Fencing

Fencing is the name of one of the most common Mini-Games in all versions of Pirates!. A Fencing match is an arcade-based mini-game where your Player Character takes on an enemy in one-on-one Sword combat.

During this Mini-Game, each opponent's goal is to land as many blows on the other opponent in rapid succession, until such point that the opponent surrenders or is otherwise defeated. At the same time, each opponent can defend himself by dodging enemy blows or blocking them with his own sword.

The Fencing Mini-Game appears in many different circumstances: to conclude Boardings, during Raids on Ports, and even during attempts at Romance. Therefore, it is extremely common, and in some careers may be played more often than Naval Combat.

Depending on the specific circumstances in which it is evoked, the Fencing match may represent an entire melee battle between your Crew and an enemy crew, or it may be a Fencing Duel - a one-on-one match strictly between your Character and some enemy duelist. This has an important effect on the progress of the match.

Losing a Fencing match, in almost all circumstances, leads to very negative results - most often Imprisonment or even Marooning. Learning to Fence properly is extremely important in all versions of the game. Selecting the Fencing Skill can improve your chances considerably, and in later games there are Items that you can acquire which will also increase your performance. Nonetheless, without sufficient ability in this Mini-Game, you will find it very difficult to get ahead in the game.

Fencing Basics[]

Although it is presented a little differently in each version of the game, the basics of a Fencing match are the same: Your Player Character faces a single opponent, both armed with swords. Both combatants attempt to land blows on the enemy, while trying to block or dodge his blows. The game is played in real-time, and requires quick reflexes more than anything else.

Occurence[]

A Fencing match will occur in many different circumstances throughout the game.

Most commonly, a Fencing match will occur whenever Boarding an enemy ship in Naval Combat. The crew from your ship will hop over to the enemy ship, at which point you will need to face off against the enemy captain.

Raids may also culminate in a Fencing match, with your crew attempting to overpower the local defenders. In this case you face off against the commander of the local Port. In some games, this match is mandatory, while in others it will only occur if the defenders are heavily outnumbered by your Pirate Crew.

A Fencing Duel, where your Player Character fights a single opponent (with no involvement of your crew or the enemy's men) is also quite common. In all versions of the game this will occur during Romance attempts, fighting against a Daughter's Suitor in order to win her heart. It is also mandatory whenever your crew tries to Mutiny against you. In some games it may occur during Sneaking attempts, and may also occur in a Tavern in various circumstances.

Overall, this mini-game is as common, if not more common, than Naval Combat!

Mechanics[]

Regardless of version or circumstance, the Fencing mini-game is primarily a battle between your Player Character and a single opponent. Whether your Crew is fighting the enemy in the background can affect the outcome of the match, but the mechanics of combat remain largely the same.

The two combatants are displayed on the screen, facing each other with drawn swords. The objective is to strike the opponent a sufficient number of times, preferably in rapid succession, while attempting to prevent the opponent from striking you.

Each combatant can attempt a low, middle or high attack on the opponent. If this connects, it will usually register as a "hit", having some effect on the opponent - whether knocking him back a little, or lowering his morale, depending on the version of the game you are playing.

Instead of attacking, either combatant can perform a parry - an attempt to block the enemy's attack. Parries can also be low, middle or high, hopefully corresponding to whatever attack the enemy has selected. If the correct parry is performed, the enemy's attack is nullified.

Swords[]

Each opponent selects one of three possible types of Swords for use in the match:

The Rapier
The Longsword
The Cutlass

Each sword has different properties that affect the performance of the combatant holding it. The effects are game-dependent: in some games, the lighter Rapier allows a longer "reach", enabling you to strike the enemy from a slightly greater distance, while the Cutlass inflicts more damage on the enemy's morale. In other games, the Rapier allows rapid attacks, while the Cutlass allows a quicker defense.

You'll be asked to choose a sword before the Fencing match begins. In all games, there is always a clear visual cue that allows you to tell which type of sword your enemy is using, but this cue only appears once the match has started. Recognizing the enemy's weapon allows you to adjust your tactics to exploit his sword's weaknesses or defend yourself better against its strengths.

Objective[]

The objective of a Fencing match is to force your opponent to surrender. However, depending on the specific version of the game you are playing, the means to do so can vary greatly!

