How many Sailors should i assign my ships? AI ships losing fast?

[Frad]

1. If im trading only i recruit only 5 above needed limit but im not sure how much i should have if im planning to get in fights?
2 If my AI ships get defeated they get destroyed if im not mistaken or?
3 I got in a fight with 3 enemy ships my ai ones capitulated very fast im doing something wrong ,they have needed sailors and no captain.
4 Should i salvage ships or capture.

[CluelessWonder8]

Actually, one strategy to minimize losses in battle is to keep your AI ships at minimum crew.
The AI is pretty dumb after all, even with an assigned captain with decently high leadership.

The reason for this is: if the ship is lost due to lack of crew, it stops taking damage and can be just re-attached to your fleet after the battle. If you lose a ship due to lack of hull, on the other hand, it's gone.

Your flagship should probably be at max crew at all times, however, as if that goes it's reload time (game over). If you've a boarding type ship, a galeass or an attakebune, say, those should also be at max crew. Helps to give those ships Boarding type captains with high leadership.


Capture only works if you are or have recruited Abdullah or recruited Blackbeard (& only on small/med ships), and gotten that ship down to no crew. I think you probably also need an open spot in your fleet. Though, you've probably done that to be asking about it.

So. If you're Yoshitaka, then, you probably should be salvaging since you're likely looking for specific ship parts, and outside of (heavy) Investing in ports with Ship Materials shops and lucky trades at sea, salvage is the only way to get certain parts.

If you're not Yoshitaka, then you should consider what your situation is vs the ship available. If you're fleet wasn't full, then any extra ship could be a good thing, and even if it's one you don't care about, you can just sell it at a shipyard later. If your fleet was full, then by choosing a new one from the enemy, you'll lose some of the cargo you had before (lost with your old ship, no you don't get to choose which cargo), your cargo capacity will probably change (% ratio as well), etc. If the new ship is a lot better than the old, it's probably worth it. If not, salvage may be the better option, and so forth.