Ranking the 27 ships

[corsair91]

Ranking the 27 ships

https://www.gog.com/forum/sid_meiers_pirates/me_ranking_the_27_ships

ReginaldTrust
May 06, 2020

Pinnace (War Canoe, Pinnace, Mail Runner)

These ships let you have maximum overworld movement speed, and let you force the sword fighting game in ship combat - The War Canoe and Pinnace have only (75) and (90) crew with triple hammocks, so they are not allowed to do capture and raid cities unless you have multiple ships, which slows you down (even if the follower ships are also war canoes) War Canoe and Pinnace are both extremely easy to find, although they are slightly hard to fight and capture if you aren't already using a Sloop or lower because of how easily they flee battles. - If you think of your crew as a timer, the sword fighting game is shorter with them than any other ship, but it's still long enough in most cases - As far as I can tell, Most normal ships and even the Famous pirates only have the baseline fencing AI - I think only Treasure Fleet ships and Marquis Montblan have the stronger fencing AI.


Sloop (Sloop, Sloop of War, Royal Sloop)

All Three Sloops get over 100 crew with triple hammocks, so they can capture smaller cities. They can fight very well if you weave away to dodge enemy cannonballs, but are still very good at forcing a boarding battle, which they should do on anything stronger than a Brigantine, due to them being a little tedious to kill this way.

Sloop of War has all the good qualities and is easy to get. Royal Sloop is easy to forcespawn if you read a guide or wait till you find the famous pirate with it, but the upgrade is mostly letting you carry more food and have slightly more people for city battles (which you probbably aren't focusing on anyway if you are using them)


Brig (Brigantine, Brig, Brig of War)

These are my favorite ships - If you want to Cannonball down enemies, but still have an easy ability to dodge, these are a go too ship. The Brig of War can think about capturing ANY city with Triple Hammocks, although if you seriously want to go through the entire map you will want 2 of them (this goes for the bigger ships too, generally I think 300=any city in multiple battles and about 450=any city in usually only one battle.)You can also get them quite quickly on a new savefile. A player Controlled Brig of War should win Fights against War Galleons and Frigates, but is perhaps the only ship in the game that actually wants the Round Shot (Anti-sail) upgrade, because these will usually try to forcefully board you, and Cotton-Sail upgraded ones like the plot villians will use their higher top speed to do it against you.


War Galleon (Fast Galleon, War Galleon, Flag Galleon)

The Spanish exclusive combat ships are quite strong because a player will learn to try to start combat on the Right side of ships in the overworld, which lets you use their pretty good straight line-speed under wind. They have the best availability of large ships, because even if the player doesn't pick on Spain, the spreadoutness of their territory usually gurantees that the other famous pirates and countries will, and some of them will just spawn early on specific ship missions. Finally the Plot villians will use them and respawn for a long time (until you have every piece of all the maps). If you want to capture them this way - Barmundo's War Galleon is easy to get just by fighting him, but Montblanc's Flag Galleon is quite hard - you might want to wait till you can afford ship repairs (or have free) and just tear him down to 1 Crew in ship combat first. For Map movement they can get a good top speed if you are ONLY going left - They are so common and replacable that you might even think about capturing one on the far right, going on a rampage, and then just selling it to get a War Canoe/Pinnacle on the way back - Note that while they still have a good top-speed in combat, the distance you want to move is never long enough for the slow accleration to reach it, which is the most signigant disadvantage they have compared to the Frigates (the slight crew/gun differences don't really matter)


Frigate (Frigate, Large Frigate, Ship of the Line)

The Biggest ship for the other 3 countires don't spawn as often - Most of the spawns happen for the same mission types as Brig of War, but only if the threat level is high enough - usually to the point of requiring the player to personally go berserk on their ships or even capture a couple of their cities. These ships are a little unique in basically being the only ones to make use of the Reefed Sails mechanic, but even without this are pretty easy to use. They also have a great top speed that only works when going left, but unlike the War Galleons, their accleration lets them reach it both in short (battle) distances and long (map) distances. The Ship of the Line gets all the attention, but in Player Control, any of these 3 ships can dominate basically every battle.


