Help with strategy (Lumberjack Goldfish)

[GeminiDreams]

Hey all,

First time poster here. I have a crew I play with regularly consisting of a gunner, engineer, and pilot (myself). We have tried a few ships/weapons but have found that the Goldfish with the Lumberjack most successful.

For the side weapons we are less certain, and similar for items. I'm looking for insight into what the best items/weapons/strategies is best with this style of Goldfish.

I should mention that right now I carry the items that let you fall faster, increase vertical drag, and the ramming one. My gunner uses the faster projectile speed ammo, the extra damage + 0 arming time ammo, and the fireproof ammo.

My gunner can reliably hit from about 1300 yards away and my engineer has that range finding item so we have pretty good coordination there. If they approach me then I usually back away while firing on them. If I'm in serious trouble I usually pop the drop fast item and drop as far as possible before popping the vertical drag item.

Any tips or things I could do better?

[Imagine]

The ramming one? Do you mean bumpers or moonshine? Either way, I personally suggest using kerosene instead.

As for side guns, on a goldfish they can really be whatever, usually they don't matter too much, especially on a lumberfish. I personally would take a flare since for long range you're going to want spot enemies through clouds, and the other... up to you. Mines, flamer, carronade are all solid options.

Most lumberjack gunners will take Lesmok for long, and greased for shorter ranges. Heatsink is acceptable as well.

Lastly, range finder is mostly useless. Once your gunner gets more comfortable gauging distances and using the ironsights you can probably get rid of that.

[HamsterIV]

A lumberfish (lumberjack armed gold fish) benefits from side weapons that can be used in conjunction with the main cannon or cover for the main weakness of the cannon.

The only side gun that can overlap fire fields with a lumberjack is the flare gun. It is useful for exposing those ships who try and get away from your lumberjack by hiding in clouds or dropping tar. Also if you manage to hit an enemy ship it is 10 stacks of fire per shot.

The lumberjack has an arming range so under a certain range it will be infective. Expericed pilots know that the closer you get to a lumberfish the safer you are. To counter this take a short range disabeling weapon for a side gun. Flame throwers are pretty popular these days, since they allow you to cause a fare amount of chaos on an undisciplined ship. Carronades are also an option since they will not be chasing you without a balloon. If you crew is good enough I would suggest mine launcher. Nothing breaks a pyramidion charged faster than a mine to the face.

Unfortunately mines are an all or nothing type weapon. Either they deal catastrophic damage or they miss and you loose. If I were flying with a relativly new crew I would suggest port (left) flare gun, front lumberjack, starboard (right) flamethrower.
 
Take kerosine and tar as pilot tools, use the kerosine to fly backwards and keep them out of your arming range.  If you hit the edge of the map fly past them full speed and drop tar as you pass. Get some range, turn and repeat. The most common ship that will charge you is a pyramidion. It has guns on the front and port side. When pulling a passing maneuver pass on the starboard side (left while facing you). This will grant you the most time out of its gun range. Also your starboard flamethrower will be able to cook him for a bit.

[Captain Smollett]

All solid tips so far to be certain. Kerosene will definitely help you reposition if cornered while flame thrower will be a great tool to disable and potentially finish a damaged balloon so you can rise and reposition.

Though this opinion is likely controversial I actually find the lumberjack to be suboptimal on a goldfish.

The Goldie's greatest strength is its speed and maneuverability which the lumberjack fails to truly take advantage of. A carronade though more aggressive can be far mor disabling while also allowing you to finish ships quickly with well timed and positioned rams into terrain.

If your gunner has fallen in love with the LJ I might recommend using one on the port side of a Galleon where if paired with a flak/hwacha and merc/Hades can be brutally effective.

[GeminiDreams]

Thanks for all the help. I'll give the Galleon a try at some point. I'm sorry for the short message, don't have that much time at the moment. Does anyone know or have any idea what the best (best in terms of performance/visual identification) video options are for this game? I notice post-processing effects seem to just make things darker or harder to see so I'd rather just have that off.

If someone knows a topic or something I'd be fine with reading that.

[Imagine]

My choice of ship for lumber is actually the Spire, but that can be a difficult ship to handle.

[Thomas]

Chute vent is a good choice, a lot of pilots carry hydrogen instead. So if you're more likely to be able to slip under them and get away. Although with their balloons popped or at the very least damaged, hydrogen might work out better in a lot of situations. With a damaged balloon, they have a harder time of following your ship up and down anyways. You don't really need drogue chute unless they're going to be popping your balloon a lot. When using chute vent, just tap it once; the effect continues about 3 seconds after you stop using it.

After using your chute vent or hydro, follow up with some tar or kerosene. As a lumberfish, you usually don't have to turn as fast, so you might be able to bring both the tar and kerosene. Most pilots tend to bring the phoenix claw for those hard turns.

For side guns, having a flare is good, but you might want something in the other slot to use for when the enemy gets too close. A flamethrower, carronade, minelauncher, or something like that could help.

Finally for the gunner, try to get them used to firing lochnagar rounds. A single loch shot from the lumberjack will pop a balloon, and the loch ammo reduces the arming time significantly. So when they start charging, pop that into their balloon and use that time to re-position yourself.

[pandatopia]

Also have your gunner go mallet and lochnagar shot.

Those chumps that think they're safe within your arming range? Not a chance!

Instapop balloon, guns, and hull in one go.

[Spud Nick]

I would use kerosene, phoenix claw, and hydrogen as pilot tools. Start off flying low to the ground so you can keep your ship hidden from the enemy. This will also give your front gun some cover because most of the shots will go to your balloon. Fly backwards as they charge you and pop there balloon. Even if there balloon  doesn't go down before they close in you can use hydrogen to rise above them, Spin 180% using phoenix claw and burn more kerosene to get some range.

For side guns I would use a flare on the left and a carronade or flammer on the right. The carroande will let you continue popping there balloon if the front gun is within arming giving you the kill without having to burn distance again. You can also use a mine on the right and angle your ship so they deploy right in front of you. Making it difficult for charging ships to get close.