Dance --

Ship Battle ---

From a Distance : Fighting more powerful ships - Early in the game you will have an inferior ship yet rather than racing in and board a stronger vessel, you can fight from a distance. Recognizing the wind and engaging in ship battle with it in your favor is crucial. The next step is staying out of round shot range and forcing the opponent to chase you. Be careful not to stray too far, for the battle will end entirely. The idea is to form a straight line where your in the lead. Once cannons are fully loaded, turn about 45 degrees to let loose a blast. Opponents will continue to chase you until they have taken sufficient damage; at which point they will either turn and run or begin to fire back themselves. After suffering this initial damage, maneuver yourself carefully and continue to cripple their offense. If they are running, use the opportunity to take down sails with chain shot. When the sails fall, feed them grape shot if you have it. If not, chain shot will slowly diminish crew and convince them to surrender in no time.

Lead, Disable, Destroy: Fighting faster ships - After conquering Henry Morgan's Large Frigate, the Caribbean is mine on a platter. While larger ships carry more firepower, faster, smaller ships will often attempt to board you immediately. All the swashbuckling prowess in the world won't help a severely outnumbered player. To remedy their speed advantage, unload your initial cannon fire into them with chain shot. Then turn away and reload, forcing them slowly chase you. The key here is only slightly turning back to fire as they follow you. Most of your chain shot will not hit, but what does will make a great impact. Another blast of chain shot and they shouldn't be able to keep up. At that point it is up to you how you disable their vessel.