Disaresta's Cursed Isles Guide

This guide is to help those of you starting to CI. It will cover a few styles of Cursed Isles, and will give you run down of how to run em. Cursed Isles are pretty easy once you get the hang of it. (Note: All references are from Hunter Ocean.)

Disclaimer
It is NOT my fault if you sink while using this guide. Just tossing that out there.

Let's get started shall we?

=Planning= So you wanna start doing a Cursed Isles run eh? Well there are a few things you need to make sure of first.

Do I own a small vessel?
Do you have a Sloop, a Cutter, or a Dhow you're willing to risk for your trip? Remember there is always the possibility of sinking. NEVER think it's impossible, because it can happen. Trust me. Which is why the vessel shouldn't be painted or named. It costs money to paint and shanghais to rename. Don't risk any more than you have to! Remember, if a ship sinks, it disappears, along with everything it had!

Do I have a Cursed Isles Map?
Well ya need the map to go to the Cursed Isles, ya dig? It doesn't quite work without it.

Things to consider when buying Cursed Isles charts
1. Location - If you can't get at the map, there is no use in having it.

2. Distance - This is two-fold actually. This is, distance from the port the ship is in, which is usually not a problem if you've memorized a good deal of the ocean or can find a charter. The second thing is distance from an inhabited Island. Usually if the chart is in a heavily populated arch (Orion, Emerald, Jade archs come to mind) the chart will cost more. Reason being is because they're in high demand. People are too lazy to evade to the island, I dunno.

3. Price - Normally you can get charts for 10k (On Dub oceans) when they're new. Just have to find someone selling it. Odds are you will be buying the chart unless you're lucky enough to win a good one on a pillage or from a skellie/zombie fray.

4. Age - The Chart is good for 8 days when it's new. If you're not buying new, you should pay less for it. I usually go by 1.25k a day. (8 days = 10k)

That's about everything for buying the map. It may be hard to find one you can use, but that's life eh? Start memorizing the ocean.

Do I have hearties/crewmates that can come?
This one is probably very insignificant, but I put it in anyway because I felt it should be added. You want people on your ship you can trust to stay, whether the going gets tough or not. I'm sure many a jobber has left the ship high and dry when a cultist cutter landed 4 shots in it. It's not right, it's not fair, but life aint fair so... ya. When looking at your crew/hearties you should look for people with 2 things.

1. Grand-Master+ in a stat - Grand-Masters usually get Excellent/Good in the DR. You want that constant Excellent/Good to keep the ship moving.

2. Pillars/Seal of [station] - Their Token ability. Now this may not be as necessary if you aren't aiming for thralls. But I implore that you use thralls.

There are some things you'll want tagged along to those 2 things though. They're important too, but if you get too selective looking for jobbers, it's just going to take hours.
 * Note: These aren't necessities. They're more like a bonus. If you're just looking to do a basic Cursed Isles run just job for the things above.

1. Swordfight/Rumble Ability - They should be able to fight moderately well in swords and rumble. That way they contribute to the actual KO of the enemy.

2. Forage ability - This one is a bit trickier. See in forage it's clearing with the least number of moves with the greatest combo. In Cursed Isles, you're just looking for least number of moves. People to job because of forage are usually found with experience. You can look for a "Frentic Forager" trophy though to see if they're good. Maybe they got lucky for that frentic, but you know they have done it at least once.

Is my Ship ready?
This is the last stage of planning. Is your ship on the designated island? If the Cursed Isles are off an uninhabited island, it's common courtesy to move the boat to the uninhabited island prior to jobbing. If the Cursed Isles are off Ix-Chel, you'll want to get to Ix-Chel before jobbing. Once you've gotten all that ready, you're ready for the next step.

=In Port= Egads! We're almost ready! I can already feel my back break from trying to carry all that treasure out! Alright, so you've got your chart, you've got your ship, now you need your crew. Provided your crew and hearties have gotten their early invite to come, let's see what we need.

CHECK YOUR STOCK!!

