Aboard a Junker

[Kyren]

Salutes go to Skrimskraw, Classy Titan and GearsW for helping with the making of this Guide!

Ahoy!

So, you've come here because you heard that the Junker is a light version of the Galleon, great for Skywhaling with a Harpoon up front and because you like trifectas. Well, all of those can come true, except the first one. The Junker is much more than a light version of the Galleon, and it allows and actually bids for a different playstyle. If you thought a Goldfish was versatile, you haven't played Junker enough. Don't think yourself so much as a Captain aboard a Junker, but more a Tinkerer. There's hardly something this ship can't do.

Ship Stats and Resilience

Hull Health: 500 Hull Armor: 700 Balloon Health: 1200 Acceleration: 1.1 m/s² Radial Acceleration: 6 deg/s² Vertical Acceleration: 3.3 deg/s² Max Speed: 26.5 m/s Max Turn Speed: 9.0 deg/s Max Vertical Speed: 10.5 m/s Mass: 200000 Hull Profile: 350 m² Balloon Profile: 988 m²

Speed
Don't laugh - Junkers are slower than a Galleon, but faster than a Spire. But they have the second fastes acceleration, just after the Squid. This means you can't outdistance other ships in the long run, but you can quickly get ahead of them and position yourself at a good angle. Using Kerosene always has an impact, but the Junker will still feel slow in the beginning. It's turning speed isn't the fastest either, but you'll find that the gun positions on it make it easy to keep your broadside trained on the enemy.


Hull
The Junker feels like a tough and tanky ship, it's Armor and Hull rating aren't that high compared to others, but especially the high Armor allows it to take some hits before it goes down - in the Junkers case, a Gatling takes about 3 clips to break the armor. You can use the Balloon on all ships to cover your hull from being hit and get valuable repair time, but on the Junker even more so - the Huge balloon covers all of the ship from above. The repair hardpoint for the Hull is on the top deck, in the middle of the ship - it can be reached quite easily by whoever mans one of the broadside guns on the top deck, and what's special, it can be hit and repaired from the lower deck as well if you stand just under it! From front and behind it's profile is quite slim, but if you point your broadside at the enemy, they're sure to not miss a single shot on your hull as well. Still, it takes up to 3 rounds of a Gatling to take a Junker's Hull armor down.



Balloon
Rectangular and huge, taking up more than half of the ship - the Junkers trademark is it's huge balloon. It doesn't have more health than the other Ship's balloons, but it makes for a much easier target. All of the Ships balloons can be used to cover the lower decks from enemy fire, but the Junker's ballon excels at it. Situated just above the Helm, it can be kept in shape by the Pilot which will often be necessary - stray shots have a tendency to hit the balloon on the Junker, and if anything on your Junker is taking hits, chances are, the balloon will get some damage from it too.


Engines
The turning Engines on the upper deck are protected by the Junkers balloon, Engineers will often wonder how everything aboard the ship can be red on the HUD and the Engines are nearly at full health. If they get damaged however, repairing them costs valuable time because you have to ascend the ladder up to them - they can't be hit from the lower deck like the Balloon can. The Main/Accelerating Engine is at the lower Deck, wedged in between 2 light guns. Ideally the Gunner down there can take care of them, but the lower deck is suspectible to AOE damage and you'll often find that Engine damaged next to the Guns.


Guns
3 Guns at the top deck, 2 at the lower - or, in other words, 2 on every broadside and one for the front. If you are approaching a enemy ship head on, your broadside guns are relatively secure, but once you turn your broadside to bring the 2 light guns down there to bear, they'll take hits too, often simultaneously. Maintaining fire on a Junker is often a choice between having the hull down to half it's armor, or getting the guns on the broadside working again. Checking them continously, especially during a fight is absolutely necessary - unless your enemy carries a Mercury they won't be down in one shot, which gives your Engineers time to keep them in a good condition and firing.

