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Combat and Boarding

By ScotPublished Updated Sources checked

Tactical Quick Answer

Combat runs in real time and you never swing a sword yourself. Select a crew group with the icons at the top of the screen or keys 1 to 6, then right-click to move or attack, while your captain answers to left-click instead. Win naval fights by right-clicking the enemy ship to send boarders across the ropes, killing every enemy aboard, then pulling your crew back to your own ship before you hit Plunder, because plundering sinks the enemy vessel and drowns anyone left on it.

Combat in Pixel Piracy is chaotic, fast-paced, and lethal. You do not control individual sword swings. Instead, you manage the macro-level tactics of your crew, issuing movement and attack orders in real time. Winning fights secures gold, loot, and new ship parts. Losing fights ends your run permanently.

Basic Combat Controls​

You command your crew by selecting a group and issuing orders. There is no drag-box selection in this game.

  • Select Crew: Use the group icons at the top of the screen, or press keys 1 through 6. Which group a pirate belongs to is set in that pirate's own profile, next to the Grapple toggle, not by pressing a modifier key in the field.
  • Move Order: Right-click anywhere on your ship or an enemy ship to order the selected group to move there.
  • Attack Order: Right-click on a hostile enemy to order the selected group to attack that target.
  • Your Captain Is Separate: The captain answers to left-click, both for moving and attacking. Right-click does not command them, which matters given how much of this guide is about keeping the captain out of danger.

Protecting the Captain​

Your captain is the single point of failure for your entire run, unless a surviving crew member has the First Mate skill, which costs 500 gold and 15 Training Points at the Bookstore. If the captain dies, a random pirate carrying that skill takes over and your gold resets to 1000. It does not cover your ship being destroyed during a naval fight, which ends the run regardless. Until you secure the skill, never send your captain into the frontline melee unless absolutely necessary.

Keep your captain stationed in a safe room at the back of your ship. Let your high-Vitality (VIT) crew members take the damage. Equip your captain with ranged weapons, like pistols or muskets, so they can contribute to the fight from a safe distance.

Grappling and Boarding​

Grappling is not a separate order and the two ships never pull together. Individual pirates ride ropes across to the enemy deck.

  1. Board: Select a group and right-click on the enemy ship. That single move order is what sends them across the ropes. Whether a given pirate is willing to grapple is controlled by the Grapple toggle in their profile, so check that before a fight instead of during one.
  2. Clear: Target high-threat enemies first, like enemy captains or heavy weapon users.

Do not send your entire crew over at once. Keep a few ranged fighters on your own deck to provide cover fire. If the enemy boards your ship, pull your melee fighters back to defend the captain.

Plundering Enemy Ships​

Plunder becomes available once every enemy crew member is dead, not merely the captain, and you should loot the chests and crates first because they can also hold the command up. The button grays out when you cannot use it, so it tells you where you stand.

danger

Bring your crew back to your own ship before pressing Plunder. It sets off an explosion that sinks the enemy vessel, and anyone still aboard drowns.

A "cannot plunder" bug does exist and has been reported since 2014, but no source establishes what causes it, and the common suggestion is the opposite of what you might expect: break all the pots and containers on the ship first. Note that Kaboom cannot help here. It is a passive item that detonates when its wearer dies, not a throwable explosive.

Weapon Typologies and Math​

Weapons in Pixel Piracy scale differently based on their type, and mastering this math is critical for endgame survival.

