Health, fencing speed, health items and medicine vs fencskil

[bryce777]

Like most of the people here I've beat the game many times but it's still unclear to me how EXACTLY this all works.

First off are the medicinal herbs and mystic salve only preventative or do they still work AFTER your health is failing? Will they work forever or will your health eventually get to the worst level in time? And if so how much time do you buy this way?

Ditto for medicinal skill, which is what I usually select. Will my health permanently be better than otherwise or will it just slow the aging. That iis to say, in the long run, if I only care about fencing skill am I better off to take fencing skill or better off to take medicine skill?!

Will I eventually be worse at fencing if I take medicine or ahead of the game?

[Roland]

The health items and medical skill work the same way - they reduce the impact of aging by slowing your advancement through the stages of declining health. The medicinal herbs and mystic salve are retroactive - no matter when you acquire them, it will immediately become as if you always had them. The items stack with medical skill, so you can benefit from both.

Un-aided, your health will become terrible (the worst and final stage) at age 39. If you have either medical skill or the mystic salve, terrible health will be delayed until age 46. And if you have both medical skill and the mystic salve, terrible health will be delayed until age 53.

[bryce777]

Thanks!

[corsair91]

This is a more long-winded explanation of what Roland already summarised


FAQ/Strategy Guide by Sashanan
Version: 1.5 | Updated: 05/12/08
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/915017-sid-meiers-pirates/faqs/34143

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SPECIAL SKILL
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You can choose one of five special skills when you start the game. Each offers
an advantage in a specific area. You can use this to tone down the difficulty
somewhat in an area you have trouble with; for instance, if you like the
Adventurer difficulty level but find that swordfighting becomes too hard for
your taste there, you can compensate that by picking the Fencing skill. Which
skill is the best to pick depends on your playing style; they're fairly well
balanced. Your options are:

FENCING
Makes your character quicker in sword fights, both on the attack and the
defense. All moves can be pulled off quicker. This skill also appears to
improve the chance that dodging at just the right moment makes your character
counterattack automatically. This is a solid choice because you will probably
do more swordfighting than anything else. Especially on the higher levels this
might be your best bet, especially once your character's swordplay slows down
because of old age. On Swashbuckler level, I go with this one without question.

NAVIGATION
Makes your ships move quicker both on the world map and in battle, which is
especially useful when sailing against the wind. You'll find this a good
choice if you get annoyed by the long time it takes to sail from west to east,
or if you get outmaneuvered during battle a lot. Navigation skill basically
makes the game more forgiving in these areas, allowing you to focus on the
action. It is my personal favorite for most levels as I hate having to crawl
back to the east, but on Swashbuckler I cannot go without fencing skill.

GUNNERY
Lets your crew load their guns more quickly and makes the game more forgiving
in terms of accuracy. Since hitting enemies on higher levels can be tricky,
Gunnery skill can make the difference there. This one's not particularly
popular since many people prefer not to fire on enemies too much to keep their
ships intact. But don't discard it too quickly; it also makes the difference
when using different types of ammo that don't harm ships so much, and having
the ability to get off good Grape Shots can be very important on higher levels.

WIT AND CHARM
This skill makes the dancing minigame a lot more forgiving, and since most
players consider that the hardest part of the game, that is a very important
consideration. Like the dancing items, this skill gives you a set percentage
to avoid stumbling when you input an incorrect move. It does not appear to
protect you if you fail to input a move at all (which the dancing items do).
While the scope of this skill is limited, it does make a difficult but very
rewarding (in terms of items and information) minigame considerably easier. As
such, you may find Wit and Charm every bit as useful as the more direct special
skills.

Additionally, Wit and Charm has been reported to lower the minimum rank
requirements for getting invited to the ball by an attractive or beautiful
governor’s daughter (normally Colonel and Baron respectively). I haven’t been
able to confirm this yet.

MEDICINE
If you feel you don't really need any of the skills above, Medicine will prove
useful. It basically extends the health of your pirate, allowing you longer
careers before your health gets in the way of your ability to fight properly.
You'll be able to start new expeditions for longer, and hold off the ill
effects of age for longer as well. The difference is significant but not earth
shattering; expect to get about 4 more years out of your pirate.



-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
[7.5] SPECIAL ITEMS
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

This section describes the special items you can get over the course of the
game, and their effect. There are a whopping 17 categories of items, and two
in each category; the basic item and the upgraded one that has a stronger
effect along the same lines.

Items can be obtained in three ways:

- They can be bought from mysterious travellers in taverns. They offer a random
item for sale sometimes, a one time offer for a flat fee of gold. How much gold
depends on the item, the wealth rating of the town, and the difficulty level.
Prices also seem to rise over the course of the game; perhaps depending on
passage of time, but more likely depending on how many items you already have.
I've seen Ruby Rings for as little as 600 gold on Apprentice level but as much
as 3300 on Swashbuckler. Similarly, I've seen a Dutch Rutter for sale for 6000
gold on Apprentice so I dread to think how much that would cost on higher
levels.

- Items can be gotten as a bribe from fugitive criminals. When you catch a
criminal, they will often offer you an item if you allow them to escape. If you
accept this offer, you forfeit your gold reward and a chance to make the nation
that wants him happy; the criminal disappears forever. But if the reward is low
and/or the item is good, it can be a good deal. Particularly on the higher
levels, where travellers will make you pay through the nose for their items.

- Finally, items can be given as gifts by governor's daughters you have
impressed sufficiently with your dancing or with subsequent actions on return
visits. You normally get a choice between two and four different items.
However, not all items can be obtained this way. I've indicated in the item
descriptions which items can and can't be given out by governor's daughters. It
appears that if there is only one item choice left, you don't actually get it,
but you get a criminal quest instead.


Below is a list of all items in the game and their effects. I have sorted them
from most to least important in the eyes of yours truly.

...

MEDICINAL HERBS / INCAN MYSTIC SALVE
Another important set of items, these are harder to find. They increase your
health, basically ensuring that A) you don't get slower with age as quickly and
B) you can extend your career for longer. The effect of these items is
retroactive, so even if you acquire them late in your career, your health will
be boosted right back up. The Incan Mystic Salve has a stronger effect. Have
them both as well as skill at Medicine and you can extend your career as far as
age 54 (farther if you don't divide up the plunder). Have neither these items
nor the Medicine skill, and you will already be too old to start a new
expedition at age 42.


Get these items when you can; an extended career is never a bad thing, and even
if you don't need more than 24 years for your game you will still be in better
health (and thus remain faster in sword battles). I've never seen a governor's
daughter offer these, but you can get them from travellers in taverns.