This is VERY important, and I've returned to port a few times because I had forgotten to check stock and found out we were going in the Cursed Isles with 3 grog. Fun. Depending on how long you plan to be in there you should adjust your stock accordingly. How much stock you use will take a bit to learn, it's best to just overstock the first time in and study your stock usage against time.

From my experience, I would say:

Thrall users, probably go for 60 grog. Each entry is usually around 20 grog but I use that extra 10 grog each as a buffer for thralling time.

If you want to shoot the rafts, probably around 30-40 shots is good for 2 entries. About 10-15 an entry and, as usual, I allow myself a buffer. Just in case!


 * One should note that this is stock for a Sloop, which is the most common type of ship you'll see go to Cursed Isles, not to mention the most preferred ship.

Jobbing should be restricted to Grand-Master+ in a stat (although I won't curse you for going down to renowned) and based on your style. (All styles are just named the way I figure they should be, they are in no way official)

Time: Make sure everyone has the time to do at least 1 entry! It'll be terrible if you sink because someone had to leave mid-voyage!

=Cursed Isles Styles=

Quick Entry Styles
Speed Style: This is when you focus more effort on how fast you get your movement tokens. The stations are 3 sailors, 2 carpenters and 1 bilger. This style is often used when the people on stations can token very quickly, or the Commanding Officer doesn't care for thralling.

Pros

1. You're almost never going to run out of movement tokens

2. Getting to the island and heading back out is very quick.

Cons

1. Thralling will be significantly longer unless your bilger can token effectively.

2. If you get over half damaged the bilge may start getting rough.

Overall: Good for people who don't care for thralls. It's not the preferred method of the ocean (as far as I know) but it's still a way to go. Multiple re-entries are often coupled with this style because frays become rather difficult very quickly.

Thralling Styles
Thralls Only Style: This is when you focus more effort on getting the thrall token and quickly. The station set-up is 2 sailors, 2 carpenters, and 2 bilgers. This style is the most commonly used on the ocean (as far as I know) and is useful if you want to get the thrall tokens for a faster entry. (Of course this all depends on the skill of the people getting tokens) A fray or 2 of boarders is somewhat common.

Pros

1. Faster thrall tokens

2. If you get more than half damaged bilge will still be able to handle it easily.

Cons

1. Slower movement tokens.

2. Slower getting to the island and back out.

Overall: The most approved method. It may be rather slow, ranging from 15-30 minutes depending on the speed token ability of your crew but overall worth it. The odds of you getting a lot of Cursed Chests is much higher than the Speed Style.

Come and Get 'im Style: More like middle ground. This is another thralling style, but the difference is you've got a gunner. Station set-up is; 2 sailors, 2 carpenters (or 1), 2 bilgers (or 1), and 1 gunner. The Commanding officer may opt to do the gunning himself, or send a bilge or carp to do it. What you do is you control the boarder count by shooting the rafts before they get in range to board.

The reason why this may NOT be a good idea: The person doing the gunning is going to get extra chests for it. It's really unfair to the others.

Pros

1. Your boarder count is controlled, and the odds of getting to the island with a first fray of 2x vs. x (with X being equal the number of pirates aboard) is very high.

2. It feels good to shoot those blasted Sinister Sloops and Cultist Cutters!

Cons

1. If you moved a carp or bilge to guns, thralling may take a bit longer.

2. Someone's getting a bonus compared to everyone else. (What really gets my goat is when the vessel owner does this because they're ALREADY getting a bonus)

Overall: Handy for thrallers but again, may offend someone onboard.

Greenie Styles
I Dun Kare Style: I don't know if you can genuinely call this a style but I'm putting it in anyway. This style is used by people who don't know what they're doing and either hire master- jobbers or go in with a Longship+ or a combination of the 2. They're begging to be sunk, so essentially, they dun kare.

Pros

1. Chance at Injury!

Cons

1. Loss of ship.

2. Waste of time.

3. Some people are probably not jobbing for you again anytime soon. Sorry.

So... Once you've checked your stock, found your style and hired jobbers according to it, we set sail!

