Welcome Committee (New Players look here!)

[jthecamel1]

I've seen three articles about people leveling up to 50 in a couple of weeks. How is this possible? Am I doing something wrong by following the quests?

[rafertee]

I do not know if I and on the right form, but I am a new player and i can't log in.
I downloded the 14 day free trial and the station launcher. It say's Pirates of the Burning Sea has Stopped Working, then it tell me to close the program. Did I forget to downlode something?

[Rolledback]

Originally Posted by jthecamel1 I've seen three articles about people leveling up to 50 in a couple of weeks. How is this possible? Am I doing something wrong by following the quests?

There is nothing wrong with that, I spent almost a year leveling up to 50 and have still not leveled a second toon. As a new player it would probally be best to follow the missions anyway because
A: they teach you the game mechanics
C: they give you rewards and money
D: you can do most of them all on your own

But, if you are interested in power leveling, you would have to go do what is called Fleeting. This is where player/s go out and attack the large fleets of 8 or 12 npcs. As a low level, you would have to ask in your nation chat and see if someone is willing to let you tag along.

[Rolledback]

Originally Posted by rafertee I do not know if I and on the right form, but I am a new player and i can't log in. I downloded the 14 day free trial and the station launcher. It say's Pirates of the Burning Sea has Stopped Working, then it tell me to close the program. Did I forget to downlode something?

You should file a support ticket via the support site. Click on support at the top and you should be able to figure it out from there.

[CompassRose]

Originally Posted by jthecamel1 I've seen three articles about people leveling up to 50 in a couple of weeks. How is this possible? Am I doing something wrong by following the quests?

It's not really a question of quests, it's which ones you do.

First and foremost, make sure you do your career missions as you get them (every 5 levels starting at level 5). You receive skills that make your progression easier.

Next, do the main story arc missions. You will know when you have one in your mission log by the little 'scroll' icon next to the mission name. At the higher levels, they are worth A TON of experience. Again, you get these every 5 levels so look out for them.

If you find you are stuck at a certain level with no missions in sight, talk to the garrison commander at any friendly port with a public dock and pick up the patrolling mission. This is a repeatable mission that can be done once a day at each of these ports. Your supply of XP should never run dry. Your only limiting factor is your current level. If you are level 15, and at a port where the missions are in the 10-14 range, you are fine. If you are at a port where the missions are considerably higher, the patrol mission will not be open to you.

At about level 38-40, head to San Marcos. This mission chain is mostly AvCom so you won't need an exceedingly powerful ship but the experience points for the missions come in gobs. Think cookie monster 'nom nom nom'.

At level 45, hit Jaqueme. More AvCom. In fact...ALL AvCom. The final mission (Lady Arsenault) will send you to Sommerset (that little, tiny island all by itself in the northeast corner of the map). These missions take you the rest of the way to 50. Other hotbeds for mission experience:

Ruddy Cove: Gives you the Betrayer's cannon mod (a damage mod that stacks with a cannon and gunpowder mod).

Oranjestad: Contains the highest XP mission in the game: 5250 XP points.

Port Royal: Visit the company trade office. Get 'Regarding that Freight'. You speak to two associates in the Port Royal auction house. BAM, you're done. Turn it in. Get the second mission entitled: 'About those Wreckers'. Go to Ruddy Cove and complete it to obtain the Lucky Albatross (one of the finest PvP clickies in the game).

Visit the Tavern in Port Royal to obtain the Corpi Hippocratum mission chain which is exclusively AvCom and ridiculously easy to complete.

Missions, missions, missions.

Put it this way, this is just my opinion. I've leveled 12 toons to 50. I've tried fleet grinding, I've done missions.

Missions are not boring.
You receive unique items that cannot be obtained any other way.
You learn your way around the map.
It is a more interactive experience.

But, level smart. Ask the player base where the good mission items are and they will tell you. If you can latch on with another player, you can cut your leveling time considerably. Having two players go through the same mission chains together can mean all the difference.

[scottb613]

Hi...

Just signed up - total newb... I have a bunch hours invested so far learning the ropes - I completed many of the tutorials - sunk quite a few ships - and - traveled around much of the world... I've joined a society - created my first warehouse- and - started producing my own raw materials/goods...

The documentation seems a bit limited - and - could use a hand figuring a few things out... If someone could answer some newb questions I would greatly appreciate the help...

1) Can I add a (4) pair of cannon to my entry level ship ??? I see slots for guns - I've purchased spares and medium cannons - just can't seem to add them to the slot...

2) I was given a deed for a merchant as payment for a mission... How do I use it ??? I can't seem to switch to it or give it any missions...

3) How do I join another player in combat ??? It seems that once a battle starts all others are locked out... Can I form up with another player - or - just follow them around on my own ???

