Tips and Tricks Fer th’ Scallywag in Ye

• “I’m a ‘do it all’ kind of guy, so I try to make sure I’m making constant progress as a citizen, as a pirate, and as a ladies’ man,” explains Caudill. “I usually start out as an Englishman. The English begin at war with the Spanish and very likely with the French, so I get promotions as fast as I can, and then I start switching sides. I’m really good at the dance mini-game, so I also woo every daughter I meet.”
• Caudill continues: “My ship of choice is either a Royal Sloop or a Brigantine because you can take on pretty much anyone else, from war canoes all the way up to frigates, if you use the wind to your advantage. They’re fast, maneuverable, and able to hold lots of cannons. I also dig up lots of treasure and will definitely look for my relatives because they help you find even more of it.”
• “Nothing keeps the crew happy like finding a lost city of gold,” he concludes. “And nothing says ‘patriot’ like using the land battles to capture a town and install a new governor.”
• The game includes a Pirate-O-Pedia containing information about everything from types of weapons to city descriptions to biographies of the top nine pirates. If you look at the entry for St. Eustatius, you’ll find a link on the word “Eastern,” which takes you to a hidden page claiming that Easter eggs don’t exist in the game. Of course, you can’t take those scurvy dogs at Firaxis at their word, so watch for a few surprises to pop up during the game, including Firaxis CEO Jeff Briggs replacing the monk at one of the Jesuit monasteries, and Meier appearing sometimes as the tavern’s mysterious traveler. And don’t forget to play the game on September 19th, International Talk Like a Pirate Day, to see how the dialogue and menus change.
• There are five difficulty levels in the game, from Apprentice to Swashbuckler. By default, you begin your first adventure on the easiest setting, which takes place in the year 1660. When you start your next session, you’ll be able to not only choose a different difficulty but also select which era to play in — 1600 through 1680 — and which of five skills you want to emphasize: fencing, gunnery, navigation, wit and charm, or medicine. Not only are battles tougher on higher difficulty levels, but the mini-games require greater dexterity, the wind is less predictable, and so forth. However, your spoils are greater, including your share of the loot when you divide plunder with your crew.
• If you’re outgunned by an enemy ship, you can always ram them and defeat their captain in a swordfight to win the battle. Your success in the duel improves your crew’s morale even if they’re outnumbered, enabling them to defeat superior forces. Alternately, you can head in the direction of the wind and let it carry you out of range, allowing you to escape.
• Raking shots, which hit a vessel at the bow or stern and travel along its length, do more damage than broadside volleys. The downside is that you have a smaller target to hit.
• Opposing ships may lose sailors and cargo when you attack them. Sail over the crewmen and barrels floating in the sea to pick them up.
• You have the option of adding a defeated ship’s men to your crew. Occasionally, the vessel may contain a crew specialist, such as a sailmaker or a navigator, who will improve your fleet’s abilities. Some specialists, such as cooks, also make your crew happier.

• Your fleet is only as fast as the slowest ship, so if you’re on the run from an opponent, you can abandon a slowpoke if it’s holding you back. You may also want to get rid of a ship if you don’t have enough men to provide an adequate crew for it.
• How a country feels about you doesn’t always dictate what its cities think. For example, a governor might give you a promotion, along with some nearby land, for attacking ships of enemy countries and defeating pirates, but another city of the same nation might fire at you on first sight, if you insist on attacking ships near its harbor, as well as vessels sailing to or from it.
• Not all ports of call are equal. Impoverished ones typically have little to offer, while others are wealthy and can pay top prices for your plunder. Some, however, have merchants who will only trade with reputable sailors, which means you need to be affiliated with their country and come with a good reputation, unless you can get your hands on a disguise.
• Your ability to recruit sailors at a tavern depends not only on your rank and number of fame points but also your standing with their country. The more favorable those criteria are, the more new crewmen you’ll attract.

• Keeping your crew happy is key to their performance, which affects everything from sailing speed to how ferociously they’ll fight if your ship is boarded; if they become mutinous, some of them might steal one of your ships or run away when you dock at a port of call. The bottom line is they’re a greedy lot, and they’re waiting for you to end the current voyage and divide the plunder. The longer you take to do that, the more they’ll expect for their share, which means they’re constantly eyeing the loot level and calculating how much they’ll get.

  At Apprentice level, you only keep 5% of the gold when you divide the plunder, so they know they’ll be well-compensated and thus will be easier to please, but on Swashbuckler level, you get 50% of the gold and they will be tougher to satisfy. Of course, the larger your crew, the less gold each man will receive, so don’t maintain more sailors than necessary. Big crews also need more food, which means your ships will have less room in their holds for loot; again, your sailors’ accounting skills will come into play and they’ll be unhappy if they realize you have little space for riches.
• Your best strategy: Build up a large crew as quickly as you can and sack as many cities and defeat as many large ships as possible during the first couple years of game time. When you think you have enough gold, downsize your fleet, tack on a few final conquests, and dock in port to divide the plunder. After you do so, you’ll start over with one ship and a small crew, but the level of fame you achieved during your last expedition should allow you to quickly add new sailors and start the process again.
• Your character ages, which means he’ll be a little less effective at all aspects of the game as the years go by. You’ll eventually want to retire him to a new career of leisure, which is decided by the number of fame points he accumulated. Then you can create a new character and try a different strategy.
• If you want to delve into the game’s minutiae, visit this strategy guide at GameFAQs.