A TREATISE ON NAVAL ACTION: A

COMPLETE GUIDE
VERSION ONE EDITON ONE
-Mr. Doran
Edited by Balck
Ninth February 2015

KEY TERMS DONT SKIP THIS SHIT

Running with the wind- wind directly behind you.
Broad reach- or known as best angel, fastest speed for square riggers
135.
Beam reach- 90 degrees to the wind.
Close haul- (or close hauled) 45 degrees to the wind.
Into the wind- facing into the wind, 0 degree heading.
Weather gauge- the advantageous point also known as being windward.
Windward- Having the weather gauge on the target.
Definitive wind- behind the target.
Gauge- shortened for weather gauge
Leeward- not having the weather gauge.
Separation- The distance between the windward belligerents broadside
to the leeward belligerents broadside while they close distance; the
distance between the windward belligerents bow and the leeward
belligerents stern after they have passed and exchanged fire.
High lee-gauge- having a leeward position where your opponent is far
away windward meaning you are very far downwind.
Upwind- on the windward gauge.
Downwind- on the leeward gauge.

PREFACE
This manual is meant to explain and examine as objectively as
possible the underlying game mechanics and the undeniably solid metagame that Naval Action is laid in or has consequently formed. The basis
of the meta-game is written around objective there is never a wrong
move and always one correct move to make thought processing. The
frigate duel is the essence of every aspect and principle of the Age of Sail
and most during the Napoleonic Wars so we will start there and move
our way forwards to group fighting. For the sake of clarity and in order
to make this a short and readable guide, the information therein is
condensed as much as possible. If every permutation were included and
analyzed this would be nothing shorter than a small book. Even at the
current length of the document I am currently unsatisfied with the level
of explanation and would like to go further in later editions and
versions. The topic covered here will also be covered in the form of video
in due time if you too are unsatisfied with what is here.

Fundamental Skills
This guide will ignore basic gunnery because it should go without
saying one needs to be able to hit any target at any range consistently
within in the means his armament and circumstance force him too.
Instead, this section will cover yard and sail management, energy
economy, and when to covert energy to turn rate.
The basic settings for yards are: full turn yards, the invert of turn
yards (which are tacking yards), exit tacking, and enter broad reach
yards. These settings only apply to square rigged ships; with the current
sailing model of anything not manual yard usage is an unnecessary
management to have to make.
For a larboard-to-starboard full rotation with our point of reference
running with the wind at any speed:
1. Fore yards at a 20 degree offset starboard and aft yards full offset
larboard. We do not offset the front yard at anything higher because it
will lose wind too quickly and stop applying forward acceleration to our
turn. With a 15 to 20 degree offset the fore yard will nullify itself as we
enter beam reach. The aft yards being at their most extreme point will
give us the highest amount of thrust to the turn.
2. As we are about to enter beam-reach the aft yards remain the same
and the fore yard are adjusted to be parallel to the wind. We do this
because we do not want it to apply a negative thrust vector to our turn
and so the change to tacking yards is faster. The back yards remain at
their most extreme angle for the same reason as the first step.
3. As we are about 15 degrees away from close-haul we transition into
tack yards. The fore yard goes full larboard and the aft yards goes full

starboard. If you ever get confused during the tack remember that the
fore yard will always carry you out of the tack and the aft yard will
always carry you into the tack.
4. As we approach around 45 degrees out of the tack and in larboard
close haul our front yard goes full starboard and back yards are
dynamically adjusted to remain parallel with the wind. It is important
that we switch to this setting only when our fore yard has enough angels
on the wind to catch enough of it so it is a higher through vector than
the one currently being produced by our staysails and fore yard facing
the wind. It is imperative that the aft yards stay parallel to the wind so
they do not provide a negative thrust vector slowing our turn and
acceleration.
5. As we pass beam reach our fore yard remains the same and our aft
yards are incorporated with the wind slowly to their maximum point
until we are once again running with the wind. Once we are running
with the wind the fore yard goes back to at 15 degree offset and the aft
yards remain the same.
For a starboard to larboard turn make the inverse movements.
Remember to set yards to DEFUALT when not turning.
Reverse tacking is the last essential maneuver necessary to learn
which simply involves going x amount degrees (usually a minimum of
30 degrees) starboard through the wind and then larboard through the
wind and vice versa. The maneuver is simply performed by switching
between the according sides tacking yard settings.
These yards settings will give the highest energy-economy which
essentially means we will have the highest turn rate, speed, and

