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Solved Getting insta-killed when boarding?!

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Flinksword

Landlubber
Hi everyone,
I haven't played New Horizons in a pretty long time, so I was delighted to see on Mod DB that there was a new release a short while ago. Great work, guys! :)

I had great fun playing, yet now I've encountered a problem that's new to me which I don't really understand. This is on Hoist the Colours, Arcade Difficulty (which makes it even stranger). I'm with the Wicked Wench trying to make some money right now, and one of my favorite ways is boarding and capturing enemy ships and their cargo. However, when I board ships, even with those that are much smaller than mine, my crew gets slaughtered pretty quickly, despite me having put some decent weapons in the weaponslocker.
Worst thing however is, that once I fight an enemy and get only hit ONCE, I instantly die. That isn't the case when I fight robbers on islands or anything else, just with boarding. I have tried to increase my meele skill (level 7 now), got a leather cuirass, bought tons of books and items that bolster skills and stuff, but nothing works, always the same.

Any idea what I could do? As for abilities, I have just basic defense, since apparently I need a book for advanced? I'm level 7 as of now.

Thanks for your help! ;)
 
Do you have more crew? Be sure to reduce the enemy crew prior to boarding using grapeshot.
Increase Morale if you can. Armour and health potions work through the Weapons Locker too.
You can also decrease the difficulty level.
 
Hi Pieter,
thanks for your reply!
Well, it does not quite matter if I reduce the enemy crew with grapeshot, when the boarding starts, just a single one of them has to reach me and hit me just once and I'm instantly dead, that's the problem.
The only way to win a boarding for me would be to keep away from fighting and let my crew do it (which often end up with all of them being killed despite Superior morale and a much smaller enemy crew) or me being lucky not to be hit even once.
Is it intentional that boardings are a lot harder than other fights? Because fighting robbers on islands and other stuff is normal, those I win without a problem. It's just Mariner difficulty.
It feels like something is wrong because a regular enemy shouldn't one-hit me, right?
 
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Boarding can be potentially harder than most other fights, depending on whether the odds are stacked in your favour or not.
What are your player starts and equipment? What are you trying to board?
How do your crew numbers and morale compare?
 
I know this is old but I just updated the latest patch(Jan 2021). Now I get one hit killed when boarding. I use grapeshot to kill crew and have decent weapons and health for my crew members stored. No changes seem to take place. Another issue with boarding is if the captain surrenders and I board and end up having to fight the captain while blocking and having armor the captain one hits me. I managed to hit the captain couple times and they always have over 1000 HP. My attempts are made at level 5 to 8.
 
The lowest setting since I haven’t played in a long time. I know that it’s supposed to be difficult especially lower level characters. This just seems off though. I’m playing free play with the Blackbeard so I have some of the special abilities that come with that.
 
What sort of ships are you trying to board? Warships and pirates do have tough crews. Merchant ships, especially small ones, should be much easier, especially if you've pounded them with grapeshot first. They're also more likely to surrender so that you only have to face the captain, who might not duel you at all, especially if his ship is much smaller than yours.
 
Flinksword said:
Hi everyone,
I haven't played New Horizons in a pretty long time, so I was delighted to see on Mod DB that there was a new release a short while ago. Great work, guys! :)

I had great fun playing, yet now I've encountered a problem that's new to me which I don't really understand. This is on Hoist the Colours, Arcade Difficulty (which makes it even stranger). I'm with the Wicked Wench trying to make some money right now, and one of my favorite ways is boarding and capturing enemy ships and their cargo. However, when I board ships, even with those that are much smaller than mine, my crew gets slaughtered pretty quickly, despite me having put some decent weapons in the weaponslocker.
Worst thing however is, that once I fight an enemy and get only hit ONCE, I instantly die. That isn't the case when I fight robbers on islands or anything else, just with boarding. I have tried to increase my meele skill (level 7 now), got a leather cuirass, bought tons of books and items that bolster skills and stuff, but nothing works, always the same.

