Voyage Century Online Becoming a Notorious Pirate Guide

Voyage Century Online Becoming a Notorious Pirate Guide by HBlackmoon

What this guide is not:

First off I want to make clear that this is not your typical pirate guide, there are several excellent guides out there for people who just want to be pirates by nationality or those who are in  the very early stages of their pirate career.

What this guide is:

My guide is intended for those very few who want to live their pirate life to the fullest. I know there are many people who have dreamed of the pirate life since they first started VCO but I have to warn you; it is a very long and hard road, the benefits are poor, the restrictions are many and the penalties are unjust. But!! If you really want to be a true pirate, this guide will help you.

First things first, pick a pirate faction that will actually be beneficial to you. I can tell you right now that Caribbean is worth squat at this time. The only two pirate factions that are even worth while is Corsica and Create. In the future they will probably add the other pirates bases but for now, your options are limited.

Now, what I mean by “worth while” is that even if you have high amity with several pirate factions, the only one who will not attack you when red is the faction you are a member of. So if you are a Caribbean pirate, there is no good place for your advantage since most of your hunting will be around the Mediterranean.

After you have decided what faction you will plunder for it’s time to work those skills and ship levels. To be a true pirate, this is the minimum I have set;

Lvl 6 ship
Lvl 7 Buckshot/howitzer combo Cannons.
lvl 6+ Greek fire thrower.
lvl 41+ land based, Flachion or sword.
lvl 41+ Shipbuilding.
lvl 6 Upgraded fire or wind figurehead.

My recommended is;

lvl 8 ship.
lvl 10 cannons.
lvl 7+ Greek fire thrower.
lvl 51+ land based, flachion or sword.
lvl 51+ Shipbuilding.
lvl 8 upgraded fire or wind figurehead.

And, of course, the best set up is ship lvl, all skills and all weapons/armor maxed.

Now to explain the above….

Once you take that plunge to infamy, every patrol ship in the world will hunt you down like a dog. In most cases it is best to avoid them if you can by any means necessary however, if you do have to fight them you will need to be prepared.
You should use quality armor-punching rounds against Freedom Patrol..
You should use quality buckshot rounds against Abrtial Patrols.

Quality rounds add the extra punch needed to quicly destroy the patrol and repair before someone shows up and trys to assit the patrol….

Unless you are a Raider, a high lvl Greek fire thrower can single handily bring down a lv 4 battleship and cause massive devastation to most other ships. This will be very important, specifically since you are going to be forced to conserve ammunition.

Another wise thing to do is to move your warehouse(s) to pirate bases, this way you can actually get to stuff when needed. I need to make it very clear that you should NEVER go to any non-pirate city other than to hide for the day or grab provisions. Do NOT go any further than the docker else you leave yourself open to those pesky guards who will have no problem killing you and tossing your rear in jail. If you do get unlucky and get tossed in the big house, try to gamble off your time.

As a notorious pirate you will find that your movement is very restricted, the only time you can move without dealing with any NPC hindrance is during the night, it will be at night when you hunt your prey. Be sure to have suitable ammunition and provisions since you will be making long runs and unsure on what prey you will find plus the wind can slow you down a lot if it wants to be a bitch….

Now that you have your ship, skill levels and gear, it times to actually hunt some people. My word of advise is as follows;
DO NOT PISS OFF THE WHOLE SERVER

I say this because you will need friends and support in addition to less people who are willing to take pot shots at you. Pick your targets very carefully; if you are in a guild try to target that guild’s enemies the most, and make sure you are tasked cause if they fire back, they will become tasked, you will not get notoriety and your guild mates will be able to take part in the fun. At this point you are red, there is no reason to be shy about being tasked as your are freely attackable to anyone.

You should not attack or extort fellow pirates regardless of current state between the guilds. Life as a pirate is hard enough without us killing our own brethren. The only exception to this is if the pirate attacks you first or is known to attack other pirates.

You should never attack or extort your guild’s allies. This is important, it lets the ally know that they are safe when you are around, they can depend on you if they fall under attack by a hostile and it is one less group of people who will try to back stab you.

My preference outside of guild enemies, allies, friends and fellow pirates is to extort all others. Extortion is one of my favorite abilities, it allows you to attack someone w/o actully attacking them. The person who you target will be given the option to pay a small amount (normally around 5k silver) or engage you in combat. I like this ability because it gives the target the choice to either pay a meager amount for safe passage or to die out of stu****rnness. Also, when you extort, try to RP it or, at least smile and say “thanks” if they pay. It leaves a far less negative image of yourself on the target and I have even found some people who like the fact that there is a pirate who actually conducts piracy against players, it adds flavor and realism to the game.

Some other tips that will make piracy more enjoyable are as follows;

Have a fellow pirate friend with you. Someone to talk with while one your long hunts is very helpful, it is also good to have someone to watch your back.

