I still want to puzzle out different strategies for different ships. That's one knob to turn.īalancing those extremes can't be the end of the changes, though, as neither is fully satisfying. There's a balance to be found in how often my plans should be stalled by damage or weather, as right now it feels either too little or too much. I like these more trying battles better, as I'm rarely sitting and watching meters fill without doing anything-through directing every minor repair goes a little too far. And my simple ramming technique is in constant peril of being thwarted, as no maneuvers are possible if my mast has been cracked. A heavy rain means my fire-starting weapons are a no-go-I have to improvise.

Improved enemy weapons are paired with environmental calamities, such as lightning strikes and an active volcano raining fiery rocks on the deck. Where the main adventure beefs up opposing vessels too slowly, the combat mode quickly turns encounters frantic as hull breaches let in water and fires break out. How precisely to make the ship battles more puzzling, to deepen the risks at every level and dismantle rote solutions, I don't claim to know exactly, though Abandon Ship's alternate 'combat' mode, which discards exploration for a series of increasingly-difficult ship battles, contains hints. Boarding and going hand-to-hand is worrisome, too, as losing a crew member is a big set-back. But the high prices for new crew members and new guns and ship upgrades have kept me conservative-better to hit hard with more cannons than be underpowered if I encounter a bigger ship. For instance, if I focused my upgrades on anti-personnel weapons, I could kill the opposing crew or knock them all overboard without sinking their ship, securing better loot. There are theoretical decisions I could be making. Any complications that arise-a hull breach, an enemy invader, a crew member with dangerously low health-I can solve by taking one gunner off his cannons for a moment.

I've managed the last ten or so fights in the main campaign with this flowchart to mostly unfettered success.

Ftl make your own ship