The Corsairs: The Legend Returns Guide and Walkthrough. Corsairs: Return of the Legend: Guides & Walkthroughs Return of the Legend ships
« The Corsairs: Return of the Legend"- role-playing computer game... It can also be attributed to simulators and action games. Developed by the Seaward.ru team on the Storm 2.5 engine from the Corsairs III game and published by Akella in 2007. Continues the series of games "Corsairs". The game takes place in the 17th century in the Caribbean. The character begins to play on January 1, 1665. As in previous parts, you can play as one of four factions - England, France, Holland or Spain.
New in the game
- Giant sea spaces for exploration, instead of a fictional archipelago - actually recreated islands of the Caribbean
- A unique game world that lives independently of the hero
- Many quests that can be completed in different ways
- Redesigned Storm 2.5 engine
- New role-playing system PIRATES
- Improved combat system
Game process
V the beginning of the game you choose the character you will play for - Diego Espinosa, Edward Teach, or for Alexander Exquemelin, after patch 1.2.3 many more heroes appear. You also choose the nation, the difficulty of the game - from cabin boy to the impossible, and the type of hero - adventurer, merchant or corsair, set up the battle and the game. The new role-playing system of the game PIRATES, named after the first letters of the English names of the characteristics of the hero - Power, Impression, Reaction, Authority, Talent, Endurance, Success. These characteristics affect the development rate of 14 character skills, which are divided into personal (authority, light weapons, medium weapons, heavy weapons, pistols, luck and stealth) and ship skills (navigation, accuracy, guns, boarding, protection, repair, trade). All plot characters are real historical figures of that era - Henry Morgan, Thomas Modiford, Colonel Lynch, Bertrand d'Ozheron, François Olone, Jackman, Peter Stavesant, Rock Brazilian and others, and the quests are based on real events taking place at this time - capture Panama, Spanish gold navy.
The ships
| Typical ships | 7th grade | Tartana - Tartana first appeared in the Mediterranean. It was originally a small fishing boat with a triangular sail, but its good sailing characteristics made the tartan a very popular ship used for coastal voyages and trade between nearby settlements. | 7th grade | Barkas - a large boat on which small cannons are installed. It will never become a serious ship, but it is widely used for pirate or smuggling sorties all over the world. | 6th grade | Lugger - a small ship designed to transport goods and guard small convoys. Despite the fact that the Lugger's weaponry is weak and the crew is small, it is specially designed for both trade and battle. Many captains value the Lugger for its speed and agility. Its small size does not allow it to make long sea voyages. | 6th grade | Sloop - having a shallow draft and excellent driving characteristics, the sloop is a highly efficient reconnaissance ship, suitable for coastal patrols and trade. | Grade 5 | Barque - a ship adapted for long voyages. With a spacious hold and sufficient firepower, the bark is considered one of the best ships in its class. However, its large size does not allow it to develop high speed and quickly maneuver, so the bark loses in terms of running characteristics to lighter ships of its class. | Grade 5 | Schooner - good sailing qualities of this ship, coupled with a spacious hold, made the schooner one of the most attractive ships as a merchant ship middle hand who cannot afford to purchase flutes. | Grade 5 | Caravel - the unusual shape of the deck of the caravel makes it easy to identify this ship from a long distance by its outline. It is beneficial to use caravels for transporting large loads, especially since they have shown themselves to be unimportant as warships. | Grade 5 | Brigantine - a legendary type of sailing ships. Fast and maneuverable like a swallow, the brigantine soars over the endless expanses of seas and oceans. | 4th grade | Flutes - the ship is strong and large enough for long voyages, but it is unreasonable to use it for military purposes. The flute is good as a merchant ship, since it is difficult to find a flute in its class by the size of the hold and the strength of the rival's hull. | 4th grade | Brig - The brig is often used as a merchant ship, but even more often as a warship. Its high speed and maneuverability make it one of the most harmonious vessels. | 4th grade | Galleon “The Galleon is undoubtedly the most famous type of ship in history. A close relative of the caravel, the galleon is a clumsy and reliable ship that has served sailors for two hundred years. Easy prey for a real pirate. | Grade 3 | Corvette - The corvette was designed as a vessel with powerful weapons, but at the same time as fast and light as possible. As a result, corvettes have a weak hull, but are able to catch up with lighter ships and fight successfully against heavier ones. Typically, the corvette was used as a patrol vessel and also as an auxiliary warship. | Grade 3 | Heavy Galleon is a powerful warship. Large-caliber guns, a solid hull and a large team provide reliable protection for any cargo. | Grade 3 | Pinnace - is large and strong enough for long sea voyages, the capacity of its hold allows you to carry a large amount of cargo, and the armament is strong enough. However, in battle, it sorely lacks the maneuverability and speed of a real warship. | 2nd grade | Frigate - Fast and maneuverable frigates are liked by many for their high driving performance and firepower. A squadron of frigates may well destroy the fort and plunder the city. | 2nd grade | Warship - A warship, surpassing the frigate in the number of guns, loses to it in speed and maneuverability. However, by strengthening the hull and increasing the size of the ship, some warships can be equipped with the most powerful weapons. | 1 class | Battle ship - development of a warship by increasing the size and strengthening of the hull. Huge and clumsy, it carries several batteries of heavy weapons and is serviced by a large crew. | 1 class | Battleship - is a formidable force. Armed with the most powerful and long-range guns, with a very strong hull, it is able to successfully resist any ship at sea and destroy coastal fortifications. | 1 class | Man-o-var - is the most powerful of all man-made sea vessels... On its three decks, it carries a hundred heavy guns, and its hull is almost impenetrable for cannonballs. Unfortunately, the huge size and displacement of the man-o-war limits its use in large naval battles and the bombardment of forts. | Quest ships | 2nd grade | Flying Dutchman - a warship upgraded for speed and having a unique texture | 1 class | Royal ship of the line - Terrifying firepower combined with exquisite body finishes and impressive handling characteristics. Greatest ship of all time. |
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Archipelago
Islands: Antigua, Barbados, Bermuda, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Cayman, Cuba, Curacao, Martinique, Nevis, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, Turks, Tortuga, Trinidad and Tobago, Hispaniola, Jamaica and others.
- in the game you can see some paintings by Aivazovsky ("Brig" Mercury "attacked by two Turkish ships", "The Ninth Wave") painted in the 19th century.
- also in the game there are a lot of paintings by other famous artists, for example Rembrandt ("self-portrait", "Night Watch")
- in one of the quests, the terminator T-800 appears, which allegedly, due to a mistake in the time machine, moved to the 17th century, he also tells the hero that his weapon, the shotgun, also moved with him, but in the corresponding film, Kyle Reese says to Sarah Conor, that it is impossible to move inanimate objects (weapons, clothing) through the time portal.
After spitting at the entrance, we go into the tavern. Again the drunks have occupied all the tables, smite them with the sea devil. "I have no rivals in the sea!" - comes from one of the guests. "Well, yes, of course ..." - We enter into a lively discussion from the doorway. The clink of breaking dishes, the screams, the grinding of steel - he will have to answer for the insolence. Although, is a fight in a tavern really serious for two hardened sea wolves: a Spaniard adventurer and an English pirate? So, just warm up. Having dealt with the braggart, we find the right person. It is easy to recognize him by his clothes, they all dress like that. "We have goods ... no, the authorities will not buy ... yes, just for you ... on the beach? .. we will!" Let's walk, perhaps, on foot, not far from here. Going to the beach, we see a group of smugglers - we have something for them ... “No, these are not slaves,” the pirate replies, “this is information. Interested in? Then listen ... "
New game
So, the game is installed. A pistol in his belt, a saber in his hands - and forward, to the sea. True, first we need to decide who we will play. We are offered a choice of three characters. Diego Espinoza is a Spaniard, adventurer and adventurer. Differs in the balance of basic characteristics, a kind of jack of all trades. Edward Teach - Englishman, corsair. A thoroughbred fighter, not surprisingly - in the future, Edward Teach will become known as Blackbeard. And the third seeker of fame and fortune is a typical merchant Alex Exquemelin, a Dutchman. It is logical that the Dutch do not have a navy, but the merchant fleet is the best in the entire Caribbean.
The choice of the nation is very important. For example, Spain at the start of the game owns most of the colonies in the Caribbean. In addition, she is in neutral relations with Holland - a true paradise for a merchant. England, on the other hand, is at enmity with everyone except France. There are much fewer English and French colonies on the archipelago, so the life of a merchant will be much more difficult. But you can rob the Spanish "golden" galleons, which once a year leave for the Old World. A good harvest will also bring ruin to the Spanish and Dutch colonies. Holland is the most fortunate in terms of political relations. It is in a secret alliance with France, and with Spain it maintains neutrality. There are difficulties only with the British, but you can trade in their colonies - we will tell you how to do this later. If we choose France, we get neutrality with England and peace with Holland. Only pirates are hostile to everyone.
By the way, in the game you cannot live in peace with all countries. On the right side of the screen, you can see an indicator of the relationship of the country to the character - but not to his nation. That is, if you are a Spaniard and all of France admires you, you will still be attacked by French ships and mercilessly fired from the coastal fortifications.
The nation has been selected, now let's take a look at the game settings. There are several of them:
- Complexity- directly affects the strength of opponents, their survivability in hand-to-hand combat, as well as the amount of experience gained. The game has 10 difficulty levels, from "sailor" to "impossible".
- Frequency of events- determines with what regularity you will meet other ships. For beginners, we recommend the "rare" level. There are too many problems at a high level, pirates are literally at every turn. Yes, not one ship, whole squadrons of up to six ships! On the starting lugger and with minimal skill indicators, it is impossible to resist such raids. Yes, it is restless in the Caribbean, but what did you want?
- Reloading the pistol- you will not be allowed to walk peacefully with a pistol in your hands. You can press the "shot" button - the character will pull out a pistol, shoot and take it back. If the option is enabled, the pistol will be famously reloading right during fencing, and if not, you will have to sheathe the sword every time or fight without a firearm. Reverance towards realism, and not the only one.
- HardcoreGame- this is a regime for true enthusiasts, in which it is possible to save only in churches. There is no need to explain what this is fraught with. Any pirate - and hello, Davy Jones. It is highly discouraged for the first playthrough.
- Swimming mode- sets the swimming speed. Someone likes fast, dynamic battles, while others like thoughtful maneuvers. This parameter does not affect the battle process itself.
- Profile- Finally, in "Corsairs" you can play several characters at the same time, without fear of overwriting an already saved game.
Now that you've set it all up, the game begins. Unfortunately, the beginning of it was made common to everyone. The captain of the ship died in the battle, and our character took over command. We know about the hero that he came from Europe. That's the whole story. In the same dialog, you can change the initial characteristics if you select the appropriate menu item. We will return to the role-playing system below. By the way, the sailor will offer to practice fencing. You shouldn't refuse - fencing in "The Return of the Legend" is fundamentally different from "Corsairs 3".
Control
Ship
In this chapter, we will discuss how to operate the boat.
The speed of the ship depends on the strength and direction of the wind and the position of the sails, of which there are only three: fully lowered, raised and fully raised. Understandably, if the sails are fully raised, the ship can only drift on the waves, not moving anywhere. With the sails up, the ship moves very slowly as all the main sails are retracted. Well, with the sails completely lowered, we can only catch the wind, nothing else depends on the boat itself. Of course, a tailwind is the best, and a headwind will not let us budge, but there is great amount"Lateral" winds. It's simple: the "closer" the headwind, the faster the ship sails. Much also depends on the type of ship - for example, the sailing armament of battleships is such that almost any wind suits them! But just sailing is one thing, but maneuvering is quite another. In fact, successful maneuvers during combat are 50% successful. During your salvo it is best to raise the sails fully, and when the ship comes to a stop, shoot. Skillful players can catch enemy ships like this: the adversary raises the sails for a shot, the player sees this and also begins to raise; and now, when the two ships are almost standing, the player simultaneously shoots, lowers the sails and turns his nose towards the enemy. Very difficult, but the result justifies the hours of training.
Battle. You can fight the enemy in two modes, normal (third-person ship) and captain's (first-person ship). The second mode will allow us to aim ourselves before firing. You can throw the enemy's ship, you can not finish it off (but why?), And of course, you can hit the enemy. Also, in the "captain's" mode, you can carefully examine the enemy through a telescope: the higher the quality of the device, the more information you can learn - from speed to the number of guns on board.
Boarding. During boarding, all soldiers do not participate in the battle. A total of 15 people will be on the decks of the ships. If your ship had 300 people, and the enemy ship had 900, then there will be 4 people on your side during the boarding, and 11. But if you single-handedly attack the ship with a huge team, then you will have to fight alone against 15 sailors. Moreover, they will have tremendous indicators of health and damage. One hit can cause damage three times more than the player's hit points. After the victory on the deck, the battle goes to the captain's cabin, and there you fight one-on-one with the enemy cap - whoever won, the ship. Although there is a possibility that the captain will surrender without a fight.
It is important: after the end of the carnage on the deck, search the corpses, sometimes there are many interesting things. And it would be nice to rob the captain's cabin ...
However, if your team is superior to the enemy and you have a high leadership indicator, then there is a high probability that the ship will surrender without a fight. His entire crew will become your slaves, and the captain will become a prisoner. Unless, of course, the captain decides to throw everyone overboard.
Human
Management on land is elementary. In cities, we can not run at all, but simply navigate through key points using the Enter key, selecting the desired buildings. But the jungle will have to run, yes ... I remember Maine, without a map, at night - an hour of no game time had to be spent in order to finally find the damned bay where the ship was.
Battles, however, are also not particularly difficult. All actions consume energy, which is slowly growing. There are three main hits: fast piercing, which deals little damage, but hits quickly and spends little energy. Medium blow, average in all respects. A strong punching blow is very long and spends a lot of energy, but with such a blow you can easily take away all the enemy's health at once, and he does not pay attention to the block. There is also a circular blow, which expends a lot of energy, but all nearby enemies receive average damage. There are two defensive skills, block and feint, the latter reflects the enemy's blow and at the same time can completely deprive the enemy of energy and take him out of the game for a few seconds.
But not with a single sword ... Our hero, of course, has a pistol in his stock. The thing is very useful, depending on the game mode, it reloads either by itself, or when there is no weapon in the hands. The better the pistol, the more damage, naturally.
