We're getting close to release and the alpha is getting many of the final features, so I think it's good to start talking some strategy

When I was running around by myself, someone snuck on my boat, shot me, which pushed me off into the water, then they made off with my ship. I got the merperson to get back on, and when I got back, there was no sign of them and all 3 chests were still there. I was mostly confused.


So if you manage to take a boat by yourself, what's the best course of action to benefit you the most?

You probably have 30 seconds before they spawn back on their ship, so....

I think it depends on all the variables... if your ship is close, throwing chests overboard would work best.
But if you boarded it yourself and your crew is far away, then what? Maybe set max sail on the ship, grab the most expensive chest and jump and wait for your crew? Without being able to transport chests through the merpeople, makes it more difficult.

Just wanted to start a discussion for best plunder strategy

So one thing to make sure we're all aware of is the spawning mechanic. I believe it's been tweaked slightly from previous sessions. Before when your ship had been sunk and you died, you'd eventually spawn on a different nearby island with a new ship.

Now, when your ship is sunk, the mermaid appears to take you to a new ship. No one will spawn at that ship until you "claim" it by taking the mermaid. Until then you and your crew will continue to spawn near where your ship went down. this can be helpful in getting in retaliatory strikes or harassing the enemies trying to make off with your loot. However, once one person takes the mermaid, that new ship becomes the respawn point for everyone.

If you are in the middle of the ocean, make sure whoever fetches the new ship takes a bearing on nearby landmarks so they can sail the new ship back to where you sank to get your remaining crew or loot.

Now to Brick's question, which is unfortunately pretty situational. I'm operating under the assumption that if you're with a crew they can get to you after one spawn cycle and start helping on the second. I would offer these thoughts to build strats around:

Small ship vs Small ship - The small ship is incredibly hard to sink, so I don't think that running it aground gains you anything. I would do a quick inventory of their treasure and make a decision based on that. If they only have a single good item I would say grab that and bail. If they have many good items, start chucking them overboard and make sure you're up by the wheel when they respawn. This will give you the high ground and some cover from their shooting. If you can kill them again this will give you time to get their sails down and get the ship (and their respawn point) away from you so you can gather the loot.

Small ship vs Large Ship - Grab what you can carry and try to get out unseen. There's just no way to know how long you'll be alone, or whether one or more of them is on spawn or on the island. If they discover that you're around their next step will be to find your ship which will put you into the losing end of the next scenario...

Large ship vs Small ship - You go into this fight guaranteed to have superior numbers. Get aboard, drop the anchor, and get your crew to you ASAP. Assign one person to shuttle loot, one person to defend your ship, and two to keep the enemies at bay. Steal everything. Sinking the ship guarantees that the loot won't get away, but this can deteriorate into a stalemate of sorts as their only play is to board your ship and cause trouble, plus you won't be entirely sure where in the water they're spawning. I recommend the so-called "loot and scoot"

Large Ship vs Large Ship - If you try to sail away you won't get far. I think the best play is to run their ship aground to give them something else to worry about besides just you while your crew catches up. If their anchor is down, this isn't viable. At this point throw the first thing you find overboard just so you get something for the trouble, and then hide the best you can until your crew can help. once the enemy gets distracted by the rest of your crew, it's much easier to get the TPK, then your whole crew can help hold the ship.

If you don't want to sink the captured ship, I would suggest stealing as many of the supplies as you can. You can fire cannons off to burn some (make sure that when you leave all the cannons are unloaded). And you can eat bananas to steal even more. This way, if you fight them later they may run out of supplies.