Examples on Loadouts

Junkers are probably the most versatile ship out there when it comes to useful weapon loadouts. Their speed hinders them somewhat, but there is a huge variety of light weapons and the possibility of a trifecta (3 guns firing on the same target) on a Junker, as well as the slender profile of the Junker which allows it to quickly point at least one gun at any attacking ship - unless it's at the back, the Junkers blind side. Don't let yourself be fooled by it's ragtag appearance, the Junkers foremost purpose is probably robbing and piracy, but it can hold it's own against any other ship just as well. Hit and Run tactics are not viable for this ship, because there's no option for a quick getaway. You have to prepare for full scale combat when you select your loadout, keeping in mind that you can support on long and mid range, but destroy just as good with your broadsides. Loading out a Junker can be complex business, but for the purpose of getting you set up with your piece of Junker we'll keep it simple here - Your front gun is a utility or support weapon. Unless you take a Mercury Field Gun, which quickly loses it's effectiveness once you bring your broadsides to bear, you won't go on a killing spree with it. What you will do is trying to cause havoc on the enemy ship before your other weapons lock on the target. Shatter damage works very well here, because Artemis Rocket Launchers or Banshee Light Rocket Carousels can either take out components of the enemy ship in mid and close range and possibly allow a trifecta, or damage various parts of the enemy ship, keeping their Engineers busy before you hit them with something worse. The broadsides are what you use to cripple or destroy enemy ships with, and they are the most dangerous side to approach a Junker on. Your front gun may hinder a advancing enemey, but it won't inflict enough damage to destroy them. The Junker isn't very fast to turn, but especially with a Phoenix claw fast enough to switch broadsides around even mid combat - be wary though, the Junker is tough, but not so tough to survive a Pyramidion firing at close range you while you turn. 2 weapon hardpoints at every broadside recommend weapons that work together well -  gatlings and mortar/flaks are the prime example for this, but also dual shatter damage (banshee/artemis, banshee/banshee), etc. will work wonders. Don't forget that you've got 2 broadsides, too - just as on Galleons, having one side for close range and one side for long range is a viable strategy.

For the example here we'll take a very simple, quite common Junker loadout:

Front: Banshee Light Rocket Carousel
Left Broadside: Mortar/Gatling
Right Broadside: Mortar/Gatling

This build has no long range options, it relies on the Junker's relative toughness to get into mid or close range with the enemy ships and then quickly dispatch them with firing Gatling and Mortar on their hull. The mortar is more difficult to aim than a flak here, but even without the right choice of ammunition it's fairly quick to get into and much more devastating than the light Flak.


Let's cover the single positions of the Loadout screen aboard the ship in more detail:

Top Deck - FrontThe Banshee Light Rocket Carousel provides a firework starter for any ship that's about to be engaged by this build. With shatter damage, in the best case to a variety of components aboard the enemy ship coupled with the chance of starting a fire, the aim is to get the Engineers on the other ship busy and hold them off from firing back while the Junker turns into position. When pursuing a enemy ship, they aren't as good as a Mercury Field Gun or a Artemis Rocket Launcher on taking out engines, but damaged and burning engines will still slow the other ship down. Top Deck - Starboard and Port On the top deck the Whirlwind Light Gatling Gun. The Mortar would have a better firing position from this deck, but a Gatling does it's job much faster than a Mortar and therefore the top-deck Engineers don't have to stay on the gun too long and can keep repairs in check better. Once the Hull Armor of the enemy ship is down, the Gatling won't do so much damage anymore and the Mortar has to take over. Lower Deck - Starboard and Port The Mortar is typically placed on the lower Deck, together with the Gunner. With the amount of components on the top deck, the 2 Engineers are better suited for gunning there and one can always quickly run down to help, for instance when the Main Engine goes down. To correct it's downward ark, gunners will have to aim high with the Mortar, but the high ammunition it carries allows for some practice shots. Other than that, bringing a Pipe Wrench is - as always - advisable for the Gunner, because it will make it much easier to keep the 2 guns and the Engine on the lower deck in good health.