acceleration for our turns at full sail. Ideally we always want to be

turning at full sail because it will give us the highest turn rate and
acceleration therefore the highest energy-economy and one should
ONLY turn bellow full sail if he does not have enough room to complete
the turn. The exception of this rule becomes a ships high speed
performance. A good example of this in the current build of the game is
the Trincomalee. The high speed performance turning on it was recently
changed to match closer to its classs purpose. In order to turn effectively
as it used to we must cut sails down via battle sails or just hammer the
S key and then raise our shroud once more once the turn is near
complete to regain the lost energy and to stop the energy bleed.
Maintaining a good energy-economy is of the utmost importance in any
situation and can often be the determining factor of any duel. He who
has the highest energy economy at any given moment has the edge over
his opponent that if used properly is extremely lethal. When to covert
energy to turn rate and when to maintain the highest energy economy
and utilization of such will be discussed in the following sections.

THE OBJECTIVE FOUR

Naval Actions entire Meta-Game can be broken down in its most
basic form into four situations with objectively correct answers for each
situation no matter the circumstance. For the purpose of simplicity we
will be using the same of tier of ship as the two belligerents. These four
situations are most clearly recognized in the initial yard- arm-to- yardarm- pass.
The initial passes can be broken down to the belligerent on the
windward with separation to the his opponent exchanging fire as the
belligerent on the leeward side turns in attempt to stern rake holding his
fire; the windward player will able to recognize this quickly and tack to
meet him with a 2:1 broadside which may easily turn into a 3:1 almost
guaranteeing a loss on his opponent
causing the balance of power to be
in the total favor of the belligerent
who was originally windward
(figure 1-1), the windward
belligerent with no separation
turning into his opponent forfeiting
wind after exchanging fire resulting
in a 2:1 because the leeward
belligerent spun into the target
which easily may turn into a 3:1
almost guaranteeing a loss on

his opponent causing the balance of

power to be in the total favor of the
belligerent who was originally leeward
(figure 1-2), the belligerent who is
windward with separation exchanges
fire with the belligerent leeward and
turns larboard to starboard and goes
for the stern rake in attempt to smash
the belligerents rudder and crew
resulting in a net damage so far of 1:1
but the potential damage in the favor of the windward belligerent giving
him a higher initiative and therefore the balance of power in his favor
(figure 1-3), and finally the
leeward belligerent closes
separation with the windward
belligerent exchanging fire and
goes for the starboard to larboard
turn while the windward
belligerent tacks to make
separation which will cause both
parties to exchange fire once more
result in 1:1 damage(figure 1-4).

From these four situations arise two modes of attack and defense
the player will find him in: stern camping and spin to win. If he is found
without the weather gauge his best option is to always close distance
exchange fire and flip starboard to larboard; if he has the weather gauge
his best option is to always make separation and stern camp/rake his
opponent.
From the most unavoidable situation and arguably most common
situation in Naval Action we have derived two maneuvers that are
correct 100% of the time and two that are incorrect 100% of the time.

