Patrizierforum

An old myth is that some weapons are better at killing crew rather than damaging the ship.
Here is some basic data from the old manual:
Weapon type - Absolute fire power

small catapult - 3
big catapult - 8

small balista - 4
big balista - 9

cannon - 7
bombard - 11

Weapon type - damage at short range - damage at long range (Relative fire power)
small catapult - 3 - 3
big catapult - 7 - 6

small balista - 4 - 2
big balista - 10 - 5

canon - 8 - 3
bombard - 14 - 5

Now you will note from this that damage is different at short ranges than at long. Large catapults are the best distance weapons, no questions there. But you must also factor in the numbers of weapons.

For example, the crayer can hold at level three extension five slots, enough for two large and one small weapons on a side. So take notice, at a distance cannon are no better than small catapults in effectiveness. Don't arm with them if you are trying to take out ships at long range. Your maximum damage is fifteen points. Using large catapults and a small catapult gives fifteen points. This is not only cheaper to arm your ships with, it is equally effective as well. You will also perhaps take damage in a battle, and it will be more costly to replace later on as well. For an attack on a city or a pirate hideout, the most effective technique is to use a cog armed with small catapults and fight at a distance. You will note that if you use only small catapults, you will have nine on a side of a level three cog, for a total of twenty seven damage points at a distance. If you use four large and a small catapult, the damage points at a distance are twenty seven. The difference is nothing at all. If your ship is hit, you are less likely to lose two small weapons at a time and you will remain an effective killer for a longer time. Similarly, using large ballistas or large bombards for distance fighting are really counterproductive, they inflict less damage. At close in, large catapults are slightly better, but just slightly. For close infighting, repelling borders, cannon give more destruction than anything else. A crayer close in will have forty damage points. But as with any military action, the best option is to destroy your enemy from afar.

As for calculating damage points on ship versus crew, all ship weapons cause the same amount of casualties... there is no way to kill more sailors without damaging the opponent's ship. The only important fact is that you need to inflict at least 2 damage points to reduce the amount of sailors. You might have to almost destroy another ship if you use smaller weapons on long distance, whereas the other ship will remain in pretty good shape if you use bombards on close range.

The formula is as follows: Each direct hit causing at least 2 damage points will result in casualties as "rounded down ((1 + 0...0.5) x damage points x amount of sailors on board / max. stability of ship)". It might be a good idea to go for a clean shot, because all shots causing less than 2 damage points seem to cause no casualties at all.

The large and small balls represent damage points. One large red ball represents five strength. One black ball is one strength. So for example, two red and three black represent a rating of thirteen (2x5 + 3). Three red and three black are eighteen (3x5 + 3).

One small thing I have noted is damage to the ship is spread over damage to the weaponry and the hull. If you are interested in sinking the ship, keep your hits all on the same side. If you are interested in capture, spread them out to both sides. The flashes are the destruction of the weapons, and mean less hull damage is done. The "value" is the same, but a better hull with fewer weapons is of more use after capture than a more damaged hull with more weapons. Sailors are killed with both types of hits. You can buy weapons more quickly than you can repair the ship.

Exactly the value of putting an international section here, cross fertilization of ideas!

The formula for damage comes straight from the source code, from one of the programmers of Patrician 2. The cannon are best of course in a close broadside. Each pair delivers 16 damage points. But at a distance, they are not valuable at all.

What remains to be explored is the chance of all cannon shots (or small catapults) hitting the target, compared to the chance of large catapults. In P2 and P3 the catapults have the best range. And somehow, the pirates always seem to coax out longer ranges ...

@Mandela: I tend to favor the 550 model level three cog for assaults. It has a trifle less weapons capacity (3 points at distance), and is cheaper and quicker to repair, faster to build too. Holks are about as fast as a snaikka, which I prefer for carrying cargo when at its maximum 250 level, for the same economic reasons. For longer distance, I prefer the speed of the crayers. As far as cannon go, in a large fleet battle you do tend to lose a few, and since a cheap catapult is as good at a distance, and costs about a tenth as much ... well, you do the math!
I usually keep the bombards from the pirates, and will buy a cannon or two, but it is purely vanity in looking at all those red and black dots. Economically, it would be smartest to sell all the others and just use small catapults, and fight at a distance. I usually try to capture ships undamaged, in any event. And I scavenge the holks and sell the ships.

Quoted

Original von Anne Bonny
@ Baltic Trader:

Who is buying cannons or bombards? Cutlasses are only bought in the beginning until the pirates start dropping them off en masse.

I like cannons for all small ships and bombards for the larger ones.

Early on, you can achieve these weapons faster on your own when you develop the shipyard. And oddly enough, I don't think I have ever seen pirates armed with cannon before, just bombards, in Patrician 3.

And here is the economic question: With the possible exception of a few convoy leaders or designated fighters, doesn't it make more sense just to sell off the higher level weaponry?

Quoted

Original von Builder
I focus all repair in one shipyard until it has three Laterns. The number shows how fast the shipyard is. For getting Holks buildable repair some captured and build 4 to six ships (pending on tonnage).

I experimented a bit, in the beginning of the Contest. I ordered on the same day ships (snaikkas) in Danzig and in Edinburgh. Fast forwarding, they launched on the same day. Playing on, I repaired all my ships in Danzig, some substantially damaged. More money was spent in total in Danzig. After about two weeks, I ordered a second ship in Edinburgh. Fast forwarding, the ship in Edinburgh was ready a day earlier. After another week, a third ship was ordered (and the first hadn't launched yet) and now it was ready two days earlier. The AI repaired nothing during this time.

So, the shipyard is aware of upcoming contracts, and improves faster with multiple ship orders in the roster. Repairs only will bring a shipyard up in capability, but building ships with a number on order brings it up faster to its maximum capacity.