=On the Board=

Alright, now we're in. You'll notice the board is quite... green. Perhaps it has a tummyache. I blame the economy. Alrighty now. First I'll point out the various things on the board.

1. Currents - They move the ship in the direction that they blow to.

2. Whirlpools - When the ship is inside a whirlpool the ship will move to the piece diagonal from it and turn 90 degrees.

Now wait just a durn moment! There are blue whirlpools and green ones! What's the difference?

The difference my friend, is that normal whirlpools, the blue ones, turn your ship 90 degrees Clockwise. The green ones turn your ship 90 degrees Counter-clockwise.

3. Tall Rocks - Hit these and you'll take some damage. You cannot shoot over these.

4. Small Rocks - Hit these and you'll take some damage. You can shoot over these.

5. Various Islands - These have currents pushing out of them from all sides. Rafts, Sinister Sloops and Cutters spawn from these. Stay away from the ones in the upper part of the map if you do not wish to be over-boarded in Sinister Sloop/Cultist Cutter territory.

6. The Cursed Isle - Enter this island to begin The Gauntlet for your booty. You may enter once each time you enter the board. You cannot exit the island and just waltz back in, it doesn't work.

7. Moving Green Stuff - This is fog. When fog is over your ship it will slightly increase damage and bilge. Do NOT let yourself get stuck in this. It will sink you. Worst case scenario you're in a zombie fray in deep fog with Sinister Sloops and Cultist Cutters right beside you ready to fire. The only time you should REALLY be worried about the fog is when you get the message "The hallucinations reduce the crew to doing little more than cowering on deck." I've never gotten it, and you should never let yourself get it. It's not good at all.

8. Rafts - These carry 1 or 2 boarders. They allow zombies or Enlightened Ones to board your vessel. If at any time the number of boarders is equal to the number of people on the boat, an all boat rumble will take place to see who keeps the deed.

9. Sinister Sloops - These sloops try to sink you

10. Cultist Cutters - These cutters try to sink you.

Upon Immediate Entry you should get into the dark blue zone so people can start producing thrall tokens (If you're interested in that) or head right in towards the island. But as you're going you should plan your escape routes along the sides. Many will agree that using the soft wall is cheating. It isn't. It's a bit greenie-ish but sinking because you refused to take a great advantage is even more greenie-ish. Har! So plan out your exits, 1 along each side in case 1 is practically blockaded. If they're both blockaded, tough luck mate, Godspeed to you all.

For the Thrallers: In the Safety Zone you'll see 15 light blue squares. If you're going to thrall, stay within the lines that are parallel to these 15 squares. The least amount of fog is there and the Sinister Sloops as well as the Cultist cutters will not bother you. This is the Safety Thrall Zone. Named by yours truly.

"Thrall's Only" users will want to find a spot behind a rock or something that stems the flow of rafts to you. Save up a gold token, farm 4 boarders, thrall. Rinse and repeat until you have all the thralls you desire. Sometimes rafts swarm you, so you may have a fray or 2 but that's ok.


 * Note: You cannot thrall Enlightened Ones. So if you've 4 boarders and 2 of them are Enlightened Ones you can only thrall the 2 zombies and the next token will bounce off the Enlightened Ones.

Once you've gotten all your thralls head for the island to begin the gauntlet.

"Come and Git 'im" style users will want to find a spot where you can easily shoot down incoming rafts (Between a rock and the wall or between 2 rocks) and sit there. Thrall as they come and shoot down the ones you don't want boarding you.

For the Speedy: Just head in for the island (or thrall if ye like, see thralling advice)

=Boarders=

When a raft gets right beside your boat it will crumble and leave boarders. The boarders will show up in your "AHOY!" tab. Don't use this for anything besides checking thralls/boarders and making everyone fight in the fray if someone botched and accepted a challenge.

They're going to challenge your buddies. Make sure your jobbers DISMISS the challenge. If they accept and they're the only one that actually fought a boarder, someone's getting "Brave Defense of Ship" extras while the rest of us that worked get shafted. NOT FAIR. If someone DOES accidentally accept, get everyone to volunteer. Move to the Safety Thrall Zone (Not to be confused with the Safe Zone) and start the fray. I don't care if it's the 7 of you vs. the 1 of it. Do the fray so everyone gets the credit.

