Flag Galleon

The Flag Galleon is the heaviest ship in the Combat Galleon Class.

General Description
The mighty Flag Galleon is the second-most-powerful combat vessel in the game, as well as the fastest of the heavy-class ships (a category that includes the Treasure Galleon and Ship Of The Line). It is also the second-most-durable ship when upgraded (after the Treasure Galleon) and has an inordinately high number of cannon hardpoints (equal to the Treasure Galleon and surpassed only by the Ship of the Line).

It is widely considered to be Spain's answer to the Ship Of The Line, and though it holds less personnel and fewer guns than its more-advanced counterpart, it possesses both a faster top-end speed (though it is rather slow to accelerate) and is better armored, making it a favored warship for those who can get one. It also requires fewer personnel, which can be handy for long voyages.

Unlike the Ship of the Line, which will only spawn during wartime and with the "New Warship" mission, the Flag Galleon will frequently spawn escorting Military Payroll vessels, the Spanish Treasure Fleet, and acting as the forefront of an Invasion Force - the only requisite seems to be that Spain is at war with *someone*, and that they've lost enough vessels to start sending out the Flag Galleons. This happens, most often, due to the Player's involvement.

It is also the favored ship of Marquis Montalban. With so many different ways to get one, it's a lot easier to get a hold of one than a Ship of the Line, though the Flag Galleon remains an extremely tough foe and one not to be underestimated.

In the Player's Hands
As is the case with the Ship Of The Line, the Flag Galleon is a highly-desirable combat ship. Also like the Ship of the Line, the Flag Galleon is unusal in that the Spanish generally won't start out using them. They're not quite as difficult to find as the Ship of the Line - Montalban is guaranteed to use one, after all - but are still relatively rare, so stay alert.

Actually capturing a Flag Galleon can be extremely difficult; they boast superior durability, massive crew capacity, and a formidable number of cannons - one broadside from a Flag Galleon can devastate either your ship, its sails, or your personnel, depending on what they fire.

Their major weakness - one you should exploit - is its poor manuverability; it is possible for a smaller, faster ship, such as something in the Brig Class or Sloop Class, or even a well-handled Frigate Class to stay in its blind spots and dodge its fire.

Once captured, it goes without saying that the Flag Galleon makes a fine Flagship and boasts great overall performance. Though not as quick to accelerate or turn as the Ship of the Line, its higher speed makes it better-suited to long-range sailing, and it has easier-to-use Best Sailing Points.

Historical Information
The Flag Galleon, as its name implies, was intended to be a Flagship - the command ship of a battle fleet. As such, it was designed with maximum firepower and armor in mind, with the ship's sheer size being intended to win battles without ever firing a shot. When battle was drawn, the Flagships were often well in the vanguard, the sheer threat level they provided more than making up for their cost and difficulty with deployment.