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Working up to galleon as new pilot?

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ShadedExalt:
Hell, I indeed don't know how the hell rangefinder works, and I'm still a decent shot with the LJ.  I can get range down within roughly 1/2 to 3/4 of a clip and be good for the rest of the match.  Back gun should be flare or mine, yes.  It's funny when a blender or a squid is parked back there and you flare their balloon/main gun, and if they don't know what 'side guns' mean, you're safe until the engi gets over to the gun.  And if it's a mine, well they freak out pretty hard, wondering where the hell that burst of damage came from.

Alistair MacBain:
Another important thing for the galleon ...
Play as a team. Your ally is your best defense. A Galleon isnt a tank that forces its way through a whole team. Its a ship that needs to be babysitted to not get outmaneuvered and blended to death. Yes you have alot of heavy firepower and you can take quite a beating. But all of this doesnt matter if a squid or goldfish or even a carro/flamer pyra sits above you and blends you to death. A Galleon on its own is dead meat.
Get a nice position with your ally nearby and then kill anything foolish enough approaching you. If they ever come close enough you will want your ally to give you the time to get to your closerange side. Without this youre gonna cry.
Another thing ... dont stack guns. More than one lj or hflak or even hcarro is just a waste of potential. Even 2 hwachas arent good on their own. Its fine when you use them up close with a gat or hades. Then you can disable->shred armor-> and you the second hwacha to kill them when they are inside hfllak arming.
Outside of this I would never suggest stacking guns. One hflak can oneclip kill most ships. A lj just needs 2-3 hits on a balloon to kill it. A hcarro just needs oneclip aswell. And we all know that 2 hwachas volleys wont disable more than the whole ship ;).

HamsterIV:
The rear gun can be shot by the pilot, but be careful not to loose arcs on the side guns while you are away from the helm. Here are some situations in which a rear mine launcher is helpful:
1) Running between points on Crazy king and there is an enemy ship behind you.
2) Laying a preparatory mine field while waiting for enemy ships to arrive on point.
3) When your side guns are on a target and there is annother one approaching from the rear.
4) When your components are constantly being destroyed, flame locked, or out of arc due to balloon destruction.

In the last situation you may want to order your entire crew to the top deck to double/triple team the rebuilds. Even with both turning engines out you can fly forward which should move the enemy to your rear for a desperation mine shot out the back by the gunner. It doesn't work all the time but it beats slowly grinding to death on he ground.

Alistair Marlowe:
Keep in mind your galleon's silhouette as well.  In a medium-to-long ranged shootout, you can use your balloon or hull (based on what kind of shells are coming in) to bodyblock damage and give your ally a breather so they can repair up and get back into the fight.  In my experience the galleon plays best as the shield in a shield and sword combo despite your heavy weapons.  You dictate the terms of engagement by picking your position and fire lanes, but you are best served by an ally who can physically knock an enemy out of his or her threat arcs and into yours.  All this talk about a rear-mounted minelayer is nice, but it won't prevent an enemy from settling on your 12 o clock high and grinding you out.  Thus, I prefer to play the galleon if I have at least one goldfish or pyramidion in my fleet who can sit either off to the side under cover or behind my hull, ready to go aggressive at a moment's notice and ram close-ranged bogeys away.

Of course, this requires several things.  Primarily, it will require your allies to grant you command authority and respect your shot calls.  Secondly, it'll require you to make those shot calls; so brush up on your situational awareness, captain!  Last but not least, it will also require your allies to be able to respond to your calls.  I generally only fly galleon either in large games where the law of averages will usually provide at least one tractable ally (determined during pre-game lobby) or with captains I know already or clan mates.  Your best bet is to dive in, fly it, learn it, and build up your connections with other captains.  Few feelings in this game are better than winning an engagement from a de facto fleet command position and being the driving force behind that teamwork, and I hope you can enjoy that feeling soon.  Cheers, and see you in the skies!

Pind:
Wow! Even more awesome advice, loving this community!

Really good advice about teamwork, and the weakness to balloon busting close range enemies. I got the chance today to play a ton with a constant crew and allied captain, and after going 5 wins straight we switched to galleon. It was the first time it worked for me (gatling/hwacha/flak setup) and with the whole crew on guns shooting at the same time- taking fire but giving much more back- we started getting kills.

The most satisfying moment was in a 4v4, with two crews filled with players I'm now familiar with. We delayed 3 ships while our allies killed the 4th, and started picking off the others one by one. We saved an ally by disabling the guns on the two ships that were after him. And we pulled off a badass ram/broadside that completely crushed a spire. Really really satisfying after many failed attempts at galleon earlier!

After flying for several matches, I think the most important thing I've learned is to keep firing. That means always make sure you are in arc (dragon claw = must), don't move the ship too much for the sake of your gunners, and prioritizing shooting over everything else for crew. Telling your teammates to keep shooting and repair guns only was, I found, the best call in many many situations. That included hull down, engines down, and all sorts of stuff on fire. The solution to every problem was shooting it, and the times where we died was when we had no shot.

Will keep flying, and look forward to seeing some of you in game eventually!

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