What is Privateering?

While the term "Privateer" was first documented in the 17th century, officially sanctioned Pirates have been around for centuries. Privateering allows a Pirate to become an agent of a government and become a "legitimate Pirate," if you will. Pirates are issued a "private license" by the government they side with, which grants the holder rights to attack the enemies of that government.

Privateering, or Ship PVP, is where you can engage in ship battles with other players. To participate, you need to launch your ship from Ile D'Etable De Porc to side with the French or Isla De la Avaricia to side with the Spanish. There can be up to six ships per team.

When you first arrive on your ships, you are given a period of immunity. This is indicated by a shimmering field around your ship. Until it goes away, you can neither harm or be harmed. You also will never be able to harm ships on your own team.

French (Pierre le Porc)

Pierre le Porc is a French Pirate "Lord" and rules over Ile D'Etable De Porc. le Porc prefers to refer to himself as a "refined gentleman of acquisition" - with his focus constantly on acquiring more territory, more gold, and more men to take up arms against his rival Garcia de Avaricia. The French team has red, white, and blue striped sails. You can only leave the game by docking at Ile D'Etable De Porc.

Spanish (Garcia de Avaricia)

Garcia de Avaricia is a Spanish Pirate and the self-proclaimed "Lord" of Isla De La Avaricia. Avaricia spends the majority of his day plotting the demise of his rival Pierre le Porc. In between swigs of rum, he counts his fortune while recruiting Pirates to his cause. The Spanish team has yellow and red sails. You can only leave the game by docking at Isla De la Avaricia.

Privateering Basics

The first order of business is to get to one of the privateer islands. You can choose from either Ile D'Etable De Porc (French) or Isla De La Avaricia (Spanish). Bear in mind that once you have a ship, you can always teleport to those islands. Sailing out to these islands can be somewhat dangerous given the tendency of Jolly's army to haunt that area.

Feel free to talk to the inhabitants on the islands, some of them give you useful hints and tips about Privateering, while others will sell you valuable ammo and items you'll need for ship combat. You can even take quests to defeat other players in ship combat.

It is recommended that you gather a crew before going to sea. Having other people on board allows the captain to concentrate on maneuvering and broadsides. This gives your ship a powerful punch with special ammunition that only talented cannoneers can use. Moreover, having more Pirates on board allows you to repair your ship faster, which will come in handy -- trust us on this one mate.

At any time, you can press "~" in order to see how many ships are currently Privateering, as well as, their score and bounty. (See Bounty and Scoring) Chances are you'll want to find an ocean with a lot of Pirates already playing in it as it'll make for a more exciting and challenging battle. Keep in mind, you will not be able to launch Privateering for the French or Spanish side if either team already has more ships at sea and is too powerful.

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| |Game Tip: You can always teleport to either island and join that team if you have no loyalty to either Pierre le Porc or Garcia de Avaricia. |}

Launching and Crews

Playing as a Privateer is as simple as launching your boat from one of the Privateer islands. You'll be on the same team as everyone else that launches from that island. You'll also notice your boat is already facing the enemy's island. When launching, you'll have a protective field around your ship. However, be aware that after a few minutes or when you sail away from your island you'll lose this protective field. If there are enemies nearby, it's best to chase them off before you lose the protective field.

Once you have several ships on your team, you might find that it is advantageous to sail in fleets, privateering teamwork is extremely powerful

You can also set "Looking for Crew" in the Lookout panel at any time (Press the 'L' key to toggle the Lookout Panel). This will help fill missing spots on your deck if you're looking for help.

You should know that you will not get rewards for sinking Navy or EITC ships, but that doesn't mean that you can't hide behind them. They aren't looking for trouble with privateers … so they won't attack you without good reason (generally the "good reason" being that you shot them first).

Bounty and Scoring

You might notice as you sink enemies -- or they sink you -- that two things happen: first, you'll receive some salvage for sinking an enemy, depending on how much damage you do. This will be used to repair the boat over time. Next, you'll gain some gold for sinking them, based on how many enemies they have defeated … and your bounty will go up. Keep an eye out for ships with high bounty … most likely they are dangerous, but moreover, rewarding targets for the brave. (To see bounty, press the "~" key to view the scoreboard.)) When a ship is sunk, the bounty is divided amongst the team.

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| |Game Tip: Use the rocks for cover. They'll block enemy cannon fire as long as you're behind them. |}

Inflicting Damage

You may notice that using a strong cannon will only deal a small amount of damage this is because of Ship PvP's Inner/Outer hull. The Outer hull is strong hitting it with cannons will do little damage however this hull is a protective layer or "Shield" and once down is when you hit the hardest. The Inner hull is the weak point once you brake the outer hull sinking the ship is easy just aim for the broken areas. If you hit the inner hull your cannons will do Maximum Damage to the ship. Do not worry if your strongest cannons do little damage to the opposing ship this is most likely because you are hitting the outer hull as soon as you break through though you cannons will do maximum damage.

Sinking

If at anytime the HP bar on your ship goes all the way down, your ship will sink. However while in PvP mode if an opposing player sinks you, you will see the sinking cut-scene then you will simply re-spawn at you home island. No grogginess, No need to pay for repairs of ships and there is no downside to sinking except that you got beat. When you sink after re-spawning, you will be given 30 seconds to get to the helm and back to the cannons until other ships can attack you.

Sinking another Ship

If you manage to sink another ship you will get very little money, if the ship just sunk or if it just set sail. The more ships the other ship has sunk, the higher the bounty you will receive. That's all you will receive. NO reputation and NO cargo. You will also get a green message saying The (Insert side) sank the (insert side).

Repair

Now, with sea battles being what they are, they will most likely be leaving your ship wanting for repairs. You can dock to repair … but you'll lose the score you've racked up. Better to just repair at sea, you'll see stacks of wood around your deck showing where to repair once you've taken damage. If you're captaining the ship, you'll have to get off the wheel to repair. Remember, the more hands repairing the ship, the faster it'll go!

You can repair your ship without having to go to the Shipwright. You first have to get off the wheel of the ship. Then anyone onboard can go to a "hole" on the deck of the ship. Press Shift, and your pirate will begin to hammer away on the deck and slowly repair the ship. The more people that help the faster it will go. You can stop repairing by pressing the ESC key. Your pirate will also cease repairing if the ship is fully repaired or a pirate takes the wheel.

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| |Game Tip: Be very careful to watch for enemy ships while repairing your ship! |} Sometimes your friends will need to restock on ammo or supplies. Easily done … they can teleport off the ship (though the captain cannot) to pick up more stock, and come right back.

And, of course Pierre and Garcia, gracious as they are, will cover your basic expenses. If you sink while fighting for their cause, you'll immediately be repaired and respawned back at their island. They'll get you back into the fight as quickly as possible.

Now, when it comes time, you'll want to leave Privateering to take a break, play cards, or embark on Quests. You cannot drop anchor unless you haven't taken damage recently … so if you're under fire, lose the enemy first and then make for port. Also, if you land at the Privateer islands … you won't be able launch your ship until you've teleported back to a neutral island -- you can do this using the "Return" button on your Map (press the 'M' key) … or by clicking on an island you can teleport to, like Port Royal or Tortuga.

Docking

You may dock at any island as long as you are not under attack if another ship is attacking you you cannot dock until either they sink or you are not attacked for about 30 seconds.

Related Quests

Tattoo Quest: Getting your Feet Wet (Spanish)

Tattoo Quest: Getting your Feet Wet (French)

Good luck and good hunting!

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