Newbie questions

[Hibernicus]

Hi all,

I'm a new player and am just downloading the game. I used to play Voyage Century Online a few years ago, and was in the mood for a bit more sailing so thought I'd give this game a go.

However, it seems like there are no real beginner guides out there and no real info on the possibilities of what you could do. At first I saw that there were different classes, and I have no idea which one to pick. Can class be changed, or is it always that you have to make a new character later on if I realise I don't like the one I picked at first?

And about classes, can someone please explain to me what the gameplay is actually like with each of them? I was mainly considering Free Trader (merchant or whatever), Naval Officer and Pirate, since they sound like fun. I don't plan on buying anything with real money, so what would the gameplay be like for a newbie and later on in the game, and end game? Is it even possible to play a pirate from scratch, since everyone is probably like max level and I can't fight anything but NPCs?

How is the merchanting, how do you make money? If someone has played VCO they know that there you go into a port, buy goods off an NPC, travel to another port and sell for profit (obviously have to know the prices of the goods to make a profit). How is it done here? I read a lot of stuff about production lines and all that and my head almost just exploded from all the "advanced" information that I don't understand, so please any kind of "simplistic" explanation would be so appreciated so I would understand what I would be doing in the game.

Thanks a lot, hope I someone can answer within a few hours so I'm not totally clueless when I start playing

Hibernicus

[PaulG]

There are 5 classes and you can not switch class once selected but you can of course play more than one class with different characters, you will of course have to level each one.

Each class is capable of of many things but some hold advantages in different areas and it really depends on your game style as to which you're going to like best.

I would suggest that the cutthroat pirate is probably the easiest class to learn the game with but it won't surprise with a game called "pirates of the burning sea" that the pirate faction is somewhat overloaded. Cutthroats have the advantage that they can "steal" ships as they level.

If economy is your kick then I would suggest rolling with a freetrader you can buy stuff in ports and sell in others but as the economy is player based it is a bit more complex than that. As a free to play account you will only have 2 structure slots with which to make goods but you can use burning sea points to get yourself up to 10 which will let you do a whole lot more. Freetraders have the advantages of advanced structures and recipies, access to larger haulers and global auction house view. A buccaneer shares some of the these advantages but not all.

Naval officers are probably my least favourite class but that's based on my game style and they are certainly popular with a lot of the population, used mainly for port battles they are the "tanks". They take and deal a lot of damage.

Privateers take a bit more thought, they tend to be more agile and swift using tactics to avoid being hit whilst at the same being able to resist damage and also pack a real punch.

Freetraders in addition to doing economy are capable fighters, they tend to have advantages in reload and repairing.

Pirate classes are abit of a jumbled mix of the above classes. For me the cutthroat is more fun to play but the buccaneer is a good choice if you want do some economy too.

If sailing big ships is your thing then I'd probably suggest chosing a naval officer or buccaneer but it won't surprise you that big ships come with a big price tag so you are going to need plenty of in game doubloons.

The end game so to speak is for some PvP and port battles, plenty play for other reasons be it social or economy. To take part in port battles ideally you need to be level 50 but you can pick up PvP at any level whether you get into PvP will depend on your attitude to losses, sure you'll lose but hopefully you'll begin to win too.

PvP and port battles are going to expensive as a free to play player if you are adverse to the one off subscription you can at least buy burning sea notes in game for in game money but this will of course mean more grinding.

I would suggest the first thing you do when you start playing is find a society, hopefully they'll help you out, answer your questions and point you in the right direction.

[Hibernicus]

So as a pirate you can steal both NPC ships and other players ships? Or are there some huge limits to what ships you can use, e.g. a pirate cutthroat can't steal a ship from a merchant or some battle ship? Also, what's the reward for stealing a ship, is it something you try to achieve for 1 week and when you finally succeed you get really rich, or is it some grindfest that you steal 50 NPC ships a day?

Is leveling up your character the same for all classes, or do you get experience for different stuff? E.g. a merchant gets experience from buying/selling stuff, naval officer gets exp for sinking ships and pirate gets exp from stealing stuff? Or how does it work? And approximately how long does it take to get lvl 50?

Also, is it even possible to get "into the game" as a newbie anymore? Or does everyone have as maxed out gear and ships as possible?

And how does the two pirate classes differ from each other?

[PaulG]

Cutthroats can steal ships using 2 skills. At level 5 they learn a skill called take command, this allows you to capture a npc or player ship but you must have a free dock space to use this skill. This to me me is a bit of a drawback for the free to play model as you are are limited to 2 dock spaces without upgrading so in effect the cutthroat really is limited to 1 dock space if he intends to capture a ship.

At level 10 the cutthroat also gets a skill called scavenge, this allows them the chance of getting a captured ship as a prize from a derelict ship.

Buccaneers do not get take command but do get scavenge at level 5 and have an increased chance of getting a captured deed.

Taking command or sailing a class specific ship (non-pirate) will mark the pirate PvP flagged so if you choose to sail them then you are going to have to face the consequences of having to sail it like you stole it.

The main prize from PvP is marks of victory and trade which can be used to trade in refitted ships, better fittings etc. They can of course also be traded. There is of course the satisfaction of competing against another human being and hopefully winning sometimes too.

Xp is gained pretty similar for all classes but the freetrader does have additional missions it can choose for delivering goods around the map but these are one-offs, once done they can't be repeated. Freetraders can also get a small amount of Xp for producing advanced receipes.

At each 5 levels you get access to career mission which is class specific, the freetrader class missions are mainly sail there and talk, do some avcom battles, whilst naval officers class missions tend to be sail to a foreign port and sink stuff whilst the other classes tend to get a mix of the 2.

I believe it still possible to get into the game as new player, sure there are a lot of level maxed players but new players still come and after each map win some will choose to level in a new nation. Levelling to 50 can e done as quickly or slowly as you like, I'm sure some could do it in a day or two but I don't think you should try this first time around, I think you'll just get burnt out this way.

Cutthroats play more like privateers in my experience and have great skills for taking an enemies crew whilst I believe the buccaneer to nearer a freetrader in gamestyle. Because they are a bit of a mix of the 3 I'm sure to others they may be different, its quite subjective.

[Hibernicus]

Hmm thanks a lot for the information, I really appreciate it. Now I have a much better understanding of what to expect I suppose I'll just make a cutthroat to begin with, and if it's not too much fun I'll probably try the naval officer or freetrade next.

Thanks once more See you in game!