Contents 1 Joining a Skirmish 2 Creating a Skirmish 2.1 Point Battles 3 Readying Your Side 4 Playing to Win

Skirmish allows players create custom battles. Players can create both Swashbuckling and Ship Battles. Skirmish is truly risk-free. Ships sunk during Skirmish do not lose Durability and avatars do not use up Smelling Salts. Players also have unlimited ammunition and consumables while in Skirmish.

There are no Nation or Career restrictions in Skirmishes. So many societies use Skirmish to train new members, and to try out advanced tactics without losing ships and Outfitting.

Skirmish also allows players to experience large battles on demand, so players can experience large-scale combat outside of Port Battles. And like Port Battles, Skirmishes can have as many as 48 players.

Joining a Skirmish

To bring up a list of Skirmishes, on the Toolbar, click the Skirmish button (or press the H key).

To join a Skirmish you can use the Instant Action buttons on the Join tab. Clicking the Instant Action buttons will automatically place you in a Skirmish lobby in need of more players. After joining a Skirmish, players wait in the Skirmish lobby until the Skirmish creator starts the Skirmish.

Also on the Join tab of the Skirmish window, you can browse open Skirmishes, and you can join any Skirmishes for which you qualify.

Creating a Skirmish

When creating a Skirmish, you should first choose the Battle Type. You may choose between two options: Sea Combat and Swashbuckling.

Next, you will select the Map for your Skirmish. When picking a map, you should first consider how many sides you want in your Skirmish. For example, if you want a Ship Battle with four sides, you should not pick Arch Stack Coast—pick a map like Wild Keys, which allows for a four-sided Ship Battle.

Of course, you should also consider the terrain of each map. For example, a map such as The Maze is better suited to large groups rather than a one-on-one battle.

There are a number of other settings for customizing your battle; although, most settings are self-explanatory (such as Time Limit, which sets how many minutes the Skirmish can last).

That said, the Point Battle setting might be confusing for first-time Skirmishers.

Point Battles

While there are many different settings to help create an equally matched game, the Point Battle option is an easy one. Point Battles allow each side to have a maximum number of points. This system automatically keeps the sides equal.

Points are determined in two ways: (1) by the level of the captain, and (2) by the level of the ship. For example:

• A level 50 character is worth 50 points, and a level 50 ship is worth 50 points, totaling 100 points.
• A level 25 character is worth 25 points, and a level 25 ship is worth 25 points, totaling 50 points.

Players can see their point number below their Ship Healthbar.

Readying Your Side

Players who join the Skirmish lobby are Unassigned until they choose a team. The Skirmish creator can also assign players to a side as well as permanently kick players out of the lobby.

Once in a Skirmish lobby you will have access to two new chat channels: the Skirmish and Battle chat channels. You can use Skirmish channel to speak with everyone in the Skirmish, and you would use the Battle channel to speak with only the players on your team.

Once all players on all teams mark themselves Ready, the Skirmish creator can launch the battle. Meanwhile, players who are Ready can minimize the Skirmish window and continue their business in town until everyone is Ready.

While in the Skirmish lobby, players can also temporarily switch to any one of their docked ships. To change ships, on the Lobby tab, click the Change Ship button . This ability is especially useful in Point Battles, where players may need to fulfill a certain point requirement to fit on a side. At the end of a Skirmish, players return to the ship they were in before they joined the lobby.

Playing to Win

Coordinate with your team to sink as many enemy ships as you can before the time limit or respawn count ends. During the Skirmish, the color of your ship's sails and avatar's coat will change to match your team, so you know who to attack and who to assist.

At any time during the battle, you can check the score and damage done by each player by clicking the Skirmish button (or pressing the H key).

At the end of the Skirmish, a winner is declared, and all players return to the port they were in before the battle began. The creator of the Skirmish can close the lobby, or renew the lobby to play the Skirmish again with the same options.