto-fireing chainshot sounds great <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/yes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":yes" border="0" alt="yes.gif" /> as does that dumping cargo trick - is that a new feature or part of the current game? If its new i'm impressed you got the speed increase in there <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/bow.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":bow" border="0" alt="bow.gif" />
 
its fairly old. when i was playing PotC several months ago, i used it to try and get away from the Black Pearl at Falaise after a battle with a pirate ship ended up with one of my shots hitting the top of the foremast of the Black Pearl. the dumping did improve my speed, but, as expected, the Black Pearl was too fast for me to even hope to get away. i managed to match it's speed though. i still cant remember the ship i was sailing though. i seem to remember a Corvette, but i could be wrong...
 
hehe, it nay be the size or the guns, it be the captain! and the more daft the better! i own a brig now and i can happily take on frigates, battleships and corvettes <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/keith.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":keith" border="0" alt="keith.gif" /> . manowars are a challenge though. my computer had decided to get revenge on me and put me up against 7 manowars and 5 battleships! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/piratesing.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":shock" border="0" alt="piratesing.gif" /> eeeeeeeeek! er... i mean...Shiver me timbers! well, as daft as i am, i thought 'bring it on!' and to keep a long story short, i simply jumped from one huge ship to another slaughterin' along the way <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/duel_pa.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":ixi" border="0" alt="duel_pa.gif" /> . i had 4 manowars at the end. very, very nice indeed! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" /> (it helps a lot being drunk when you do this! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/buds.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":drunk" border="0" alt="buds.gif" /> )
 
<!--quoteo(post=169418:date=Oct 31 2006, 07:04 PM:name=morgan terror)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(morgan terror @ Oct 31 2006, 07:04 PM) [snapback]169418[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
............ (it helps a lot being drunk when you do this! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/buds.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":drunk" border="0" alt="buds.gif" /> )
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

spoken like a true pirate <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sailr.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":sail" border="0" alt="sailr.gif" />
 
hehe, thanks mate. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/doff.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":doff" border="0" alt="doff.gif" /> it happened on apprentice difficulty. that's the odd thing. i've heard someone was put up against 15 ships with his xebec on the piratehideout. he has a screenshot of it somewhere. the topic is called 'mayhem anyone?' (i think) if you're interested. i've noticed that things are a lot more serious over here.
they just talk about nonsense 85% of the time. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":blah:" border="0" alt="tongue.gif" />
 
i just discovered the nonsense here! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile2.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":))" border="0" alt="smile2.gif" /> i have another one. it's not a battle, just fun. when i still had my lugger, i somehow managed to go in the same direction and at exactly the same speed as a wave. it was like surfing! woohoo! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/w00t.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":woot" border="0" alt="w00t.gif" />
 
Mine's not near as grand as the others but to me it was worthwhile because it was my first time I won a sea battle without the assistance of another ship or fort. I had only been playing the game for about 5 days when I reached the part of the main quest where you have to capture the English frigate to recover the idol. I was sailing a pinnance at the time. I came out of the port to find the fort and the frigate firing at me. So I cheated a bit (I'm a pirate after all) and quick sailed away from the danger. I saw where the frigate was on the map and started a course to intercept her once she left the harbor. I was sitting waiting for her when she came out of the harbor and started a course towards me. I turned and fired a broadside of chainshot at her. I then turned so to have the wind at my back. Because I had the upperhand in speed, I was able to use a sorta of S attack to sink her.
 
Well your one up on me, i have yet to directly sink another ship since i got the PC version of the game and the build mods!! For some reason i'm super rubbish at ship-to-ship? might be due to my poor cannons on the smaller ships i like to use? and the fact my gunners seem incapable of hitting anything further than 10 feet away!

Nice story anyway Aargggghhhh!(will you get upset if we miss the odd letter in your name?!) - your first kill at sea <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sailr.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":sail" border="0" alt="sailr.gif" />
 
<!--quoteo(post=170354:date=Nov 7 2006, 08:53 PM:name=Black Bart)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Black Bart @ Nov 7 2006, 08:53 PM) [snapback]170354[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
Well your one up on me, i have yet to directly sink another ship since i got the PC version of the game and the build mods!! For some reason i'm super rubbish at ship-to-ship? might be due to my poor cannons on the smaller ships i like to use? and the fact my gunners seem incapable of hitting anything further than 10 feet away!

Nice story anyway Aargggghhhh!(will you get upset if we miss the odd letter in your name?!) - your first kill at sea <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sailr.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":sail" border="0" alt="sailr.gif" />
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Thanks Black Bert! You don't have to use the full name, just whatever's easiest that still gets me the message. It is alot of <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/type_1.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":nk" border="0" alt="type_1.gif" /> .
 
Ahhh Black Bart, you just need to improve your accuracy and cannon skills on your character. When they are at level 10, you have to be more concerned about trying NOT to sink ships. I frequently let loose a mighty broadside and the ship sinks before I even have the chance to board. It's amazing how much those skill points make the game easier. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/par-ty.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheers" border="0" alt="par-ty.gif" />

Although, if you keep with the smaller ships, you don't have to worry as much about sending other ships down to Davy Jones Locker, those little 9lb plinkers can take awhile before they sink anything. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="xD:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />
 
what cannon calibers will there be in build 13? my 32 pounders can sink any small ship in one volley, but there are a 100 of them, so that's not very surprising. i once shot all the masts off a yacht in one volley. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_mrgreen1.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheeky" border="0" alt="icon_mrgreen1.gif" />
 
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