In general, the battle looks like this: we shoot, we inflict a penetrating blow, again and ... we run, gaining energy. Repeat to the bitter end. In this way, you can defeat five or six enemies even at the beginning of the game, the main thing is to stock up on "pills", to improve your health, you know ...
Role system and skills
Let's start with the main difference between Corsairs: The Legend Returns and the original series. This is a completely new character development system. Experience, levels and a set of characteristics have been replaced by the "pirate" analogy of SPECIAL called PIRATES. You cannot change these characteristics during the game, unless there is an opportunity to complete a special task, but more on that later.
Let's consider the characteristics in more detail.
Power- Power in "Corsairs" plays a classic role in role-playing games. She is responsible for the force of the blow, the carried weight and the number of units of life.
Perception- the ability to see, hear and notice everything around. In particular, it is responsible for the accuracy of cannon salvoes from the ship. The accuracy of pistol shots is not affected.
Reaction- agility, agility and, oddly enough, endurance. Responsible for the energy due to which blows are delivered. We strongly recommend that you invest the maximum number of points in this characteristic. You will have to fight a lot in the game.
Leadership- natural charm plus conversation skills. A good leader will be able to take the ship without a fight, hire the maximum crew, get the best prices in the store. In addition, leadership affects the number of officers hired (the available number of officers is equal to the leadership level multiplied by two)
Talent- a sharp and inquisitive mind, the ability to grasp everything on the fly. A character with high trainability acquires skills faster. Also, learnability affects many skills, such as navigation and pistols.
Endurance- the name of the skill speaks for itself. The higher the stamina, the more hit points the character will have. Slightly to a lesser extent affects the amount of weight to be carried.
Success- Luck is luck. Affects pure chances - the enemy may not hit close range, the enemy patrol will pass by, mistaking it for his own.
All characteristics vary from 3 to 10.
Value new system in that it gives room for imagination. You can start playing like a stupid big guy and make your way in the waters of the Caribbean with steel and lead, or you can become a calculating negotiator, buying low and selling high.
For example, a purebred fighter requires maximum values for strength, reaction, learning, luck, and leadership. For the trader, learnability, leadership and perception. Variations are of course possible. It all depends on the player.
So, we examined the basic system, now let's move on to the parameters of the hero.
Rank- now this is the name of the level. Increases when you gain enough experience. Experience is awarded for trading, quests, destroying forts, increasing skills and hand-to-hand combat. Each level adds life and energy. And in general, everything. The rank does not have any special influence, as in the previous "Corsairs". Unless the higher the rank, the better officers can be hired and the stronger the enemies and captains will be.
Life- hero's health in numbers. Classic scheme. The more hit points, the longer the character lives in battle. Increases depending on strength and endurance.
Health- and this is an indicator of the state of the hero. Frequent injuries reduce this indicator over time, and the lower it is, the lower the main characteristics. For example, medium health gives a -1 penalty. Together with the main characteristics, skills are also reduced. You can restore health in different ways - for a long time not to take part in hand-to-hand fights or heal in a church. The brothel also helps. In general, rest and bed rest. We recommend that you constantly keep your health level at “good” or “excellent”.
Energy- shows the stamina reserve of the character. Each action - hitting, bouncing, and so on - consumes a certain amount of energy. In fact, energy indicates how long a character will last in battle. The meaning depends on the reaction.
Gold- displays the number of piastres in the character's pockets.
Reputation- shows how other people relate to the character. We start with a reputation as an "ordinary sailor", and in the course of the game we can become either a bloody murderer or a hero, depending on what we do. Over time, both good and bad deeds are forgotten, good deeds faster, bad deeds slower. The reputation always aims at the "ordinary sailor". It also affects the loyalty of hired officers, but more on that below.
Carry weight- shows the current load and maximum.
Rank Is an indicator of the progress of the implementation of the national line.
Experience threshold - shows how many points are left in the skill to get the next point. We will tell you more about this in the Personal Skills section.
Personal skills
Along with the characteristics, the character has personal skills. They develop as the corresponding skill is applied. For example, the skill of light weapons grows when the character fights with brass knuckles, daggers and rapiers, pistols when shooting, and so on. We met a similar system, for example, in TES IV: Oblivion... Let's consider the skills in more detail.
Authority- the name speaks for itself. The captain must be respected by his team and must inspire confidence. Otherwise, a riot on the ship cannot be avoided, and on land no one wants to go to our ship. In addition, authority affects the chance to take an enemy ship without a fight. Depends on leadership and to a lesser extent on learning.
How to develop?
Hire people in taverns. Board heavily damaged ships with a small crew so that they are more likely to surrender without a fight. Grows in battle.
Light weapon- characterizes the ability to wield light weapons: brass knuckles, daggers and rapiers. Light weapons spend the least energy, but they also do much less damage than other types of weapons.
Depends more on reaction and less on perception.
Medium weapon- characterizes the possession of sabers and dusaks. Average damage, energy cost too. Golden mean. Depends on strength and reaction.
Heavy weapon- all the same, only heavier weapons - broadswords, flambergs and axes. It spends a lot of energy, but it beats in such a way that it will not seem a little. Depends more on strength and less on endurance.
How to develop?
Fight. The bigger, the better. It is especially effective to use a circular blow in a large concentration of enemies. If you are not playing for the British, we advise you to develop weapons skills in Jamaica. The lighthouse is guarded there by a very large number of soldiers.
Pistols- the ability to use various devices that send lead balls to enemies. In The Return of the Legend, pistols consume bullets and must be constantly replenished by merchants. Let's also say that the damage from the bullet is very high, so we strongly recommend that you develop this skill. Depends on reaction and luck.
How to develop?
Shoot, often and at everyone. Bullets are cheap, and the ability to kill an enemy with one shot or just drastically shorten his life is worth any money.
Luck- it is needed everywhere, whether in trade, in sailing, or in battle. A very important skill, the need for which is difficult to assess at the beginning of the game. A successful hit can inflict damage up to twenty times the normal one.
How to develop?
There is no clear recipe, when luck works, the skill increases. It is most effective to hit many enemies with weapons with low damage - brass knuckles or daggers. Each successful hit will increase the skill.
Stealth- allows you to pass unnoticed by a patrol, penetrate an enemy city, enter a port under a false flag, or deceive other people's ships in the sea. Skill is not very important, and it is the most difficult to develop it.
How to develop?
Change the flag, infiltrate cities, smuggle. That, perhaps, is all.
Ship skills
Navigation- the ability to control ships. The higher the class of the ship, the better navigation the player should have. Grade 6 - 1, Grade 5 - 25, Grade 4 - 40, Grade 6 - 65, Grade 2 - 80, Grade 1 - 95. If a player is sailing on a ship that is not suitable for your navigation, he receives noticeable penalties for all indicators. A good navigator can solve this problem. Depends largely on perception and to a lesser extent on learning.
How to develop?
Swim in the storm - often and a lot. Develops well during battles. You can just sail around the enemy ship.
Accuracy- the accuracy of your hits depends on accuracy. A low indicator will prevent you from hitting from a distance of ten meters. So accuracy must be developed as quickly as possible. It mostly depends on perception and a little on luck.
How to develop?
Oddly enough, accuracy develops with well-aimed shots. Therefore, it is best to get as close to the enemy as possible and shoot. End-to-end. You can, in principle, shoot from a long distance, but it takes a very long time.
Cannons- the reload speed depends on this skill. Depends on knowledge and strength in almost equal amounts.
How to develop?
Hmm ... Shoot! And if you do not just shoot, but also at the enemy, then you can develop accuracy.
Boarding- distance and angle from which you can throw "cats". Useful for real pirates. Depends on the reaction and a little on learning.
How to develop?
Board ships, so that they do not surrender without a fight. We need a battle!
Protection- the skill is responsible for the integrity of the crew during the battle. The higher the skill, the easier it is to avoid losses among the not entirely peaceful, but still the population of the ship. Depends equally on leadership and endurance.
How to develop?
Substitute under attack, receive volleys of shrapnel in the side. Losing the crew. Cruel, but there is no other way out. We'll have to sacrifice the initial team in order to save the real thugs later.
Fix- affects the speed of ship repair. Depends on stamina and a little on perception.
How to develop?
First you have to spoil the boat somewhere, and then patch it up.
Trade- the higher the skill, the more favorable the conditions for you in stores. Depends on learning and a little on leadership.
How to develop?
Buy - Sell.
Personal abilities
Personal abilities are special skills that give certain advantages in a particular area. Some of them are useful, some are not very. Let's figure out what's what. To begin with, personal abilities do not depend on rank. To gain the ability, you need to gain a total of 33 personal skill points.
Basic defense skill- reduces the damage done to the character by 10%. So, no frills. It is necessary to take in any case, since many other skills depend on it.
High Defense Skill- reduces damage to the character by 20%. Take it unambiguously, as it is required for most other abilities. And the reduction of damage by 1/5 will not be superfluous.
Cuirass- allows the character to wear cuirass. A very useful thing, although at first you can't even get money for an ordinary cuirass. But when piastres start ringing in your pockets ... In general, you must take it, but only when money appears.
Critical hit- gives a chance to deal a critical hit. The chance is only 5%, but it is highly recommended to take. Still, the damage from a critical strike is very great.
Berserk- the damage inflicted by the character is multiplied, but only by 20 seconds. This miracle is recharged in one minute. Take as soon as possible. Additional damage is never superfluous.
Requires: Basic Defense Skill
Growing life- with each new rank, the character will receive an additional one point of life. The value is doubtful, it is better to take something else.
Requires: high defense skill
Heavy hand- hits of the character stun opponents, and they lose energy. It's worth taking, but only at the middle stage of the game. There are also a whole bunch of more useful skills.
Indefatigability Is just one of the "more useful skills". Be sure to take in any case. This ability increases the rate of energy recovery by 15%.
Growing energy- works on the principle of growing life, only energy is added. Plus one point per rank. The value is questionable.
Requires: indefatigability
Irresistible blow- character hits have a 20% chance to break through the block. Very valuable, but only in the mid to late game stages. At first, it is wiser to use a punching blow, but he ignores the block, therefore, in fact, a punching one.
Requires: high defense skill
Saber dance- a circular blow deals 35% more damage. One of the most useful skills. The circular blow is very effective when fighting a whole crowd of opponents. Be sure to take.
Requires: Critical Strike and High Defense Skill
Professional fencer- the probability of a critical hit becomes 20%, and the damage inflicted on a character in battle is reduced by 30%. Perhaps the most useful skill of all. It is obligatory to take, the usefulness is obvious.
Requires: Critical Strike, High Defense Skill, Indefatigability
Shooter- the character is better at using pistols. Reload speed is reduced by 10%, accuracy is increased by the same 10%. In addition, the character can use double-shot pistols. The value is questionable, and here's why. Double-shot pistols are weaker than single-shot pistols. In addition, they take longer to reload, on the other hand, if the "reloading" is turned off, then such a pistol will be an excellent help in battle. The value is debatable and depends on the circumstances.
Accurate shooter- a player with pistols on you, bullets always fly at the target, reloading is faster. The skill gives + 25% accuracy and reduces reload speed by 25%. Four-shot pistols can be used. The value is again controversial. Better to become a professional swordsman first. At least the chance of dying while fired is much less.
Required: shooter
Additional weight- the character can carry an additional 30 pounds of weight. It's so simple and without frills. Take as needed. After all, there are also boardmen who can be used as pack mules.
Excellent health- the character's physical health is restored much faster and worsens less from wounds. Works worse at sea than on land. Utility is high if you often board ships, for example.
Requires: high defense skill
Experience exchange- doubles the amount of experience that companions, officers and passengers receive. Officers, companions and passengers will receive 50% \ 33% \ 10% experience, respectively. Useful if you are actively using officers. That is, you can take a few cheap officers and develop them to the right level... The value is debatable, new officers with better characteristics can be hired.
Iron will- reduces the likelihood of mutiny on the ship. An absolutely useless ability. A mutiny on a ship happens if the crew is not fed, if more crews are taken than calculated, or if the salary is not paid. The fact is that with a low morale, the combat effectiveness of the sailors is significantly reduced, and they control the ship worse. The unpaid salary will still need to be paid back next month. That's not all; if you hire a boatswain with this ability, then it will work for the hero.
Lifeboat rescue- if the ship's hull is less than 15%, then the character can sail on a boat to another ship. And if the companion has this skill, then he will sail to the flagship from a sinking ship or from a fire-ship. The usefulness is questionable. Ships are too expensive a pleasure to be allowed to sink.
Requires: iron will
Credible- most employers do not pay attention to the hero's reputation. The value is highly questionable. If you have a low reputation, then you are a pirate. If high, then a hunter of pirates and robbers. There is no third. The usefulness of the skill is controversial due to its high requirements. Advanced trading is provided by the officer, but more on that later.
Requires: Advanced Trade and Iron Will.
Ship Abilities
Pirate flag... A skill that allows you to raise a pirate flag over your ship. The benefits of this are zero, but beautiful.
Spain / France / England / Holland flag- the skill allows you to raise the flag of a certain state over the ship. True, deception does not always work; if the price per player's head is too high, and stealth, on the contrary, is too low, then most likely you will have to fight.
Brander- the owner of the skill can send the allied ship "to death" - to explode next to the enemy, causing him huge damage or even taking him to the bottom of the ocean. The practical use is very small, there is not always an extra ship, people and a captain in the crew.
Landing of the Union of amphibious ships- makes it possible to connect all the sailors in order to then attack the fort with the whole crowd. Undoubtedly, a useful skill, however, will be needed far from the beginning of the game.
Long distance boarding- will increase the distance from which you can board the enemy by 15%. Very useful - wrap it up, we'll take it with us.
Master boarding- the boarding distance is increased by 25 percent, and you can board from any angle, even nose to nose. If you are playing a pirate, then the skill will be very useful for you, take it without hesitation.
Required: long range boarding, musket salvo
Musket salvo- before boarding, the player's team shoot at the enemy, inflicting 25% damage on him. Again, for a pirate, a thing is absolutely necessary, the less command the enemy has, the easier it is to kill them.
Requires: increased team damage
Basic trade- gives a 10% discount on goods in stores. Of course, skill is essential for traders.
Developed trade- gives a 20% discount on goods in the store and allows you to sell at 5% more.