You will be able to easily be a threat to other ships with this loadout. It's simple and straightforward, the Mortar is a bit difficult to use but rewarding, the Banshee lacks the punctual damage the Artemis and Mercury have, but can also be used without much practice and will surely set something on fire once you're hitting. Once you look at your own Junkers loadout though, you'll realize that there's much more that can be done - If you switch out one broadside of this loadout, for let's say, an Artemis and a Mercury, you have a effective long range side, while still keeping your devastating close range damage on the other side.

A more versatile and "complicated" Junker loadout looks like this:

Front: Beacon Light Flare Gun
Starboard Broadside: Mercury Field Gun / Mercury Field Gun
Port Broadside: Scylla Mortar/ Whirlwind Light Gatling Gun

With one side for long range and one side for close range, this build already makes better use of the 4 light weapon hardpoints on the lower deck. The defining piece is the Beacon Flare Gun, which can be used for offensive means (hitting a Balloon with it will drop 10 stacks on fire on it), but more importantly can be used for illuminating clouds and breaking enemy ship's cover from afar - and thus giving the Mercury Field Guns a firing solution.

Top Deck - Front The Beacon Flare gun has one of the widest weapon arcs, and the useful function of lighting up spaces of the map. With it's long reload time it's not optimal for combat use, but with this build it's more for helping with map control. As one side of the Junker specializes in long-range sniping, the Beacon Flare Gun eliminates the cover that enemy ships can gain from hiding in clouds. Scoring a shot on a Balloon with it also is a great diversion! Top Deck - Starboard and Port On Starboard is one of the two Mercuries, the positioning here doesn't make a big difference for them as their limited arc only becomes a problem in close range encounters. When you're using the Mercury though, your enemy will be a long way off and effectively hindered to come any further by having two mercuries fire at their ship. On the portside the Gatling sits as the usual Hull-Armor destroyer for close to mid range encounters if a enemy ship sneaks past the Junker. Lower Deck - Starboard and Port On Starboard, the second Mercury Field Gun - it works exactly the same as the one above, sniping targets from as far away as possible. A single Mercury already is a threat, if you manage to get both of them firing at the same target though, they'll effectively be crippled or soon destroyed. As with many other light weapons, a single one can deal some damage or distraction, but they only get devastating if used together or in conjunction with others. On port we have a Scylla Double Barrel Mortar waiting for the Gatling above to pierce the enemies hull before it unleashes explosives on them.

Summed up, this build focuses on map control. With the Beacon Flare Gun and the Mercury Field Guns you can effectively sit and defend a spot and wreck any ship that tries to approach you. If that fails, you still have one side with close range weaponry to put up a fight!

[Kyren]