INITIATIVE
INTIATIVE= POTENTIAL DPS+ PRE DPS+ POST DPS+ ENERGY+ PRE-POST DPS

Before we can fully understand the diagrams above and how to

deviate from what was derived previously we must first understand the
simple addition of initiative and how translates it into in game concepts
into an objective decision maker.
Having the weather gauge or have definitive wind as I call it
simply means you are behind the target or are in a position to which
your opponents only way to regain wind is through a tack therefore you
are in a position to hit his stern and he is not. This simple fact gives the
belligerent who has the gauge immense power over his opponent that can
only be nullified by the belligerent with the lee-gauge to retake wind.
This is how having the wind translates into potential DPS and source of
potential DPS. Potential DPS also comes in the form of situation figure
1-1 and figure 1-2 out of the mistakes of your target which then
materializes themselves into post DPS.
Pre DPS comes in the form of any free damage off of your opponent
via chain or round before he has a chance to effectively return fire. Pre
DPS tactics, timings, and opportunities, will be discussed later down
the line. Pre post DPS may seem to be redundant of a name but is
classified as any damage taken after the Post DPS has started that like
pre DPS cannot be responded to effectively by the opponent in time.
Energy can be converted into turn rate which can be converted into
DPS.

Lets look at the objective four with this in mind. In figure 1-1 the
belligerent on the windward side starts with the highest potential
damage by default because he has the gauge. As he exchanges fire and
the belligerent does not he starts with an automatic lead on post damage.
As they both turn in their energy economies are going to be similar so
we dont factor that into the situation. The leeward belligerent turns
into rake the windward ship usually causing minimal damage for it is an
extremely difficult and fast shot to make. This will bring them both close
to equilibrium in initiative but usually not by much for the post DPS
given is usually minimal.
The belligerent who was originally windward that is now leeward
was already in the process of turning while being fail raked and is about
to pass the belligerent who originally leeward who is now windward. He
pours his broadside into him with minimal separation between the two
increasing his post DPS on the target by 2:1 nullifying the fact that he is
now leeward.
The potential DPS is in the favor of ship A (A to which I will now
call the belligerent who originally starts windward and ship B who
starts leeward) for if he continues on his current rate of turn will be able
to 3:1. Ship B is now at a post DPS deficient that entirely outweighs the
fact that he has wind along with the over-all initiative reduction of not
having wind. In figure 1:2 the reverse happens.
So lets look at situation that recently happened in one of my duels
with Balck that further puts some more light to this in making a decision
that may be contrary to the four in a post-game scenario. I have the
gauge on him with 4/5 armor on both sides, pre post DPS on his sails

from a boom and zoom after a rake, a post DPS of 2:1 on his starboard
side, a 1:1 damage on his larboard side, and previous incurred raking
damage brining him to about 220 crew with a possibly broken rudder,
the energy economy in my favor because he is coming out of a tack with
a decently disabled ship and I am bearing on him at full speed. Balcks
armor is at about on his starboard side and I am sure he only has one
repair left so I forfeit the gauge for the lee gauge.
I close the separation on the lee side and then perform a 2:1 faster
than he can deal with given the status of his ship insuring victory on my
end. This is an instance in a pass to which not holding onto the gauge
would be an acceptable decision as it ended the fight faster than it would
have holding onto the gauge. In practice and reality in a post-game
scenario one can forfeit gauge at will anytime if he knows his opponent
cannot respond to properly with gauge. But do not confuse breaking the
rules when appropriate and when in a 1:1 environment. On the initial
pass the objective four will always remain as a constant.The
permutations of figures 1:3 and 1:4 will keep both belligerents initiative
as close to equilibrium on both gauges on an initial pass. By default the
windward ship will always have the potential DPS factor on its side
make it imperative to retake wind if on the lee-gauge.
I implore you to start using this system of though if you do not
already. It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to approach
Naval Action from this school of thought should you truly wish to
understand its meta-game.

WHAT WE DERIVE FROM THE FOUR AND INITIATIVE

Ten conclusions come out of the two preceding sections.
A. From the four primary possibilities of the opening pass we can
piece together the next set of moves to form a complete cycle.
B. Stern camping and or stern raking should be our primary approach
to any duel (frigates and higher) to hedge our bets as much as we
can against our opponent before finishing him off.
C. Stern raking is the only way to break the DPS stalemate if both
belligerents play correctly.
D. If you are presented with the weather gauge you must take action
and seize the initiative
E. Not retaking wind on the lee-gauge is death after the opening
exchanges because our potential DPS will always be lower than the
belligerent windward if we both play our cards correctly our post
DPS will be 1:1 or near 1:1.
F. Ones best option is to always flip on the leeward side.
G. Ones best option is to always close as much separation as possible
on the leeward side.
H. One needs at least one ship length, a ship length and a quarter
preferably to stern camp his opponent.
I. If we can we want to put pre-post DPS on the target at any given
opportunity.
J. There are more ways to kill your opponent while on the wind gauge.

