Being boarded by 7 men

[Dead Guy]

Horrible, horrible naval battles...

I thought they were getting better, I though I had learnt to beat the AI at equal odds. I even beat 3 or four inferior ships with a single galleon or fifth rate.

But now I'm up against the unbeatable Dhow of DOOM! A pirate fleet attacks me in the straits of madagascar. I have one Galleon in mint condition and a surprisingly useless Indiaman. They have one galleon, but it only has about 20 guns and it's horribly damaged. Two admirals' fifth rate, both also have few cannon, one of them has 9! When I glance at the pre-battle thingie, I disregard the presence of a pathetic 1 cannon Dhow crewed by 7 men. The odds are not in my favour, but as damaged as the AIs' fleet is, and as kick ass as my Galleon is, I can handle this.

But alas. As soon as the battle commences, the Dhow reads as "Boarding" on mouse over. It goes straight for my galleon and the 7 men somehow manage to make my warship stop entirely, and as a bonus, now it cannot fire it's 60 guns! Added bonus!! Now the battered enemy ships are free to cross the T as much as they want!!! I go insane at the bullshit this game can pull on you. There's no way in hell that little cannoe would go side to side with a ship sporting 30 guns to either side. It's also completely unbelievable that they don't rout or lose more than 1 man when shot upon twice as they close the distance... ARRRRGH ye scurvy landlubbers. As soon as the Dhow routs or surrenders, the next ship in line on the AI's suicide squad boards with the odds in extreme disfavour and eventually I've taken enough broadsides to my stern for my ship to surrender.

Add in the extremely clunky mechanism of boarding, and you sometimes get your ship locked up in a boarding action although the crews are not actually fighting, and the ships aren't actually connected, but you still cannot just disregard that Dhow because it has started boarding you and you better sit there and wait for it to board. The stupidity of it all is just mind-numbing.

[FactionHeir]

I did find it strange that when I tried to board an AI 5th rate with a sloop, the 5th rate would keep broadsiding my sloop (3 times), even while my men were already swinging onto their ship.

In your scenario, its ridiculous that a dhow would even be able to board a galleon at all giving the huge height difference and the amount of men you have on the ship compared to them. Fine, your ship's heavy and slow, but it shouldn't have much of a problem towing the dhow with it now, would it?

[Durallan]

maybe it was cap'n jack sparrow and his crew out to get yer galleon? those guys never lose! ;)

having said that, the first brig I ever built in my prussian campaign was called Atlantis! seemingly thinking this was cool I then proceeded to defend myself from swedish aggression. I believe their ship was an indiaman so thus easy to take on you would say. I board and my men get them to surrender. As this happens my men all rush to jump aboard my ship... which starts sinking? I'll never forget this bit, the Admiral had boarded with the rest of his men, he turns around notices his ship sinking and runs the to the side of the indiaman jumps off the deck onto the sinking deck of the atlantis apparently it was a long enough fall to kill him! because he didn't get back up and I thought... wow. This guy just killed himself to get to his ship! Anyway it seems that Atlantis decided to magically sink back to the ocean floor to lie there to wait for an intrepid group of explorers to find it again 10 thousand years later... (if you don't know what I mean here, nevermind ;) )

I figured well i spose thats what i get for having a ship called Atlantis!

[Didz]

Consider yourself lucky that the Dhow didn't simply pull alongside and explode taking your galleon with it.

In my expereince that's standard tactic's for Dhow's, and I usually expend a lot of effort to dismast them as soon as I can and then staying well out of their way as I sink them.

[Dead Guy]

Funny you should mention that, Didz. To exact my revenge upon the AI, I decided to use it's own dastardly tactics against it. This time i faced a spanish galleon by itself, which I very much fancied to add to my own fleet! I had a pair of frigates accompanied by some starting sloops and such useless piles of floating wood. I sent one of my sloops to board the galleon thinking maybe it will disrupt things long enough for me to ruin the galleons sails or whatnot. The sloop proceeds to explode, setting the galleon on fire and this along with being surrounded and under fire was enough for them to promptly surrender! Guess I was lucky that my prize didn't explode, too...

[Fisherking]

It sounds like some one gave the AI an exploit. I will expect to see it now.

As to sloops being useless, I find them highly useful. It is the brig that is a useless piece of flotsam.

The galleons have been downgraded much over the original version. I have managed to take one using only two sloops.