Engineering on a Junker

The Junker only looks like it's falling apart, it's actually holding together quite well, unless you target it with explosives, fire, grenades... Well, you get my meaning. What makes the Junker stay alive despite it's low speed is it's high Hull Armor. You'll come to rely on it a lot, because the Junker doesn't have too many shortcuts for repairing or jumping. Especially running from the lower Deck to the Balloon or Turning Engines is something that will feel like a eternity in combat. Therefore positioning your Engineers carefully and having a Gunner that takes care of the parts on the lower deck alone can lead to a much more enjoyable flight! Usually you'll have 2 Engineers on the Top Deck, one firing the Starboard/Portside guns and the other either firing with the front Gun (unless the Gunner does that), while the Gunner is stationed on the lower deck. Repairing parts on the top Deck doesn't take a lot of jumping around, but a good amount of running - the Hull is exactly in the middle of the ship, without any gun or another component close. It's high armor allows it to take a hit or two before it needs repairs, but given the low maneuverability of the Junker it'll be under constant fire easily. For reaching the front Gun you can jump over the fence next to the Hull, but getting back to the other parts will require some running again. The Balloon can be kept in shape easily by hitting it from below, close to the Helm, which can as well be done by the Pilot. You won't have such luck with the Turning Engines though, they require you to climb up one of the ladders which will slow you down a lot. Buffing the Junker's Hull gives it a higher Armor rating than the Galleon, which looks impressive at first but isn't that necessary in the long run. As mentioned, the Junkers "weakness" are it's Engines. If you find yourself with a lot of spare time, buffing them at the right moment might help getting in or out of a fight a lot, but comparing the long buff duration on the Hull to the short buff duration on the Engines makes it less rewarding again. The Junker's speed problem is easier evened out with the use of Kerosene/Moonshine and a Phoenix Claw. Buffing the balloon is probably one of the best measures though, on maps where there's a lot of cover - while you'll never be able to fly around enemy ships or cover a lot, rising above and falling under them will still grant you advantages! That's the sweet spot from which you can repair the Hull from the lower Deck. Gunning on a Junker Gunnery on a Junker is a very straightforward job - most of the light weapons are fast to get into, and while it's always great if the Gunner has a microphone for calling positions to the Captain it's not utterly necessary in this case. From the Helm, the Pilot can judge the gun arcs of this front gun and the broadsides quite well, even though every comment on shifting the ship a bit more to the left or right helps immensely. Also, if you know that you'll be stationed on the lower deck - which isn't unusual - bring a Pipe Wrench. The 2 guns on the lower deck and the Main Engine are extremely close to each other and you won't have to do a single step to reach either of them for repairs or firing. If you can keep them in a good shape, the Engineers will have a better time with the more spread-out parts on the top Deck. Other than that, using the Front Gun is also not unusual for the Gunner on a Junker - it can be reached easier from the lower Deck than from the top Deck, but it's only important during chases or while approaching enemy ships - the real firefights happen on the broadsides. Captaining on a Junker If you're a fan of customizing, you won't be disappointed by the Junker. When you change it's loadout, you can be certain that every single gun of it will be used and serve a important role in combat. Some ships have weapon hardpoints that are less frequently used - not so the Junker. Before you grow tired of flying this ship, you'll have the chance to test out a multitude of possible and useful loadouts and given it's high Hull Health and simple layout you'll also find it possible to crew it with new players sucessfully. Your biggest problem will be it's maneuverability and speed. You can bring a lot of weaponry into the fray, but it might take a while until you get there, and you'll have to be wary of other ships outmaneuvering you. Your backside is your blind spot, but the Junker is fast enough to turn your broadside unto any advancing ship. Other than that, the slow speed of the Junker makes for calm flying and you'll have lot's of time to think about the upcoming engagement. Careful positioning is important with the Junker, because you won't be able to make mistakes good that easily - just as any other ship, you can hide behind a mountain, but you'll be slower with it than most of them. Having your Main Engine shot out is also a major disadvantage here, and it happens surprisingly often! Your view from the Helm is largely unobstructed, and you won't have many difficulties pointing your weaponry at enemy ships. Keep in mind though that it's sometimes only by an inch that your guns can't fire at the target and encourage your Crew to tell you when you need to turn just a little bit more. Just above your Helm is the Balloon, which will be very thankful for a hearty whack with whatever repairing tool you're carrying - on the Junker, Pipe Wrench or Rubber Mallet should do the trick. It'll save your Engineers valuable time, and you can repair damages by Hydrogen/Chute Vent/Drogue Chut input yourself! Hydrogen The Junkers high Armor allows it to work as a blocker for allied ships - you can't ram, but you can force another ship to ram or fire on you instead of your ally to save them. Hydrogen will quickly put you in the right position for that! Raising above a enemy ship will also give you valuable time for repairing your Hull if it's in a bad condition. Chute Vent Comes in Handy in maps such as Fjords where the ground gives you a lot of cover against long range. Where the Junker's speed doesn't allow it to quickly fly behind cover, Chute Vent allows to drop behind them for having a break for repairs. Drogue ChuteYour Balloon is quick to repair due the good position of the Pilot just under it, but especially in mid or long range engagements against Carronades or Lumberjacks it can be great to stay afloat while longer to shoot the enemies weapons out before approaching. It'll buy you firing time! KeroseneKerosene really helps on the Junker, it boosts one of your lowest stats - speed. MoonshineJunkers can technically ram, but it doesn't happen often due to their already low base speed. It can be used to quickly gain maximum speed, but the Junker already accelerates very fast so you won't need this much either. Impact BumpersJust if you think that you are going to crash a lot into other ships, or that other ships will crash into you - as Junkers are hardly used for ramming, you won't use them much. Phoenix ClawNearly a must have, even better when your broadsides serve different purposes - Need to turn from long-range side to the close-range side fast? Phoenix Claw! Spy Glass Personal preference. If your crew feels up to it, have them do the spotting for you. Tar Barrel You definitely won't be flying around enemy ships coating them in tar, if you use Tar Barrel, then to hinder pursuers. It might be more effective though to have them push trough under you with Hydrogen/Chute Vent, and then make them face your broadside. If you think you've learned a lot about the Junker now, then I'm more than sorry to disappoint you - I am by no means a experienced Captain with the Junker, and what we have outlined here are just the basics of what can be done with this ship. If you take it on yourself to Pilot or serve on one, you'll sooner or later discover ever more ways to rain death upon your enemies with this ragtag pile of boards! However - Once you've achieved that knowledge, please come back here and tell us of your exploits, so that we can expand on this Guide

