Land Combat Basics

You'll need to master your weapons if you plan to survive the wilds of the Caribbean.

You will earn Skill Points during battle. Use your Skill Points to learn new skills or to improve skills you already have. To use a Skill Point, open your Sea Chest to the Skills Panel and click on the skill you want to learn or improve.



Combo Skills
When battling with a Cutlass or Dagger, clicking the left mouse button or rapidly pressing the CTRL key will trigger the same basic attack –– such as Hack for Cutlass or Cut for Dagger –– over and over. To launch a more powerful attack, carefully time your key presses or mouse clicks to trigger them in an increasingly powerful sequence.



If you are in the middle of a combo attack and swing too early or too late, you'll see a "Mistimed" message. Clicking again will start the combo attack over from the beginning.





Special Skills and Ammo
When your Pirate has a weapon drawn, that weapon's skills will appear in a menu at the bottom of your screen.
 * Cutlass, Broadsword, Sabre and  Dagger  –– Use this menu to use your Pirate's Special Attack skills.
 * Pistol, Grenade, Musket, Bayonette, Blunderbuss and  Cannon  –– Use this menu to choose the Ammo you want to load.
 * Voodoo Doll and Voodoo Staff –– Use this menu to choose the Spell or Hex you want to cast.

Recharges
Some weapon skills need time to recharge before they can be used again. You can see how long it will be before that skill can be used again by watching its recharge meter. Only with practice will you learn how to best use skills that have recharge times.



Upgrading Your Weapons
Better weapons mean more powerful attacks. You'll start out with a Rusty Cutlass, but as soon as you earn enough skill points wielding it, you'll become eligible to use a stronger blade that deals more damage. Likewise, your first pistol will be a Single-Barrel Flintlock which fires a single shot before needing to be reloaded. As soon as you reach Level 5 in Pistol Reputation, you'll be able to purchase a Double-Barrel Pistol, which can fire two shots before needing to be reloaded.