Burning question regarding ship holes. Please help.

@daringclarky said in Burning question regarding ship holes. Please help.:

Hey guys.

I have a question regarding ship holes.

How many is too many to handle solo?

On a sloop its no big deal but when sailing the brigantine there is a number where the ship is unsavable after a certain number of holes.

I feel as though i need to know what this number is. So I can mentally count my hits and use that to save my ship in future encounters.

Does anybody know this magic number?

It's impossible to be so scientific, as a lover of sciences AND art...this game is definitely an ARTFORM.

You have to just "feel" it...and know it.

For instance, you can't even know if a hit lands on the same hole making it tier 2 to tier 3...You have to see it.

The best bet is you are CONSTANTLY moving your character below decks to check things...and in doing so you are CONSTANTLY knowing your damage report.

If you have crew members, I often assign someone to damage report, and they go around checking all rigging/topdeck and they look for a hole.

Nothing is worse than not knowing your mast had one plank on it and a cannonball takes it down.

One way to get used to "WHEN TO REPAIR" is to sail in a storm for hours on end, such as storm fishing.

You can solo a brigantine and usually you have time enough for ONE storm fish before you need to repair 2 holes broken by the storm.

This gives you a "GOOD FEEL" for what your ship can take before needing repairs.

In battle, it's best to repair right after you exit the critical window of cannonfire...but as captain of a ship I often tell when to repair because I might need something more important like a sail raised/lowered in order to avoid a boarder or get into another fire position.

Then as I position, they repair.

It's all based on Feel, as soon as I take the first hit, the mental clock is running....and it is 2nd priority only to a few first priorities mentioned above.

@daringclarky

The thing is it's not only about the number of holes, but their severity as well!
As you know, there are 3 levels of holes and each level takes longer to fix and also lets more water in. If the same spot is hit twice, it's usually a level 3 hole.

I'd say that at 4-5 lvl 3 holes you'll have to fix your ship immediately or else you're gonna have a hard time. Another suggestion is to listen for the 'creaking' a ship makes when the water level is getting too high, it's a great sound que to know you're about to sink.