You've got to be sneaky with that leaky little raft. Take a little time to scope out the enemy and choose the ship you attack wisely. They are usually grouped in a ragged circle, and one is able to be picked off without the others joining in. Don't fly straight into the bunch, and keep your targeting circle orange. Use the down arrow and space bar to move back and stop. Ship equipment upgrades are available in both Skull Island and Blood Shoals. Get some gold and buy a rudder and cannons, etc. -- that will help a lot.

Good Luck!

CaptainAureus on Oct 9, 2012 wrote:

KI I really do love the broadside combat, but you're giving us a little raft and asking us to do quests that pit us against rank 5 ships. Maybe lower their ranks a little bit, maybe down to rank 3 or something. I just have a very hard time winning broadside battles. Love the game, its just a little too hard.

Have you upgraded your ship equipment? The equipment from the ship vendor in Blood Shoales were adaquate for me to defeat numerous level 4 and 5 Cutthroat ships.

There are rank 3 and rank 4 ships out there, just go look for them.

i love the broadside combat it's the easiest way of fighting ever sure the ship they give you in beginning isn't too pretty but i can defeat a galleon with a raft i mean isn't that just funny if you know how to circle the enemy with your ship at perfect length then you can be an expert but leter on they give you a great ship and if you give your ship great equipment and stuff it can be the terror of the skyways

1) DO NOT run around in circles. This is just begging for another enemy to get aggro'd. Rather, pick a spot that is away from other enemies, get within range of your target, and stop.

2) The target circles has 2 colours. Orange is "Long Range", red is "Close Range". Check out your figurehead "card". It will have 4 numbers on it. Top left and top right is "Long Range" accuracy and damage modifier. Lower left and right is "Short Range" accuracy and damage modifier. Some figureheads do much more damage at long or short, so fight where you get the biggest bang for your buck.

3) DO have a figurehead and horn equipped. I recommend you purchase the horn called "Iceshot" (or Icebolt? I forget) from the ship parts vendor on blood shoals (that little island you get sent to right after you get your ship). Iceshot does double the damage of the horn the raft comes with.

4) When your health goes in the yellow, back up slowly. There is no need to run. Just keep a little distance from the ship you are shooting and keep shooting. It'll probably die before you unless it is WAY overpowered for you.

5) Get the better ship wheel asap. Reinforced Wheel. It will heal you for 20% of your max ships health. Much better than the 10% of the default "Broken Wheel" your raft comes with, though it has a longer recharge time. Also, time your heals. Don't use it the first time you get hit. Watch your health, and make sure you are going to get the most from each heal. The recharge time is kinda long after all.

6) Join in with other ships you see fighting. There is no kill stealing, and no loot stealing. Anyone who gets even one hit against a ship will get xp and rewards when it dies, as long as you are within visual range when it dies. And *everyone* gets the same reward - it doesn't get split up or anything. Win-win situation!

BrynnerOfReign on Oct 12, 2012 wrote:

It does take practice to figure out how to win broadside ship combat. Sometimes you have to be sneaky when you're trying to find a ship that's a little away from the others (so you don't get hit from two ships). Be sure to upgrade your ship equipment as soon as you can .... either through ship equipment vendors, or through drops you get from picking up the enemy ship debris after you win.

Practice, practice, practice.

If you have people that can help you with ship battles, that's great! If not, I know it takes time and a bit of strategy to figure out how to win more often than you lose.

Remember, if your ship health goes yellow, the enemy ship will come towards you to board you. Use the down arrow on your keyboard to s-l-o-w-l-y back away, but still be within firing range. If you have to flee to the travel lane to regain health, then feel free to do so. You can always try again.

QueQueg has a great point about knowing when to flee. If you are outnumbered and your ship equipment cannot withstand a two ship assault.....it is usually better to boost/flee to the windlane. Recovering ship health is just a few seconds and you get to try again. A ship defeat (or boarding) is a significantly more time consuming option. But if your characters are better equipped for hand to hand combat, you might find the more time consuming option a better alternative.