Required: basic trade
Fast recharge- the reloading speed of guns is increased by 10%. Doubtful skill. Sure, reloading quickly is good, but there are so many other great skills around!
Pre-recharge- an active skill, used every five minutes. If you choose it, the next recharge will happen 50% faster. A useful skill, five minutes is a very small threshold of time, ship battles are long.
Requires: fast recharge
Increased damage to the body- damage to the hull of an enemy ship is increased by 15%. Whether or not to take a skill depends on your game. For example, a pirate who plunders and seizes ships will not need it, but a hunter of these pirates and a merchant will not need it.
Increased damage to sails- Damage to the sails of an enemy ship is increased by 15%. Choosing a skill for everyone is very useful.
Increased damage to the team- damage to the team of the enemy ship is increased by 15%. It will be useful for a pirate, but it will work for any character.
Critical shot- in 5% of cases, the owner of the skill will be able to inflict an enhanced shot that touches the crew, sails and hull. Skill will not be superfluous, but at the initial stage it is better to choose something else, and a critical shot is not always needed. Why would a pirate sink an enemy ship?
Requires: increased damage to hull / sails / crew
Increased shooting distance- Increases shooting distances by 15%. Suitable for any character, but do not take it right away, the benefit is questionable.
Professional gunner- the owner of the skill deals 30% more damage (to the crew, sails, hull - it all depends on the type of shells chosen), and the probability of a critical shot increases by 15%. Very good skill, it's a pity, at the initial stage it will not work ...
Required: critical shot, extended shot distance, fast reload.
A carpenter- thanks to this skill, the maximum possible repair effect is increased by 10%. It will suit everyone, but there are so many other useful skills that it may simply not be useful anymore, you will hire an officer faster.
Shipbuilder- reduces the consumption of boards and canvas by 10%. A practically useless skill.
Easy repair- active skill, works for one minute. Can only be used once every three minutes. At launch, ship repair begins, during which you can restore no more than 10% of the ship's life. Not a bad skill - after all, to repair the ship every three minutes. However, a quick fix is better.
Required: carpenter
Quick fix- allows you to repair the ship during the battle; however, it will not be possible to completely "heal" the ship, only 65% of the total amount of "life". Fallen masts cannot be repaired. Very good skill, but getting it is problematic, you need skill a carpenter, but you don't want to take it at the beginning of the game.
Wanted: light renovation, carpenter
The main protection of the ship- damage to the ship is reduced by 15%. The skill will suit everyone, the ship must be protected by both a notorious pirate and a peaceful merchant.
Advanced ship defense- continuation of the main defense, now the damage is blocked by a quarter.
Requires: basic ship defense
Increase ship speed- ship speed increases by 15%. Average skill. Of course, high speed is good, but sacrificing other skills ... However, taking it is still worth it.
Increased ship maneuverability- increases the maneuverability of the ship by 15%. Skill is useful, only because of it you don't want to neglect others ...
Swimming in storms- damage done by the storm is reduced by 30%. A useless skill, it's better not to get into a storm, it's not so difficult to do this. Note: this skill will be very useful for improving navigation, for it is improved in a storm.
Increased dynamics- when the wind speed changes, the speed increases by 10% faster. The benefits are questionable, it is better to choose something you need.
Maneuverable turn of the ship- an active skill, used every three minutes. When turned on, the ship turns eight times faster within a minute. An excellent skill, but it requires three not-so-important skills.
Requires: increased ship speed, increased ship maneuverability, increased dynamics
Fast sails- the speed of raising and lowering the sails is 10% higher. No use, the sails go up and down at normal speed, 10% is not an increase.
Shallow water maneuvers- an active skill, in which sixty seconds the ship is not damaged from impacts on rocks. The skill would be very useful for computer ships, they sin with the ability to hit the rocks, and the player is of little use from it.
Requires: fast sails, increased ship maneuverability.
Experienced sailor- the ship's maneuverability increases by 20%, but, most importantly, the owner of the skill when meeting with any ship on global map may not get involved in the battle. Does not work on "Gentlemen of Fortune" pirates. But, you know, meeting them in the middle of the ocean ... One of the best skills. Merchants are required to take. After receiving it, they will be able to swim wherever they want and how they want. The rest will not hurt either, on the contrary - it will help a lot. Bad one, it requires three completely unnecessary skills to study.
Required: shallow water maneuvers, increased dynamics, storm sailing.
Doctor- the team is 10% less likely to die from diseases and buckshot. A useful but not necessary skill.
Savior of lives- the team is 20% less likely to die from diseases and buckshot. And this is already a little better. Suitable for a boarding pirate.
Required: doctor
Magical and not so items
There are items in the game that can improve or degrade the skills of the hero. Some do both at the same time. For example, one of the idols makes the hero more powerful in trading while reducing his authority. All of these items work just by being in the character's inventory. Both ours and the officers.
It is important: the effect of identical items does not stack. You can fill your inventory with emeralds, but only one effect will be taken into account.
The statue- a stone statue, an idol - the patron saint of artisans. Adds 30 points to repair. It is extremely rare, and because of the officers-carpenters it loses its value. It also weighs a lot.
Emerald- a gem. The one who possesses it gets 10 to authority. A very useful pebble, it weighs little, it is very common. Let it roll around for yourself.
Cross of Antonio de Sousa- This small Jesuit cross can only be obtained by completing the Spain storyline. It's a pity, the cross is very useful, it gives 30 to luck, 20 to authority and 10 to trade.
Dog Figurine- Chinese trick, adds 10 to stealth. He does not ask for food, so let him lie.
Bronze ring- a small bronze talisman, adds 10 luck. Let it be, luck is a very useful thing.
Bronze cross- you may not believe in God, but this cross will give you 10 points of luck anyway.
Emerald pendants- obviously magical, give 10 to stealth.
Idol Tlaelquani- Indian deity, symbolizes cleansing from dirt, diseases and excesses. Adds 10 to authority and stealth, but reduces pistol possession by 20. Pistols, apparently, are considered overkill.
Poor thing you have here, Monsieur captain, in my cabin it's still richer! |
Strange animal figurine- apparently some kind of toy. Decreases authority by 10, do not take in any case.
Aztec calendar- another magical Indian thing, adds 10 trade. Very helpful.
Cursed pearls- black pearls: for some a cult, but for us a curse. Reduce luck by 50 points. Discard as soon as possible.
Quetzalcoatl figurine- a golden statuette of an Indian deity. Adds 10 to stealth. Let it lie, the pirate hiding from everyone will even say thank you to her.
Huitzilopochtli drive- the disc of the god of war, makes the hero's average weapon 10 points more effective. Leave as needed, why do you need a plus to the average weapon if you are fighting light?
Idol of the Great Mother- the patroness of one of the local tribes, adds 10 luck, oddly enough. Let it be, a lot of luck did not harm anyone.
Idol of Chak-Moona- the idol of the god Chak-Moon, who was worshiped by the Maych Indians. The God of Fire and Thunder lowers stealth by 20, but adds 20 to pistols and 10 to accuracy. Leave it, pistols are a very useful thing. While many pirates are better off getting stealth ...
Image of Hikatekutli- the image of the ancient Aztec god of trade, adds 20 to trade, but takes 20 authority. To take a pirate for sure - someone who, but he did not care about authority. Merchants and military authority will not hurt, although trade ... In general, decide for yourself. It all depends on the circumstances.
Large stone disc- a ritual stone of the Maya Indians, apparently, repeatedly participated in bloody rituals. Adds 10 credibility and protection, but luck is reduced by 10. Utility is debatable, luck, in our opinion, is more important.
Idol of Ancient Deity- personifies the god Ehecatl, who was considered the lord of the wind among the Aztecs. Adds 20 navigation, but you have to pay 20 stealth points. A very useful thing - perhaps these twenty points are not enough to manage much the best ship?
Tlaloc figurine- figurine of the fierce Aztec god of lightning, adds 20 points of accuracy to the owner and 10 points to guns, but reduces stealth by 20. Very useful figurine, with it a sea battle from a waste of ammunition can become an effective means of destroying enemy ships.
Maina Priest Ceremonial Knife- the ancient Mayan knife symbolizes power over people and connection with the gods. Adds 20 to authority, but takes away 10 luck. Again, decide what is more important to you in this moment- luck or additional authority.
Ceremonial vessel- a ritual vessel of the ancient Aztecs, adds 20 authority, but takes 10 secrecy. But this little thing can be left, the object gives more than it takes away.
Strange thing- Antique Toltec war figurine. Gives 20 protection and 10 to light weapons, but takes away 10 authority and luck. In our opinion, it is better to hire a ship's doctor than to lose credibility and luck.
Jaguar Warrior Image- a heavy copy of the ancient stone ax of the Olmecs cast from gold. Adds 10 to heavy weapons.
Cormorant- a dead bird among the prey is a bad sign. Takes away 10 authority and stealth. Throw it away at the slightest opportunity.
Shoe- wearing one shoe - Bad sign... Minus 10 luck. There, where the cormorant, that is, away.
It is important: two shoes won't solve the problem, throw them in the trash can right away!
Crystal skulls of the Toltecs- you can find these artifacts of the ancients only in treasures. Taken together, they add 30 to navigation, 20 to authority, 20 to accuracy, and 20 to boarding. The main thing is to find them before they lose their relevance.
Castoffs- a dirty, tattered robe of a tramp, and smells bad too. In this, no one will suspect you of the captain! Adds 20 to stealth, but only when equipped. You cannot wear a cuirass and rags at the same time.
Merchant clothing- good fit, fashionable material. Such attire can only be afforded by a successful merchant. Gives 20 Trade when equipped.
Nobleman's clothes- very expensive clothes that show others that you have exquisite taste. In this beautiful outfit, you get an extra 20 points to your authority.
Menu navigation
Menu "Characters" shows everyone who accompanies the hero. There are several types of them. There are officers - they perform various functions on the ship. Companions are the captains of the ships in our squadron and passengers. Passengers are either the same officers, but without a clear position, or people taken on board on assignment. There are also captives. These guys get on the ship when an enemy ship is captured without a fight. Or the captain surrenders without a fight. We will consider these situations in more detail later.
The last on the list is the captain, that is, our hero. In this menu, you can distribute the available ability points for yourself and for hired characters, as well as view other information: skills, nation, rank, and so on. You can immediately appoint an officer to the position or remove him. This is done in the same way as in Corsairs 3 - by double-clicking on the empty position icon or on the officer's portrait to take it off.
Menu "Ships" displays the list of ships in the squadron and information about them. Technical data of the ship, list of goods on board. There is also an interface for working with the team. The skills of the sailors are indicated here. The higher they are, the better. The faster the ship will sail and maneuver, the faster the cannons will reload, the less losses will be during boarding. For a certain number of piastres, you can increase the morale of the team. it extremely useful when the ship is "overcrowded". Through the same section, the exchange menu between ships opens. This is done by double-clicking on the ship icon in the panel on the left.
Menu "Magazine" Is a chronicle of the exploits of our hero. Active events (tasks) and those already completed are marked here. A small glossary of nautical terms and other reference materials can also be found here. The cash book keeps records of all deposits and loans from usurers. The "Statistics" tab speaks for itself.
Menu "Nation" shows the political situation in the Caribbean at the moment, as well as the attitude of other nations personally to the player. Also here you can select the flag raised on the mast. This is necessary to deceive enemy ships and also to use trade licenses, but more about them later.
Menu "Trade" contains information about goods and prices in the colonies of the archipelago. Everything is fair here, the information is valid only on the date of the visit to the colony. It becomes obsolete over time.
And the last menu - "Subjects"... This is the belongings of our hero and his fellow travelers. In addition, it is here that you can equip him with weapons (pistol, edged weapons), a telescope and clothing (cuirass, for example).
Real estate in the tropics
Each colony has a specific set of buildings. Large colonies like Marigot in San Martin have a full complement of buildings. Each has a specific function. Let's take a closer look at them.
Tavern
Perhaps the main house in every colony. Here you can rest while repairing wounds. You can hire new sailors on the ship and, of course, get a lot of tasks.
The waitress knows all the rumors in the city, but only tells them during the assignment. Visitors are sitting at the tables. They differ in their clothes. For example, people with weapons in their belts are most likely officers.
It is interesting: if you have a full set of officers in the team, then to the question of any officer in the tavern, the hero will answer: "I have a full set." You need to turn to him again, then the item will appear: "What are you in business?" and the ability to view the parameters of the officer.
You can also meet a smuggler there and make an appointment for him to sell smuggling, if such goods are in the hold. Do you still meet personalities? offering ancient and not so treasure maps. The rest of the rabble is drinkers. You will meet them in most cases. With these you can have a drink and find out gossip and news, for example? prices in a store in a city. By the way, you can also learn about the Flying Dutchman from them. We will tell you more about it later, this is a topic for a separate story. There are also rude drunks with whom you can start a fight. This was done to heighten the surroundings - what is a tavern without a good fight?
It is interesting: in the room where our character is settled, there is a bedside table in which you can find something valuable. Great help at the beginning of the game.
Shop
The second most visited place after the tavern. Firstly, you need to constantly replenish supplies, and secondly, you need accessories for the battle - cannonballs, knipples, buckshot and bombs. Gunpowder is required when firing cannons, and is also sold here. In addition, you can buy bottles with healing liquids, cards, weapons and various totems and statues from the merchant.
And perhaps most importantly, you can take a task from a merchant to deliver goods to any colony for a fee. Moreover, it is necessary to deliver exactly as much goods as the merchant issued. It is also impossible to sell a product, otherwise you will have to pay compensation for it, and sometimes it goes beyond all reasonable limits. And the rats on the ship. These furry beasts have a bad habit of gnawing, devouring and spoiling goods in the hold. Not everything, something is beyond the control of rat teeth - for example, kernels, silver, gold. It is recommended to take tasks from the merchant together with others. For example, if you need to sail somewhere, then it is better to take the cargo to the same colony or a passing colony. The task is updated once a day, if you do not like the destination, we sleep in the tavern and try again.
It is interesting: you can save the game directly to the store, and then load until you find the desired city. There is one more trick. If you did not bring all the goods to the colony indicated in the task and there is nothing to buy it for, then you can cheat the game a little. This is because the merchant may leave the item for you as a freight charge. Moreover, this option is possible, even if you do not have the desired product at all, you just need to select the desired dialogue item many, many times. Until he gives you the product. A lot of money can be made from this by selling huge amounts of cargo, for example, to smugglers. However, where is the interest?
