[Ramidel]

Originally posted by Mongi @ Jan 11 2006, 11:30 AM

Uh.... Rapier actually has the longest strike-distance.... I actually prefer it!

The rapier has the longest distance, yes, but as mentioned above it's the weakest. And you want to knock your opponent down and out -quickly- in a fight, particularly if you play like I do and pit pinnaces against pirate-hunter galleons (don't laugh, pinnaces are my fave ship for most everything except hauling cargo). If you fight with a rapier, you get knocked down to the last man too quickly, and then one hit finishes you. The rapier is a joke in my mind for this reason.

Okay, I take that back. There's one use for a rapier, and that's if you have the enemy significantly outnumbered and are reducing an oversized crew before dividing plunder. Then, get the momentum, play defensive with the rapier, and degenerate your foe to one man. (Beware! The rapier cannot quickly recapture lost morale, so any damage you take when using a rapier is harder to reclaim.)

I normally use the cutlass because of the speed of battle, which translates to fewer losses. Slash, slash, slash, and any opponent that isn't the creme de la creme is on the run.

Now, if I guess that the opponent is a very strong one but I'm not grossly outnumbered, I'll use the longsword. Reason being, my opponent might use the cutlass. The paper-rock-scissors, in theory, is Rapier>Longsword>Cutlass>Rapier. -But-, the AI is worse than the player, so the most dangerous threat to the player is a cutlass-to-cutlass high-speed duel which the player could lose to a single early miscalculation and a failure to disengage. Longsword, however, can control the cutlass and bring down the opponent given enough time, and if you're not grossly outnumbered you have that time. If you face a rapier or longsword, pretend you're using a weaker cutlass.

Meanwhile, if you're badly outnumbered and facing a strong opponent...no, you're not stupid, but you're taking a gamble. Congratulations, you've gotten into the spirit of Pirates! In this case, back to the cutlass. If he takes a cutlass, you fight a speed-cutlass duel, you take your chances, and you seize that galleon with few losses...or you get your behind handed to you in a light wine sauce. If he's using a rapier, you've won already, if he's using a longsword, you've probably won.

(This strategy is alluded to in the Memoirs of Cap'n Sydney, but the reasoning behind it isn't explicitly mentioned like it is here.)

As to the comment on health dropping: No, you do not get wounds just by taking hits, you take wounds by losing battles or getting sunk.