[Eukari]

Another great guide! I flew a Junker last night in a few matches and did pretty dismally; just from reading this, I know I'll do better next time.

Also, if you're taking suggestions on what ship to do a guide for next...I've had my eye on the Mobula for a while, and would love to see an in-depth look at it. 

[Kyren]

Another great guide! I flew a Junker last night in a few matches and did pretty dismally; just from reading this, I know I'll do better next time.

Also, if you're taking suggestions on what ship to do a guide for next...I've had my eye on the Mobula for a while, and would love to see an in-depth look at it. 

I'm really glad to hear that the Guide was useful to you

Uff, you know, I won't come around doing the Mobula - I just haven't found an expert yet that can double check it's contents Next up are Pyramidion and Galleon, but I'm sure I'll get something for the Mobula in the next days too! If anyone reads this and could offer help with the Galleon and Mobula tutorials - shoot me a PM!

[Pickle]

Great guide, although I disagree completely with you on a few things!  But that's the Junker for you, it promotes very different styles of play.

I always put the Gatling on the lower deck with a Gat-Flak or Gat-Mortar Junker - it's important that the Gatling is firing all the time, and the lower deck is the natural position for the primary gunner (whether Gunner or Engineer).  The Mortar of Flak only needs a burst of attention at just the right time - easier for the main deck Engineer or the Pilot to do.

Gunners can use the forward gun, but it's important they know when to come off it because the Captain is trying to bring a broadside into play.  I often wish I could leave the forward mount un-gunned because of stubborn Gunners.

Don't confuse manoeuvrability with speed.  The Junker is very manoeuvrable, it's just slow - although with Kerosene it will (just) out-pace a Pyra with non-boosted engines.

Phoenix Claw is of very limited value given the base manoeuvrability of the Junker and the greater relative benefit of almost any other Pilot tool.  Including Tar Barrel which can come in very useful for deterring faster pursuers from closing and concealing a change in aspect to surprise them with a broadside once they've worked their way past or through the tar.