Shipyard
The third most visited building in the game. Repair, purchase of new ships and guns - everything is here. Moreover, broken masts are only repaired at the shipyard. Also pay attention to the prices of the ships. Honestly bought a corvette will cost several times more than an absolutely identical one, but selected in a bloody battle. As for new ships, no two are exactly alike. For example, we are offered a choice of two galleons, they cost about the same, but the first has a larger hold, but the second has a stronger hull, and so on.
You can also buy new weapons. They are divided into two types - cannons and coolers. The former have more damaging power and shorter reload times. But the coolers shoot further.
This is a tip: if you have several ships, then it makes sense to remove all weapons from all except the flagship. The cannons weigh a lot and take up space for goods. Of course, if the ships are not for military purposes.
It is important: there is a shipyard in the game where you can improve ships. The treat is expensive, but definitely worth it. The shipyard is located in Bermuda.
Usurer
In Return of the Legend, the moneylender pleases with a large number of possibilities. In addition to the usual loan, you can leave money at interest, worthy of interest. Also, the usurer gives good orders, and some pirates take advantage of this. I remember that in one of the playthroughs we got a good initial capital by simply selling the chests of gold that we were asked to transport. And as for respect, a thousand devils, a pirate should be feared, not respected!
Since the beginning of the game is rather difficult, the services of the moneylender are very useful, the money given out will be enough to repair the ship and replenish the crew. Here, take your first assignment.
Residence
The residence houses the governor and his guards. If you are in an enemy city, then it is better not to appear here. The governor will not talk to you, but the guards ... however, they will not speak either, only if they use the language of sabers.
There is a practical benefit from the residence, but not much. Here we can surrender captains of captives, they pay pretty well for them. A mediocre captain leaves for ten thousand. Here you can also purchase a privateer agreement and get interesting tasks... What is noteworthy, the governors are not willing to send the hero to swim there, to take this, they are the few who give really interesting tasks. True, if one governor gave a task, then all the governors will wait for its implementation and will not hire you ...
Port Authority
But there is almost no practical benefit from this building. Here you can simply leave your ship for a while. True, the price of this event, to put it mildly, bites. Here you can also find out the obvious things: they say, the governor gives out tasks, and in the tavern you can have a drink and a snack.
Knife and ax workers
There is no way in the Caribbean without them. Companions and officers are needed like air. So, let's look at the positions of all kinds of assistants in the game.
It is important: the officer adds the difference between the skill indicators to the captain. That is, it seems to replace our skill with our own. In addition, if we do not have the ability, for example, "Musket salvo", then with a hired boatswain with this skill it will work for the main character.
Boardman. This officer - or rather, as many as three officers - will follow on the heels of the hero. We can say that these are personal bodyguards. They will assist in skirmishes on the ground and, as the name of the position suggests, will go into battle while boarding. Choosing a candidate for bodyguards must be careful. This officer must have personal skills to hand-to-hand combat and ideally for high-level shooting. Moreover, it is necessary that personal abilities such as "advanced defense" and "professional swordsman" are present, otherwise the assistant will not live long in battle, and they are not cheap. Equip your henchmen with the best weapons. How exactly? Yes to the one they have on the best level... Don't forget to supply them with healing potions, pistols and bullets. You can find boardmen in any tavern. Their fighting skills are always higher than those of ships. This can be considered a distinctive feature.
This is what it means - not to understand navigation and not to carry a navigator on board. |
Navigator- an irreplaceable person in the team. Especially if you are a trader or a purebred fighter. The point is that when controlling a ship of too high class, penalties are imposed on skills and characteristics. The character becomes noticeably weaker. And how to board such a weakling? Exactly. Therefore, it is worth taking a navigator for the sake of being able to control the best ship. More ship means more crew on board. More team means less loss or even a chance to win without a fight. In general, while the Navigation skill is not suitable for your ship, the navigator will come in handy, and then he can be transferred to another ship as a companion. We will consider them below.
Boatswain. The boatswain's task is to inspire the crew to make the boarding as efficient as possible. An officer with high authority should be hired for this position ”and the“ Boardage ”skill. In addition, it is necessary to carefully look at the shipboard abilities of the candidate for boatswain. He must have a "gentleman's set" of boarding abilities. The bigger, the better.
Gunner- an irreplaceable person in the team. Developing "Accuracy" is the most difficult, "Cannons" - easier, but it takes time and money. It is recommended to hire as soon as possible. Especially at the beginning of the game. Sea battle will become much more efficient.
Doctor- a very, very useful officer in the team, but there is no point in hiring him separately. Better to use the officer's "Deputy" ability. In any case, even a deputy must have good level parameter "Protection".
Treasurer- the same as a doctor. Only two skills and a trade bonus. Deputies with these abilities and skills in the Caribbean are a dime a dozen.
A carpenter- the importance of this worker on the ship cannot be underestimated. Especially in the later stages of the game, when you have to storm the forts. The "Quick Fix" ability literally works wonders and pulls doomed ships out of the clutches of the sea devil. The main thing is to have a sufficient supply of boards and sails on the ship. Boards to a greater extent, since leaky sails do not sink.
Companion- an officer who floats on a par with you on his ship. Companions are of three types. Some can be hired at the tavern. Their difference from others is that such a captain already has a ship that can be sold at the nearest shipyard, and a companion without a ship will become an ordinary officer. The second type is the officers assigned to the ship. Everything is simple here. And the third type is mission companions. They swim with the player temporarily until the task is completed or failed. You cannot sell the ship of such a companion.
It is interesting: check the pockets of your companions. Just change your companion to an officer, and put him in the position of a boarding officer. Now enter the exchange mode - you can do this in the cabin or anywhere on land. Quite often you can find a good amount of money in the pockets of a companion. Ordinary officers carry only weapons with them.
Trade
Trade is one of the ways not to float belly up somewhere in the sea. There are a lot of settlements in the game, you can trade in each one, even in a hostile one. How? And with a trade license. You can buy this paper from a diplomat. You will meet him in the tavern of any pirate town. He can reconcile our hero with any nation.
It is important: just a hero, not a nation. The attitude will be neutral, but the nation itself will be hostile.
You can also purchase a privateer patent and, most importantly, a trade license from him. The license is valid for a certain time (30, 60, 90 days) and allows you to enter their ports under the flag of the desired country. Moreover, neither the fort, nor other ships will attack. The only drawback is that fast transition will not work. All movements will have to be done on foot.
Note that if you play, for example, for Holland or Spain, then licenses are not really needed. You can choose a group of goods that are excellently sold and bought within the framework of the Spanish-Dutch colonies (mahogany, for example). The benefit of Spain belongs to the entire Maine and most of the islands in the sea. But when playing for England or France, licenses will be very useful, since due to the small number of colonies, the merchants of these countries will be very limited in their choice of goods. One drawback is that trading licenses are only available to relatively wealthy people, as they are quite expensive.
Let's consider the trading system itself. Each colony imports and exports certain types of goods (see table "Islands") ... In addition, the circulation of some goods is prohibited. You can buy them in the store, but at a very high price, and there is not enough of such a product. And such a product can only be sold from smugglers. You can find their representative in the tavern. We make an appointment in a quiet deserted bay and unload the goods. Of course, there is a danger of running into a patrol - both on land and at sea. You can buy off the patrol, pretend to be an honest person (with a high reputation), and simply kill the patrolmen, but this is fraught with deterioration in relations with the nation. Products in the list come in four colors: white - means that the product is sold at an average price, usually there are not very many “white” products; green - the colony is exporting goods, it is much cheaper than the "white" one, and there is a lot of it; blue - the colony imports this product, it costs much more than "white" and "green". Buying such a product means losing money, unless you urgently need to buy medicines or provisions, in which case the cost does not matter. Finally, red is contraband. The price of the product is sky-high, there is very little of it, and only smugglers buy it.
It is important: imports, exports and smuggling in colonies do not change over time. That is, if a colony exports something, then it will export it no matter what.
Random tasks
I'm sitting in ambush, maybe someone will pass ... |
Traditional random tasks have not disappeared anywhere, however, there are much more of them and some can be confusing. Let's figure out how not to lose face in front of the employer.
Pirate's proposal- in the tavern you can meet a pirate who will offer to attack a ship together.
Capture the golden caravan- Once a year, Spanish gold caravans leave the Caribbean for the Old World. Galleons loaded with gold can be robbed if you meet the right person in the tavern.
Easy prey- if you drink with a drunkard in a tavern and ask him about rumors and tales, you can learn a lot of interesting things. For example, that not far from the island some brig is carrying a valuable cargo, alone and without protection. In general, the sea devil himself ordered to take such a tidbit on boarding!
Delivery of goods for the store- the task can be taken at any store. The goal is to bring all the cargo to the specified store in another colony. Traders do not ask to take cargo to hostile cities.
Find a debtor for a usurer- You can take an order from any moneylender to receive a debt. In this case, a certain percentage goes to the player.
Deliver gold for the moneylender- the usurer will give you a cargo of gold with a simple and understandable purpose - to deliver it to the specified place.
Merchant escort- sometimes in the tavern you can meet a merchant in great need of a convoy. He will offer to be his guide. Not free, of course.
Passenger delivery- in a tavern you can often meet a person who needs somewhere. The passenger goes on board as a passenger; he must be delivered to the tavern of the city indicated by him, where he will pay the fare.
Governor's Assignments- You can take special assignments from the governors of the colonies. There are several types:
Deal with the bandits- a gang of bandits appeared outside the city, they must be killed. The fact is that these robbers can hide in any part of the island, except for the city itself. Search caves, jungles and bays.
Disarm the smugglers- the governor notices that goods have appeared in the store "out of nowhere." Naturally, these are the tricks of the smugglers. To complete this task, find a representative of the smugglers in the tavern and make an appointment. You need to have a forbidden item in the hold. Please note that after a couple of such reprisals, you will ruin your relationship with the smugglers, and you will not be scheduled any more meetings. You can make peace with the help of a diplomat in any pirate tavern.
Sink the pirate- a pirate appeared near the colony, who drowns and seizes merchant ships. The essence of the task is that initially it is not visible where the pirate is. He disguises himself as the nation of the colony where the task is taken. To calculate it, you need to approach the ship or swim to it on a boat. If you sail on a boat to an enemy ship, then after talking with the captain you will have to deal with the sailors on the deck.
Enemy scout- somewhere in the city, an enemy spy. He looks like an ordinary city dweller, so you have to approach every passer-by and ask: "Are you a spy?" Locals will call someone to confirm their identity. The spy simply won't be able to call anyone. If you have not found a spy on the streets of the city, check the houses.
Get into an enemy city- The governor wants you to deliver the package to the designated person in the enemy city. There are several ways. For example, you can buy a trade license and enter the port under the desired flag, or you can sneak into the city during the day and just run past the guards.
For all these tasks, the governor issues a solid bonus to start the game. In addition, you can capture a pirate's ship. It should be noted that if you have not completed the task of the governor, then no other will give you a task. Also, due to the failed tasks, the reputation goes down.
Prison- there is a prison in the forts on the ground floor. For a fee, you can go inside and chat with the prisoners. These same prisoners can offer a reward in exchange for a service.
Send note- a prisoner in prison will ask to convey a message to his friends. His friends will be waiting for you in one of the houses of the city, which owns the fort. Get ready to fight. The robbers are hot, they can cut it.
Treasure and liberation- the task is, in principle, the same, only the endings differ. In one of the cells in the prison, you can talk to a prisoner who will ask him to be released in exchange for a treasure that he hid somewhere in the archipelago. The fact is that there may not be a treasure in the specified place.
There are also quests that can be found outside the city. In the jungle, you can meet a girl who is fleeing from bandits. If you help her, she will thank you with a small amount of money or an increase in reputation.
Girl in the well- there are caves on the islands. There are usually two entrances to them. One is just a hole in the rock, and the other is through the well. Passing the well, you can see a girl who will tell you that her friend somehow fell into the well, and we need to get her out. The most interesting thing is that the girls may not appear at all, and the bandits will be waiting for you.
Buying a treasure map- in the tavern you can buy a treasure map. The chance of meeting a merchant with a card is rather small, moreover, if you already have a card, then you won't be able to find one in the tavern at all. The value of the treasure depends on the price of the card. For example, in a treasure for 12,000 piastres, you can find a good set of various things, but they are only good for sale. And cards for 30 thousand or more promise a much more solid jackpot. For example, the skulls of the Toltecs.
These two are definitely officers. Let's see what they do. | This is a musket so a musket! Tremble, Spaniards! |
* * *
“Hush, hush, the soldiers are coming. Let's go, soon! " One of the smugglers whispered quickly. “Then wait for us here in a month. We still have something to say, ”said the Spaniard, and we quickly headed into the jungle. You should not contact the authorities, the Spaniard cares too much about his reputation. But he, unlike the pirate, has had a manowar for a long time, which means that his opinion is worth listening to. Let's return to the port and spend the night in a tavern. There Volokotin Nikolay is waiting for us, he helped us a lot with this mission, it would be necessary, a thousand devils, to pour him rum for this!
| About fines |
Lest you be confused by the red numbers next to the base stats, let's see where they come from. Overload- the hero "on board", that is, in his pockets, has more weight than he can carry. All stats are reduced by 1. Poor health- if you do not get medical treatment in time, then you will have to pay with the characteristics again. Depending on the level, they decrease to -5. And skills up to -25. High class ship at low navigation- if the character does not know how to control the ship, then nothing can be done about it, he feels out of place. If a character knows how to control a ship, say, of the fifth class, then when controlling a battleship he will receive a 4 penalty for each characteristic. And this, believe me, is a lot. |
| Caribbean powers | |
England. She is going through hard times: the renunciation of the papal church, turmoil, almost a civil war. For a hundred years now, the country has been struggling to calm down. The war with Spain only exacerbated the situation, although the Spaniards got more, and the British got Jamaica at their disposal. The war is officially over. But this is only on paper. In fact, the Spaniards and the British drown each other at the first opportunity. The governors are also in complete disarray. They do not listen to orders from London, each is his own boss. In general, confusion is going on in the English colonies, and many pirates take advantage of this ... France. Having come to power, Louis XIV immediately took the bull by the horns. During the five years of his reign, France's prestige in Europe has greatly increased. This is not surprising - Louis worked as best he could for the good of his country. However, he was hardly interested in the Caribbean. France's motto is "Ensure peace in the colonies and normal trade." This call was not difficult to carry out; encouragement of filibusters of all stripes is the guarantee of calmness. By the way, even the Governor of Tortuga ... a pirate. Spain. Spain is one of the bloodthirsty countries in the world. They sucked gold from the New World with all their might. But last years God knows what is happening in the country . The king is dead, and the heir is a barely living child. Whoever is not trying to seize power ... Of course, this does not lead to good and the country is wasting away. In addition, France and England have joined forces in the fight against her. The Spaniards managed to annoy everyone. Nevertheless, Spain is the strongest power in the Caribbean. Holland... After the Spanish attack on the Netherlands, a religious war broke out in the country, dubbed the "80-year war of independence." But after the end of this war, the Dutch economy went up sharply. All of Europe was stunned to see these growth rates. No joke, the Dutch merchant fleet numbers more than the English and French combined! Only there is a snag: they do not have a combat fleet, the ports are too shallow, so you have to run away from everyone. And the aggressive British are sitting nearby, and the Spaniards do not want to give back the Dutch colonies ... |
| Table 1 Islands |
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In general, each ship is unique: -d) There are no identical ones :)
As for the most famous ones:
1) Sulei Royal- the way to get it is pretty cheating, or, I would even say, bug-based. It is necessary to almost finish the French line and before they take it away from us, give it to the port department, and then pick it up. True, you will not be able to ride it and change its name until you give this ship to some pirates for boarding and beat it back. However, the ship is definitely one of the best in the game. At least as a flagship of a combat squadron, it fits perfectly.
