L2P: What ship should I sail?

[Garbad_the_Weak]

The purpose of this guide is to help beginners pick a ship that will help them reach their goals.

It includes three "paths" or ways to experience the game -- the powerleveler, prepvp, and roleplayer/history buff. Powerleveling is tips for people who just want to level as quickly as possible. PrePvP is suggestions for people who want to get started PvPing right away, or at least learn the basics of PvP as a lowbie. Roleplayer/history buff is suggestions for people who enjoy trying different flavors of ships and/or who want to sail historically accurate ships. I will include specific ships suggestions for people from each school of thinking as well as reasons why the ship is recommended.

This guide is an update to my old ship selection guide, found here:
http://www.burningsea.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14150

Low Levels - 1 - 21

Powerleveling:

The fastest way to level as a beginner is to quickly complete missions in the first few noob ports. They give solid DB and exp rewards, and can be easily and quickly completed in your starter boat. At level 12, try out a Mediator Cutter, which can both hit hard and sail quickly to get done with the missions ASAP. A cutter can easily carry you to the mid 20s.

PrePvP:

Much like the powerlevelers, there is little options for PvP until you start breaking into the early 20s. Focus on getting good gear, and level quickly. Try a Mediator Cutter, which can both hit hard and sail quickly to get done with the missions ASAP. A cutter can easily carry you to the mid 20s.

RolePlaying/History Buff:

Historically, most captains of the era sailed small ships such as schooners, sloops, brigs, and snows. Many people try out the Bermuda Sloop at level 8 for their first upgrade, and another very popular choice is the Van Hoorn Snow. Both are well rounded ships suitable for any role.

Mid Levels - 21-34

Powerleveling:

Once you get into your early 20s, you need an upgrade to keep powering out missions. You might also decide its time to start soloing fleets on the OS (a level 25 ship can pretty easily sink a level 40+ ship for 350 exp a pop). Probably the fastest and strongest ship for the midlevels is the Locust Mastercraft Corvette. Its speed and power will clean through NPCs quickly.

PrePvP:

By level 25, you should have the skills and gear you need to compete in PvP. At this level, you are best suited as a tackler for a group, wolfpacking with other small ships, or solo hunting noobs or weak merchants. Avoid fleet combat, or combat against other pvpers, especially those in large frigates, as you will probably be out of your league at first.

In the midlevels, a PvPer has several choices. First, the ever popular and versatile Mastercraft Cutter. The cutter is a 90 point ship with excellent all around speed. It is well suited to any class, especially a privateer. Another time tested favorite is the Corsair Xebec. The xebec is best suited for a privateer or cutthroat, but everyone should consider sailing one so they learn its strengths and weaknesses (it sails very similarly to the Arcadia). Finally, the Hermes Sleek Packetboat is the fastest 135 ship in the game. It works very well for combat oriented FTers and as a group tackler. At some point, most PvPers will sail each of these ships, so use them all.

RolePlaying/History Buff:

Almost everyone wants to try out their first true warship around level 20. Most opt for the Postillionen Frigate, a hard hitting and durable 20 gun Frigate. This ship is tough enough to take on much larger opponents, although it is not very quick. If you like the style of the Posty, consider branching into some of the midsized warships like the MC Stralsund, which adds larger caliber guns and guns on its topdeck for a good bit more bite. If you find yourself wishing you could be back in a quicker ship, consider the MC Cerberus, which has similar power and armor to a postilleon and adds chasers and much more agility.

Another ship to consider is the Algeris Poleacre. You will earn the right to create one of these as a part of your epic storyline, and although they can be a bit expensive, they are fun to use. Its such a freakish looking and sailing ship many people enjoy it, and its surprisingly versatile in combat.

The Final Push - 34-50

Powerleveling:

At level 34, you will want to purchase a Heavy Raa Frigate and use this until you hit 50. You want to use this ship (and not a MC Raa) because you get max experience from ships 15 levels above you. Ships less than 15 levels above you give less than max exp per kill, and ships over 15 levels above you don't give any extra. At level 34, the Heavy Raa is the highest armor/dps ship in the game that still gets max experience from the level 50 ships you will be farming in grind missions or in fleets of 8/12 (the popular MC Raa has similar performance, but as a level 39 ship gives less exp per kill than a level 34 heavy raa, which really adds up over time). Either tagging along with high levels or in a group, the Heavy Raa can chew through NPCs quickly while maximizing rewards.