Boarders are key if you're going to thrall. Again, you can only thrall ZOMBIES. ENLIGHTENED ONES will only be bounced off! (You may want to ask the crew to say if an Enlightened One challenged them so you know what you can thrall!) So check your Zombies when you've got the thrall token ready. If you've got 1 zombie and 2 Enlightened Ones on, you can only thrall the 1 zombie! (You MIGHT bounce off the Enlightened Ones as a bonus though. The most I've ever bounced off is 4 boarders.) Now in order to thrall, you'll need your crew to get the maneuver tokens. The one you're REALLY interested in for thralling, is the flower one.

- This Token will bounce off boarders

- This Token will turn zombie boarders into thralls.

That's what they look like. To get the token you will need 1 thrall token from each station. But that's just for the silver one. You'll want the gold one if you're thralling. It will require 2 thrall tokens from each station. (Which if you recall, making it easier to get the tokens is why the "Thralls Only" style uses 2 people on each station. Even after you gather all your thralls, keep getting the tokens so you can bounce off extras.
 * I don't know if this is a bug or not, but when you use a silver token a boarder will hop off but the number will not change in the "Ahoy!" tab. Watch out for that.

Now that we're all ready for the Island, let's head in!

Thralls
Ok, I hear ya. The fish is 3 days old, you're not buying it. Thralls, are they really that useful? Yes, Yes, a million times YES!! When you're going in, you're fighting even numbers from the get-go. Thralls push that number into your favor! Each thrall will fight on your side.


 * Extra info on thralls: A pirate may only have 1 thrall at a time. A thrall is "tied" to their owner. Meaning, if I have a thrall and I d/c and am forced out of the game (it's happened before) my thrall is forced out as well. Thralls are REALLY key when fighting cultists. Cultists are bloody good fighters. A thrall gives you that extra punch you need to get that Cultist over the edge! (Note:  This has happened to a different pirate before, and as long as you're not full thralls yet, the thrall actually just transfers its ownership to a different pirate.)

So with thralls you get to stay a few extra frays, is it really worth more than going out and coming back in?

YES AGAIN! See you never ever get Cursed Chests during the first forage. And Cursed Chests are where the real booty of the Cursed Isles is. (I've gotten a snake! ^_^) The more frays you stay and beat, the more Cursed Chests will spawn in your forage! HUZZAH FOR THRALLS ONCE AGAIN!

Starting a Fray
Mmkay, So maybe someone accidentally accepted the challenge, but you don't know how to start a fray to even out chest division? Not to worry! It's all really simple really.

Look to your "Ahoy!" tab. You'll see boarders, but you'll also see a click to volunteer box. Now assuming you are the MAA/CO/XO/Cappy/Bid Dawg/Da Boss (I'm da boss!) you should see a list of who has volunteered. Normally this list is either empty of full depending on what orders you gave the crew. Or didn't give them. Some people automatically click defend, some don't. Anyway, if you are in need of starting a fray, tell everyone to click the volunteer button. When they do, their name and a box will appear in the list. The box can either have a check in it, or not. If the check is in it, should you click "Start Fray" (located at the bottom of the list) they will be in the fight. Make sure everyone has clicked volunteer and that all boxes have a check in them. Also make sure you're in the Safety Thrall Zone. Then click "Start Fray".
 * Some captains opt to do a fray right before island to get rid of extra boarders. It's rare and ill-advised. Try to NEVER have a fight out of the Safety Thrall Zone.

=The Gauntlet=

Affectionate nickname for the frays you will endure to do your foraging. When you enter the island your extra boarders will join the opposing side of the fray. Here are some pointers on how to win the frays.