The above results are drawn from the conclusions and charts
preceding to produce the logical progression from the two correct
opening move sets into the idealized progressions.

In a perfect scenario with two perfect players who make the perfect
moves 100% the windward belligerent will achieve one rake on the
leeward belligerent; the leeward belligerent will be raked while he was
retaking wind via a tack. *The leeward belligerent may make a full tack
or reverse tack* but he must tack in order to retake wind. As the
windward belligerent completes his rake he will zoom out (this being
colloquially called boom and zooming) to pull distance while loading
either ball or chain on the opposite side to put down pre post DPS. As
the windward belligerent completes his rake the once leeward belligerent
will now have definitive wind and becomes the windward belligerent;
the process cycles.
*Note*As mentioned and for the sake of thoroughness the usual result is
a full tack and then a pursuit of the target; the diagram displays a
reverse tack because it would be the idealized scenario if both players
were fast enough on their executions.
So far we have only covered what is the correct thing to do and the
reasoning behind why it is the correct thing to do. To further prove the
point of why the idealized two progressions and two correct passing
moves are correct we will now review the primary permutations that
occur when the belligerent is not abiding by the rules and is asking to
get beaten to death. The following also strides to prove the point to why
park and bark tactics/cutting sails is the incorrect thing to do in almost
every circumstance imaginable and visually show that there are
physically more ways to kill your opponent while we have the gauge
hence why we take advantage of the gauge via raking fire and stern
camping.

The perpetual S-Rake is what it states; there is not much

explaining to do on this one other than the execution. One generally
should approach at half sails once at 150m of the target. If the target
maintains half/full sails then you shall gradually lower your settings to
slow at 100m, dead slow at 50m, etc. It is important to note one should
always go bow into the target with the bow pointed directly at the center
of their broadside. If they choose to waste their fire via full broadside you
will be granted free rights to raking. Even if they roll their fire the
general result is not significant enough or comparable to what is about
to happen to their crew and rudder. Generally speaking if you have good
separation after the first rake you repeat the process with their being
little opportunity to defend themselves if any opportunity; the initiative

value for the windward belligerent in position to make a perpetual SRake.

It should also be noted a proper or perfect rake is not a fucking
proper or perfect rake unless the majority of the shots are rolled into
their stern and then the last pocket of shots aligned to stern to be fired
simultaneously via a full broadside causing simultaneous significant
crew damage. The peculiarities of proper raking such as speed
management, hit box, and timing will be explained in
peculiarities section of this manual.

Above are the two primary permutations that end up in rakes if the
belligerent cuts his sails as a counter to being on the lee-gauge in an
effort to mitigate his opponents raking ability. In both situations the
leeward belligerent is several punished for cutting sails. Remember that
if we have no energy to convert into turn rate which we can convert into
DPS we might as well be a dead man.
My personal favorite is the point blank rake and rage-board as it
ends the fight rather quickly and leaves my opponent very little time to
properly react. If I am going too quickly to turn the point blank rake into
a rage-board the preferred move is to correct the overshoot with a tack
and repeat the primary cycles. The initiative value favors the windward
belligerent in every category.

Above demonstrates the primary opportunity 2:1 permutation that

one can inflict on a belligerent who cut sails. Anytime an opponent
entirely cut sails to park and bark or to fail counter stern raking it can
easily be turned into a 2:1; use your imagination.

The two diagrams above illustrate the last two primary

permutations of opportunity shots which are self-explanatory in cause
and reason.