Barque (Coastal Barque, Barque, Oceanic Barque)

The best turning trade ships - This is good because you might want to Roleplay as them due to being a starting ship in France 1620. It's reasonably functional for a playthrough with essentially the maneuvarbility of a Brigantine + Cannon maximum / Durability of a Sloop. This isn't a big enough downgrade to really stop a human player from winning the same fights they can in a Sloop using a Barque. - As follower ships, they are semi-attractive to boost your crew/cargo numbers for capturing cities without losing too much travel speed, although Brigantines have about the same numbers for both, and you can find them anywhere instead of mostly the North East (French territory).

Only the French use Barques for "regular" trading, but All Nations will use them for specific labeled ship missions (eg Grain Transport) Spain willl sometimes use them for some Governors and Millitary Payroll ships.


Fluyt (Fluyt, Large Fluyt, West Indiaman)

The Fluyt family is also frail, but unlike the Barques, they have BAD turning and speed instead of medium. The West Indiaman technically uses the Fluyt model, but has Merchantman esque stats. - All three are found in Dutch areas. Roleplaying with the Fluyt starting ship in Dutch 1600 is NOT reccomended.


Merchantman (Merchantman,Large Merchantman, East Indiaman)

These ships have the same number of Guns as the various Sloops, but have a decent left-only top speed. They are slow to acclerate to it in Combat but can manage it on the map. Some people like them (probbably DoS Pirates! nostalgia) - but I feel like trading becomes obsoltete in 2004 Pirates! quite quickly, so I'm not a fan. You do get one as a Player Starting ship in 1600 and they have a richer history to draw on for RP than the other trade ships. They are used by BOTH English and French.


Trade Galleon (Trade Galleon, Royal Galleon, Treasure Galleon)

Most player will beat these up a lot. They have the worst turning in the game, and their map speed is awful. their good qualities are Armor and Number of Cannons, but they are too frustating to suggest to use for humans. Unlike the other Trade ships, their is no incentive to roleplay with them due to not having a Player start. You might use Treasure Galleon for 1 battle after capturing it just to see what it's armor is like. You would be crazy if you found it fun enough not to switch back.

My ratings

Best Practicably available ships (1-4)
War Canoe, Pinnacle, Sloop of War, Brig of War

Best Impractically available ships (5-7)
Mail Runner, Royal Sloop, Ship of the Line

The Easy to get big ships. (8-10)
War Galleon, Flag Galleon, Large Frigate

Ships that are fine but are so easy to upgrade past that you might not use at all. (11-15)
Sloop, Brigantine, Brig, Fast Galleon, Frigate

Bad but have some novelty use (16-18 )
Barque, Ocean Barque, Treasure Galleon

Worst Ships (19-27)
Fluyt, Large Fluyt, West Indiaman, Coastal Barque, Merchantman, Large Merchantman, East Indiaman, Trade Galleon, Royal Galleon

For Follower ships - I think the War Gelleon is actually the most functional if you just want to raise crew numbers enough to capture multiple (or all) of a country's cities. Using 2 Brigs of War would work as well.
Using Large numbers of small ships - 6 War-Canoes (etc) has always seemed silly to me.

[corsair91]

JorevSandbox
Posted May 18, 2020

I find the best ships all around are either a Royal Sloop or Brig of War for your main and combat.
East Indiaman holds most cargo while still having enough speed to not slow down your convoy so a good addition.

[corsair91]

The cool Royal Sloop and Mail Runner!
https://www.gog.com/forum/sid_meiers_pirates/the_cool_royal_sloop_and_mail_runner


KiNgBrAdLeY7KiNgBrAdLeY7
April 09, 2016


Having a small, quick, fast ship, ensures two things:

1) You evade broadsides easily.
2) You outrun enemies easily.

But at a risk, they are weak and can't take much damage. You need to take care using those, they need skill, plus wind usage and navigation intuition. With triple hammocks upgrade, they can even house more crew, so you can get better swordfight sessions, even!

Royal sloops are a good ship even for late game. They can be found as pirate hunter vessels from Spanish enemy ports, or peace-treaty/ultimatum escort from Spanish governor to other nation!

Mail Runners, is usually the boat sent from the governor to deliver ultimatum or peace proposal from NON-Spanish governors; you simply attack and capture.