Any idea what I could do? As for abilities, I have just basic defense, since apparently I need a book for advanced? I'm level 7 as of now.

Thanks for your help! ;)
Click to expand...

Welcome Flinksword!

When you first start, your character's defense will be very low, up to a point where there's a high chance of the enemy breaking your guard and finishing you off instantly. However, your character's attack is still the same. Ergo, it is a matter of attacking and dodging. Here's how I do it:

Save before boarding, no matter what, I only try to board the ship if the SURRENDER as it makes the fight easier.

To achieve that, keep your distance so they won't board you first. Pound them with cannonballs and once their hp is below 50%, switch to grape shots and get a good broadside, rake them stern to bow or vice versa. Once they surrender, board them. You'll only find the enemy captain on deck. If you are a beginner-low level, the chances of a sincere surrender is extremely low (unless it is a merchant ship but the chances are still there).

The moment he opts to fight with you, dodge backwards IMMEDIATELY. Fire your pistol and run to keep your distance. Stop at a spot with plenty of space to dodge (DON'T CORNER YOURSELF) and start swinging your sword. Once you hit him, try to remember the gauge and repeat the process. Hit, dodge, run, Hit, dodge, run...etc

If you are playing on acrade mode, feel free to fire your pistol at a distance if you are unsure. However, you can only fire once on realistic mode so follow the above process carefully. Eventually, you'll finish him off. It may be a cowardly-like process but it's a major improvement on your character's combat skills.

I hope this helped!

Mx
 
Grey Roger said:
What sort of ships are you trying to board? Warships and pirates do have tough crews. Merchant ships, especially small ones, should be much easier, especially if you've pounded them with grapeshot first. They're also more likely to surrender so that you only have to face the captain, who might not duel you at all, especially if his ship is much smaller than yours.
Click to expand...

just some merchant ships I know better than to try and attack some warships at my level I usually try and wait till they surrender but sometimes I can’t get the captain of that vessel to join me or I plunder the ship or something along those lines. So I have to duel the captain but they are always OP. I did get a little frustrated so I started a cheat game and gave my self the best items I verified that I can deplete the crew of any vessel. Then board that vessel but they are still OP AF. I might try a fresh install maybe something messed up in download.
 
What sort of ship do you have, and what are you trying to board? What is your "Melee" skill? (For that matter, what are your "Leadership" and "Grappling" skills?) All these affect whether the enemy captain will duel you.
 
I also have a question about boarding. My ship has max crew, but when I board an enemy ship a lot smaller than mine. Why does only 2 of my crew mates spawn? Shouldn't there be more there helping?
 
Do you have officers along as well? If so, they probably count against your total allowance of boarders.
 
How many enemy crew were there? Your side was four - you, an officer and two crew - how many did the enemy have?

Also, if the enemy ship was small, there wouldn't be room (and probably not the locators either) to place many of your crew.
 
If I could remember correctly, around 10 for the Enemy. Now I could probably see why they were on my ship because they most likely boarded me instead of me boarding them. That could be the case, but I'm not too positive.
 
There is code in place so enemy boarders start on their ship and your own boarders start on yours.
But I'm not convinced that works. I got the feeling quite regularly that the scene loads already with "matched pairs" of boarders.

Also, Morale also affects boarding difficulty.
 
Pieter Boelen said:
There is code in place so enemy boarders start on their ship and your own boarders start on yours.
But I'm not convinced that works. I got the feeling quite regularly that the scene loads already with "matched pairs" of boarders.
Click to expand...
Some boarding scenes only have one deck. Which deck is used depends on who initiated the boarding - if the enemy is boarding you then it will be a deck suitable for your ship, if you're boarding the enemy then it will be a deck for his ship. (If he boarded you then you'll fight first on your deck, then on his, and then on to the lower decks.)
 
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