Combat

Combat is the meat of Naval Action, aiming to evoke the feeling of large ship battles from the Age of Sail.

Basics

 * Combat is brutal and inelegant. Do not expect to escape any scrape without incurring damage and don't be afraid of sacrificing your own crew and ship durability to take advantage of the enemy.
 * The goal of combat is to make the enemy ships flee (inefficient, no return for investment), destroy them (more efficient, but still lets a perfectly good ship go to waste), or capture them (most advantageous).

Mechanics

 * The principal form of exchanging pleasantries with the enemy is the cannon and its subtypes. Player accuracy is the key factor in victory: A talented cannoneer can put even a ship with limited guns to good use, while a poor one can fail even with a Santisima.
 * Position is secondary and takes into account two primary factors: The wind direction (see sailing) and position relative to the target ship. Rigging determines which wind directions work best for outmaneuvering the enemy, while the relative position determines how much of their firepower the enemy can bring down to bear down on you. Obviously, presenting the smallest possible target at all times is crucial to living long enough to deter enemies.
 * Mind the distance and ship type. Some ships work naturally as brawlers and should close distance as much as possible to bring them to bear on the enemy vessel. With a good speed, ramming is also a viable alternative to peppering the enemy with cannon balls (some ships are less resistant to ramming, check the individual ships articles for multipliers).