PrePvP:

As you round into the 30s, you will want to take a look at the Sleek Raa Frigate. The Raa is similar to the now familiar hermes, but with important differences. The Sleek Raa packs a second DPS for some fearsome DPS, which when combined with excellent overall speed and agility can make this ship a very serious threat for much larger ships (Raas have defeated 4th rates and level 50 frigates many times). Your main threat, ironically, is packs of hermes tacklers.

The Arcadia may also be worth a look if you enjoyed the corsair. Like the corsair, it is a boarding specialist but adds a huge increase in sail strength (stronger than many level 50 ships), a weak second deck (good for mixing ammo types), and most importantly, a 575 yard chaser. The arcadia, if used well, can take out a lot of other ships, but it is also a high risk ship. It can be destroyed sometimes in a single broadside, and packs of cutters, corsairs, or a MC Arcadia can be deadly to you.

I do not recommend the Cerberus. It has some interesting improvements over a cutter (chasers) but its overall lack of a stat improvement over the cutter plus its vulnerability in a gank make it less appealing than the Raa or Arcadia. Privateers can still get by in an arrow, but I wouldn't recommend a cerberus to any other class for PvP. I also do not recommend the Triton. Although its very fast, its pretty weak in combat and I prefer the Raa, even if you get ganked more.

RolePlaying/History Buff:

I recommend the beautiful Defiant 32 gun Frigate. This tall ship is lovely, and her powerful guns give a satisfying thud as they shred your foes. Her older sister, the Deliverance, is a similar ship in stats and appearance, but more geared towards tanking. Another ship that I enjoy is the Oliphant East Indianman, which is a combat friendly tripledecker merchantman. It has a good punch and excellent artwork for the wealthy and adventurous merchant. Finally, at level 46 consider the Myrmidion 40 gun Frigate. Its a nice looking ship that backs a savage mid range punch, making it a nice workhorse for your push to 50.

_________________________

And that's it! Don't feel too constrained by this guide, as part of the fun of this game is trying out new ships to find one you enjoy. Feel free to share your experience and tips so others can benefit from them!

Enjoy, won't you!

[mack_au]

Better to get an MC Raa as it's massive DPS will make missions much easier to complete.

[Shane1701]

The MC Post will carry you into the mid 30's easy (and can easily take down most ships up to lvl 50 solo or in pairs...) and is especially viable if you are a
pirate (as you can just steal it) The MC defiant is very usefull for hitting fleets as well.

As a general rule I lived on MC ships from the mid 20's tp the end the reload and other bonuses these have make ordinary ships not really worth considering..

[kungtotte]

The Defiant is actually rather nice. I did a handful of missions in it (as a Privateer) and it worked better than I'd expected. Also, that suggestion is for the RP-interested people, they aren't really concerned with things like DPS.

[Kivek]

you know i found the quickest ships to lvl in are those that you feel most comfortable in. a lvl 25 who is bad at boarding is gonna lvl quiker in a locust mc then he is in a polacre but some1 who is good at boarding will easily be able to lvl up in a polacre going afte flutes and such

[ronniemason3]

time to choose. your fate is in your hands.

[OhioSteve01]

This is a good thread and I hope more people will post on it.

I have only played the game for a few months. However, so far my favorite ships are the mediator cutter and the santiago trader's galleon. I named the cutter "El Soneto" and the galleon "El Escalade". "Soneto" means "sonnet", and "Escalade" is an anachronistic joke

Compared to my starter ship (Otter scuda), El Soneto was faster, more nimble, and better armed. El Soneto was also a beautiful ship. After I got this ship, I could leave the starter region with cautious optimism instead of terror.

El Escalade was my first ship with a large cargo hold. This ship has made it much easier for me to contribute to guild production. Now I can do so much more on one voyage. Compared to other ships in the thirties it is weak offensively. However, it has more hit points than a small island, so you can beat down PvE adversaries through attrition.

[One Finger]

Stralsund at 27, Stralsund MC at 33, and Myrmidon MC at 46. These ships will never let you down. I've had to scuttle them because I couldn't sink them without deliberately suiciding.

[Blackbeard the Pirate]

answer to the thread: a ship

[cowboy99]

Something very important has not been mentioned: How do we acquire these ships?

Dulan