The piloting position gives the Captain and lot of options, s/he can choose to repair balloon or steering engines quite easily (pointless staying in the helm if they're both down), or take up the main deck guns.  As a Junker Captain I am very often running to the Flak or Mortars on the main deck when the Gunner is calling "Armour down" and this frees both Engineers to make repairs.  It's not unusual to get into a running broadside exchange with another ship whilst in a Junker (usually against other Junkers or Pyras) - I can often set the helm to match speeds and jump down to a deck gun and we'll run alongside each other firing.  Having me (as Pilot) on the second gun and both my engineers repairing gives me a very good advantage over the opposing Pilot who is standing at the helm just because that's his role according to Piloting 101.


It's probably worth pointing out that the Gunner is usually responsible for repairs to the main engine, but that unless a Junker is trying to evade pursuit or racing after a CP point, repairs to the main engine can usually wait until the calm between engagements.  However the steering engines are very important, and one of the deck Engineers should be keeping an eye on them.

[Kyren]

Great guide, although I disagree completely with you on a few things!  But that's the Junker for you, it promotes very different styles of play.

I always put the Gatling on the lower deck with a Gat-Flak or Gat-Mortar Junker - it's important that the Gatling is firing all the time, and the lower deck is the natural position for the primary gunner (whether Gunner or Engineer).  The Mortar of Flak only needs a burst of attention at just the right time - easier for the main deck Engineer or the Pilot to do.

Gunners can use the forward gun, but it's important they know when to come off it because the Captain is trying to bring a broadside into play.  I often wish I could leave the forward mount un-gunned because of stubborn Gunners.

Don't confuse manoeuvrability with speed.  The Junker is very manoeuvrable, it's just slow - although with Kerosene it will (just) out-pace a Pyra with non-boosted engines.

Phoenix Claw is of very limited value given the base manoeuvrability of the Junker and the greater relative benefit of almost any other Pilot tool.  Including Tar Barrel which can come in very useful for deterring faster pursuers from closing and concealing a change in aspect to surprise them with a broadside once they've worked their way past or through the tar.

The piloting position gives the Captain and lot of options, s/he can choose to repair balloon or steering engines quite easily (pointless staying in the helm if they're both down), or take up the main deck guns.  As a Junker Captain I am very often running to the Flak or Mortars on the main deck when the Gunner is calling "Armour down" and this frees both Engineers to make repairs.  It's not unusual to get into a running broadside exchange with another ship whilst in a Junker (usually against other Junkers or Pyras) - I can often set the helm to match speeds and jump down to a deck gun and we'll run alongside each other firing.  Having me (as Pilot) on the second gun and both my engineers repairing gives me a very good advantage over the opposing Pilot who is standing at the helm just because that's his role according to Piloting 101.


It's probably worth pointing out that the Gunner is usually responsible for repairs to the main engine, but that unless a Junker is trying to evade pursuit or racing after a CP point, repairs to the main engine can usually wait until the calm between engagements.  However the steering engines are very important, and one of the deck Engineers should be keeping an eye on them.

Phew, I should have contacted you about it before posting. I'll work your suggestions in once I'm done with explaining all the Main Menu stuff for the Community Guide! I'll especially expand the Captains section with the things you just mentioned, I haven't seen many Captains on Junkers doing more than Balloon repairs, but it never hurts to give whoever reads this Guide some incentive

I had doubts about my Guide here yesterday already when I had my Captain set the Mortars on the upper deck, I'll have to redo those screenshots and the text then, too!

My thanks! Grrr, and I'm already counting hours again as to how much I can get done today :/

[Pickle]

I was away anyway Kyren.. catching a bit of the Fringe at the Edinbugh Festival.

I'll have a think about thus guide over the next couple of weeks and see if I can come up with some more.  I know there are other pilots that also pretty much fly the Junker exclusively, if I see any of them in-game I'll try and grab their tips too and point them at this thread.

I might have been too hasty knocking back Phoenix Claw so completely, I do sometimes use it with the Junker but compared to the slow turning speed of the Pyra it's not absolutely essential.  Drogue chute is probably more useful given the ability of the balloon to soak up damage when shielding components, and my standard tool bar for Junker is Drogue Chute, Kerosene, Tar barrel.