If the belligerent ever presents himself too hard to get a raking shot
because he is using anti stern camping tactics (converting lots of energy
to turn rates to minimize your firing time) I advise going bow to stern
with him. There are too many ways a poor soul can accidently put
themselves in this position that I care to diagram so we shall use the one
above as our primary reference. In order to properly pull this off it is
imperative that you do not go for the raking fire until they are about to
or preferably entering the wind. If the belligerent is also being
uncooperative in this case one can fill his stern with grape/double until
his crew numbers convince him otherwise or cripple him to the point
that you may rake him at will without being countered by any defense
because of his crippled state.
Contrary to popular belief you will not shake off your opponent
putting you in bow to stern no matter how much you wiggle unless he is
a fucking idiot. Cutting sails down is a mostly fruitless endeavor to
pursue as well for he can easily match your deceleration by paying
attention and cutting his sails once he sees your topgallant furl. The
worse that can happen to the windward belligerent is the loss of his
bowsprit because he did not decelerate in time or a grapple if he ends up
too close when sails have been cut that at worse lets him rake and then
tack away. If you are impatient while in pursuit of someone in the bow
to stern position one can generally break the stalemate by angling

themselves at a five to ten degree offset and let the distance build
between the two ships before turning in. If your opponent counters in
time the process can be repeated until you gain enough angular leverage
to turn in and rake force him to turn in with you. Being put in bow to
stern is also known as a dead mans position. Once you are put into bow
to stern you must

The last general maneuver that will be covered by this section is

seen above. In recent weeks pedestal has been becoming a more and more
popular move to use in duel. Issue with it though being most people
dont utilize it properly so we will examine it in improper use. The
maneuvers general purpose is to force the windward belligerent to react
in such a way that he loses the wind advantage by closing separation as
rapidly as possible at close hauled which mind you is the proper thing to
do. The problem arises at around 250-300m of distance between the two
belligerents. If the windward belligerent plays correctly he can keep
switching between larboard or starboard attack directions forcing the
leeward opponent to constantly reverse tack bringing his energy down to
near zero; the same can also be achieved by not picking a direction at all.
Once the target has no energy the windward belligerent can exchange
fire however he wants and pull distance then put pre post DPS on target

via a raking or what not while the target responds to the direction his
opponent has chosen.
In its proper form pedestal should be used as previously mentioned
should be used to close as much separation as possible for as previously
derived it will give use the best odds at the opening shot while on the lee
gauge. If the opponent with the gauge does not respond properly to a
pedestal defense bearing at him the result is either being put into bow to
stern or being raked by the defender.

The chart and summaries above are breakdowns of the cycles in an

easily referable form produced by Balck.

PECULARTIES OF RAKING AND SPEED/SAIL MANAGEMENT

It is not a perfect rake unless a third of the crew is dead and they
no longer have their rudder. This section will be reviewing how to setup
rakes that appear in the maneuver set of this manual starting from the
easiest shots moving on to full broadside pot shots killing 150 crew.
Starting with frigates:
A. Opponent cutting sails and wastes fire on bow.
1. Approach at half sails bow into the targets broadside.
2. After they fire start making for their stern at a minimum of a 30
degree angle and cut sails down to dead slow to full stop as you
approach.
3. Ideally try to gain at least 30m-50m of separation from your bow
to their stern.
4. Fire shot form quarter deck before the bow starts to cross their
stern; make sure shot travels the ship length of their ship.
5. As you begin the pass cancel out the quarter deck via f1.
6. Start pouring shots out as quickly as possible into the gun deck
crew hit boxes at either the starboard or larboard crew depending
on pass direction.
7. As soon as you get through of the gun decks battery switch the
quarter deck on again with f1 and align the right/left bound of the
arc with the end of the stern so the bound line travels down their
ship length and fire. This will kill a shit load of crew if aligned
properly.
8. Begin correcting your approach using dead slow then full sail to
close distance preferably staying out of their arc.
B. Opponent using battle sails and wastes fire on bow.
1. Approach at half sails bow into the center of the targets broadside.

