Random tips for a good time (Blackwake for dummies)

[Tame]

1. Don't join a small ship if the large ship already doesn't have much crew (<3-4). You will die unnecessarily, since it is a smaller vessel, and requires a faster pace of play.
2. Do NOT captain a ship if you don't know how to crew. You won't learn that way, and everyone will have a bad time.
3. Load/repair as far away from the walls as possible. That way you won't be killed by a single cannon shot.
4. Fire hurts. Fire bad. Fire is fire... It gets put out by water. Either get someone to throw a bucket on you, or jump in the water. Don't stand there like you're the Human Torch.
5. On that note, Fireshot is extremely useful against new players. Make sure the ship's single heater box is loaded (3 shots max), and keep rotating them ASAP. Max range: 500m
6. Most Elite players don't want to be your daddy/sensei. Don't join them unless you intend on complying with orders, or at least are willing to try.
7. NO captain wants you to fire swivels if cannons are sitting there empty.
8. No, you can't shoot your musket like a .50 BMG, so stop trying to get a clip.
9. Don't stack onto a single vessel if your opponent isn't doing the same. The more crew is on a ship, the slower Repair/Reload is. The ONLY advantage to stacking is for a grapple, by having superior numbers.
10. Bots DO NOT obey Captain commands (Port, starboard, repair, etc.). They will prioritise whatever is most important, provided you have them in neutral position (i.e. in middle of ship, not on a cannon). You can move a bot every 7-8 seconds, and they will move to the task that is in priority (HOLES>PUMP>RELOAD>FIRE CANNON; in that order). Similarly, when a bot fires a cannon, they will automatically return to neutral position.
11. Bots will fire automatically at 90 degrees. If bots aren't firing, you're not aiming.
12. Cutting sails down to Medium or Slow will make ships turn faster/sharper. Having the ship slowed also increases cannon accuracy/hit rate, but makes you also a vulnerable target.
13. If you want to have a temporary crosshair, hold TAB and it brings up your mouse pointer at the dead center of the screen.
14. Every 5 minutes, you can change teams/ships without incurring a death. Use this allotment for when you fall off the ship, or get stranded somewhere to return to your team.
15. You do not need to go side-to-side with an enemy vessel, trading an eye for an eye. Han shot first, so you should too.

[[IFYM] Archie.exe]

Slight clarification on 11:
Bots are unable to rotate cannons, this means your lineup has to be pretty much spot on for them to fire as they will fire straight forwards ONLY.

[Agent Orange]

I don´t think any swabbies will read this, but good job anyway. The game can be very frustrating when ruined by swabbies but also very good fun when you have a smart crew. Experience depends on others in this game which is its biggest downside, you cannot really do much if the captain is clueless or if you are the captain and nobody uses the cannons. On the other hand, this game offers great teamplay and much more gameplay depth than it appears to have on the surface, if you have an actual team.

[Tame]

Originally posted by Agent Orange:

I don´t think any swabbies will read this

I'm happy if even one reads it.