Zounds, pirates!

[unmerged(9347)]

I always wondered what tech level pirates were. I foolishly believed that they might be low tech like rebels

But you know how it is, if you dont station at least one ship near the coasts in places such as the carribean then they always turn up and are a bastard to beat some times.

But now i know, 1727 and tiny demark has the best naval tech, 33, so that gives them the new hull type "Vaisseaux" the horrible looking yelow ones.

what do i see the pirates bothering the spanish with? guess

 

[Murmurandus]

They indeed seem to have a quite high level. Remarkably higher then their landbased brothers.

Guess they earn a lot of money capturing those Spanish gold convoys...

 

[kurtbrian]

I think that their tech level improves slowly over time

 

[unmerged(6816)]

Pirates are easy to stop just build a galley in the neighbouring port and put it in the water. Then no pirate should appear.

 

[unmerged(9371)]

I think that pirates start with about 15-20 naval tech and improve slowly till maximum level during years.

 

[unmerged(5503)]

I checked in a save file year 1419 PIR naval tech = 0

 

[Grunthex]

All my save files (1.04 and 1.05) still show Pirate naval tech at 19. From 1419 to 1815.

 

[Castellon]

Originally posted by Truskar
Pirates are easy to stop just build a galley in the neighbouring port and put it in the water. Then no pirate should appear.

That is mostly true but they can still spawn there and they can move there from another sea zone.

 

[unmerged(1994)]

I experienced something funny. I edited my savegame to ramp up my land and naval tech to 60. After playing for a while < 1 yr, I noticed that the pirates seems to be moving up the victory list.
After rechecking my subsequent savegame, I discovered that the pirates naval tech was 58! How did they advance that much in so short a time? or are pirates tech naval level pegged to some formula of the highest naval tech country?

 

[Petrarca]

Originally posted by Grunthex
All my save files (1.04 and 1.05) still show Pirate naval tech at 19. From 1419 to 1815.

I also.

 

[unmerged(9945)]

I had a similar experience Knights. I think there is some kind of formula that includes the avg. naval tech of the world along with some other things and thats how pirate tech slowly increases over time. Would be nice to know the actual formula.

Later I booted most other countrie's naval tech down to the same lvlv in a saved game and the pirate naval tech also plummeted, but was still slightly higher when compared to other countries.

 

[Director]

Originally posted by Truskar
Pirates are easy to stop just build a galley in the neighbouring port and put it in the water. Then no pirate should appear.

Pirates are less-likely to appear but will sometimes pop up in an occupied sea zone. However, they do appear with bad morale and are pretty easy for your existing ship to beat.

If you allow them to form and 'train' before attacking them you'll have a more difficult time of it.

 

[Castellon]

Originally posted by chilliwilli
I had a similar experience Knights. I think there is some kind of formula that includes the avg. naval tech of the world along with some other things and thats how pirate tech slowly increases over time. Would be nice to know the actual formula.

Later I booted most other countrie's naval tech down to the same lvlv in a saved game and the pirate naval tech also plummeted, but was still slightly higher when compared to other countries.

Pirates are in the latin tech group. Neighbour bonus may be playing apart. Since they have no provinces, their tech costs should not be very high.

 

[Director]

Originally posted by Castellon


Pirates are in the latin tech group. Neighbour bonus may be playing apart. Since they have no provinces, their tech costs should not be very high.

Thank you Castellon! I didn't know that! Actually, it never occurred to me to check, but it's good to know.

 

[unmerged(1994)]

As a clarification to my earlier observation, I changed my tech group to china before I upped my naval tech to 60. After playing for 3 mths, and saving again, I checked the pirates naval tech and they were 58.
Don't neighbour bonus work only for countries in the same group? And even if they had neighbour bonus, 3 mths is too short a time to jump to 58.
Really funny..and I had no interaction or encounters with the pirates in the 3 mths...how did they advance that quickly?

 

[Heretic]

perhaps pirates are neighbours to anybody who has coast?

Heretic

 

[unmerged(547)]

Originally posted by KnightofFlowers
As a clarification to my earlier observation, I changed my tech group to china before I upped my naval tech to 60. After playing for 3 mths, and saving again, I checked the pirates naval tech and they were 58.
Don't neighbour bonus work only for countries in the same group? And even if they had neighbour bonus, 3 mths is too short a time to jump to 58.
Really funny..and I had no interaction or encounters with the pirates in the 3 mths...how did they advance that quickly?

Some of your naval captains left the admiralty and became pirates?

 

[Owl]

ARRR Jim Lad

I don't think the Pirates are actually MEMBERS of the Latin tech group - otherwise their level 19 in the 15th century would be dragging the rest of us up (via "neighbour bonus").

So they must be pegged to it and when it overtakes their starting level 19 they track it upwards.
Or something.
Odd that they start so far in the lead though it does serve as an obstacle to unhistoric early colonisation...

(Just as well there are no land-based level 19 "bandits" in the game ...)

BTW according to our beloved OT Forum today is "Talk Like a Pirate" day so belay there me hearties ....

 

[Castellon]

Owl, You must be right since the rebels are in the latin tech group as well.

 

[unmerged(1994)]

Another test I did, when I subsequently reduced my naval tech from 60 in line with my neighbours, I rechecked my savegame and discovered that the pirates naval tech had dropped also..to 2 levels below the next highest country, England.
I think the pirates' naval tech is pegged to the highest naval power -2, (when I was at 60, pirates were at 58) which means that many seafaring countries will be literally blown apart on the high seas especially the poor muslim and pagan countries.
Let's be thankful the natives and rebels don't follow the same formula.