2. After they fire start making for their stern at a minimum of a 35

degree angle as you will need separation quickly because you will
have less time to rake.
3. Fire shot form quarter deck before the bow starts to cross their
stern; make sure shot travels the ship length of their ship.
4. Ideally try to gain separation of 40-60m as quickly as possible;
more distance will leave more time for raking.
5. Stay at slow or half sails as you will have to reposition after the
rake and will need energy to do so.
6. As you begin the pass cancel the quarter deck via f1.
7. Start pouring shots out as quickly as possible into the gun deck
crew hit boxes at either the starboard or larboard crew depending
on pass direction.
8. As you get through of the gun decks battery switch the quarter
deck on again and align the right/ bound of the arc with the end of
the stern so the bound line travels down their ship length and fire.
9. Correct course quickly and approach stern again at full sail;
preferably stay out of gun arc but if you cannot go bow into them
C. Opponent stays at full sails and wastes fire on bow.
1. Approach at half sails bow into the targets broadside.
2. After they fire start making for their stern at a minimum of a 40 to
50 degree angle at half sails; you will need to get into a firing
position quickly because they will be able to flip very quickly
leaving little time to rake.
3. Fire shot from the quarter deck before the bow starts to cross their
stern; make sure shot travels the ship length of their ship.
4. Ideally try to gain around 50m of separation; 50m tends to gives a
good spread of for full broadside pot shot rakes.
5. Stay at slow or half sails as you will have to reposition after the
rake and will need energy to do so.

6. Position of the reticle of the stern of their ship slightly offset to the
direction they are turning and fire.
7. Correct position quickly turning energy into turn rate by cutting
sails and re-approach the target; they will likely be able to turn fast
enough to get a shot on your bow again. If they waste fire on your
bow repeat the process.

It is important to note you should always to approach the target

from an offset angle biased toward the stern of their ship; this is vital for
the next set of raking situations.
A. Opponent cutting sails and holds fires for broadside shot.
1. Use the same approach method for a target that wastes fire
a. If you are at enough of an offset angle the target will not have
a firing solution.
b. If you do not have enough of an initial offset angle give up
some your broadside exposure to gain offset angle; if
opponent fires when you give exposure get ready for rake and
repeat usual steps.
c. If you choose you may point blank rake and then angle
towards them, approach at dead slow, and rage board the
opponent pulling him into the wind so he cannot escape.

B. Opponent remains at battle sails and holds fire for broadside shot.
1. Use the same approach method for a target that wastes fire.
2. Use 1.a/1.b
C. Opponent remains at full sails and holds for broadside shot.
1. Use the same approach method for a target that wastes fire.
2. Use 1.a/1.b
If the opponent is fighting properly and tacking to retake wind and
is not trading damage while being raked you should approach the enemy
at full sail for he will be able to escape from the rake in the tack if you do
not close distance in time; make sure they are about to or are entering
the wind before you commence fire. After you rake boom and zoom out
put pre post DPS on the target and repeat the established fighting
process.
When raking with rates use the same approach processes but dont
bother rolling your fire. Align the bow ends bound of the firing are with
the end if their stern so it travels the length of their ship with the reticle
on the stern and offset to the direction they are turning and fire.
Generally speaking enough shots land to cause enough crew damage and
rudder break almost every time making rolling fire unnecessary.

THE META WITH DIFFERENT SHIPS

The Meta remains the same for all ships but is less pronounced in
lighter boats and becomes much more evidently there the heavier down
the line we go. Through the lynx and brig carronade 2:1 spin to win
opportunities are all that are actually necessary. Proper stern camping
and rakes in the lynx through the brig will hedge bets of victory though.
Through the Surprise-Constitution the rules are very evidently clear as
the effective Meta to use; particularly with the Trincomalee and
Constitution with ignoring the rules leading to hard punishment in
almost all situations. In the Surprise one has decent leeway for making
mistakes and going freeform but is still bound to the Meta. Constitution
v Constitution fights epitomize the importance of having the gauge with
stern camping being easily performed in a duel.
As soon as we get to the Bellona if you are forced on the lee-gauge
you are almost as good as fucked if your opponent even adheres to the
rules sloppily. The amount of damage crew damage caused by the sheer
volume of fire coming in coupled with a broken rudder makes actually
performing a tack that cannot be followed into very difficult to perform.
If your opponent is determined enough and even has the slightest clue he
can stay and will stay on your stern. The described is only multiplied in
the first rates. Now this does not mean it is impossible to win from an
initial lee position but I can assure it is not an easy initial position to
fight out of.

