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Conqueror

Definition[]

A Ship of the Line is a massive class of war vessel first constructed in the late 16th century and into the mid 19th century. Their name derived from the battle strategy of a fleet forming a single line of the heaviest ships using their combined broadside guns at the enemy.

Vessels varied in size from two-decked fifty-gun ships up to four-decked fortresses carrying over 130 cannons.

Historically, these ships were built for large naval confrontations, but were often ill-equipped to deal with the lighter, faster ships employed by privateers and pirates.

The "Ship of the Line" would usually have bronze cannons. Guns on the lower decks were usually forty-two pound cannons used for blasting away at enemy "Ships of the Line". These cannons were about twice the size of a twelve-pound cannon.

The cannons at the top deck were traditional 12-pound cannons and were usually used to destroy cannons or attack crew members on enemy ships.

History[]

Spain's King Phillip sent a massive Spanish Armada to attack England on the late 1500's. Many of the ships in the armada were Ships of the Line.

However, many were lost at sea in a terrific storm before arrival, sealing the armada's fate. Other examples of sea battles involving ships of the line are the Battle of the Nile and Battle of Trafalgar in the 1800's.

Also, three ships of the line were used on the attack on New York during the Revolutionary War.

Fortresses at Sea[]

In Pirates Online, a newly-created Ship of the Line model first appeared as the Goliath - replacing a War Frigate version, and then as level 79-81 Expedition Fleet vessels.

They are boss ships of the EITC and Royal Navy Treasure Fleets and are the single most powerful ships to be found in the Caribbean. They have formidable hulls, capable of withstanding huge amounts of damage. They have 14 Deck Guns and 24 Broadside Cannons, distributed between THREE broadside gun decks - the max for pirate ships being two.

The ammunition they use varies from Round Shot, Firebrand, Chain Shot, to Explosive. In addition to being powerful vessels in their own right, these ships are accompanied by a group of Navy Elite or EITC Tyrant escort ships when leading Treasure Fleets.

Known Ship of the Line Class Vessels[]

*Note: HMS stands for His/Her Majesty's Ship in Royal Navy treasure fleets

Bounty Hunter Ships of the Line[]

The ships will follow a wanted pirate until the ends of the world; or until sunk. While not as formidable as the Treasure Fleet Ships of the Line, they are still very dangerous.

Escort Ships[]

To date, except for the Goliath and Bounty Hunters, no Ship of the Line has been spotted without smaller, but still powerful, craft protecting it. These Heavy war frigates form a circle around the larger ship and travel alongside until it reaches its destination. Should any vessel open fire on them or the Ship of the Line, then ALL of the escorts will work in unison to sink the offending vessel. They also have very long range Broadsides, so watch out!

EITC[]
Navy[]

Noted Ships of the Line[]

Game Notes[]

  • On August 2nd, 2010, the Ship of the Line could be bought on the Test Server from a Shipwright for 200,000 gold pieces (The maximum amount of gold a pirate can have). This no longer appears for sale on Live or Test Servers. Originally, Pirates Online officially stated that it is not ready to release this feature. However, it was later confirmed that the Ship of the Line will not be released for Live Players to use, and that it was an accident to release it in the first place.
Screen Shot 2012-08-22 at 3.57.22 PM

Test Server Release Notes - August 3rd, 2010[]

  • Removed new ship types from the Shipwrights. This feature is not ready for release and needs further development.
  • With the Raven's Cove update, the Ship of the Line's flags are no longer Navy class. The ships now have white sails pertaining to a pirate ship.
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