tips for sailing in solo play?

[BaronWilhelm]

having a hard time figuring it out, it seems at least like it has a lot to do with random wind gusts. can you craft oars?

[Marquez]

You're stuck sailing with random wind, the closest thing you get to rowing is sailing backwards using the rudder as an oar. Some bigger/better boats sail better against the wind but either way your best bet is sailing with the direction of the wind since you want to sail across the ocean quick.

[Yomommassis]

only one person can drive the ship anyways

you can always use 1 speed, you are rowing at that point
you can only use speed 2/speed 3 if you are not going directly into the wind

the wind changes direction so youll have to take that into account, the minimap has an arrow showing wind direction as well as when driving it shows another wind direction indicator

when sailing keep track of your wind and surroundings just in case a serpent shows up, youll want a tail wind and a straight shot to safety

[LordOfTheBread]

Beat 4th boss, profit.

More serously, press W once to use manual speed which allows you to go forward even with the wind in your face, use the 2 other speeds (W again 2 times) to use the sails.

It is notr complicated once you get the hang of it and very satisfying, especially with the later boats.

[R.J.Travis]

Originally posted by BaronWilhelm:

having a hard time figuring it out, it seems at least like it has a lot to do with random wind gusts. can you craft oars?

All boats have 3 speeds forward. first gear is self powered paddling you use this with no wind.

2nd gear is half speed useful when going thru rocky shores and of 3rd gear max speed. gears 2&3 must have wind but gear one uses no wind.

[queen's gambit]

The minimap & map show a difference between the coastal seas and "ocean" biome.

You already know about the wind and weather.

The only things I would add are don't sail too close to "plains" and from from what I've seen, at least on my current seed, "black forest" tends to have rocky shores, also -coastal areas with the cattails(water plants) usually make a nice harbor for smaller boats and sometimes the longship too.

Try to make any long term settlement close to shore; it makes things easier later on.

Last but not least - always reduce to rowing speed when the coast is near and in a fog, unless you know exactly where you're headed. The rocks can be just as bad as a serpent or 'squito if you ram them hard enough.

[Shifterplay]

I had some troubles at the beginning but now I love sailing mechanic in this game, it feels great.
Basics: 1UP to row, 2UP while on rivers, 3UP for full speed and running from the sea monster. 1DOWN, to break and slowly back out.

The gap in the circle is where wind works against you so keep highlighted wind icon in the golden part of the ring. Also there is no point having full sails when wind blows in your face, so switch to row or tack left and right to keep your wind buff.

When wind blows directly in your back, it's where you have top sailing speed. When wind icon is on the left or right but still highlighted, you are fast but visibly slower from your top speed.

You can set the sail and move around the boat freely.

When you need to get to emergency stop, just set sailing mode to neutral and jump out of the boat. Its much faster than breaking. (it will stop regardless if you have set sails or not)

Don't expect much from the raft. It's slow and unresponsive but it will get you to your destination - eventually.

If you want to turn around in tight spaces, just set row mode and use full turn. You won't move forward or backward. Mostly use full turn only when you want to turn around - most of the time you only need small corrections with your steering wheel.

I guess that's all from the basics.
Hope you find those useful, cheers!

[BaronWilhelm]

Thanks guys, this has been informative

[MAMKO]

Originally posted by BaronWilhelm:

having a hard time figuring it out, it seems at least like it has a lot to do with random wind gusts. can you craft oars?

learn tacking