GROUP FIGHTING
Group fighting is an abstracted or dumbed down version of the
duel. This manuals take on group fighting will be solely be focusing on
the principle of local superiority and how it controls every group
fighting situation coupled with the weather gauge. The demonstrations
and principles like the preceding sections will examine the situations
primarily from a 1:1 force ratio; the tactics and principles involved still
apply in a lower or higher strength ratio environment.
Precepts of Group Fighting:
A. Two ships of the same tier should always defeat their opponent.
B. Two ships of one lesser tier of their opponents tier should always
defeat their opponent.
C. Any target(s) should be isolated and engaged as an individual by two
or more ships of the same tier or one lesser tier.
D. Tight group cohesion on all scales should be kept at all times
E. Any group of belligerents, regardless of ship class or tier, should
always try to obtain the weather gauge before a fight commences.
F. Line fighting is an inferior tactic because it results in 1:1 trades of
DPS giving neither side an advantage.
G. Any group of belligerents should always try to break the enemys line
in order to separate and spike out the segments broken.
H. Never pursue line astern in line astern; always pursue line astern in
line abreast
I. Always break the line in line(s) astern never line abreast.
J. Forfeiting wind in a fleet engagement is paramount to suicide.

The idea of the principle of local superiority is that we always want

to have more guns and poundage at any specific area of engagement
than the enemy can effectively return fire against. This is most
effectively achieved in all situations by splitting the enemy force. In
order to effectively split the enemy force we need to have wind on
them. Once any force of equal or more strength of their opponents has
wind on the battle group they can be then be broken into smaller
pieces by closing distance. Once distance is closed target(s) can be
isolated and spike out. Isolated targets will naturally have a hard time
being effectively supported by their comrades because they will be
upwind and near impossible to reach. The belligerents with the wind
gauge can simply repeat the process until the lee gauge opponents
retake wind.
A perfect example of this happening is in most Trafalgar matches I
have played. The opposing side starts the match by organizing their
force into a straight line traveling downwind; I get everyone to turn
in and form one or multiple lines astern and start calling heading
markings to where the line will be broken. On approach targets are
called in preparation to break the line while simultaneously front
ships are peppered by ineffective fire. As the division(s) start breaking
the line the according targets upon contact are almost instantly
spiked out and are unable to receive support because they are cut off
upwind or their comrades are simply not compelled to do so. The fight
either branches off into a pursuit and the line is broken once more or
they immediately turn off to fire again and the line is again broken
once more. Given Trafalgar matches at the moment are in a public
environment and are liable to have inexperienced players on both
teams but the described is the epitome of what to do incorrectly. As
soon as the line is broken they immediately loose the local superiority

fight and cannot effectively respond to what is happening simply

because we closed distance and had the gauge.
It is important to note that raking is not the primary reason as of
this build of Naval Action to break the line; the reason for it is to spike
out targets with a higher level of local superiority. Raking currently
does not do enough hull damage to justify doing in a large group
fighting situation. If a morale system where a player was force to
strike their colors after x amount of damage it could be plausible but
the raking shot in a fleet, large, or even medium engagement should
only be reserved as a last ditch only shot if the target(s) does not
present itself in any other fashion. Raking however in 2v2s, 3v3s,
4v4s, or just generally smaller engagements (more likely 2v2s and
3v3s) still has its place as a means of doing damage as in the low scale
battles a heavily disabled ship can be a guaranteed defeat for side
inflicted on.
In an ideal situation for any group fighting situation we need to
have wind and we want to close distance rapidly once we have wind.
From there we chose what target(s) to isolate and spike out and repeat
the process. If we have a higher strength ratio than them or equal it is
a matter of time before they lose unless they manage to retake wind
and proceed to do the same. Long range gunnery/line fighting is
inferior because of this process; unless the opponents decide to trade
fire to, at which point it becomes a one to one exchange of fire, no
decisive edge is gained and a relatively equal amount of ships are
generally sunk on both sides. Dynamic tactics and isolating targets
to individually spike out because we have local superiority will
always be preferable and more effective in a 1:1 environment and an
equalizer in in lower to high strength ratio environments.