Have friends who are not red. Trust me you will need these guys a lot. Due to the restrictions it tends to be very hard to equip yourself so at times you may need a friend to run supplies to you. It also helps to have a non-red friend scout for you during the day, he or she can tell you where potential marks are or may be heading, or even keep you updated on the location of potential threats and zerg squads that may be trying to get you.

Cash can also be an issue, it helps if you have a rich merch or two who is willing to finance you. If you are desperate, don’t hesitate to sink some NPC merchant ships to get money. No need to worry about amity at this point, your are RED  

Lets recap;

• Pick a pirate faction that is beneficial to you. I suggest Corsica or Create at this time.
• Level, train and grind until you meet the minimum requirements.
• Get your warehouse(s) set up and stock up on quality rounds.
• Avoid patrols when you can. Hunt at night.
• Do not piss off the whole server. Friends and allies are extremely vital if you wish to survive for long periods of time.
• Try to only target guilds whom your guild is hostile with if you are in a guild.
• Do not attack or extort guild allies, friends or fellow pirates.
• Limit your flat out murdering on non-enemies and use extort instead, it is better to give the target the option to fight or pay. Be nice, it leaves a better impression. It don’t matter if they pay or fight, you have successfully conducted piracy either way.
• When conducting piracy bring along a friend, preferably a fellow pirate.
• Be sure to have friends and allies who can assist you when needed, be it scouts, finical backing, supply runners or even a few crazies willing to take a few points to help you.

All of the above are the keys to success of being a notorious pirate rather than just some asshat player killer, but keep in mind that there will still be people who take the game too serious. Some will hold grudges, others will just call you names, I have even come across people who attempted to get revenge by attempting to murder fellow guild mates. As the problem with MMOs has always been and will always be; there are people who cannot distinguish fantasy from reality. So, if you do choose this path, expect to be hated by some.

The task will be difficult but with time, training and a few friends, you to can be a notorious pirate!!

I hope this guide helps you in your endeavors. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have and will update this guide as I think of or learn new things…

Happy pirating and most of all, HAVE FUN!!

Guide to become Notorious Pirate by IboFallonsnest

I see many “pirate guids” on this forum, so i decided to make my own …
The main difference between this guid and all other pirate guids is that this guid is about being NOTORIOUS PIRATE … so go pirate all the way.

If u want to become a pirate and keep sailing free, then u don’t need to read this guide. This guide is for notorious pirates only!!!

Lets start with whats important as notorious pirate.

Get high land fighting skills.
High land fighting is very important as notorious pirate cause people will board u or attack u on land to get loot from u. Notorious pirates have a high drop rate and will drop theyre weapon and uniform allmost every time they die. Other inventory stuff like map pieces, maps, treasures, authentication items will also be lost on death. Your warehouse is your biggest friend. Its the only place where items are safe.

Know your enemy
Once u become notorious, u are wanted by every non pirate nation. NPC ships are easy to avoid by sailing during the night (9PM-4AM) altho there might still be ships out there. Its important to learn NPC trade routes and stay away from them. If u know how to avoid trade routes u can even sail during the day. Other type of enemies are other players. U will run into them and have to fight them, nothing u can do about that. Knowing how to sail during the day is very usefull, cause if someone attacks u and u kill him u can expect more people to come and revenge. Finally u will die, so its better to change location.

Going to towns
Try to avoid them and stay away from guards. U are a pirate and don’t need those towns. Going into them can be very dangerous. It happend to me 2x before i made stop in town cause i had to go for a few minutes. Each time when i came back i found myself in jail. There is only 1 town very important to pirates and thats oslo. Oslo does not have guards during the night (docks and town) so u are free to go into town and access the skill master (This should be the only reasson u need to go into a town)

Gaining notority
I seen many people become notorious pirate and go kill everyone they see to get high notority level. There are no advantages about having high notoriety lvl. Having notority 2 or 1000 … its the same. Keep in mind there will be a day u make an mistake and get jailed. Thats the only part where notority does count, u can add about 4 hours for each notority u have. So my advice is to keep it as low as u can. U will gain notority by people attacking u when u fight back and kill them. Do not go and kill people without any reason. Allmost each PK i make has a reasson. Sometimes i get payed to kill someone, sometimes they just anoying me or they are just hostile to the guild i’m in. A notorious pirate should sail without having a guild to avoid guild politics but guild politics can be fun if u really want to pk someone and don’t wanna pk random players. I said that ALLMOST each PK had a reasson. I’m a pirate so now and then someone get killed with the reasson of i feel like killing someone atm and ure the only person who is near me.

Jail
Get used to it, when u become notorious pirate jail will be your second home. The moment u become notorious there is still a lot to learn, so getting arrested will be part of that and u will spend time in jail. Its hard to make no mistakes at all. Like i told before i got arrested 2x before while being afk. I also being arrested by getting to close to guard cause i dint see them and din’t have enough money on me to bribe them (+400K bribe. This might not be that much money, but keep in mind not to take to much money on u, cause other people can and will loot it if they PK u in land battle)

Making Money
Doing quest is not an option, so the best way to make money is raiding those merchant ships near tortuga. U can also extort other players but the amount of money u get is not worth it.

