Black market:
Wait until 2:00 a.m. and go to the item shops at the ports. The
Crusader Sword may be found at the shop at Timbuktu.
Easy money:
Accept the Collect Debt job in the Venice guild after starting a new
game. Get the five gold ingots, deposit in the bank, and return to Venice.
According to the banker, you have failed the job and reduce your fame, but
the gold will remain in the bank.
Easy experience:
Locate the weak pirate in Tunis and bombard him when he leaves.
Challenge him to a duel and weaken him to 50 hit points. After the duel
ends, challenge him again to another duel to gain more experience. Repeat
this as needed.
New ship types:
Place $50,000 a month for five months in the Bristol shipyard to gain
additional ship types, including a barge. Place $50,000 a month for five
months in the Hamburg or Antwerp shipyards to eventually get the full-rig
ship.
Better ships:
You can find better ships to fight with in Sakai and Nagasaki. The
easiest way to get there as soon as possible is to trade carpets and arts
until you have around 10,000 gold pieces. Then, buy glass beads in Venice
and sell them at the port of Madeira. The beads will cost 2 or 3 gold and
can be sold them for about 50 gold. In Madeira, buy sugar for 12 gold and
sell it at the port of Santa Cruz (1 day of sailing south of Madeira). Buy
flax from Santa Cruz and sell it in Amsterdam. From there you can buy
glass beads and repeat the process. Do this until you get to 20 gold
ingots. Then get some balm in Barcelona and cruise to the far east with a
small ship (preferably with rows like a LaReale) with high velocity (such
as a Caravella Redonda). First, stop in Nagasaki and invest 50,000 gold at
the shipyard. You should do this when you reach the end of a month, as it
is faster that way. When the month changes, you should find an Atakkabunde
(cheap and efficient). Buy it and remodel it to only support 30 crew
members and no cannons. If you have mates that can pilot ships, then buy a
couple to speed up things. In Nagasaki, buy silver and sell it in Changan,
Zeiton and Sakai. These ports have silk items; buy some to sell in
Nagasaki. If there is no silver, buy porcelain. You will get fair price
for porcelain in India -- the clove and pepper are cheap in India and sell
for ten times higher in the Far East. Five months in a row, invest 50,000
in Sakai or Nagasaki. When they reach 1000 points in the shipyard, you
will find a new boat: Tekousen. This is the ultimate battle ship. It is
row powered, which is good when the wind dies, and can reach up to 20
knots in speed. Remodelling the Tekousen only permits you to hold 300
crewmen and up to 100 cannons. Another trick: buy a used Tekousen. It will
hold 360 crewmen and 80 cannons. It is easier to maneuver in battle, and
it has more speed than a Venitian Galeas. It also has as much cargo
capacity as a full-rigged ship or even a barge.
Errol's Plate armor:
Go to the Black Market in Copenhagen to get Errol's Plate. That is the
star class armor, which is even better the Pull Mail Armor.
Crusader's Armor:
Go to Naples at 2:00 a.m. and purchase the Crusaders Armor. It is also
star class armor, but it is a lot better then the Errol's Plate, which is
cheaper.
Carronades:
Head towards Bristol and invest in both Shipyards and Trade Market.
Keep them both invested with the same amount of money, $50,000. After you
have gotten the Barge ship, invest once more in the Shipyard and Trade
Market. Return next month and remodel your ship's guns. The message "Your
in luck, we have a new specialty today" or something similar should
appear. If this does not happen, leave the Shipyard menu and keep
returning to remodel guns. The new gun is Carronades. Its attack power is
as strong as a Cannon, and its range is as far as a Culverin. This is the
most powerful guns in the game.
Merchant discounts:
The Merchant will always discount the price of his goods at the rate of
75.0% of the full price. For example: If you were buying Porcelain for
108, do not pay more than 81. You will be able to get this discount even
if you do not have a good bookkeeper. The key to getting this discount is
to make sure the port is allied with your country (and also not a neutral
port). You do not have to have a Tax-Free Permit, but it will reduce your
price even more. Also, if you have a bookkeeper, they will do all the work
for you. This is a rather short list of the bookkeepers: Esteban Ortega,
Jacob Walweik, Antoine Fitch, Benito Gomez, and Tristan Seillo.
Shipbuilder discounts:
Any Shipbuilder will always give a you discount of 83.6% of the full
price. For example, if a ship costs 10,000 to build, you should not pay
more than 8,360. He will accept the price.
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