[Sheogorath]

Boarding is another area where I've noticed the AI seems to have an advantage, even on normal. If you try boarding between two roughly equivalent vessels, yours will almost inevitably end up surrendering/routing. I tried, when I heard about how great xebecs are at boarding, to use one to take over a greatly weakened fluyt, only to have my 80 or so men routed by the 70 on the 5th rate.

Eventually I gave up and had my galleon unload into the side of the fluyt while the xebecs crew were trying to flee. THAT FOR YOU, COWARDS!

[Mailman653]

Whats your strategy for boarding? I'm curious since I've never experienced any of the problems I've seen on this thread, then again I've never fought the super pirates....maybe they have higher stats than other nations?

Something I noticed from 1.2 that isn't in 1.3 anymore is being able to fire a full broadside when your alongside a ship.

I used to be able to load up all my guns with grape then right as I send my hooks across to the other ship I fire my broadside right into them. Now I can't do that anymore and the AI just fires the guns automatically one by one untill both ships are locked in place.

[Sheogorath]

I usually try to demast them first, for the morale/speed penalties. If I have the ships, I then have two ships with lots of guns make a pass with grapeshot, then have my boarder draw up alongside.

That's the ideal situation. Oftentimes I end up just having to send my fastest ship off to nab the guy who's running away.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Anyway it seems that Atlantis decided to magically sink back to the ocean floor to lie there to wait for an intrepid group of explorers to find it again 10 thousand years later... (if you don't know what I mean here, nevermind ;) )

I figured well i spose thats what i get for having a ship called Atlantis!

Huh, a Stargate fan?

[Daveybaby]

Why does anyone bother with boarding? If I want to capture ships, my procedure is dismast, dismast, dismast. By the time youve dismasted the enemy fleet, most of their ships will have surrendered. For those that havent, pull up ships fore and aft, and fire grapeshot at them until they do surrender.

Am i missing a trick here that makes boarding useful? Or are people just doing it for fun?

[A Very Super Market]

I just pound them with roundshot. With 4th-rates and higher, they can mostly survive the beating intact, and not start sinking out of nowhere.

[Dead Guy]

I never board, unless a ship is routing and I might have a hard time getting enough fire on it to surrender.

Do you use any particular methods to dismast ships? I try to fire chain sometimes but I find it just rips boring holes in the sails.

[Durallan]

just thought I'd tell you guys this, and yes a stargate fan

for the first time I've come across a MUCH superior navy!
Okay, Playing as Prussia, I bought Goa off of my allies the Mughals so I could have a repair haven in india, Mysore my Incredibly long time trading partner decided theyd had enough of my alliance with the Mughals and declared war on me. A pirate fleet had attacked me in the ivory coast, with my fourth rate I captured 2 pirate galleons. I then sent this fourth rate and the 2 galleons to Goa to be repaired. unfortunately the port was damaged and I was unable to repair them. the next turn Mysore blocks my trade route to the Mughals, costing me 16000 gold a turn! enraged I send my fourth rate and 2 galleons around the southern tip of india, There's one mysore ship close by I attack it. It's a fourth rate and I capture it easily, it was rather damaged. I then send my damaged fleet onto the blockaded port, but I see them approaching a Mysore Fleet. I figure oh ok that'll be easy just a bunch of brigs for sure...

My Fleet:
2 Fourth Rates
2 Galleons

Mysore's Fleet:
2 Second Rates, Battleships of the line!
2 Third Rates
4 Fifth Rates
2 Bomb ketch's
1 Sloop

I was utterly amazed. I was Outgunned, Outmanned and Outnumbered. I could have retreated but what prussian retreats?? I decide to attack. Unfortunately the enemy fleet were downwind. While this meant that that they would have had to sail long and hard to attack me, I figured I would sail towards them to try and start ruining their sails. Bad move, once those second and third rates got in firing range they actually decided to start attacking me instead of chasing after me, and it turned into a very messy battle and I lost both my fourth rates, and the galleons retreated. Lesson learnt. Good thing the army I'm sending has my best navy guarding it!

[Zarky]

I never board, unless a ship is routing and I might have a hard time getting enough fire on it to surrender.

Do you use any particular methods to dismast ships? I try to fire chain sometimes but I find it just rips boring holes in the sails.

It pretty much most of the time just rips holes in the sails, since to demast them you have to hit the masts at least once, just keep shooting and eventually you'll see their masts falling down and then mysteriously disappearing.