4) Big picture on the economy ??? I am producing raw materials and goods - now what ??? I posted them for auction - no buyers yet... Am I supposed to move them to another town or something to get better prices ??? Maybe I priced them too high - should I lower them to move them faster ??? Should I really be focusing on building more and more complex finished goods ???

5) How do I add more ships so I can sail with a more powerful fleet... I completed the tutorial on how to claim a ship as a prize... I have performed the task - all it seems to get me is a little more loot - not the actual ship to build my fleet...

Anyway - again - real newb just trying to figure this all out... Appreciate any help provided...

THANKS !!!


Regards,
Scott

[Rolledback]

Could you get on the game's IRC channel at say 15 after? You questions are kind of extensive so it would be best to have a real time conversation. And if you don't knw how to get on, there is a news post called "chat with the community" just go there and click on the link to acsess irc via your browser.

Also, what nation/server/career are you?

[taolurker]

Originally Posted by scottb613 Hi... 1) Can I add a (4) pair of cannon to my entry level ship ??? I see slots for guns - I've purchased spares and medium cannons - just can't seem to add them to the slot...

No you cannot add to the number of guns on a ship. The ship deed tells how many guns you get and medium cannons are only used in ship building. Ship "cannon slots" are for outfittings that can improve cannon stats, and will not increase the number of cannons, the only way to get more cannons is on a better ship deed. As a low level, you are probably using a Small ship, so looking on the Auction for Small ship outfittings would be how you can use these slots on your ship(s).

2) I was given a deed for a merchant as payment for a mission... How do I use it ??? I can't seem to switch to it or give it any missions...

Ship deeds are something you use to generate a new ship, and (assuming this deed was for a ship) right clicking on it will allow you to turn it into a ship and will store your current ship at the dockyard. Ship deeds are trade-able, and can be lost in the hold of the ship when you're sunk, but once turned into a ship they cannot be traded (only stored). You have a limit of the number of active ships you can have at the dockyard (from the Dock Master) but can take others to the nation capital and store them.

3) How do I join another player in combat ??? It seems that once a battle starts all others are locked out... Can I form up with another player - or - just follow them around on my own ???

The easiest way to join combat with another player is being part of a group, and group mates can join any combat for the first few minutes. If you aren't part of a group, there's a Signal Flare skill that can be used to allow people to join against NPCs, but if someone doesn't use this it's going to lock their combat to you (similarly you would need to use it to have someone help you). In PvP areas (red zones) though, reinforcements from the same nation can join for up to a certain time period, and also if you're attacking an NPC in a red zone, the NPC can be reinforced by other players of their nation.

4) Big picture on the economy ??? I am producing raw materials and goods - now what ??? I posted them for auction - no buyers yet... Am I supposed to move them to another town or something to get better prices ??? Maybe I priced them too high - should I lower them to move them faster ??? Should I really be focusing on building more and more complex finished goods ???

Building things and collecting resources would be mostly dependent on what you wanted to actually make, and each different port has different resources available with different structures you can create. Most times if you get resources from one port, they usually need to be taken to a different port (where that commodity isn't available) to get decent prices for them. Building complex goods also would depend on the market, but mostly I'd suggest starting with resources only until you get a feel for what's marketable and which ports resources are easy enough to get.

5) How do I add more ships so I can sail with a more powerful fleet... I completed the tutorial on how to claim a ship as a prize... I have performed the task - all it seems to get me is a little more loot - not the actual ship to build my fleet...

You can only ever have a single ship, and ships themselves get more powerful, but you never get your own "fleet". You can use the Port Master above like I described to add more ships, and a benefit is you can also instant travel between ships in your dockyard (example use your new deed and then you have a second ship, and then can sail that ship away and travel back to the port where the original ship is). Claiming ships will only get a "new ship" if you are a Pirate class, but then it's a captured ship, and for all other nationals it's only a quest collectible you get for "claiming".

Just some other things that might help are using the in game Help (f1) which gives details about all structures, craftables, as well as ships, and then of course searching the Wiki. Avoid the red as a low level (if at all possible), and definitely at the top of the PotBS page look under "Game Guide" and definitely check out the section on "Conquest".

[Remus]

Originally Posted by scottb613 Hi...

Hi

In case you cannot or care not to talk direct with rolledback I will try to answer as best I can

1) Can I add a (4) pair of cannon to my entry level ship ??? I see slots for guns - I've purchased spares and medium cannons - just can't seem to add them to the slot...

You cannot change the number of cannons on your ship. If you want more cannons you need a better ship. Personally I would stick with your La Belle, Otter or Halifax until at least level 7 (buy a Dolphyn) or 8 (Bermuda), but a few people reckon a Lyon (level 3) or Jamaica (level 5) are worth investing in. Others again would suggest you wait till level 12 for a van Hoorn, although at level 12 I generally favour the Mediator.
There are a few ship resources avaialble and I naturally recommend my own - see my sig.