Mail Runners are great, it is said to be one of the fastest, if not the fastest ship (pinnace class ships are all contenders for this title) in the game and fully upgraded, carries enough men for any fight.

Using those also make your fleet sail faster, wasting less months at sea and navigating faster this vast region, too. Both can be great even for endgame. Best combo is said to be one of those two, combined with one member of the Frigate ship class, which has many cannons and room for cargo. So if you need a good firefight, just grab a Frigate variation and keep both.

In my brand new gog playthrough of the game, near the end of my career, i have a fully upgraded Mail Runner and a fully upgraded Ship of the Line, too. Until i found them, i went through the bulk of the adventure with a fully upgraded Pinnace (which could hold 90 men, too!) and Morgan's fully upgraded Large Frigate, an excellent ship (you HAVE to capture it)! I kept save so i can try to continue the adventure as long as possible, of course.

Try those and see for yourself! Pirating is quick, easy, fast and risky, just like those two beauties in title!


by_the_swordby_the_sword
September 26, 2016


The game is too easy with a fully upgraded Royal Sloop. I have never actually used a Mail Runner, mostly because it involves betraying the nation that I am trying to help in the first place, and I can usually make more money by fighting and selling the captured privateers that go after the mail runner. But a fully upgraded pinnace or war canoe can wreak havoc on any other ship, so long as you can evade a broadside.

I won't take any ship into battle unless it has one of the maneuverability upgrades (copper plating or cotton sails). With both of those, you can make a brig dance around the largest broadsides.

[Guardacostas]

I seem to be a ship of the line virgin has i never encountered one. They're only available late game right? And the only large frigate ive found is henry morgan's flag ship. Are large frigates around late game as well?


And merchantmans in Pirates! Gold were good take as pirate ships. I've never tried them out in SMP though.

[corsair91]

Ship of the Line are rare unless you provoke a response
and a Nation tries to hunt you down with one
Lots of players have never even seen one in game.


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

Ship of the Line FAQ by Headrock
Updated: 03/03/2005
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/915017-sid-meiers-pirates/faqs/35640


https://archive.org/details/Sid_Meiers_Pirates_Prima_Official_eGuide/


Named pirates:
Henry Morgan - Large Frigate
Blackbeard - Frigate


Ship Of The Line Solved! (New Theory)
http://www.hookedonpirates.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6814

Mailman

Sid Meier's Pirates! Ship of the Line Mailman Solved! (New Theory)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3k9QNEpn_8

ALIEN DELUSION

To get an SOTL.
Escort governors and sugar plants at every opportunity to enrich target cities (non-Spanish). Attack only their treasure ships and their defenders. Do not attack merchant ships. This increases their wealth enough to afford to build SOTLs. Attacking only treasure ships is enough to cause their cities to send out warships. This map has had most settlements changed to English with the PH trainer but this strategy works without a trainer albeit with far less warships. It also helps to minimize pirate attacks on those cities either by sinking pirates or using the trainer to convert their bases to settlements. Note: There must be at least one pirate base somewhere on the map.


-------------------------

Sid Meier's Pirates! Rarest Ship in the Game!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y36esmVzLp4

mattzx77
14 Oct 2008

Woot I finally found the Rarest ship in the game, the Ship of the Line! Anyways it needs to be upgraded but will be the prize O' me Fleet!


-------------------------


Sid Meier's Pirates! Getting the 6th Ship of the Line (Swashbuckler) HD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rfm2HF6364

Thrym865


A French Ship of the Line spawned from Tortuga.

January 1689: Captured an English Ship of the Line near Montserrat
'Atlantica'

August 1698: Captured an English Ship of the Line near Margarita
'Night Swallow' sailing from St. Kitts (English) to Margarita (English)
I had previously sacked the Spanish town of Margarita and installed an English governor.

July 1700: Captured an English Ship of the Line near Nevis
'Distinguished' sailing from Antigua (English) to Nevis (English)
I was already near Nevis, when I spotted it. It's very hard to catch it, due to the short journey it travels. I reached combat range a fraction of a second before it would have disappeared.

