Sloop Of War

The Sloop Of War is a Ship Type available in Sid Meier's Pirates!. It is one of the smaller Ship Types, and is the mid-sized variant in the Sloop Class family of ships. A fast and sleek vessel, with respectable but low firepower, it is favoured for its high maneuverability and usefulness to the common pirate. It is also the Starting Ship for several era/nationality combos, and one of the most common ships to be found in the Caribbean.

The name "Sloop Of War" is sometimes abbreviated to the acronym "SOW".

In Sid Meier's Pirates!, the Sloop Of War is the name of a Ship Type belonging to the Sloop Class family of ships. It is the Mid-Sized variant of that class, being slightly more powerful than the Sloop, and slightly less powerful than the Royal Sloop. It is a very common combat ship, appearing in the employ of all nations in the Caribbean, and able to fulfill most Ship Roles. It is also one of the most popular ships used by players.

The Sloop Of War carries up to 16 Cannons into battle, and can hold a Crew of up to 100 men. With 10 or fewer men available, the Sloop Of War becomes sluggish and difficult to use. With at least 58 men and 16 cannons on board, the Sloop Of War is at its maximum fighting efficiency.

A Sloop Of War can carry up to 50 tons of cargo (including Cannon), which makes it largely unsuitable for trading.

When sold, a Sloop of War yields, plus for each upgrade installed on the ship. This assumes that the ship is at 100% condition, otherwise it is sold for less (down to if either sails or hull are all but gone).

Upgrades for a Sloop Of War cost each. Once the rank of Admiral has been attained, Sloop Of War upgrades will only cost each.

In the Player's Hands
The Sloop Of War is the player's Starting Ship in two nation/era combinations:


 * England, 1680
 * Dutch, 1680

The Sloop Of War happens to be one of the most popular ships for player-use. As a member of the Sloop Class, the Sloop Of War is small and maneuverable, serving as a keen weapon in the hands of a good sailing captain. It is only marginally slower and less maneuverable than a Sloop, but more than makes up for this thanks to 33% more cannon and 25% larger crew capacity, which make it a far more potent combat vessel than the Sloop.

For this reason, many players will quickly switch from their starting Sloop (if they indeed started with one) to a Sloop Of War. This is also thanks to the Prevalence of the Sloop Of War, which can usually be found relatively early in the game (see below).

Players who are lucky enough to encounter and defeat a Royal Sloop will generally switch over to that Ship Type if possible, as it carries even more cannons and men. However, Royal Sloops are Very Rare ships, so this switch-over may or may not occur at all.

Roles and Nationality
The Sloop Of War is ubiquitous: it is used by every nation in every era.

Sloops Of War can fill most combat-oriented Ship Role. They are frequently seen as Escorts, and will appear as Pirate Hunters when a nation is just starting to get angry with you. They will also appear as Raiders and occasionally Mission Ships, and will appear as Privateers on lower Difficulty levels. In this sense they are almost as common as trade-ships, such as the Merchantman.

In addition, the Famous Pirates Bart Roberts and Jack Rackham both sail heavily-upgraded Sloops of War.

In Combat
The Sloop Of War is one of the more maneuverable ships in the game. Its Fore-And-Aft Rigging allows it to quickly change direction and sail close the wind at reasonable speed. The Sloop Of War's Best Sailing Point is Broad Reach, where it will clock around 7-8 knots at weak winds.

Sloops Of War are reasonably well-armed for their size, sporting enough cannons to perform prolonged shoot-outs with small trading vessels such as Merchantmen. However they are still best used for short, quick combat culminating in a Fencing match. The Sloop Of War is not much more durable than the Sloop, and so must watch out not to receive too much incoming fire.

The Sloop Of War can easily handle going at Close-Hauled or even Close-Hauled Into The Eye, especially in stronger winds. This enables it to outmaneuver most ships, and easily escape unwanted combat. However, it is by far not the fastest ship when running Before The Wind, again especially in stronger winds.

Due to its high maneuverability and small size, in the hands of a good captain and with favourable winds the Sloop Of War is often capable of dodging enemy gunfire, or even slipping between cannonballs. This allows the Sloop Of War to survive the initial stages of battle, when the enemy vessel is still too far away to be properly out-maneuvered.