In some games, the objective is to drop your opponent's morale so far that he has no choice but to surrender. This is done by striking the enemy a sufficient number of times. However, if the opponent manages to hit your character, his morale rises while yours drops.

In other games, the objective is to push your opponent back as far as possible, with each hit pushing him back a short distance. In these games, being hit by the opponent will push your character back a bit.

When the objective is reached, the opponent will surrender (or be knocked out of the battle in some other way). This results in victory for your character.

Fencing Melee[]

Fencing Shipboard — A Fencing Melee on board an enemy ship, (*Pirates! (1987)*). Both combatants have brought their crews along for the battle, with the enemy having a significant advantage in numbers.

A Fencing Melee is a match taking place between your entire crew and the enemy crew. This occurs during Boardings and sometimes during Raids. Although your entire crew is fighting, your character will only be fighting a single opponent - the enemy's leader.

However, as the battle rages on around you, your men and the enemy crew will constantly be killing each other. This has an important effect on the process of the Fencing match.

During such a match, the game will randomly select one of the combating parties, and will kill off a random number of men from that party. This affects the leader of that party (I.E. your character or the fencing opponent) in a manner similar to a single hit from a sword: It will either lower morale (in the earlier games) or reduce advantage (in the later game) for the appropriate leader.

It is currently unknown exactly how the game selects which group to hurt, and how many men to kill from that group - the assumption is that for the most part, this is randomal. However, it can safely be assumed that whichever group has fewer men at any given time is more likely to lose more men. In the earlier games, the current morale probably influences this as well.

Note that in Fencing Melees, if one party loses all its men (except the fencing combatant, I.E. either you or the enemy captain), the next Fencing hit its leader suffers will end the match immediately. For example, if all your men die during a Fencing Melee (or, if you had no men at all to begin with), one hit from your opponent will cause your character to surrender! This is true even if you were extremely close to winning the battle at the time!

Naturally, it should be mentioned that crew killed off during a Fencing Melee are killed off "for real". You do not get them back after the battle. This means that Fencing Melee matches need to be resolved as quickly as possible, to avoid losing a large number of your men.

Fencing Duel[]

Main article: Fencing Duel

A Fencing Duel is a match between two single individuals, without any additional crewmen battling in the background. It is mostly used to settle matters of honor, such as when fighting a Suitor for the hand of a Governor's Daughter.

Since there is no crew fighting on either side, the two combatants will exchange blows freely until one surrenders. In other words, the process of the battle (as well as the eventual victory/defeat) depends solely on the actions of the two combatants.

Consequently, in such Duels you will never lose crewmembers, nor does either combatant become vulnerable when his crew is reduced to one man (it starts with just one man, anyway!).

Fencing Melees and Fencing Duels are not interchangeable. Some situations will always involve a Melee (such as Boardings and Raids) while others will always involve a Duel. For example, you will never have a 1-on-1 Duel with an enemy captain during a Boarding.

Pirates! (1987)[]

Fencing, as it appeared in the original game, serves as the basis for comparison to all other forms appearing in later games. Although simplified, it does have unique features that distinguish it from other versions.

In this game, Fencing is based primarily around Reach and Morale. Both combatants are free to move towards and away from each other to gain a better position and exploit the length of their sword compared to the length of the opponent's sword. Morale is tracked throughout the battle, and is a reliable measure for telling which of the two combatants is close to victory. Victory itself is achieved by "pushing" the oppenent's morale to its lowest point, at which point the opponent will surrender regardless of any other parameter.

Fencing Occurences[]

1987 Combat Boarding — Most Fencing Melees occur during a Boarding. As soon as the Boarding begins, the enemy ship's captain comes out to fight you face-to-face.

In this game, the circumstances leading up to a Fencing match are few, but nonetheless it is an extremely-common mini-game.

Fencing Melees, involving an entire crew battling another crew, occur most often during Boardings. This only happens if the enemy crew has not Surrendered as soon as the Boarding began, or even prior to that. In addition, Fencing Melees occur on each and every Raid, though sometimes they must be preceded by successful Land Combat against the local Fort.

One-on-One Fencing Duels, where the Player Character battles a single opponent with no crews involved, are far less common. The most frequent occurence of this is when fighting over a Governor's Daughter's hand in marriage. In addition, there is a good chance of triggering such a battle when an attempt to Sneak into a Port fails. In this case, failure leads to imprisonment. Another, much less common occurence of the Fencing Duel is when locating Evil Spaniards, in which case htey must be duelled to acquire information about Lost Relatives.