Sulei Royal.(Royal Manowar)
Frame 12000
Maneuverability 29.00
Speed 10.60
Beydewind 1.30
Hold 6800
Command 900
Armament 42lb / 112
2) Flying Dutchman- Unlike the movie, the ship is not as good as it might seem. It looks cool, however, it will not stand against the squadron of Manowars for long. And the captain's cabin looks like it. To that de from the cabin it is impossible to get to the crew (although xs, maybe a bug) and to the prisoners, which make the ship of little use as a flagship. Although to intimidate enemies with their appearance - just right. Still the sails are torn ...
Flying Dutchman(Warship)
Frame 9000
Maneuverability 54.00
Speed 18.60
Beydewind 3.00
Hold 6000
Command 400
Armament 32lb / 60
3) Cinco Llagas(aka Arabella) - In my inexperienced opinion - the best ship in the game. Fast, powerful, with enough command. And it looks great. It turns out at the very beginning, but in the early days it is difficult to sail on it due to the lack of navigation. However, it can be easily treated ... There is nothing to add, in principle, personally, I still float on it. I haven't found anything better yet.
Arabella(Frigate)
Frame 6303
Maneuverability 53.51
Speed 20.21
Beydewind 4.87
Hold 4018
Command 389
Armament 32lb / 52
4) Dog of war- most people think this is the best crab in the game. For a corvette - not good, I agree. However, again, I consider it beneath my dignity to sail on a level 3 ship when I have 66 rank. But the ship, in principle, is not bad ... for unexpected forays and hasty escape. In general ... probably for a young pirate, rank 20-30, the ship is not bad ... wildly, I prefer Arabella or Sula Royale.
Dog of war(Corvette)
Frame 4146
Maneuverability 71.09
Speed 21.12
Beydewind 5.85
Hold 3290
Command 335
Armament 24lb / 40
5) Blue bird is the perfect ship to start the game. It turns out easy, the quest is easy to complete. And the ship is good. Fast, agile. Firepower, though not really enough. But at the beginning of the game, when the rank is not very high, it is not so scary. But later you will have to change the boat ...
Blue bird(Shchebek)
Frame 3294
Maneuverability 63.00
Speed 18.50
Beydewind 10.13
Hold 2158
Command 188
Armament 16lb / 22
6) Sea wolf- A very good ship. And very handsome. Probably one of the most beautiful, after Arabella. But all the same, this is a brig, with all that it implies, that is, you "grow" out of this ship quite quickly. It's good that you get it at the very beginning of the pirate line, that is, practically, at the very beginning of the game. IMHO, it is much superior to ships of its class, but with corvettes and ships above the level, it is difficult to compete even on this work of art.
Sea wolf(Brig)
Frame 2622
Maneuverability 49.50
Speed 15.98
Beydewind 4.36
Hold 1821
Command 189
Armament 24lb / 22
7) Queen- probably the same can be said as about the previous ship. The ship is wonderful in its way, you can sail on it for quite a long time, although I would not have gone on it if I had forgiven Manovar. It's not even that it's impossible - everything is possible, it's just that it takes a long time. Therefore, I prefer something more weighty ... But there is no dispute about tastes, like grizzo. If people have a temper to take over the forts on the brig, I do not mind. I don't see much sense in this current.
Queen(Brig)
Frame 3003
Maneuverability 45.31
Speed 15.51
Beydewind 4.42
Hold 1855
Command 200
Armament 24lb / 24
8) Arrow- I don't even know how correct it is to drive this ship into this list. However, this vessel is even nothing. More than. Obtained by the quest about the musketeer officer. In general, I recommend it to everyone, for the middle of the game we suck even nothing.
Arrow(Brigantine)
Frame 2336
Maneuverability 50.31
Speed 15.60
Beydewind 9.38
Hold 1260
Command 136
Armament 24lb / 16
Here you can still write about Sharpanosets, but IMHO the ship is atstoy. So I didn't include it here)
After spitting at the entrance, we go into the tavern. Again the drunks have occupied all the tables, smite them with the sea devil. "I have no rivals in the sea!" - comes from one of the guests. "Well, yes, of course ..." - We enter into a lively discussion from the doorway. The clink of breaking dishes, the screams, the grinding of steel - he will have to answer for the insolence. Although, is a fight in a tavern really serious for two hardened sea wolves: a Spaniard adventurer and an English pirate? So, just warm up. Having dealt with the braggart, we find the right person. It is easy to recognize him by his clothes, they all dress like that. "We have goods ... no, the authorities will not buy ... yes, just for you ... on the beach? .. we will!" Let's walk, perhaps, on foot, not far from here. Going to the beach, we see a group of smugglers - we have something for them ... “No, these are not slaves,” the pirate replies, “this is information. Interested in? Then listen ... "
New game
So, the game is installed. A pistol in his belt, a saber in his hands - and forward, to the sea. True, first we need to decide who we will play. We are offered a choice of three characters. Diego Espinoza is a Spaniard, adventurer and adventurer. Differs in the balance of basic characteristics, a kind of jack of all trades. Edward Teach - Englishman, corsair. A thoroughbred fighter, not surprisingly - in the future, Edward Teach will become known as Blackbeard. And the third seeker of fame and fortune is a typical merchant Alex Exquemelin, a Dutchman. It is logical that the Dutch do not have a navy, but the merchant fleet is the best in the entire Caribbean.
The choice of the nation is very important. For example, Spain at the start of the game owns most of the colonies in the Caribbean. In addition, she is in neutral relations with Holland - a true paradise for a merchant. England, on the other hand, is at enmity with everyone except France. There are much fewer English and French colonies on the archipelago, so the life of a merchant will be much more difficult. But you can rob the Spanish "golden" galleons, which once a year leave for the Old World. A good harvest will also bring ruin to the Spanish and Dutch colonies. Holland is the most fortunate in terms of political relations. It is in a secret alliance with France, and with Spain it maintains neutrality. There are difficulties only with the British, but you can trade in their colonies - we will tell you how to do this later. If we choose France, we get neutrality with England and peace with Holland. Only pirates are hostile to everyone.
By the way, in the game you cannot live in peace with all countries. On the right side of the screen, you can see an indicator of the relationship of the country to the character - but not to his nation. That is, if you are a Spaniard and all of France admires you, you will still be attacked by French ships and mercilessly fired from the coastal fortifications.
The nation has been selected, now let's take a look at the game settings. There are several of them:
Complexity- directly affects the strength of opponents, their survivability in hand-to-hand combat, as well as the amount of experience gained. The game has 10 difficulty levels, from "sailor" to "impossible". Frequency of events- determines with what regularity you will meet other ships. For beginners, we recommend the "rare" level. There are too many problems at a high level, pirates are literally at every turn. Yes, not one ship, whole squadrons of up to six ships! On the starting lugger and with minimal skill indicators, it is impossible to resist such raids. Yes, it is restless in the Caribbean, but what did you want? Reloading the pistol- you will not be allowed to walk peacefully with a pistol in your hands. You can press the "shot" button - the character will pull out a pistol, shoot and take it back. If the option is enabled, the pistol will be famously reloading right during fencing, and if not, you will have to sheathe the sword every time or fight without a firearm. Reverance towards realism, and not the only one. HardcoreGame- this is a regime for true enthusiasts, in which it is possible to save only in churches. There is no need to explain what this is fraught with. Any pirate - and hello, Davy Jones. It is highly discouraged for the first playthrough. Swimming mode- sets the swimming speed. Someone likes fast, dynamic battles, while others like thoughtful maneuvers. This parameter does not affect the battle process itself. Profile- Finally, in "Corsairs" you can play several characters at the same time, without fear of overwriting an already saved game.Now that you've set it all up, the game begins. Unfortunately, the beginning of it was made common to everyone. The captain of the ship died in the battle, and our character took over command. We know about the hero that he came from Europe. That's the whole story. In the same dialog, you can change the initial characteristics if you select the appropriate menu item. We will return to the role-playing system below. By the way, the sailor will offer to practice fencing. You shouldn't refuse - fencing in "The Return of the Legend" is fundamentally different from "Corsairs 3".
Control
Ship
In this chapter, we will discuss how to operate the boat.
The speed of the ship depends on the strength and direction of the wind and the position of the sails, of which there are only three: fully lowered, raised and fully raised. Understandably, if the sails are fully raised, the ship can only drift on the waves, not moving anywhere. With the sails up, the ship moves very slowly as all the main sails are retracted. Well, with the sails completely lowered, we can only catch the wind, nothing else depends on the boat itself. Of course, a tailwind is the best, and a headwind will not allow us to budge, but there is a huge number of "side" winds. It's simple: the "closer" the headwind, the faster the ship sails. Much also depends on the type of ship - for example, the sailing armament of battleships is such that almost any wind suits them! But just sailing is one thing, but maneuvering is quite another. In fact, successful maneuvers during combat are 50% successful. During your salvo it is best to raise the sails fully, and when the ship comes to a stop, shoot. Skillful players can catch enemy ships like this: the adversary raises the sails for a shot, the player sees this and also begins to raise; and now, when the two ships are almost standing, the player simultaneously shoots, lowers the sails and turns his nose towards the enemy. Very difficult, but the result justifies the hours of training.
Battle. You can fight the enemy in two modes, normal (third-person ship) and captain's (first-person ship). The second mode will allow us to aim ourselves before firing. You can throw the enemy's ship, you can not finish it off (but why?), And of course, you can hit the enemy. Also, in the "captain's" mode, you can carefully examine the enemy through a telescope: the higher the quality of the device, the more information you can learn - from speed to the number of guns on board.
Boarding. During boarding, all soldiers do not participate in the battle. A total of 15 people will be on the decks of the ships. If your ship had 300 people, and the enemy ship had 900, then there will be 4 people on your side during the boarding, and 11. But if you single-handedly attack the ship with a huge team, then you will have to fight alone against 15 sailors. Moreover, they will have tremendous indicators of health and damage. One hit can cause damage three times more than the player's hit points. After the victory on the deck, the battle goes to the captain's cabin, and there you fight one-on-one with the enemy cap - whoever won, the ship. Although there is a possibility that the captain will surrender without a fight.
It is important: after the end of the carnage on the deck, search the corpses, sometimes there are many interesting things. And it would be nice to rob the captain's cabin ...
However, if your team is superior to the enemy and you have a high leadership indicator, then there is a high probability that the ship will surrender without a fight. His entire crew will become your slaves, and the captain will become a prisoner. Unless, of course, the captain decides to throw everyone overboard.
Human
Management on land is elementary. In cities, we can not run at all, but simply navigate through key points using the Enter key, selecting the desired buildings. But the jungle will have to run, yes ... I remember Maine, without a map, at night - an hour of no game time had to be spent in order to finally find the damned bay where the ship was.
Battles, however, are also not particularly difficult. All actions consume energy, which is slowly growing. There are three main hits: fast piercing, which deals little damage, but hits quickly and spends little energy. Medium blow, average in all respects. A strong punching blow is very long and spends a lot of energy, but with such a blow you can easily take away all the enemy's health at once, and he does not pay attention to the block. There is also a circular blow, which expends a lot of energy, but all nearby enemies receive average damage. There are two defensive skills, block and feint, the latter reflects the enemy's blow and at the same time can completely deprive the enemy of energy and take him out of the game for a few seconds.
But not with a single sword ... Our hero, of course, has a pistol in his stock. The thing is very useful, depending on the game mode, it reloads either by itself, or when there is no weapon in the hands. The better the pistol, the more damage, naturally.
In general, the battle looks like this: we shoot, we inflict a penetrating blow, again and ... we run, gaining energy. Repeat to the bitter end. In this way, you can defeat five or six enemies even at the beginning of the game, the main thing is to stock up on "pills", to improve your health, you know ...
Role system and skills
Let's start with the main difference between Corsairs: The Legend Returns and the original series. This is a completely new character development system. Experience, levels and a set of characteristics have been replaced by the "pirate" analogy of SPECIAL called PIRATES. You cannot change these characteristics during the game, unless there is an opportunity to complete a special task, but more on that later.
Let's consider the characteristics in more detail.
Power- Power in "Corsairs" plays a classic role in role-playing games. She is responsible for the force of the blow, the carried weight and the number of units of life.
Perception- the ability to see, hear and notice everything around. In particular, it is responsible for the accuracy of cannon salvoes from the ship. The accuracy of pistol shots is not affected.
Reaction- agility, agility and, oddly enough, endurance. Responsible for the energy due to which blows are delivered. We strongly recommend that you invest the maximum number of points in this characteristic. You will have to fight a lot in the game.