  • Melee Weapons: Scale with Strength (STR). Every point of STR adds a +5% damage modifier. Melee strikes also carry knockback, which creates space and can kill outright by shoving an enemy into the water, where anyone without the Swimming skill dies instantly. That works on your crew too.
  • Ranged Weapons: Scale with Dexterity (DEX). Every point of DEX adds a +5% damage modifier and a +2% hit chance. Ranged weapons do have knockback, from 3 on a Flintlock Pistol up to 10 on a Giant Boulder.
  • Why melee first anyway: melee flat DPS runs roughly 2.2 to 4.7 against 1.0 to 2.6 for ranged, and ranged accuracy leans on a stat your early crew has not invested in. Build melee until your pirates can survive contact, then diversify.
note

A common piece of advice says a fast weapon like the Stiletto out-damages a heavy one like the Axe because the Strength bonus applies to every swing. The arithmetic does not work. A percentage bonus scales both weapons by the same proportion, so it cannot reverse a ranking. Real numbers put the Stiletto at 3.33 DPS against the Axe's 2.86, a modest and fixed gap, not a growing one, and neither is top tier. The Falcon Blade sits at 4.71 and the Starfury at 4.57, and at maximum grade the Starfury reaches 22.86 against the Stiletto's 7.33. The Stiletto's base delay is also 1.2 seconds and not 1.0.

The Cannon Phase​

Ship combat opens with a cannon phase before boarding becomes available. This is not a level 5 unlock. It has been in the game since the 1.0 launch, when it ran 30 seconds, and its length now varies with the danger level of the encounter.

It is also conditional. The cannon phase only happens if at least one side has all three of a cannon, ammunition placed on the ship, and a crew member with Cannon Mastery. If neither side has the full set, there is no cannon phase at all.

Enemy ships start carrying cannons at level 4 and above, so that is when to have your own answer ready. Buy the Cannon Mastery skill from the Bookstore for 400 gold and 15 Training Points, mount cannons, and keep Bombs on the ship as ammunition, where one bomb supplies five cannon shots. Bombs are ammunition and not throwables, and they are not the same item as Kaboom.

tip

Arming yourself has a side effect worth weighing. The cannon phase needs only one side to be fully equipped, so kitting out your ship means you will now sit through a cannon exchange against unarmed enemies that would otherwise have gone straight to boarding. Being shot at is also survivable: even the toughest enemies do not fire many shots, and an unarmored hull is not destroyed instantly.

Frequently Asked Questions​

How do you board an enemy ship in Pixel Piracy?

Select a group with the icons at the top of the screen or keys 1 to 6, then right-click on the enemy ship. That move order sends them across on ropes, and there is no separate grapple command. The ships never pull together. Check each pirate's Grapple toggle in their profile beforehand, and leave a few ranged fighters on your own deck for cover fire.

Why is the Plunder button locked after I cleared the deck?

Plunder needs every enemy dead, not just the captain, and unlooted chests and crates can also hold it up, so sweep those first. A genuine cannot-plunder bug has been reported since 2014 with no established cause. The usual suggestion is to break all the pots and containers on the ship. Kaboom will not help, since it is a passive item that detonates when its wearer dies, never a throwable.

Are melee or ranged weapons better in Pixel Piracy?

Melee early. Melee flat DPS runs about 2.2 to 4.7 against 1.0 to 2.6 for ranged, and ranged accuracy depends on Dexterity, which your early crew has not invested in. Ranged weapons do have knockback, contrary to a common claim, from 3 on a Flintlock Pistol up to 10 on a Giant Boulder.

Which melee weapon does the most damage in Pixel Piracy?

Not the Stiletto, despite a widespread claim that fast weapons win because Strength applies to every hit. A percentage bonus scales both weapons equally and cannot flip the ranking. The Stiletto manages 3.33 DPS against the Axe's 2.86, while the Falcon Blade reaches 4.71 and the Starfury 4.57. At maximum grade the Starfury hits 22.86 against the Stiletto's 7.33.

When do enemy ships start using cannons in Pixel Piracy?

Level 4 and above. The cannon phase itself has existed since launch at every level and is not a level 5 unlock, but it only happens if at least one side has a cannon, ammunition on the ship, and a crew member with Cannon Mastery. Buy that skill for 400 gold and 15 Training Points, and keep Bombs aboard as ammunition, where one bomb gives five shots.