1. KO the Enlightened Ones first! They're the ones that really pack the punches!

2. Take out Vargas first! He clears his board very quickly so whoever is getting his attacks is gonna feel it.

3. When fighting cultists instakill as much as you can. They can get pretty rough if you let them have time to attack.

Extra Advice for Thrall Users
1. Defend the thralls when they're attacked. NO, not just your thrall ANYONE'S. The thralls help everyone stay on the island longer. The least you could do is defend the thralls if you see them attacked. If you can't cover a thrall, give everyone a heads-up that one is being attacked. Odds are someone will cover it.


 * In order to defend a thrall, (only possible in rumble) you click the thrall's face. A blue bar will appear above their box. The larger the blue bar, the better defending being done!
 * Some will argue that a way to "defend" a thrall during Cultist frays is to check who's attacking them and take out that Cultist. While it is a good idea it is NOT defending them, it is attempting to take out an assailant before they do their job.

2. Kill Homunculi first! They may create weak attacks to those of us with our flesh intact but they flatten thralls! If you're on your last fray you may want to just drop the Homunculi first rule because they drop easy to combo patterns. So instas are easier to make. Depends on how you feel really.

After you've thrashed your foes, you may make your foraging.

=Foraging=

This is where we break the most important rule of forage, combo. Do NOT combo. Just clear the chests as fast as you can.

Tips for Foraging
1. Clear boxes from the outside in - If you've a Fetish Jar on the very edge, you want to get the outermost column out first. Then you get the inside and clear it.

2. Monkeys and Ants - These take up A LOT of time. Try to not use them unless necessary. I usually bounce off the ants.

3. Getting Stuck - If by some chance you get stuck (It Will Happen!) just dismiss the puzzle and click "Plunder the Hoard!" to begin again. You may have lost precious time on that Fetish Jar but now you can get 3 Bone Boxes and a Fetish Jar.

Getting Frenetic
Each Chest has it's own value. Bone Boxes are worth 1 Point. Fetish Jars are worth 2 Points. Cursed Chests are worth 3 Points.

Frenetic = 15+ Points.

Swift = 12 to 14 Points.

Brisk = 9 to 11 Points. You are promised at least a "Brisk" by clearing all the stars on the first forage board.

Steady = 6 to 8 Points.

Lethargic = 3 to 5 Points.

Asleep = 0 to 2 Points.


 * Everyone should aim to get at least "Swift"

=Deciding to Stay or Go=

This will come with experience. Sometimes you have the good fighters that can take double their numbers down. Sometimes you have the fighters that cant win with a 4 person lead. You'll have to get a feel from previous frays to see if you can handle it. I will tell you now, Rumble frays are exponentially easier than Swordfighting frays. My general rule is, leave if they've 3 or more fighters in the next fray than you. I may chance it during rumble frays, as said earlier, they're easier.

=Leaving with Yer Plunder!=

Alright, once you've decided you've had enough, you need to exit the board safely to keep the loot. Remember that exit plan we mapped out earlier? Find the easiest one and follow it down the edge of the board. I can usually escape in 5 minutes, with about 2-3 moves a turn.

=Porting=

In port, remember to thank your jobbers for coming, and wish them luck on the chests! After seeing the division chat a bit about who got what, it's tons of fun. Maybe someone will give you that persimmon starfish you've been looking for! If someone gets a snake you should immediately demand 500k because it was your Cursed Isles trip that gave them it and then tart on the forums about unfair booty division.


 * The last comment is a joke, please don't take it seriously.

= Wrapping it All Up! =

So, to finish off, I'll just summarize everything.


 * Never risk more than you have to!
 * Make sure you have the stock!
 * Make sure everyone has time!
 * Job Grand-Master+ only! Make sure they can token too!
 * When entering the board, plan your escape!
 * When thralling, stay in the "Safety Thrall Zone!"
 * Use the first frays to gauge the power of your Fighters so you know how long you can stay!
 * Clear the chests fast! Combos will only slow you down!
 * Everyone should aim for at least a "Brisk"
 * Run when you can't win the next fight!
 * Use your escape route!
 * The Soft-Wall along the edge of the map really helps!
 * Port, make sure you thank everyone and wish everyone luck with the chests!
 * Last but not least HAVE FUN!!