Leadership- natural charm plus conversation skills. A good leader will be able to take the ship without a fight, hire the maximum crew, get the best prices in the store. In addition, leadership affects the number of officers hired (the available number of officers is equal to the leadership level multiplied by two)
Talent- a sharp and inquisitive mind, the ability to grasp everything on the fly. A character with high trainability acquires skills faster. Also, learnability affects many skills, such as navigation and pistols.
Endurance- the name of the skill speaks for itself. The higher the stamina, the more hit points the character will have. Slightly to a lesser extent affects the amount of weight to be carried.
Success- Luck is luck. Affects pure chances - the enemy may not hit close range, the enemy patrol will pass by, mistaking it for his own.
All characteristics vary from 3 to 10.
The value of the new system is that it gives room for imagination. You can start playing like a stupid big guy and make your way in the waters of the Caribbean with steel and lead, or you can become a calculating negotiator, buying low and selling high.
For example, a purebred fighter requires maximum values for strength, reaction, learning, luck, and leadership. For the trader, learnability, leadership and perception. Variations are of course possible. It all depends on the player.
So, we examined the basic system, now let's move on to the parameters of the hero.
Rank- now this is the name of the level. Increases when you gain enough experience. Experience is awarded for trading, quests, destroying forts, increasing skills and hand-to-hand combat. Each level adds life and energy. And in general, everything. The rank does not have any special influence, as in the previous "Corsairs". Unless the higher the rank, the better officers can be hired and the stronger the enemies and captains will be.
Life- hero's health in numbers. Classic scheme. The more hit points, the longer the character lives in battle. Increases depending on strength and endurance.
Health- and this is an indicator of the state of the hero. Frequent injuries reduce this indicator over time, and the lower it is, the lower the main characteristics. For example, medium health gives a -1 penalty. Together with the main characteristics, skills are also reduced. You can restore health in different ways - for a long time not to take part in hand-to-hand fights or heal in a church. The brothel also helps. In general, rest and bed rest. We recommend that you constantly keep your health level at “good” or “excellent”.
Energy- shows the stamina reserve of the character. Each action - hitting, bouncing, and so on - consumes a certain amount of energy. In fact, energy indicates how long a character will last in battle. The meaning depends on the reaction.
Gold- displays the number of piastres in the character's pockets.
Reputation- shows how other people relate to the character. We start with a reputation as an "ordinary sailor", and in the course of the game we can become either a bloody murderer or a hero, depending on what we do. Over time, both good and bad deeds are forgotten, good deeds faster, bad deeds slower. The reputation always aims at the "ordinary sailor". It also affects the loyalty of hired officers, but more on that below.
Carry weight- shows the current load and maximum.
Rank Is an indicator of the progress of the implementation of the national line.
Experience threshold - shows how many points are left in the skill to get the next point. We will tell you more about this in the Personal Skills section.
Personal skills
Along with the characteristics, the character has personal skills. They develop as the corresponding skill is applied. For example, the skill of light weapons grows when the character fights with brass knuckles, daggers and rapiers, pistols when shooting, and so on. We met a similar system, for example, in TES IV: Oblivion... Let's consider the skills in more detail.
Authority- the name speaks for itself. The captain must be respected by his team and must inspire confidence. Otherwise, a riot on the ship cannot be avoided, and on land no one wants to go to our ship. In addition, authority affects the chance to take an enemy ship without a fight. Depends on leadership and to a lesser extent on learning.
How to develop?
Hire people in taverns. Board heavily damaged ships with a small crew so that they are more likely to surrender without a fight. Grows in battle.
Light weapon- characterizes the ability to wield light weapons: brass knuckles, daggers and rapiers. Light weapons spend the least energy, but they also do much less damage than other types of weapons.
Depends more on reaction and less on perception.
Medium weapon- characterizes the possession of sabers and dusaks. Average damage, energy cost too. Golden mean. Depends on strength and reaction.
Heavy weapon- all the same, only heavier weapons - broadswords, flambergs and axes. It spends a lot of energy, but it beats in such a way that it will not seem a little. Depends more on strength and less on endurance.
How to develop?
Fight. The bigger, the better. It is especially effective to use a circular blow in a large concentration of enemies. If you are not playing for the British, we advise you to develop weapons skills in Jamaica. The lighthouse is guarded there by a very large number of soldiers.
Pistols- the ability to use various devices that send lead balls to enemies. In The Return of the Legend, pistols consume bullets and must be constantly replenished by merchants. Let's also say that the damage from the bullet is very high, so we strongly recommend that you develop this skill. Depends on reaction and luck.
How to develop?
Shoot, often and at everyone. Bullets are cheap, and the ability to kill an enemy with one shot or just drastically shorten his life is worth any money.
Luck- it is needed everywhere, whether in trade, in sailing, or in battle. A very important skill, the need for which is difficult to assess at the beginning of the game. A successful hit can inflict damage up to twenty times the normal one.
How to develop?
There is no clear recipe, when luck works, the skill increases. It is most effective to hit many enemies with weapons with low damage - brass knuckles or daggers. Each successful hit will increase the skill.
Stealth- allows you to pass unnoticed by a patrol, penetrate an enemy city, enter a port under a false flag, or deceive other people's ships in the sea. Skill is not very important, and it is the most difficult to develop it.
How to develop?
Change the flag, infiltrate cities, smuggle. That, perhaps, is all.
Ship skills
Navigation- the ability to control ships. The higher the class of the ship, the better navigation the player should have. Grade 6 - 1, Grade 5 - 25, Grade 4 - 40, Grade 6 - 65, Grade 2 - 80, Grade 1 - 95. If a player is sailing on a ship that is not suitable for your navigation, he receives noticeable penalties for all indicators. A good navigator can solve this problem. Depends largely on perception and to a lesser extent on learning.
How to develop?
Swim in the storm - often and a lot. Develops well during battles. You can just sail around the enemy ship.
Accuracy- the accuracy of your hits depends on accuracy. A low indicator will prevent you from hitting from a distance of ten meters. So accuracy must be developed as quickly as possible. It mostly depends on perception and a little on luck.
How to develop?
Oddly enough, accuracy develops with well-aimed shots. Therefore, it is best to get as close to the enemy as possible and shoot. End-to-end. You can, in principle, shoot from a long distance, but it takes a very long time.
Cannons- the reload speed depends on this skill. Depends on knowledge and strength in almost equal amounts.
How to develop?
Hmm ... Shoot! And if you do not just shoot, but also at the enemy, then you can develop accuracy.
Boarding- distance and angle from which you can throw "cats". Useful for real pirates. Depends on the reaction and a little on learning.
How to develop?
Board ships, so that they do not surrender without a fight. We need a battle!
Protection- the skill is responsible for the integrity of the crew during the battle. The higher the skill, the easier it is to avoid losses among the not entirely peaceful, but still the population of the ship. Depends equally on leadership and endurance.
How to develop?
Substitute under attack, receive volleys of shrapnel in the side. Losing the crew. Cruel, but there is no other way out. We'll have to sacrifice the initial team in order to save the real thugs later.
Fix- affects the speed of ship repair. Depends on stamina and a little on perception.
How to develop?
First you have to spoil the boat somewhere, and then patch it up.
Trade- the higher the skill, the more favorable the conditions for you in stores. Depends on learning and a little on leadership.
How to develop?
Buy - Sell.
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Personal abilities
Personal abilities are special skills that give certain advantages in a particular area. Some of them are useful, some are not very. Let's figure out what's what. To begin with, personal abilities do not depend on rank. To gain the ability, you need to gain a total of 33 personal skill points.
Basic defense skill- reduces the damage done to the character by 10%. So, no frills. It is necessary to take in any case, since many other skills depend on it.
High Defense Skill- reduces damage to the character by 20%. Take it unambiguously, as it is required for most other abilities. And the reduction of damage by 1/5 will not be superfluous.
Cuirass- allows the character to wear cuirass. A very useful thing, although at first you can't even get money for an ordinary cuirass. But when piastres start ringing in your pockets ... In general, you must take it, but only when money appears.
Critical hit- gives a chance to deal a critical hit. The chance is only 5%, but it is highly recommended to take. Still, the damage from a critical strike is very great.
Berserk- the damage inflicted by the character is multiplied, but only by 20 seconds. This miracle is recharged in one minute. Take as soon as possible. Additional damage is never superfluous.
Requires: Basic Defense Skill
Growing life- with each new rank, the character will receive an additional one point of life. The value is doubtful, it is better to take something else.
Requires: high defense skill
Heavy hand- hits of the character stun opponents, and they lose energy. It's worth taking, but only at the middle stage of the game. There are also a whole bunch of more useful skills.
Indefatigability Is just one of the "more useful skills". Be sure to take in any case. This ability increases the rate of energy recovery by 15%.
Growing energy- works on the principle of growing life, only energy is added. Plus one point per rank. The value is questionable.
Requires: indefatigability
Irresistible blow- character hits have a 20% chance to break through the block. Very valuable, but only in the mid to late game stages. At first, it is wiser to use a punching blow, but he ignores the block, therefore, in fact, a punching one.
Requires: high defense skill
Saber dance- a circular blow deals 35% more damage. One of the most useful skills. The circular blow is very effective when fighting a whole crowd of opponents. Be sure to take.
Requires: Critical Strike and High Defense Skill
Professional fencer- the probability of a critical hit becomes 20%, and the damage inflicted on a character in battle is reduced by 30%. Perhaps the most useful skill of all. It is obligatory to take, the usefulness is obvious.
Requires: Critical Strike, High Defense Skill, Indefatigability
Shooter- the character is better at using pistols. Reload speed is reduced by 10%, accuracy is increased by the same 10%. In addition, the character can use double-shot pistols. The value is questionable, and here's why. Double-shot pistols are weaker than single-shot pistols. In addition, they take longer to reload, on the other hand, if the "reloading" is turned off, then such a pistol will be an excellent help in battle. The value is debatable and depends on the circumstances.
Accurate shooter- a player with pistols on you, bullets always fly at the target, reloading is faster. The skill gives + 25% accuracy and reduces reload speed by 25%. Four-shot pistols can be used. The value is again controversial. Better to become a professional swordsman first. At least the chance of dying while fired is much less.
Required: shooter
Additional weight- the character can carry an additional 30 pounds of weight. It's so simple and without frills. Take as needed. After all, there are also boardmen who can be used as pack mules.
Excellent health- the character's physical health is restored much faster and worsens less from wounds. Works worse at sea than on land. Utility is high if you often board ships, for example.
Requires: high defense skill
Experience exchange- doubles the amount of experience that companions, officers and passengers receive. Officers, companions and passengers will receive 50% \ 33% \ 10% experience, respectively. Useful if you are actively using officers. That is, you can take a few cheap officers and develop them to the desired level. The value is debatable, new officers with better characteristics can be hired.
Iron will- reduces the likelihood of mutiny on the ship. An absolutely useless ability. A mutiny on a ship happens if the crew is not fed, if more crews are taken than calculated, or if the salary is not paid. The fact is that with a low morale, the combat effectiveness of the sailors is significantly reduced, and they control the ship worse. The unpaid salary will still need to be paid back next month. That's not all; if you hire a boatswain with this ability, then it will work for the hero.
Lifeboat rescue- if the ship's hull is less than 15%, then the character can sail on a boat to another ship. And if the companion has this skill, then he will sail to the flagship from a sinking ship or from a fire-ship. The usefulness is questionable. Ships are too expensive a pleasure to be allowed to sink.
Requires: iron will
Credible- most employers do not pay attention to the hero's reputation. The value is highly questionable. If you have a low reputation, then you are a pirate. If high, then a hunter of pirates and robbers. There is no third. The usefulness of the skill is controversial due to its high requirements. Advanced trading is provided by the officer, but more on that later.
Requires: Advanced Trade and Iron Will.
Ship Abilities
Pirate flag... A skill that allows you to raise a pirate flag over your ship. The benefits of this are zero, but beautiful.
Spain / France / England / Holland flag- the skill allows you to raise the flag of a certain state over the ship. True, deception does not always work; if the price per player's head is too high, and stealth, on the contrary, is too low, then most likely you will have to fight.
Brander- the owner of the skill can send the allied ship "to death" - to explode next to the enemy, causing him huge damage or even taking him to the bottom of the ocean. The practical use is very small, there is not always an extra ship, people and a captain in the crew.
Landing of the Union of amphibious ships- makes it possible to connect all the sailors in order to then attack the fort with the whole crowd. Undoubtedly, a useful skill, however, will be needed far from the beginning of the game.
Long distance boarding- will increase the distance from which you can board the enemy by 15%. Very useful - wrap it up, we'll take it with us.
Master boarding- the boarding distance is increased by 25 percent, and you can board from any angle, even nose to nose. If you are playing a pirate, then the skill will be very useful for you, take it without hesitation.
Required: long range boarding, musket salvo
Musket salvo- before boarding, the player's team shoot at the enemy, inflicting 25% damage on him. Again, for a pirate, a thing is absolutely necessary, the less command the enemy has, the easier it is to kill them.
Requires: increased team damage
Basic trade- gives a 10% discount on goods in stores. Of course, skill is essential for traders.
Developed trade- gives a 20% discount on goods in the store and allows you to sell at 5% more.
Required: basic trade
Fast recharge- the reloading speed of guns is increased by 10%. Doubtful skill. Sure, reloading quickly is good, but there are so many other great skills around!
Pre-recharge- an active skill, used every five minutes. If you choose it, the next recharge will happen 50% faster. A useful skill, five minutes is a very small threshold of time, ship battles are long.
Requires: fast recharge
Increased damage to the body- damage to the hull of an enemy ship is increased by 15%. Whether or not to take a skill depends on your game. For example, a pirate who plunders and seizes ships will not need it, but a hunter of these pirates and a merchant will not need it.
Increased damage to sails- Damage to the sails of an enemy ship is increased by 15%. Choosing a skill for everyone is very useful.
Increased damage to the team- damage to the team of the enemy ship is increased by 15%. It will be useful for a pirate, but it will work for any character.
Critical shot- in 5% of cases, the owner of the skill will be able to inflict an enhanced shot that touches the crew, sails and hull. Skill will not be superfluous, but at the initial stage it is better to choose something else, and a critical shot is not always needed. Why would a pirate sink an enemy ship?
Requires: increased damage to hull / sails / crew
Increased shooting distance- Increases shooting distances by 15%. Suitable for any character, but do not take it right away, the benefit is questionable.
