Wit and Charm

Salty Dog · Sailing Master Posts: 10054 **191991 Gold** -

I recently finished a game where I chose Wit and Charm per Roland's recommendation. I finished the game at age 31 using a war canoe but since I was at the Adventurer level I only had 122 points. I just could not justify spending a lot more time chasing 4 wealth points.

So, it sped the game up quite a bit like chasing Navigation. It is at least as good as Navigation and maybe better. So, I will certainly give Wit and Charm a "thumbs up" rating.. It is a good choice as is Navigation for your special skill. I do not think Fencing or Medicine will speed up the game and cannot recommend them.

corsair91 · Sailing Master Posts: 8211 **222474 Gold** -

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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[3] CHARACTER CREATION
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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
governorâ€™s daughter (normally Colonel and Baron respectively). I havenâ€™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.

Salty Dog · Sailing Master Posts: 10054 **191991 Gold** -

I was automatically allowed to dance with attractive girls as a Major and with the Beautues as an Admiral. One time I danced with a Beauty as a Colonel.

Guardacostas · Rigger Posts: 1043 **11231 Gold** -

I think you were the one salty dog to say dancing never became a skill of yours? I'm playing wit and charm skill on journeyman level and all the dance moves are highlighted in the right corner of the screen with the numbers pad.

And for other readers of this post you will get many more "Enemy sailors were impressed with your courage, XXX sailors are looking to join your crew" The old Pirates gold way of recruiting extra crew at sea. Cool

Just don't expect it to be over 50 though. This of course happening after a successful naval conflict.

Salty Dog · Sailing Master Posts: 10054 **191991 Gold** -

No, I'm a pretty good dancer, usually get the "dip" from all girls. I'm not in Gun Pierson's league though!

Roland is our terpestcally challenged member, he needs some help. He is our best navigator though. He can find he way overland by looking at dead trees and geysers and can find treasures and lost cities better than anyone else.

Salty Dog · Sailing Master Posts: 10054 **191991 Gold** -

I am now a believer of using Wit and Charm! Especially after Bryce777 told me how to knock off Montalbahn early in the game by finding his hideout early and then dividing the plunder and starting over with a large crew. It works like a charm and gets you by the big hurdle in this game. Also, marry a beauty as early as possible. I played four games back in February and March. I've been playing a lot of Age of Empires III lately but may fire up SMP again soon.,

Salty Dog · Sailing Master Posts: 10054 **191991 Gold** -

Just started another game. 1660 French, Wit and Charm, Adventurer level. Home port was Monserrat and a Sloop.

Guardacostas · Rigger Posts: 1043 **11231 Gold** -

I'm not having much love for wit and charm, I'm going back to medicine. Maybe it's me loving excorting refugees or new governors or my OCD of knocking up every town in a specific region vs criss crossing the map that makes my game progress so slow. I need the extra time from the medicine talent.

I tried navigation a few months ago, didn't see much in faster sailing. Have you?

Salty Dog · Sailing Master Posts: 10054 **191991 Gold** -

yes, it speeds up the sailing. Use a small boat and Navigation and you cut two years off the game and can retire early 30's.

Salty Dog · Sailing Master Posts: 10054 **191991 Gold** -

Finished my latest game. Played 1660, French Adventurer, Wit and Charm.
Started with a Sloop out of Monserrat, captured a Pinnace pretty quickly. France was at war with Spain and England had a Peace Treaty with Spain so I attached English and Spanish ships a the start. Started getting promoted by France and the Dutch, who were also at war with Spain.

Pretty soon I spotted an Indian War Canoe and captured it for my flagship. Started attacking the unnamed Pirates and became friends with everyone. I balanced my attacks, mostly going after Raymondo and found my lost Sister after about two years. Knocked off Montalbahn no problem but no landmarks on the map he gave me. Started after finding my Lost Uncle and got promoted to Colonel quickly with the French.

Luckily, there were a bunch of French Beautiful Daughters and I danced well enough with them that very soon I was tipped off to Montalbahn's whereabouts two more times and beat him at sea two more times. that gave me three pieces to his Hideout and I was able to find it near Villa Hermosa. So, I divided the plunder and then started recuiting a large army. It took a while but I got 345 men by going past Havanna. By the time I got back to Villa Hermosa, they were mutiny-ing but I landed my ship and searched for his hideout. It took a little while and the whole time they were trying to mutiny but I did find him and attacked his Hideout with 345 men - the most I've ever had attacking him. Obviously, it was easy to beat the Indian Mercenaries with that large army. I had no problem beating Monty at his hideout.

So, the strategy of using Wit and Charm and dividing the plunder soon as you know where Monty's hideout is worked to perfection!

After that I casually went after Raymondo and since I did not have to worry about achieving immortality to attack Monty's hideout, I started knocking off the named pirates. I spaced this out to achieve promotions from all countries. I would get a named pirate and maybe a couple of un-named pirates and some Indian War Canoes and that would earn me promotions from all the countries. I kept doing this throughout the game.

I ended up marrying the beautiful Dutch girl from Villa Hermosa. I forgot to say I was playing fleetp's modded SMP game that plays without a CD in the drive and has a bunch more Dutch cities as well as Coro in all ages.
I finally got the rank of Duke from the Spanish and all other countries and rescued my Grandfather, I also found all four Lost Cities by dancing and giving rings to the Beautiful Daughters. When possible I would sail over to pick up the treasures.

I retired at age 31 in Fair Health but I did not spend the time to find the last three treasures and I did not have a lot or land or gold since I did not attack the Spanish all that much and I was only an Adventurer, not Rouge or Swashbuckler.

I had fun and it was a pretty snappy game zipping around in my hot rod war canoe not worried about getting 126 points,. I finished with 117 points as a Governor. I consider this a success and lots of fun! Hey, I still had at least Fair Healthy and had fun with lots of girls! I am still so grateful to whoever made the topless mod for the Beautiful Daughters! It makes the game so much more enjoyable!

Guardacostas · Rigger Posts: 1043 **11231 Gold** -

Yes, you can't underestimate going after unnamed pirates and being promoted by all nations. Or go in a pirate hideout, ask them to plunder said city, and than capture the raiding party as soon as they're on the map.

And of course for much gold let named pirates plunder for a good ten years, got 30,000 from Henry Morgan got 20,000 from black beard.

I like my big ships and large crew though, so sailing is slow for me and attacking countries that i have a good relationship with is sometimes a necessity to get more gold to keep my crew happy

Pirate · Helmsman Posts: 5665 **112704 Gold** -

I play mine drunk and aggressive ðŸ¤£

Salty Dog · Sailing Master Posts: 10054 **191991 Gold** -

Salty Dog · Sailing Master Posts: 10054 **191991 Gold** -

The next game I play I will use fleetp's game version and play as Dutch. It really opens the game up with the extra Dutch cities in his game, especially Villa Hermosa and Santiago. It makes the Dutch almost as big as the Spanish. Should be fun!

fleetp · Boatswain Posts: 3860 **37246 Gold** -

I hope I can start playing Pirates again in September.