New Player Questions

[Captain Rake]

Hello! I have several questions that are kind of all over the place. I am currently a lvl 12 NO on Antigua/English.

For background, I've read most recent guides (not many are within the past 2 years) and am familiar with ship combat from other games. I usually prefer speed, even with a steep learning curve, but rageboarding seems like it would get old after a while. I would love to eventually do PBs, but in the meantime, leveling and small group activities with a Society sound fun.

Some of these questions belong in the Antigua server forum, but for some reason I cannot post there.

1. In other ship games I usually go for speed. In this game, my first character was a PT but I was told NO would be easier to learn and level with? Is this true? While ships of the line sound really cool, I haven't found a Soc and am spending my time solo. Are there any percs for one over the other that might not be so obvious?

2. The FT's versatility of ships also is incredibly intriguing. However, I assume aside from 1v1 PVP their strength lies in econ and I'm not sure I'm getting a CC account yet. Would it be better to wait for a FT? I love the idea of econ but am just not sure of a CC account just yet.

3. On Antigua, are there better nations than others for newbies? Is there a Nation with better Societies for newbies?

Thanks in advance!

[Remus]

You cannot post on the Antigua boards because you are not yet level 20. The Devs think some of us were creating new accounts to spam the forums.

Privs / NOs. Neither is particularly easier than the other. More NOs are usually needed in port battles; Privs are generally better for solo PvP (although it is ages since I tried as an NO; perhaps the difference is not so great now). I don't think it makes much difference for levelling.

I recommend joining a society - almost any society - as they will help answer questions and most will help you with ships / outfittings / ammo / consumables.

FTs are a viable combat class, but of all their vast array of ships, only the Hellbrand and the Oliphants / Mont Blanc are notable combat ships; most of the others are pure haulers and the other Indiamen and Couronnes are only moderate in combat.

I have no idea what the devs are doing with Econ and whether it will need a Captian's Club subscription. Right now, all you need to do is make a one-off payment for either additional lots or pay for one month's Captains Club and you will get all 10 lots - everything else for pure econ is the same between all types of account - but the recent patch shows this is likely to change. You can do very little with just the two lots.

You are best off waiting till the devs have announced what they intend doing. However given their past performance they are unlikely to announce it to non-Captain's Club members so we may have to wait for leaks from CC players back to us lesser folk.

Having said this, there a number of other perks for CC members apart from the 10 lots. Better rewards, more XP (therefore faster levelling), 5 ship slots, 6 character slots, ship storage. The XP bonus is especially useful to levelling players and you will find the 2 ship restriction rather limiting by the time you reach level 50. Reaching 50 on a F2P account is certainly viable - I have done it myself - but since most of the benefits are retained after you have ceased to be a Captain's Club member, you might decide subscribing now for one month (remember to cancel after the first payment has been made!) is a good idea.

But even as a CC member, particularly if you don't expect to continue subscribing, you might not wish to launch into econ right away. Many players find that econ absorbs time, and you might prefer to spend your early game time doing other stuff.

I cannot help wth Antigua nations and societies.

[Captain Rake]

Thank you for the reply! I will consider doing at least one month of CC. I may try a PT out and compare it to my NO, but you painted a much clearer picture for me that I can wait on a FT, given what I want to do with the game.

[Squailfish]

You cant go wrong following Remus' advice, he is one of the most level headed and helpful people to post on the forums.