arty hotfix of 10/07 reintroduces unexplainable losses for stopped battles...

[Slaists]

And never, ever autoresolve naval battles. Even when I win I lose ships of the line to single dhows or light galleys.

Not true. The key to autoresolving battles against galleys and dhows is to use ONE superior ship. A 5th rate, a 6th rate or even a brig will do. If you bring more than one ship (even if those are SOLs) to the autoresolve, you'll lose ships. I've done it over and over again.

Example: the French have a brig and a sloop at the game start in Marseille. Pirates are bound to send their galleys to raid the port often. If you fight the battles yourself, it's a waste of time (it will be pretty much the same battle over and over again) and you're likely to get your ships damaged or even sunk (if several galleys attack). Solution: park the sloop and autoresolve with the brig. Soon enough, the brigh will have top experience...