Professional gunner- the owner of the skill deals 30% more damage (to the crew, sails, hull - it all depends on the type of shells chosen), and the probability of a critical shot increases by 15%. Very good skill, it's a pity, at the initial stage it will not work ...
Required: critical shot, extended shot distance, fast reload.
A carpenter- thanks to this skill, the maximum possible repair effect is increased by 10%. It will suit everyone, but there are so many other useful skills that it may simply not be useful anymore, you will hire an officer faster.
Shipbuilder- reduces the consumption of boards and canvas by 10%. A practically useless skill.
Easy repair- active skill, works for one minute. Can only be used once every three minutes. At launch, ship repair begins, during which you can restore no more than 10% of the ship's life. Not a bad skill - after all, to repair the ship every three minutes. However, a quick fix is better.
Required: carpenter
Quick fix- allows you to repair the ship during the battle; however, it will not be possible to completely "heal" the ship, only 65% of the total amount of "life". Fallen masts cannot be repaired. Very good skill, but getting it is problematic, you need skill a carpenter, but you don't want to take it at the beginning of the game.
Wanted: light renovation, carpenter
The main protection of the ship- damage to the ship is reduced by 15%. The skill will suit everyone, the ship must be protected by both a notorious pirate and a peaceful merchant.
Advanced ship defense- continuation of the main defense, now the damage is blocked by a quarter.
Requires: basic ship defense
Increase ship speed- ship speed increases by 15%. Average skill. Of course, high speed is good, but sacrificing other skills ... However, taking it is still worth it.
Increased ship maneuverability- increases the maneuverability of the ship by 15%. Skill is useful, only because of it you don't want to neglect others ...
Swimming in storms- damage done by the storm is reduced by 30%. A useless skill, it's better not to get into a storm, it's not so difficult to do this. Note: this skill will be very useful for improving navigation, for it is improved in a storm.
Increased dynamics- when the wind speed changes, the speed increases by 10% faster. The benefits are questionable, it is better to choose something you need.
Maneuverable turn of the ship- an active skill, used every three minutes. When turned on, the ship turns eight times faster within a minute. An excellent skill, but it requires three not-so-important skills.
Requires: increased ship speed, increased ship maneuverability, increased dynamics
Fast sails- the speed of raising and lowering the sails is 10% higher. No use, the sails go up and down at normal speed, 10% is not an increase.
Shallow water maneuvers- an active skill, in which sixty seconds the ship is not damaged from impacts on rocks. The skill would be very useful for computer ships, they sin with the ability to hit the rocks, and the player is of little use from it.
Requires: fast sails, increased ship maneuverability.
Experienced sailor- the ship's maneuverability increases by 20%, but, most importantly, the owner of the skill, when meeting with any ship on the global map, may not get involved in the battle. Does not work on "Gentlemen of Fortune" pirates. But, you know, meeting them in the middle of the ocean ... One of the best skills. Merchants are required to take. After receiving it, they will be able to swim wherever they want and how they want. The rest will not hurt either, on the contrary - it will help a lot. Bad one, it requires three completely unnecessary skills to study.
Required: shallow water maneuvers, increased dynamics, storm sailing.
Doctor- the team is 10% less likely to die from diseases and buckshot. A useful but not necessary skill.
Savior of lives- the team is 20% less likely to die from diseases and buckshot. And this is already a little better. Suitable for a boarding pirate.
Required: doctor
Magical and not so items
There are items in the game that can improve or degrade the skills of the hero. Some do both at the same time. For example, one of the idols makes the hero more powerful in trading while reducing his authority. All of these items work just by being in the character's inventory. Both ours and the officers.
It is important: the effect of identical items does not stack. You can fill your inventory with emeralds, but only one effect will be taken into account.
The statue- a stone statue, an idol - the patron saint of artisans. Adds 30 points to repair. It is extremely rare, and because of the officers-carpenters it loses its value. It also weighs a lot.
Emerald- a gem. The one who possesses it gets 10 to authority. A very useful pebble, it weighs little, it is very common. Let it roll around for yourself.
Cross of Antonio de Sousa- This small Jesuit cross can only be obtained by completing the Spain storyline. It's a pity, the cross is very useful, it gives 30 to luck, 20 to authority and 10 to trade.
Dog Figurine- Chinese trick, adds 10 to stealth. He does not ask for food, so let him lie.
Bronze ring- a small bronze talisman, adds 10 luck. Let it be, luck is a very useful thing.
Bronze cross- you may not believe in God, but this cross will give you 10 points of luck anyway.
Emerald pendants- obviously magical, give 10 to stealth.
Idol Tlaelquani- Indian deity, symbolizes cleansing from dirt, diseases and excesses. Adds 10 to authority and stealth, but reduces pistol possession by 20. Pistols, apparently, are considered overkill.
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Poor thing you have here, Monsieur captain, in my cabin it's still richer! |
Strange animal figurine- apparently some kind of toy. Decreases authority by 10, do not take in any case.
Aztec calendar- another magical Indian thing, adds 10 trade. Very helpful.
Cursed pearls- black pearls: for some a cult, but for us a curse. Reduce luck by 50 points. Discard as soon as possible.
Quetzalcoatl figurine- a golden statuette of an Indian deity. Adds 10 to stealth. Let it lie, the pirate hiding from everyone will even say thank you to her.
Huitzilopochtli drive- the disc of the god of war, makes the hero's average weapon 10 points more effective. Leave as needed, why do you need a plus to the average weapon if you are fighting light?
Idol of the Great Mother- the patroness of one of the local tribes, adds 10 luck, oddly enough. Let it be, a lot of luck did not harm anyone.
Idol of Chak-Moona- the idol of the god Chak-Moon, who was worshiped by the Maych Indians. The God of Fire and Thunder lowers stealth by 20, but adds 20 to pistols and 10 to accuracy. Leave it, pistols are a very useful thing. While many pirates are better off getting stealth ...
Image of Hikatekutli- the image of the ancient Aztec god of trade, adds 20 to trade, but takes 20 authority. To take a pirate for sure - someone who, but he did not care about authority. Merchants and military authority will not hurt, although trade ... In general, decide for yourself. It all depends on the circumstances.
Large stone disc- a ritual stone of the Maya Indians, apparently, repeatedly participated in bloody rituals. Adds 10 credibility and protection, but luck is reduced by 10. Utility is debatable, luck, in our opinion, is more important.
Idol of Ancient Deity- personifies the god Ehecatl, who was considered the lord of the wind among the Aztecs. Adds 20 navigation, but you have to pay 20 stealth points. A very useful thing - maybe those twenty points are not enough to control a much better ship?
Tlaloc figurine- figurine of the fierce Aztec god of lightning, adds 20 points of accuracy to the owner and 10 points to guns, but reduces stealth by 20. Very useful figurine, with it a sea battle from a waste of ammunition can become an effective means of destroying enemy ships.
Maina Priest Ceremonial Knife- the ancient Mayan knife symbolizes power over people and connection with the gods. Adds 20 to authority, but takes away 10 luck. Again, decide what is more important to you at the moment - luck or additional authority.
Ceremonial vessel- a ritual vessel of the ancient Aztecs, adds 20 authority, but takes 10 secrecy. But this little thing can be left, the object gives more than it takes away.
Strange thing- Antique Toltec war figurine. Gives 20 protection and 10 to light weapons, but takes away 10 authority and luck. In our opinion, it is better to hire a ship's doctor than to lose credibility and luck.
Jaguar Warrior Image- a heavy copy of the ancient stone ax of the Olmecs cast from gold. Adds 10 to heavy weapons.
Cormorant- a dead bird among the prey is a bad sign. Takes away 10 authority and stealth. Throw it away at the slightest opportunity.
Shoe- wearing one shoe is a bad omen. Minus 10 luck. There, where the cormorant, that is, away.
It is important: two shoes won't solve the problem, throw them in the trash can right away!
Crystal skulls of the Toltecs- you can find these artifacts of the ancients only in treasures. Taken together, they add 30 to navigation, 20 to authority, 20 to accuracy, and 20 to boarding. The main thing is to find them before they lose their relevance.
Castoffs- a dirty, tattered robe of a tramp, and smells bad too. In this, no one will suspect you of the captain! Adds 20 to stealth, but only when equipped. You cannot wear a cuirass and rags at the same time.
Merchant clothing- good fit, fashionable material. Such attire can only be afforded by a successful merchant. Gives 20 Trade when equipped.
Nobleman's clothes- very expensive clothes that show others that you have exquisite taste. In this beautiful outfit, you get an extra 20 points to your authority.
Menu navigation
Menu "Characters" shows everyone who accompanies the hero. There are several types of them. There are officers - they perform various functions on the ship. Companions are the captains of the ships in our squadron and passengers. Passengers are either the same officers, but without a clear position, or people taken on board on assignment. There are also captives. These guys get on the ship when an enemy ship is captured without a fight. Or the captain surrenders without a fight. We will consider these situations in more detail later.
The last on the list is the captain, that is, our hero. In this menu, you can distribute the available ability points for yourself and for hired characters, as well as view other information: skills, nation, rank, and so on. You can immediately appoint an officer to the position or remove him. This is done in the same way as in Corsairs 3 - by double-clicking on the empty position icon or on the officer's portrait to take it off.
Menu "Ships" displays the list of ships in the squadron and information about them. Technical data of the ship, list of goods on board. There is also an interface for working with the team. The skills of the sailors are indicated here. The higher they are, the better. The faster the ship will sail and maneuver, the faster the cannons will reload, the less losses will be during boarding. For a certain number of piastres, you can increase the morale of the team. it extremely useful when the ship is "overcrowded". Through the same section, the exchange menu between ships opens. This is done by double-clicking on the ship icon in the panel on the left.
Menu "Magazine" Is a chronicle of the exploits of our hero. Active events (tasks) and those already completed are marked here. A small glossary of nautical terms and other reference materials can also be found here. The cash book keeps records of all deposits and loans from usurers. The "Statistics" tab speaks for itself.
Menu "Nation" shows the political situation in the Caribbean at the moment, as well as the attitude of other nations personally to the player. Also here you can select the flag raised on the mast. This is necessary to deceive enemy ships and also to use trade licenses, but more about them later.
Menu "Trade" contains information about goods and prices in the colonies of the archipelago. Everything is fair here, the information is valid only on the date of the visit to the colony. It becomes obsolete over time.
And the last menu - "Subjects"... This is the belongings of our hero and his fellow travelers. In addition, it is here that you can equip him with weapons (pistol, edged weapons), a telescope and clothing (cuirass, for example).
Real estate in the tropics
Each colony has a specific set of buildings. Large colonies like Marigot in San Martin have a full complement of buildings. Each has a specific function. Let's take a closer look at them.
Tavern
Perhaps the main house in every colony. Here you can rest while repairing wounds. You can hire new sailors on the ship and, of course, get a lot of tasks.
The waitress knows all the rumors in the city, but only tells them during the assignment. Visitors are sitting at the tables. They differ in their clothes. For example, people with weapons in their belts are most likely officers.
It is interesting: if you have a full set of officers in the team, then to the question of any officer in the tavern, the hero will answer: "I have a full set." You need to turn to him again, then the item will appear: "What are you in business?" and the ability to view the parameters of the officer.
You can also meet a smuggler there and make an appointment for him to sell smuggling, if such goods are in the hold. Do you still meet personalities? offering ancient and not so treasure maps. The rest of the rabble is drinkers. You will meet them in most cases. With these you can have a drink and find out gossip and news, for example? prices in a store in a city. By the way, you can also learn about the Flying Dutchman from them. We will tell you more about it later, this is a topic for a separate story. There are also rude drunks with whom you can start a fight. This was done to heighten the surroundings - what is a tavern without a good fight?
It is interesting: in the room where our character is settled, there is a bedside table in which you can find something valuable. Great help at the beginning of the game.
Shop
The second most visited place after the tavern. Firstly, you need to constantly replenish supplies, and secondly, you need accessories for the battle - cannonballs, knipples, buckshot and bombs. Gunpowder is required when firing cannons, and is also sold here. In addition, you can buy bottles with healing liquids, cards, weapons and various totems and statues from the merchant.
And perhaps most importantly, you can take a task from a merchant to deliver goods to any colony for a fee. Moreover, it is necessary to deliver exactly as much goods as the merchant issued. It is also impossible to sell a product, otherwise you will have to pay compensation for it, and sometimes it goes beyond all reasonable limits. And the rats on the ship. These furry beasts have a bad habit of gnawing, devouring and spoiling goods in the hold. Not everything, something is beyond the control of rat teeth - for example, kernels, silver, gold. It is recommended to take tasks from the merchant together with others. For example, if you need to sail somewhere, then it is better to take the cargo to the same colony or a passing colony. The task is updated once a day, if you do not like the destination, we sleep in the tavern and try again.
It is interesting: you can save the game directly to the store, and then load until you find the desired city. There is one more trick. If you did not bring all the goods to the colony indicated in the task and there is nothing to buy it for, then you can cheat the game a little. This is because the merchant may leave the item for you as a freight charge. Moreover, this option is possible, even if you do not have the desired product at all, you just need to select the desired dialogue item many, many times. Until he gives you the product. A lot of money can be made from this by selling huge amounts of cargo, for example, to smugglers. However, where is the interest?
Shipyard
The third most visited building in the game. Repair, purchase of new ships and guns - everything is here. Moreover, broken masts are only repaired at the shipyard. Also pay attention to the prices of the ships. Honestly bought a corvette will cost several times more than an absolutely identical one, but selected in a bloody battle. As for new ships, no two are exactly alike. For example, we are offered a choice of two galleons, they cost about the same, but the first has a larger hold, but the second has a stronger hull, and so on.
You can also buy new weapons. They are divided into two types - cannons and coolers. The former have more damaging power and shorter reload times. But the coolers shoot further.
This is a tip: if you have several ships, then it makes sense to remove all weapons from all except the flagship. The cannons weigh a lot and take up space for goods. Of course, if the ships are not for military purposes.
It is important: there is a shipyard in the game where you can improve ships. The treat is expensive, but definitely worth it. The shipyard is located in Bermuda.
Usurer
In Return of the Legend, the moneylender pleases with a large number of possibilities. In addition to the usual loan, you can leave money at interest, worthy of interest. Also, the usurer gives good orders, and some pirates take advantage of this. I remember that in one of the playthroughs we got a good initial capital by simply selling the chests of gold that we were asked to transport. And as for respect, a thousand devils, a pirate should be feared, not respected!
