What are crew levels?
After a ship combat victory, the details can list something similar to:
- The crew earned 1234 experience. (companion experience)
- The crew earned 4 Sailor Experience. (actual crew experience)
- CrewMember#1 gained a rank!
- CrewMember#2 gained a level!
- CrewMember#3 gained a level!
- CrewMember#3 gained a rank!
What are crew levels, and how do they differ from ranks? Why do crew members get either a level, a rank, or both?
Solution 1:
Each crew member has both level and a rank. Level is the same as the PC level - the higher it is, the more powerful the character with more health, better skills etc, which will be noticeable during the boarding battle.
The rank relates to the rank of the job on the ship. The higher rank (there are four), the better they are at what they do. The jobs are:
- Captain - it's your character. The more experienced captain makes his ship the first to move in a sea battle.
- Deckhand - they are the basic crew. They influence the speed of movement of the ship on the map, as well as during the sea battle.
- Boatswain - he has the same function as Deckhands, but additionally he provides bonuses during random event. For example, you can extinguish fires faster thanks to Boatswain.
- Helmsman - responsible for all turns of the ship during the sea battle. An experienced helmsman makes the ship more difficult to hit.
- Cannoneer - they are responsible for handling the cannons on the ship. The more experienced they are, the more accurate the shots will be.
- Surgeon - during travel and fighting, the crew may suffer from various ailments, which reduce the quality of the tasks performed, and may even lead to the death of the crew. The surgeon is responsible for treating the ailments faster and reducing the consumption of medication, but if a sailor catches four injuries or illnesses at a time, he will die for sure.
- Navigator - increases the speed of movement of the vessel on the map.
- Cook - reduces the amount of food consumed by the crew.
Both level and rank level independently - the former will be always around your character level, the latter levels either in naval battles or during certain on-map events, like surviving a storm.