The slots for guns you see (and just to make sure we are talking about the same thing, you should also see slots for hull and sail modifications) are called Permanent Outfittings. In the same window there are also three slots for General Outfittings. The Generals you tend to get (at least to start with) as loot drops or mission rewards. Permanents you need to buy.
What these do is adjust some statistics on your ship, like damage or reload for guns (but not the number of guns). All outfittings need to be the same level as yourself or lower, and Permanents must also be the same size as your ship, Small if you are using your starter ship. Provided you meet these criteria, you can just drag and drop from your ship's hold into the appropriate outfitting slot.
One final thing, if you sink, any Permanents you have fitted are lost, although if they are in your hold rather than fitted, you keep them. Generals are never lost.

You also mention Spare Guns. These are a Consumable, just like Hull Patches and Mast Braces which with any luck you will by now have worked out how to use. The other simple repair consumables are Structure Braces and Kegs of Rum.

2) I was given a deed for a merchant as payment for a mission... How do I use it ??? I can't seem to switch to it or give it any missions...

I am not sure what you mean.
Were you given a Ship Deed (the Renard is a reward for completing the economy tutorial)? If so, find it in your inventory, right click it, then click Trade this deed in for a ship. Next go to the Harbour Master and it should be in your list of ships. The Harbour Master can show you the inventories as well as the stats of your ships, and you can drag and drop items between your current ship and any other ship in the same port.

3) How do I join another player in combat ??? It seems that once a battle starts all others are locked out... Can I form up with another player - or - just follow them around on my own ???

The rules for engaging in combat with other players are quite complex.
If you want to assist anyone from your own nation in a battle, you need to join within a certain period of time (although be aware, they might not wish you to join), when the battle marker is green or yellow on the Open Sea. If the battle you wish to join is not in a red zone, and does not involve an enemy or PvP-flagged friendly player, anyone inside the battle can also open it up again briefly by sending a flare.

If you want to fight against someone from your own nation, you can do this in a Skirmish (hotkey H) or a Duel (type /duel playername in chat). Both of these are no-loss environments - you cannot lose your ship or cargo, although you do lose the ammo and consumables you use.

If you want to fight an enemy player then you can still use Skirmish and Duel, but you can also engage in 'proper' PvP. You are likely to get sunk very quickly, but if you really want to try then there are a few things to note:
a) you cannot initiate combat in a fallback ship
b) no one can attack you unless you go into a red zone or flag yourself for PvP (at the Port Captain).
c) in a red zone, the smaller, singe red zones and the outer ring of double red zones are 'Pirate PvP' areas where one of the players (the attacker or victim) must be a pirate or a level 15+ privateer.
d) in the inner red zones anyone can attack anyone
e) flagging yourself for PvP does not give you any attacking rights, but merely enables people to attack you.

You might also wish to team up with people for missions. To do this you need to form or join a group. It is one of the options when you right click a player. But chat with them first, eh

4) Big picture on the economy ??? I am producing raw materials and goods - now what ??? I posted them for auction - no buyers yet... Am I supposed to move them to another town or something to get better prices ??? Maybe I priced them too high - should I lower them to move them faster ??? Should I really be focusing on building more and more complex finished goods ???

Oh, where to begin
The economy, like so much else in the game, needs to be learned. F1 help is your friend here because once you get in amongst the recipes it shows you what is made with an item, so you get some clues as to its usefulness.
Next, check the Auction House listings. Look at the items you are making or are thinking of making and look at the recent AH history for these at every port you can see from the port you are in, possibly even sailing to another area (Antilles in particular) to see the listings there.
In general, you want to make something that sells in reasonable quantities (by checking the recent history), and sell it for no more than the most common price in the recent history. You usually need to ship your goods to another port to get the best price, but most buyers can see every AH in the Caribbean and some of these will be willing to haul the goods from a distant port if it is cheaper to do so.
Although it is generally easier to make higher profits from goods higher up the tree, there is strong demand for many low level goods like oak and hemp products.

If you want to be swamped with information, see Production Planner in my sig

5) How do I add more ships so I can sail with a more powerful fleet... I completed the tutorial on how to claim a ship as a prize... I have performed the task - all it seems to get me is a little more loot - not the actual ship to build my fleet...

Claim Prize is a national skill that gives you a token as reward. As you have discovered, it does not give you a ship. Both classes of Pirates get a rather different Scavenge skill which sometimes gives them a ship and Cutthroat Pirates can capture a ship directly.
To get a new ship, take a look at the Getting a New Ship guide.

Anyway - again - real newb just trying to figure this all out... Appreciate any help provided... THANKS !!! Regards, Scott

Welcome to the game.

[Rolledback]

Listen to Remus .

But if you do ever want to talk to someone in game, my ig name is Matthew Young and Im a brit on antigua.