Learning the Ropes
Destroy the Ship and Acquire Barnabas’s Shipment
As you set sail to Megaris, Barnabas (1) mentions a shipment of his stolen by pirates while Cyclops was giving him a beatdown. You can learn the ropes by getting his shipment back. Walk up to the edge of the rail overlooking the crew below. Take command of the ship and follow the onscreen tips for maneuvering it. For detailed instructions and tips on everything ship related, see the Essentials chapter.
Sail to the pirates (2) some 1,050 meters to the east. Press and hold the dodge button to put the main sail up and hit top speed on the ocean.
- Recommended Level: 7
- Prerequisite: Complete The Big Break
- Unlocks: Equal Employment Opportunity Program
- Story: Barnabas’s ship has seen better days, but you quickly learned how to make it formidable once more.
Although not all ships are hostile, keep your eyes open for other ships (pirate or not) along your route that may become aggressive—meaning, you may get sea battle training before you even reach the target.
When you reach the target (2), you’ll be relieved to find that it’s a single pirate ship and its level is slightly lower than your own (you should be around a level 7 by now—your ship’s level reflects your own).
Try to start the battle by ramming into the side of the enemy ship at full ram speed. This will take about half of its health away. Follow this up with a few direct arrow volleys.
When the anchor icon appears above the fully drained health bar above the ship, finish the enemy off with a ram through the middle to get battle bonuses.
Equal Employment Opportunity Program
Find and Recruit the Best Archer on the Pirate Island
Having lost a few men in the sea battle, you must now find replacements. This introduces the crew recruitment feature. From the location of the last battle (1), sail east to the pirate island where the marooned bandit camp (2) is located. This is on the edge of the Sacred Lands of Apollo’s south shore. There is a location objective opportunity too. Check that you are wearing gear that enhances your gameplay style: Hunter, Warrior, or Assassin.
- Recommended Level: 7
- Prerequisite: Complete Learning the Ropes
- Unlocks: A Journey into War
- Story: Barnabas’s ship is under-crewed, so he suggests a new hire. You decide that you’ll be in charge of recruiting new crew members yourself.
Send Ikaros into the air to locate the best archer (4) on the pirate island while tagging the remaining targets in the marooned bandit camp.
Marooned Bandit Camp
Docking the Ship
Docking is introduced as you approach the island. Nothing is stopping you from releasing the controls of the ship anywhere at sea, but there’s another way to end a voyage—docking. Look for the glowing halos near the beaches of many distant lands. When you pull into one of these zones you’re given the option to autonomously dock the ship. Simply press and hold the interact button when prompted. The crew does the rest. The ship parks sideways in the welcoming land’s pier (3) as if it had outboard motors on its starboard. All of this happens seamlessly, saving you precious time when you set off or return from any voyage.
Recruiting Lieutenants
You’re prompted to recruit lieutenants with your very first stealth takedown attempted in this camp. Having lieutenants on board allows you to upgrade the ship’s attributes. Upgrading the ship further allows you to assign more lieutenants to further enhance your ship’s attributes. And usually, the higher the lieutenant’s rank the better stats they’ll offer the ship. It’s an enhancing system similar to that of your own body armor.
You now have the option to execute someone or just knock them out and recruit them. People you knock out usually join. Many times, quest givers choose not to join even after you ask nicely. Recruit Phemios (4) to complete the objective. You can dismiss unused lieutenants in the Ship menu as well. Loot the treasure (5) in the camp and then return to your ship.
Return to Barnabas
Barnabas has the checkbox icon above his head. Talk to him to complete the quest. Check out the naval message board to pick up some side quests that involve sea battles. Find the message board tied to the base of the main mast.
Return to Markos (4), who is now at the Temple of Zeus just finishing a conversation with one of Cyclops’s thugs. Speak to Markos.