Shipping: Serpent Hunter [Part 4]

So you see all these serpent kill messages being announced over CE channel and you want to be part of it? This part is about how to be a competent serpent hunter.

"Know thy enemy"

First, head out of docks and safe area, once you are in hazardous waters, you may proceed to snag and chum serpents. Serpents come in several sizes: small (1-6 rooms), large (7-13), massive (14-20), enormous (28-34), gigantic (35-41), humongous (42-48) and colossal (49+). Only things to note are that:

1. The larger the serpent, the more fae it gives when you kill it.
2. Multi-headed serpents that are enormous or larger will split into baby serpents with same characteristics.
3. A colossal serpent kill gives you a medal if you're on board a ship that participates in the killing of the serpent.

Depending on how much land there is near your ship, different sizes of serpents may be attracted. There are four levels of land mass proximity that will yield small only, mammoth and below, humongous and below and all sizes. When you successfully chum, you will see a message that will guide you to the area you are in. Use this as a guide to manage the type of serpents you want to attract and engage. Only chum as many serpents as you can handle and in the beginning, one at a time is a good number.

When the serpent first begins to surface, you will get an idea what color the serpent is. Serpents come in different colors with modifiers on speed and hit points. Emerald serpents take 5 seconds to move and have a 400 HP multiplier, golds 3 seconds with a 100 HP multiplier, rubies 2 seconds with a 1000 HP multiplier, and violets 1 second with a 500 HP multiplier. As you can clearly see, emeralds and golds are easier to kill given that they are slower and have less HP while rubies and violets are not only fast, they also have more HP. Multicolor serpents also exist and all you need to do is to average out between the two combining colors.

It is usually advisable to wait till the serpent to fully surface in order to know the kind of enemy you are dealing with before you decide whether or not you want to engage it or not. In addition to color, serpents have other modifiers that any novice captain will take heed before rashly engaging. To paraphrase from help files:

• Serpent heads appear on the ship and when the serpent is next to your ship. Hammer heads do extra ramming damage, serpent heads bite, has poison and can send players flying, eel heads bite and can send players flying, sword heads backstab, and finally, dragon heads set rooms on fire and has extra ramming damage.
• Tail type also gives the serpent additional attributes. Scorpion tails hurl poison darts from a distance, serpent tails double the serpent's speed if it is not a violet, dragon tails increases the serpent's hitpoints, barbed tails poison and blind you. In my opinion, the most annoying and dangerous tail type is the fanned tail that creates a blast of wind that knocks players off their feet and spins the ship in a different direction. This is particularly deadly when the wind spins your ship around and you end up facing a ramming attack a few rooms away with either just your bow gun or no ready guns.
• Body type affects the serpent's attributes as well. Whale bodies have more HP and are slower. Serpent bodies mean the serpent is faster but takes less damage. Eel bodies have less HP and takes more damage.

One thing to note is that you may avoid serpents by not attacking them only when you do not have a lot of fae on the ship and have not attacked any serpent since leaving docks. Once you have fae on your ship, the serpent may decide to attack you even if you do not fire on it.

Once you have attacked the serpent, serpent combat takes the following sequence:

1. Serpent surfaces from ocean depths and starts moving directly towards the ship.
2. If the serpent suffers a head shot, the serpent will either swim away from the ship or immediately dive under the surface. A head shot can only be pulled off if the serpent head is 5 rooms or less away from the ship when the shot hits. With 'Devil's Bargain' spell in effect, the distance is increased to 6-7 rooms.
3. If no head shot is pulled off, the serpent rams the ship and the ship takes damage, the serpent executes its attack depending on head type, the ship is dragged by the serpent in the direction of the attack until the serpent dives under the surface on its own accord, or is persuaded to dive under the surface by being fired on, or is killed. Serpent ramming damage is determined by serpent speed and not size of the serpent. Expect more ramming damage from violets and rubies, hammer heads, dragon heads, serpent tail, and serpent bodies.
4. The process is repeated until either the serpent dies, or the ship is sunk. Serpent attacks may also be halted by the ship secret spell 'dispel serpent', or if the ship runs into safe waters. Sometimes, even when your ship has entered safe waters, the serpent continues its attack. If you fire at a serpent while in safe waters, then the serpent may continue to keep attacking your ship till you dock. It is not unheard of for a docked ship to be rammed by a serpent either, although it is a rare occurrence. Serpents also retain a memory of which ship has fired on them and will lie in wait outside safe waters if you venture out again before the serpent is killed.

"Know thyself"

First off, know what ship gun configuration you have. The previous article discussed all the effects of different gun configurations, so it will not be repeated here.

Secondly, know how to create the optimal conditions for firing. Make sure a ship is not turning when you fire as you will increase the chances of missing. Fire only in volleys as they increase your chances of hitting. In this case, 'ship gun' is your best friend to make sure the guns are loaded and ready to fire. Deckhand skill range is also another factor that any captain needs to be aware of. Lower deckhand skills take longer to fire and when you have a ship with a wide range in skill levels, you will scatter fire. Consequently, your chances of missing is higher.

Thirdly, do not attack more serpents than you can handle. All it takes is for you to get rammed two to three times by fast serpents to sink.

Lastly, have fun.

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