Amity
Cause of your notority u are wanted by all non pirate nations. This does not mean u don’t need good amity with those countries. I’m not sure if this is a bug or not, but u just need the amity for the docker. Bad amity will result in minimum amount of sailors. This is a real pain in the ass when doing pvp. Positive amity will give u full crew of sailors. I don’t really care about amity, i raid ships to make money and will not go into battlefields to raise the amity again. There are allways pirate islands like crete, corsica, … where u can get full crew of sailors.

Beat the system
Sail during the day
Stay away from trade routes. At places like gibraltar staying away from those routes is not an option. When u have to sail near a trade route stay near a merchant ship. If u see an NPC comming to u, just attack the merchant and by the time u get out of the battlescene the NPC will be gone. Once u have higher ship lvl u will be able to destroy patrol and arbitrals. Altho i still prefer to avoid them. They just make u loose time and if there is 1 thing a notorious pirate does not have when sailing at high sea is time. (fighting and repairing takes more time as avoiding them by attacking other ship) If u sail together with other notorious pirate or players u trust u can allways attack them. Just make sure they know u attack them to avoid NPC.

Dont drop your weapon / uniform trick #1
This trick only works when people board u and u know for sure u can’t win the fight. As soon the other person boards u, open your inventory and put your weapon / uniform in your ship. U will die in few hits when u are naked but this trick should only be used if u are sure u gone loose the fight. Take no risk on loosing stuff and play safe.

Dont drop your weapon / uniform trick #2
It happend to me few time but i have not tested it to be sure it works 100%. During falchion training i started taking more as 1 uniform with me, in case durability went low i had a spare. When i got PK’d i noticed the spare uniform was dropped instead of the one i was wearing. Still have to test if this really works and if u can beat the system by taking a lvl1 weapon and lvl1 uniform with u.

Escape from jail
There are 2 ways to escape jail, gambling is not 1 of them (u get released from jail, u do not escape with gambling). For both ways u need to kill rats. Everybody know they drop rat teeth and u can use those to escape. My advise is … dont do this. As not many people know, when using the rat teeth u end up in the jail sewers and not outside. To reach the exit of those sewers u need to run trough a small passage full of poisoned bats that do a lot of damage. If u manage to run trough them and being not attacked for 10 seconds u can exit and have escape … but the chance on this is very small. Most of the time those bats surround and block u. Once u stopped moving its to late and u will die. If u manage not to get stuck in the middle of it u have to be lucky not to being hit for 10 seconds before u reach exit or u are stuck there. Rat teeth are easy to loot so u might think its worth it to try it over and over and finally escape. Don’t forget the droprates of notorious pirates when u go there. First time i went in sewers i was able to escape cause someone ran in front of me and all bats hit her. Second time we tried same trick but din’t work. We both died and i dropped a parcel … my damn uniform. So the best (maybe only) way to escape from jail is using the old key. The old key is dropped by rats in jail but the drop rate is very low. Last time i was there i been killing rats for hours. But the key is worth it. U wait till 9pm and walk out of jail trough the front door (same like jailtime is over)

Tips
These tips are things about how i play the game, what i experienced as usefull when being a pirate. This might be totally wrong but i like it this way.
1) I allways use a water figuhead on my battleship cause as a pirate u can’t just go into every town to refill. I think its important to have a lot of provision / ammo onboard so u can stay on sea longer. Having less cannons / sailors does not mean u will loose a fight. I allways take 1 or 2 sailor / repair kits with me from tortuga. Depending on the danger i expect where i go i take 30K or 100K kits with me. (be carefull if u take more as 1, when u get killed in sea battle u WILL drop them)
2) Keep other notorious pirates as friend. It will happen that people group up to kill u. If u are guilded your guild members cannot help u cause they will also get notority when they attack your attackers. Other notorious pirates are the only ones who can help u in situations like this. Sometimes people will group up and bully u. So each time u try to leave a port they will attack u. If your guild members cannot help u cause they don’t want notority u will be glad to know other notorious pirates. Don’t blame your guild members of not helping u. Its your choise to go notoriours. U can’t expect them going pink/red for helping u cause u wanted to be notorious and get attacked.
3) If u are guilded allways be flagged. This add a lot of fun to PvP. Being notorious is allway fun for your enemy cause they can attack u without getting notority or getting flagged themself. So if they wanna attack u, make sure they get flagged. If u die ure guild mates can revenge u. By flagging them u allow all your team mates to PvP those person without getting notority. If they bully u like in tip 2 ure guild members can help u.

I guess thats about it. Everything u need to survive as notorious pirate. imo they should change the game and make all pirate notorious. This way people would not come pirate just for the flag on theyre sails.

A non hunted pirate aint a pirate! Being notorious pirate is just a higher way of gameplay. Not everyone can handle this kinda gameplay. Think 2x before u decide to become notorious pirate. Unless u want to spend days / weeks in jail there is no way back