With naval combat being played out in a turn-based approach, tactics play a key role in winning these battles, whether it be firing a salvo to sink the enemy ship, or closing in to board and capture a vessel. Here are some useful tips for newer players looking to forge a pirate empire of their own.
8 Recruit Captains In Taverns
Each captain only leads one ship into battle, regardless of how many ships are currently in the fleet. That means the player must search for and recruit new captains to take control of additional ships and provide some extra firepower after hoisting the black flag.
Fortunately, these budding captains can be found in taverns across the Caribbean, and can be assigned to any ship in the fleet, although it’s usually best to assign them to more powerful vessels as these will be the ones players take into battle with them. Each captain also raises the number of ships the player can have in their fleet – 3 per captain.
7 Be Mindful Of Captain Likes And Dislikes
Once players have recruited some additional pirate captains, they would be well-advised to pay close attention to the likes and dislikes of these swashbucklers. Every captain has three things they love and three things they hate, and if the player carries out any of these actions, it will affect how much the captain likes them.
To keep captains on side, players are advised to prioritize their likes and avoid their dislikes. For example, if a captain likes attacking a particular country, then it would be ideal to target that county’s convoys more often than others, or if they take issue with the player’s brutal pirating methods, it might be best to limit the frequency of such activities.
6 Utilize Different Ammo Types
Naval combat in Tortuga – A Pirate’s Tale is highly tactical, and there are a number of different ammunition types to utilize when fighting convoys. Aside from the standard Iron Ball ammunition, there are Grapeshot rounds which do damage to enemy crew but are weak against armor, and Chainballs which target the enemy’s sails.
Firing grapeshot is useful if players want to kill off some crew to make the boarding process easier, and Chainball can be used to limit how well enemy ships can maneuver. There is no one best ammunition type – each one is useful in its own way, so it’s up to the player to decide which round is best for which situation.
5 Manage Speed In Combat
As ships are propelled by wind, their captains aren’t able to apply the brakes and come to a quick stop in the middle of a battle. This is reflected in-game by the fact that it takes time for ships to slow down – the faster the player chooses to go, the further they will be forced to travel next turn before they can be slowed.
This is extremely important, as players will need to balance their speed with maneuverability if they want enemies to be in range every turn – it’s often useful to fire from alternate sides to ensure all broadsides have been fully reloaded. Wind also affects movement, pushing ships even further in one direction while restricting movement in the other. All of this needs to be taken into account in the midst of battle.
4 Understand Supply And Demand
Buying and selling goods in Tortuga – A Pirate’s Tale is dependent on the supply and demand for those goods in that particular settlement. If a settlement has lots of one type of good, the price will be lower than in other settlements due to increased availability. It’s helpful to buy provisions in settlements with a high supply in order to limit the cost.
On the flip side, it’s best to sell goods to settlements that have no or very little supply of that good, and hence a high demand. Players can make some decent profits from doing this, meaning it’s sometimes best to wait to sell certain types of goods to other settlements to get the highest price possible.
3 Divide Booty To Keep The Crew Happy
After raiding several convoys and acquiring a hefty amount of loot, the crew will expect the player to divvy out their hard-earned booty. Failing to do so can contribute to a low crew approval, which can lead to talk of a mutiny, or hamper the upcoming captain election, so it’s important to regularly divide the spoils.
This can be done by visiting a tavern, and selecting how much money to split between the crew. As long as the approval rating is in the positive, the player should be fine. If not, they can always make more promises to sate the crew before the next round of raiding.
2 Take On Articles Of Capture
Articles of Capture are essentially promises made to the crew and fellow pirate captains, and function as side quests to complete while out on the seas raiding. Making these promises will increase morale, but failing to complete the chosen articles will massively decrease morale.
At the same time, making too few promises can also reduce morale. It’s important to choose articles that can be completed fairly easily in order to avoid upsetting the crew – the ones that give the most morale are sometimes the most difficult to complete, so players should make their choices with caution.
1 Level Up Characters
After spending some time at sea raiding and pillaging, the player and their fellow pirate captains will begin to level up and earn slots for abilities and skill points. Abilities are broad areas that can be improved – such as increased movement, new and upgraded ammunition, and ways to earn more loot and money.
Abilities have base passive effects, and skill points can then be spent on improving abilities even further. There are tons of abilities to choose from, so players should weigh up what areas they want to focus on and what playstyle suits them best before picking their core abilities.
Tortuga - A Pirate’s Tale is available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows.
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