August 1702: Captured a French Ship of the Line near Léogâne
'Courageouse'
I had previously sacked the French town of Léogâne (captured by Spanish invasion) and installed a French governor.

December 1703: Captured an English Ship of the Line near Curacao
'Liberty' sailing from Maracaibo (Wealthy English Capital)
I had previously sacked the Spanish town of Maracaibo and installed an English governor.

February 1708: Captured a French Ship of the Line near Tortuga
'Bucentaure' sailing from Tortuga (Wealthy French Capital) to Louisville (French settlement near Léogâne). As a consequence of the loss of a Ship of the Line, Tortuga went down from being a Wealthy Capital to being a Prosperous Capital.


Thrym865
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaq95Lig6eSwbcBHqfOSCtw

[JakeTheScot1]

My ship of choice has always been the Brig of War.

[Pirate]

I’ll go with the party pontoon boat with all the ladies in bikinis laid out on top and the decks . Built in beer coolers adds a ice touch. Skip the canons and go with AK-47’s and rocket launchers.

[corsair91]

prefer phaser/disrupters, quantum or photon torpedo launchers
and plasma rifles in the 40 watt range myself
with 24 pounder cannon & 32-pounder carronade
if you must use the old smoke poles

Otto Melari 75mm quick fire gun as fitted on the front of most
corvette/frigates/destroyers now covers most requirements
and the suitably rapid application of destructive firepower.
A few (Gatling) mini-guns and hellfire antitank tank missiles as well to
round things out.

Sundeck with heated Pool and tanning lounge!
for the tourists optional extra




with a minor diversion into the Final Frontier
& modern day weapons

[Roland]

I like the mail runner. It's fast and maneuverable, but it also carries enough crew for most purposes. You can drag around an extra vessel or two for trading or going after Monty in his lair.

[Guardacostas]

I prefer the brigatine, small and manueverable but can still pack a punch on larger ships. Preferable a captured pirate brigatine with a cool pirate name

[Pirate]

You can name any ship in your fleet to any cool name you like. You don’t have to keep the name the same as it’s starting name or the name it was known by before you captured it. The name you use doesn’t have to be listed in the ships_enu either and your ship will be truly unique as the computer generated names must follow the list. You can rename the ships in the list to for new scenery. The top ten pirates you can control what name their ship is as well as they are assigned specifically from certain slots in the pirates warship section. I made a template for that once and Captain Teague made a mod with it but it’s no longer downloadable. Broken Link. My template is buried someplace in the mod forums and would take some digging to find.

[corsair91]

kbob
did expand the ship names back in the day


Ship Names
A replacement for shipnames_enu.txt

http://www.hookedonpirates.com/guide/kbob/files/text/shipnames_enu.txt

(Right Click - Save As)


Kbob shipnames_enu.txt Release Thread

Ship name thought, idea, etc.
http://www.hookedonpirates.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3378

[corsair91]

Pirate's Template Posts Links


More Ship Names
http://www.hookedonpirates.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6717

Pirate's - Pirate Ship Shipnames Template post
http://www.hookedonpirates.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=90865#90865

Pirate's - all Pirate ship names
http://www.hookedonpirates.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=90868#90868



Pirate - Keeping it Historical Info
http://www.hookedonpirates.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6765



piratenames_eng.txt?
http://www.hookedonpirates.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6754

Pirate's template post
http://www.hookedonpirates.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=90904#90904

-----------------------

If I missed any threads, perform a Forum Search here
say on

keyword Content:
shipnames_enu.txt

Author:
pirate

Search link
http://www.hookedonpirates.com/forums/search.php

See what that brings up

[Guardacostas]

[Pirate]

Well you wouldn’t have to be creative to rename ships. There are plenty of names out there already. There are ship name generators and everything else. Merchant ships you can use names like Knot your Mama, Wet Dream. English warships you can use names like HMS Princess Diana. Pirate ships like Devils Maw, Ghost Fire, Sweet Cocaine which was the name of the Harley that belongs to the former leader of the Hell’s Angeles that recently passed away. It’s easy and it’s fun and it makes it exciting seeing all those new names you used. Probably one of the easiest ways to get started modding as it’s a open with notepad and renaming ships the saving then drop in customs or assets that’s about it.