For the matter of how we choose to 4:1 the isolated target,

how/when to flip, figure eights, etc is entirely irrelevant. At close
quarters when unloading into an isolated target in a group fight
situation it can be generalized down to flip fire in most scenarios or
passes for larger engagements as it becomes unnecessary to flip as if
the volume of fire going by is high enough they will obviously just
inevitably spiked out by sheer volume. There are too many
permutations to chart small/medium encounters in a timely/effective
manner. If you wish to seek diagrams on fleet engagements go
research the Nile, Trafalgar, etc really any encounter at which one
of the opposing sides decided to break the line. As long as you decide
to take the initiative in and organized and cohesive fashion you can do
no wrong.
The only problem with taking the initiative, taking the wind,
splitting the enemy force, isolating a target, and spiking out that
target is the fundamental requirement of discipline, cohesion,
individual skill, leadership, and communication. On all scales of
group fighting the entire above listed are tasked constantly to put up
a proper and aggressive offensive.
Lets look at from a point of view of a clan/society. In order to be
an effective group fighter you must first become an effective duelist
and know the Meta game in small scale situations. Once you are an
effective duelist your comrades need to be effective at dueling as well.
Once a set of players are proficient in individual combat group
combat can begin: divide those people into sections of five individuals,
one section leader and four people under his command. From here we
get two pairs of people per section that can call targets, block, and
support each other supervised by the NCO. A division could be
comprised of four sections or more sections and a fleet comprised of
two or more divisions. From here we have a very efficient way of

breaking down our force so targets may be called and fired upon by
the smallest to largest unit of organization that can support itself
very easily, efficiently, and in a cooperative manner when making
aggressive plays. The group headings and targets are easily
maintainable when doing this.
In a public situation this kind of thinking and organization is still
maintainable and still necessary to success for breaking the line or
causing any decisive action; all that is necessary to do so though is
decent leadership and a constant call of group headings and primary
targets.

WHAT COULD CHANGE THE META?

Nothing; later additions to gameplay might add more variables to
play with and consider but the general Meta stands in solid. The extent
to which ship modifications go to might shake things up if there are any
significant damage/speed mods or if boarding actions turns into some
fucked mini game or god forbid avcom might have their consequential
effects but the general maneuvering and ship lengths involved in those
maneuvers will remain the same.
Damage 4.0 inevitably works out in the Metas favor with crew
raking potentially become more potent depending if the calculation
currently is an average of crew deaths per hit or the maximum a hit can
kill; if there is room to kill more crew then all the better. Even if 4.0
decreases overall crew damage the Meta will remain the same with the
best possible position always being at the stern. Any possibilities of a
morale system will also further concrete the Meta in place with rakes
ending the fight far sooner than they already do.
If ball lolmasting or chain shroud cutting from a high-lee position
is not nerfed it could potentially spiral into the default scum meta as it is
currently nearly impossible to stop such behavior in duel or small scale
group fights if your opponents can consistently hit the target. As it
stand if you have enough distance you can consistently make turns
covering large portions of your energy into turn rate to deliver fast DPS
burst of chain that if make contact with target can easily bring a
belligerents sails down to 70% making it impossible to catch the enemy.
This kind of activity might change as it has been said long range
gunnery will become less efficient in upcoming builds.

This guide is a work in progress. As we move forward and should

the opportunity present itself, this document will be amended to reflect
new found knowledge or further examples and tactics.