= Tips =

Here are some tips to doing Cursed Isle runs!


 * ALWAYS THRALL, trust me on this one.
 * Don't assume it will be easy, Cursed Isles do get rough sometimes.
 * When on Sea Monster Hunts or Cursed Isles runs (overall) look for people that can token/get excellent and hearty them! These are the people you want when you go on Cursed Isles.
 * Be cautious. Bear in mind the enemies are crazy. Sometimes they'll close in on you and randomly go away. Sometimes they'll be far away and suddenly come at you. Don't assume that Cultist Cutter is gonna patrol it's zone and only it's zone.

= Common Mistakes =

Here is a list of what I feel are the most common mistakes a person can make while running a Cursed Isles trip. If you see the heading in bold, that means it's a huge reason first timers sink.

1. Not making sure everyone has the time for at least 1 entry.

Yeah, I get it. Some of us aren't uber-nerds that like to do the 12 hour Cursed Isles trips. That's ok. Just make sure everyone has the time for at least 1 run across the gauntlet and back. That way you don't lose your sails in the middle of the 4th fray and suddenly you're down to 1 sailor trying to move the ship across the entire map!

2. Not thralling in the Safety Thrall Zone

Please, please, please, please thrall in the Safety Thrall Zone. (The area parallel to the 15 Safe Zone squares on both sides of the board) It will save your life.

3. During a Fray Having Everyone IN the Fray

Now that one may not sound like a mistake, but it is. This is the reason I sunk in my first Cursed Isles trip! I laugh thinking about it now ^_^ But you DO NOT have to repeat my mistake! What happened was, we got overloaded with boarders halfway across the board. I had everyone fight off the boarders, which we did. But unbeknownst to me a Cultist Cutter had me in it's sights. It came up and started shooting. I realized it was shooting when it landed 4 shots into me, but by then it was too late. Practically checkmate. I screamed as it finished me off. (In my first Cursed Isles run too TT.TT)

Now I'm not trying to scare anyone really. What I should've done was have a sailor and a bilge dismiss the fray to station. That way I don't fill up with water and I get moves to run away. Which is what you should do too. Trust me on this one.
 * If you're in the Safety Thrall Zone and you need 1 more token to get that golden thrall token, have someone from that station leave the fray to get it! You CAN use tokens during the fray!

= Frequently Asked Questions =

Q. Why not take larger ships in?

A. Cursed Isles was designed to be the low end of the Sea Monster Hunt scale. Large ships are destroyed by fog in seconds. Well... maybe not seconds but you get the message.

Q. Why are thralls so necessary? Don't they usually fall by the 2nd and 3rd fray?

A. Thralls are necessary to help keep you on the island longer! The higher number forage you do, the more Cursed Chests spawn in your forage. Yes, many do fall by 3rd fray, if you guys are doing something WRONG. You should be able to do the first Vargas fray and win AT LEAST every time you enter.

Q. Which is better? Atlantis or Cursed Isles?

A. That's a weird one to answer. I'd say, for the individual Cursed Isles is better. It's not a marathon like Atlantis. (where you puzzle, and puzzle, and puzzle, and puzzle, and puzzle for hours on end) It's more like varied pillaging. You do your puzzle, brawl, forage, brawl some more, puzzle some more and port. I've gotten a good deal of money from Cursed Isles, but if you're looking for a huge payroll (with huge time puzzling) you should go on an Atlantis trip. Cursed Isles are like quick jaunts for someone who doesn't really want to pillage. But they're tons of fun, they're quick, and the best part? No waiting for jobbers! (That's killer on Atlantis runs) Personally I'd rather Cursed Isles than Atlantis. I'm not exactly saying 1 is better, they both have their advantages. Just depends what you're in the mood for.

Q. What do you suggest for Cursed Isles?

A. Personally I suggest you get a sloop, and do the "Thralls Only" style. If someone accepts a challenge from a zombie, you should also pull everyone into a fray to fix booty division. Don't let anyone get anything extra! 1 Station only!

Godspeed to you all! - Disaresta