Crewing a Junker, my take on it..
Captain - Pilot, tools as above, role - to steer, use the main deck guns to finish off an opponent, make repairs to balloon and steering engine
Gunner - Gunner or Engineer, role to stay on the lower deck and operate the lower deck guns as directed by the Captain, to operate the bow gun in pursuit, repair main engine
Main Engineer - Engineer, make repairs to the hull and deck guns, standard repair build with no buffing, available to jump on deck gun as directed by Captain
Deck Engineer - Engineer, make repairs to deck guns, balloon and steering engines, to use main deck guns as directed by Captain, normally standard repair build but sometimes buffing

I've had some really good Engineers in the Deck Engineer role - and it takes a very good Engineer to use a buffing build in this role.  Other then the Gunner, the remaining three crew members must carry the same ammunition choice to avoid blocked guns.  I also insist that anyone that jumps on the deck guns hits "R" for reload when jumping off.  It's too frustrating to jump on a Mortar or Flak and find only one round left in the clip, just after the Gunner has stripped their armour.

[Captain Smollett]

Pickle, I'm surprised you don't use a frontgineer setup.

Basically the same setup you have but the main engineer mans the front gun and repairs the hull from underneath.  This way you never have to worry about your chaingunner not being ready, you can build trifectas, and the main engi is close enough to the lower deck to provide engineering assistance and fire control.

[Thaago]

Good guide, although I agree with Pickle on the criticisms - its a very maneuverable ship that you can thread through tons of tight spots. I prefer lower deck gatlings so that they are firing at all times. My piloting loadout: Charged, Spanner, Kerosene, Tar, Altitude (depends on map and if enemies bring Lumberjack). I think its one of the more challenging and rewarding ships to pilot because of how valuable it is to be off the helm at times.

[Pickle]

Pickle, I'm surprised you don't use a frontgineer setup.

Basically the same setup you have but the main engineer mans the front gun and repairs the hull from underneath.  This way you never have to worry about your chaingunner not being ready, you can build trifectas, and the main engi is close enough to the lower deck to provide engineering assistance and fire control.

I would, if I regularly had an engineer that could hit the hull from underneath!  Mostly I'm playing PUGs, so I need something simple that will work with anyone willing to learn.  I know play Engineer so rarely, I'm not sue I could hit the hull from below reliably enough.  The trifecta is good, but only if there's no incoming - rare in CQB - so there isn't a third pair of hands to man the third (forward) gun.

I loaded up with Phoenix Claw for a few games this with the Junker at the start of the evening, and didn't touch it once.  Kerosene I use frequently, in CP and DM.

[Sammy B. T.]

I consider myself a Junker expert. However, my common playstyle require a lot of coordination beyond a simple guide so while there are quite a few minor aspects I disagree with, I will stick to more basic disagreements.

Pickle is definitely right on the gat placement. When you are placing your guns on the Junker the bottom deck needs to be the gun you need firing the most, not the gun you need firing the strongest/best.

Tar is a must have for Junkers as it acts as a fantastic way to control the enemy ship. As you do the standard slow circle of death that Junkers are known for, often times an enemy ship will find itself in an area that was at some point the area behind the Junker, putting some tar there can be quite beneficial.

I love phoenix claw it lets you swing your broadside really quickly and it it allows you to "matador" ramming ships.

With the new balloon buffs, I find myself not needing hyrdo or chute vent too terribly much. However, not everyone runs a buffer upstairs.

In terms of pilots leaving the helm, you are definitely right about the balloon repairs. I always bring a pipe wrench and help with balloon rebuilds and repairs. I have found though that often in engages, I needen't do much turning, I often jump up the ladders and hit my turn engines. Kind of the opposite of Pickle jumping on guns but same basic principle. The junker is about early positioning and if you do a good job of that, the pilot can be somewhat a 4th engineer (I run three engineers but my arguments for those aren't needed in a basic guide.)