Since the beginning of the game is rather difficult, the services of the moneylender are very useful, the money given out will be enough to repair the ship and replenish the crew. Here, take your first assignment.
Residence
The residence houses the governor and his guards. If you are in an enemy city, then it is better not to appear here. The governor will not talk to you, but the guards ... however, they will not speak either, only if they use the language of sabers.
There is a practical benefit from the residence, but not much. Here we can surrender captains of captives, they pay pretty well for them. A mediocre captain leaves for ten thousand. Here you can also purchase a privateer agreement and get interesting tasks. What is noteworthy, the governors are not willing to send the hero to swim there, to take this, they are the few who give really interesting tasks. True, if one governor gave a task, then all the governors will wait for its implementation and will not hire you ...
Port Authority
But there is almost no practical benefit from this building. Here you can simply leave your ship for a while. True, the price of this event, to put it mildly, bites. Here you can also find out the obvious things: they say, the governor gives out tasks, and in the tavern you can have a drink and a snack.
Knife and ax workers
There is no way in the Caribbean without them. Companions and officers are needed like air. So, let's look at the positions of all kinds of assistants in the game.
It is important: the officer adds the difference between the skill indicators to the captain. That is, it seems to replace our skill with our own. In addition, if we do not have the ability, for example, "Musket salvo", then with a hired boatswain with this skill it will work for the main character.
Boardman. This officer - or rather, as many as three officers - will follow on the heels of the hero. We can say that these are personal bodyguards. They will assist in skirmishes on the ground and, as the name of the position suggests, will go into battle while boarding. Choosing a candidate for bodyguards must be careful. This officer should have personal skills for hand-to-hand combat and ideally for high-level shooting. Moreover, it is necessary that personal abilities such as "advanced defense" and "professional swordsman" are present, otherwise the assistant will not live long in battle, and they are not cheap. Equip your henchmen with the best weapons. How exactly? Yes, the one that they have at the best level. Don't forget to supply them with healing potions, pistols and bullets. You can find boardmen in any tavern. Their fighting skills are always higher than those of ships. This can be considered a distinctive feature.
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This is what it means - not to understand navigation and not to carry a navigator on board. |
Navigator- an irreplaceable person in the team. Especially if you are a trader or a purebred fighter. The point is that when controlling a ship of too high class, penalties are imposed on skills and characteristics. The character becomes noticeably weaker. And how to board such a weakling? Exactly. Therefore, it is worth taking a navigator for the sake of being able to control the best ship. More ship means more crew on board. More team means less loss or even a chance to win without a fight. In general, while the Navigation skill is not suitable for your ship, the navigator will come in handy, and then he can be transferred to another ship as a companion. We will consider them below.
Boatswain. The boatswain's task is to inspire the crew to make the boarding as efficient as possible. An officer with high authority should be hired for this position ”and the“ Boardage ”skill. In addition, it is necessary to carefully look at the shipboard abilities of the candidate for boatswain. He must have a "gentleman's set" of boarding abilities. The bigger, the better.
Gunner- an irreplaceable person in the team. Developing "Accuracy" is the most difficult, "Cannons" - easier, but it takes time and money. It is recommended to hire as soon as possible. Especially at the beginning of the game. Naval combat will become much more effective.
Doctor- a very, very useful officer in the team, but there is no point in hiring him separately. Better to use the officer's "Deputy" ability. In any case, even the deputy should have a good level of the "Protection" parameter.
Treasurer- the same as a doctor. Only two skills and a trade bonus. Deputies with these abilities and skills in the Caribbean are a dime a dozen.
A carpenter- the importance of this worker on the ship cannot be underestimated. Especially in the later stages of the game, when you have to storm the forts. The "Quick Fix" ability literally works wonders and pulls doomed ships out of the clutches of the sea devil. The main thing is to have a sufficient supply of boards and sails on the ship. Boards to a greater extent, since leaky sails do not sink.
Companion- an officer who floats on a par with you on his ship. Companions are of three types. Some can be hired at the tavern. Their difference from others is that such a captain already has a ship that can be sold at the nearest shipyard, and a companion without a ship will become an ordinary officer. The second type is the officers assigned to the ship. Everything is simple here. And the third type is mission companions. They swim with the player temporarily until the task is completed or failed. You cannot sell the ship of such a companion.
It is interesting: check the pockets of your companions. Just change your companion to an officer, and put him in the position of a boarding officer. Now enter the exchange mode - you can do this in the cabin or anywhere on land. Quite often you can find a good amount of money in the pockets of a companion. Ordinary officers carry only weapons with them.
Trade
Trade is one of the ways not to float belly up somewhere in the sea. There are a lot of settlements in the game, you can trade in each one, even in a hostile one. How? And with a trade license. You can buy this paper from a diplomat. You will meet him in the tavern of any pirate town. He can reconcile our hero with any nation.
It is important: just a hero, not a nation. The attitude will be neutral, but the nation itself will be hostile.
You can also purchase a privateer patent and, most importantly, a trade license from him. The license is valid for a certain time (30, 60, 90 days) and allows you to enter their ports under the flag of the desired country. Moreover, neither the fort, nor other ships will attack. The only drawback is that fast transition will not work. All movements will have to be done on foot.
Note that if you play, for example, for Holland or Spain, then licenses are not really needed. You can choose a group of goods that are excellently sold and bought within the framework of the Spanish-Dutch colonies (mahogany, for example). The benefit of Spain belongs to the entire Maine and most of the islands in the sea. But when playing for England or France, licenses will be very useful, since due to the small number of colonies, the merchants of these countries will be very limited in their choice of goods. One drawback is that trading licenses are only available to relatively wealthy people, as they are quite expensive.
Let's consider the trading system itself. Each colony imports and exports certain types of goods (see table "Islands") ... In addition, the circulation of some goods is prohibited. You can buy them in the store, but at a very high price, and there is not enough of such a product. And such a product can only be sold from smugglers. You can find their representative in the tavern. We make an appointment in a quiet deserted bay and unload the goods. Of course, there is a danger of running into a patrol - both on land and at sea. You can buy off the patrol, pretend to be an honest person (with a high reputation), and simply kill the patrolmen, but this is fraught with deterioration in relations with the nation. Products in the list come in four colors: white - means that the product is sold at an average price, usually there are not very many “white” products; green - the colony is exporting goods, it is much cheaper than the "white" one, and there is a lot of it; blue - the colony imports this product, it costs much more than "white" and "green". Buying such a product means losing money, unless you urgently need to buy medicines or provisions, in which case the cost does not matter. Finally, red is contraband. The price of the product is sky-high, there is very little of it, and only smugglers buy it.
It is important: imports, exports and smuggling in colonies do not change over time. That is, if a colony exports something, then it will export it no matter what.
Random tasks
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I'm sitting in ambush, maybe someone will pass ... |
Traditional random tasks have not disappeared anywhere, however, there are much more of them and some can be confusing. Let's figure out how not to lose face in front of the employer.
Pirate's proposal- in the tavern you can meet a pirate who will offer to attack a ship together.
Capture the golden caravan- Once a year, Spanish gold caravans leave the Caribbean for the Old World. Galleons loaded with gold can be robbed if you meet the right person in the tavern.
Easy prey- if you drink with a drunkard in a tavern and ask him about rumors and tales, you can learn a lot of interesting things. For example, that not far from the island some brig is carrying a valuable cargo, alone and without protection. In general, the sea devil himself ordered to take such a tidbit on boarding!
Delivery of goods for the store- the task can be taken at any store. The goal is to bring all the cargo to the specified store in another colony. Traders do not ask to take cargo to hostile cities.
Find a debtor for a usurer- You can take an order from any moneylender to receive a debt. In this case, a certain percentage goes to the player.
Deliver gold for the moneylender- the usurer will give you a cargo of gold with a simple and understandable purpose - to deliver it to the specified place.
Merchant escort- sometimes in the tavern you can meet a merchant in great need of a convoy. He will offer to be his guide. Not free, of course.
Passenger delivery- in a tavern you can often meet a person who needs somewhere. The passenger goes on board as a passenger; he must be delivered to the tavern of the city indicated by him, where he will pay the fare.
Governor's Assignments- You can take special assignments from the governors of the colonies. There are several types:
Deal with the bandits- a gang of bandits appeared outside the city, they must be killed. The fact is that these robbers can hide in any part of the island, except for the city itself. Search caves, jungles and bays.
Disarm the smugglers- the governor notices that goods have appeared in the store "out of nowhere." Naturally, these are the tricks of the smugglers. To complete this task, find a representative of the smugglers in the tavern and make an appointment. You need to have a forbidden item in the hold. Please note that after a couple of such reprisals, you will ruin your relationship with the smugglers, and you will not be scheduled any more meetings. You can make peace with the help of a diplomat in any pirate tavern.
Sink the pirate- a pirate appeared near the colony, who drowns and seizes merchant ships. The essence of the task is that initially it is not visible where the pirate is. He disguises himself as the nation of the colony where the task is taken. To calculate it, you need to approach the ship or swim to it on a boat. If you sail on a boat to an enemy ship, then after talking with the captain you will have to deal with the sailors on the deck.
Enemy scout- somewhere in the city, an enemy spy. He looks like an ordinary city dweller, so you have to approach every passer-by and ask: "Are you a spy?" Locals will call someone to confirm their identity. The spy simply won't be able to call anyone. If you have not found a spy on the streets of the city, check the houses.
Get into an enemy city- The governor wants you to deliver the package to the designated person in the enemy city. There are several ways. For example, you can buy a trade license and enter the port under the desired flag, or you can sneak into the city during the day and just run past the guards.
For all these tasks, the governor issues a solid bonus to start the game. In addition, you can capture a pirate's ship. It should be noted that if you have not completed the task of the governor, then no other will give you a task. Also, due to the failed tasks, the reputation goes down.
Prison- there is a prison in the forts on the ground floor. For a fee, you can go inside and chat with the prisoners. These same prisoners can offer a reward in exchange for a service.
Send note- a prisoner in prison will ask to convey a message to his friends. His friends will be waiting for you in one of the houses of the city, which owns the fort. Get ready to fight. The robbers are hot, they can cut it.
Treasure and liberation- the task is, in principle, the same, only the endings differ. In one of the cells in the prison, you can talk to a prisoner who will ask him to be released in exchange for a treasure that he hid somewhere in the archipelago. The fact is that there may not be a treasure in the specified place.
There are also quests that can be found outside the city. In the jungle, you can meet a girl who is fleeing from bandits. If you help her, she will thank you with a small amount of money or an increase in reputation.
Girl in the well- there are caves on the islands. There are usually two entrances to them. One is just a hole in the rock, and the other is through the well. Passing the well, you can see a girl who will tell you that her friend somehow fell into the well, and we need to get her out. The most interesting thing is that the girls may not appear at all, and the bandits will be waiting for you.
Buying a treasure map- in the tavern you can buy a treasure map. The chance of meeting a merchant with a card is rather small, moreover, if you already have a card, then you won't be able to find one in the tavern at all. The value of the treasure depends on the price of the card. For example, in a treasure for 12,000 piastres, you can find a good set of various things, but they are only good for sale. And cards for 30 thousand or more promise a much more solid jackpot. For example, the skulls of the Toltecs.
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These two are definitely officers. Let's see what they do. |
This is a musket so a musket! Tremble, Spaniards! |
* * *
“Hush, hush, the soldiers are coming. Let's go, soon! " One of the smugglers whispered quickly. “Then wait for us here in a month. We still have something to say, ”said the Spaniard, and we quickly headed into the jungle. You should not contact the authorities, the Spaniard cares too much about his reputation. But he, unlike the pirate, has had a manowar for a long time, which means that his opinion is worth listening to. Let's return to the port and spend the night in a tavern. There Volokotin Nikolay is waiting for us, he helped us a lot with this mission, it would be necessary, a thousand devils, to pour him rum for this!
| About fines |
Lest you be confused by the red numbers next to the base stats, let's see where they come from. Overload- the hero "on board", that is, in his pockets, has more weight than he can carry. All stats are reduced by 1. Poor health- if you do not get medical treatment in time, then you will have to pay with the characteristics again. Depending on the level, they decrease to -5. And skills up to -25. High class ship at low navigation- if the character does not know how to control the ship, then nothing can be done about it, he feels out of place. If a character knows how to control a ship, say, of the fifth class, then when controlling a battleship he will receive a 4 penalty for each characteristic. And this, believe me, is a lot. |
| Caribbean powers | |
England. She is going through hard times: the renunciation of the papal church, turmoil, almost a civil war. For a hundred years now, the country has been struggling to calm down. The war with Spain only exacerbated the situation, although the Spaniards got more, and the British got Jamaica at their disposal. The war is officially over. But this is only on paper. In fact, the Spaniards and the British drown each other at the first opportunity. The governors are also in complete disarray. They do not listen to orders from London, each is his own boss. In general, confusion is going on in the English colonies, and many pirates take advantage of this ... France. Having come to power, Louis XIV immediately took the bull by the horns. During the five years of his reign, France's prestige in Europe has greatly increased. This is not surprising - Louis worked as best he could for the good of his country. However, he was hardly interested in the Caribbean. France's motto is "Ensure peace in the colonies and normal trade." This call was not difficult to carry out; encouragement of filibusters of all stripes is the guarantee of calmness. By the way, even the Governor of Tortuga ... a pirate. Spain. Spain is one of the bloodthirsty countries in the world. They sucked gold from the New World with all their might. But in recent years, the devil knows what has been going on in the country . The king is dead, and the heir is a barely living child. Whoever is not trying to seize power ... Of course, this does not lead to good and the country is wasting away. In addition, France and England have joined forces in the fight against her. The Spaniards managed to annoy everyone. Nevertheless, Spain is the strongest power in the Caribbean. Holland... After the Spanish attack on the Netherlands, a religious war broke out in the country, dubbed the "80-year war of independence." But after the end of this war, the Dutch economy went up sharply. All of Europe was stunned to see these growth rates. No joke, the Dutch merchant fleet numbers more than the English and French combined! Only there is a snag: they do not have a combat fleet, the ports are too shallow, so you have to run away from everyone. And the aggressive British are sitting nearby, and the Spaniards do not want to give back the Dutch colonies ... |
| Table 1 Islands |
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