Looking for advice on Pirate Ships

[MalagAste]

Since this is becoming a general info thread.

For tamers:
Many of us use a built AI/AP giant beetle since it can hold stuff. They can kill the Dread pirate but take a while alone.

Any AI/Chiv pet will kill it faster.
Those two together kill it before you can loot the ship so be careful if you are catching the pirate.

A magery mastery pet can jump to the pirate ship and kill the crew. They can also jump to beacons but not as often. They will not jump back to you. So you have to log off and on to retrieve them from a beacon.

A current spawning 2 slot nightmare makes a good AI/magery mastery pet. Please do not use a prepatch nightmare for that build

Or alternately you can recall home and back to the ship using a ship rune and your pet will recall with you and back... no logging in and out...

As I use Magery Mastery Unicorns all the time to do the Pirates and beacons.

 

[Drakelord]

I admit to getting confused as the ship turns. I solved this by dying the port cannons purple and the starboard cannons blue. Hopeless I know, but it works for me - in case anyone doesn't know, to dye a cannon you have to take the metal dye tub onboard and dye them in place. You can't dye the deeds, and the colour is lost if you re-deed the cannon.

ahh metal tub in place ok I will have to try that

 

[Drakelord]

I went out in game and attack two merchant back to back using the broadside commands, thanks you, Loading was also easy with starting one canon and working up to all three on my ship. I am going to use the dye tub trick next, thanks guys

 

[Kojak]

it's much easier to just remember that port and left both have 4 letters

 

[Naitch]

It also shows on the cannon gump at the top when you are reloading .

 

[Keven2002]

The way I remember is that Port is short... Left is short... Starboard is long Right is longer than Left... otherwise I'd never remember.

Along those lines and how I remember is P-O-R-T is L-E-F-T (they both have 4 letters).

Then just for kicks since I worked on a boat when I was in college; the bow is the front because you bow your head in front of you and the aft is the rear because it comes AFTer the rest of the boat.