Duel - 1720 - August 1720 - A Duel with the Pirate Captain Padrino

Ships in Action:
ALLIES:

-Captain Fletcher - Cerberus Mastercraft Frigate

-Captain Kyle - HMS Aquila (Defiant Sleek Frigate)

-3 or 4 other British captains

ENEMIES:

-The pirate captain Padrino - captured Tigre Frigate

Action Setup:
In the run up to this battle, Captain Fletcher and I had been hunting with a number of other British captains for pirates and other hostiles in the area of contention surrounding Matthew Town, in the Antilles. We had had a number of successful, if lopsided, engagements with lone smugglers and various rabble-rousing enemy nationals. It was in the midst of our patrols that we came upon a particularly cantankerous pirate by the name of Padrino (or something to that effect). He sailed out of Matthew Town like a bat out of Hell itself, with a Tigre Frigate under his feet that looked like it had just come under his possession through decidedly violent means. Our squadron dutifully engaged the dastardly fellow, but we soon heard him bellow from his ship that we had done him a wrong turn by engaging him with such overwhelming force. He insisted one of our number step forward and fight him in a fair contest. Hearing this, I immediately volunteered my ship and my crew for the honor of dispatching him in ship-to-ship combat, and thankfully my request was granted by the other captains in attendance, including my superior Lord Fletcher.

As my fleet observed from a safe distance, I made full sail towards the wicked pirate.

The Action Itself:
It didn't take very long for the Aquila and Padrino's Tigre to close distance with each other, and we soon found ourselves exchanging murderous broadsides hull-to-hull. Padrino's Tigre slightly outmatched me in almost every respect, but my Aquila had a good deal more sail than his Tigre, and a substantially larger crew as well. The most important advantage the Aquila had over Padrino's pirate Tigre, however, was that it was a fighting ship in His Majesty's Royal Navy, and as such had a crew of good, strong English sailors aboard. His crew, in contrast, consisted of a motley assortment of ruffians and thieves - pretty standard fare for a pirate vessel. This, in the end, proved to be the decisive factor in the contest. Time and again our ships traded broadsides with each other in close combat, but it was my ship, and my crew, which always managed to reload the guns faster, aim them better, and hit with more devastating results than Padrino's band of cutthroats and bandits.

The fight was tremendously intense, and quite bloody, but still remarkably brief...

The Result:
Victory! In my first real battle with another true captain, I came out utterly victorious! Captain Padrino's vessel now sits on the bottom of the ocean floor outside of Matthew Town, a testament to the folly of piracy. However, as I saw a longboat disappear into the smoke of battle in the waining minutes of the engagement, I fear that I have not seen the last of this despicable pirate...

Lessons Learned:
I seem to be learning many things these past few days. As this was my first real (in other words, fair) fight with another real captain in Pirates of the Burning Seas, I learned and confirmed many things in this latest battle of mine. First, my suspicions have been partially confirmed that many captains out there really don't know how to effectively sail a ship in player-versus-player combat. Although Padrino made a good effort to take down my sails, hit my stern, etc., he didn't combine these tactics into an effective strategy. Also, I did not see him using many repair consumables or career abilities. Thus, when I unleashed a few devastating broadsides of my own into his flanks and stern, a few times using my own career abilities to do so, and used my own repair consumables and career abilities to repair the damage he was inflicting on my vessel, the writing really was on the wall. In the end, you can have all the guns and all the armor in the world, but it won't make a lick of difference unless you use your repair consumables and career abilities effectively. This requires you to be smart about what skills you choose when leveling up. Be mindful not only of what skills you can learn immediately, but what skills those skills will enable you to learn later on. Also, keep the best consumables you can manage aboard your ship at all times, particularly if you plan on going into player-versus-player combat. Taking care of these critical tasks will assure you are at peak readiness for whatever comes your way, and will assure your success in battle.

...Well, okay, it may not assure your success in battle. You can't win all the time! In fact... you'll probably have more than your fair share of defeats, to be honest, particularly when you're starting out or trying something for the first time. However, at the very least you'll go down giving the enemy the best fight you possibly can!!! You'll also gain valuable experience, increasing your chances for success the next time you meet the enemy in battle.

His Majesty expects nothing more, and nothing less ;)

Misc.
The following is a shot of our squadron sailing into action earlier in the day. Truly, no force on Earth can stand against the might and majesty of the British Navy!