In addition, a special case of Fencing occurs at the very beginning of any career (except Famous Expeditions). Immediately following the Copy Protection, a Fencing match will ensue. During this match, no morale or crew readouts are shown, only the two combatants appear on screen - although the sounds playing in the background indicate that this is indeed a Fencing Melee (I.E. involves crews). Read the Copy Protection article for more information on this.

Movement[]

In this version of the game, combat is very free-form. Both combatants are free to move backwards and forwards across the combat area, either approaching one another or backing away. This enables them to draw closer in order to perform an attack, or move away in order to avoid one.

An opponent can make six types of attack. There's a high, low, and middle thrust, and a high, low, and middle slash. The difference between a thrust and a slash is its speed and damage. While thrusts are performed quickly, and thus are harder to block, they inflict less damage on the enemy's morale. A slash takes more time to complete, thus making the attack easier to block and the attacker vulnerable for a short time - however they cause double damage to the enemy's morale.

The opponent has two ways to respond to any attack: either try to move away until outside of the enemy's reach, or block the enemy's blow. In both cases, the opponent must select the correct high, low, or middle variety of his defensive maneuver. If the defender chooses the correct manuever, the attack is blocked and no damage is inflicted. Naturally, if the defender has moved outside of the attacker's Reach, the attack is failed regardless of the chosen maneuver.

Movement itself has no direct bearing on combat success, unless the enemy can be pushed all the way to their end of the battle zone. This is extremely difficult to accomplish, though it does impart some benefit to the attacker. Most commonly, the enemy will surrender much earlier than this.

Morale and Damage[]

In the original game's Fencing match, "Morale" and "Damage" are one and the same. Each combatant starts with a certain amount of Morale, and each hit he inflicts will raise his own morale and lower his opponent's morale. This is how the game tracks which opponent is winning.

Therefore, No actual "wounds" are inflicted - it's all just shifts in morale. Once the morale of one combatant reaches its lowest point, that combatant surrenders.

Morale rises and drops at the same exact rate for both combatants. Therefore, if you strike the enemy three times, your morale is increased by 3 "measures", and his morale is reduced by the same 3 "measures". If the enemy then strikes you 3 times, morale has been restored to its initial state!

There are exactly 8 "stages" of morale. If we assume that "0" is a theoretical middle point where morale is neutral (though this never happens in the game), then this are the possible stages:

"Positive" morale:
- (+4) Highest morale (won the battle!)
- (+3) Wild!
- (+2) Strong
- (+1) Firm
"Negative" morale:
- (-1) Angry
- (-2) Shaken
- (-3) Panic
- (-4) Lowest morale (surrendered!)

During the match, combatants will always have diametrically opposite morale to each other. If one combatant is "Angry", then the other combatant is "Firm". If the first combatant hits his opponent and his morale rises to "Firm", then opponent's morale drops by the same amount, to "Angry".

The following table illustrates all possible states:

Pirates! (1987) Fencing Morale
Your Character	Enemy Captain	Notes
Won the Battle	Lost the Battle	At this point your morale gauge still reads "Wild!", and the enemy's still reads "Panic". The difference is that the enemy captain is now on his knees and no longer fights. The match will end within a few seconds.
Wild!	Panic
Strong	Shaken
Firm	Angry
Angry	Firm
Shaken	Strong
Panic	Wild!
Lost the Battle	Won the Battle	At this point your morale gauge still reads "Panic", and the enemy's still reads "Wild!". The difference is that your character is now on his knees and you may no longer fight. The match will end within a few seconds.

In a Fencing Melee involving both crews, the starting Morale for the battle is determined by crew proportions. The larger crew will begin with positive morale, and the smaller crew will begin with the opposite morale as per the above table. The larger the difference in crew numbers, the larger the gap between the two combatants' morale values. It is possible to start a match already at "Panic".

In a Fencing Duel, where no crews are involved, starting morale is always "Angry" for your character and "Firm" for your opponent.

Crew Involvement[]

During a Fencing Melee, your crew also participates in the match. They are fighting an off-screen battle against the enemy crew. The game displays the amount of men remaining in each crew at the bottom of the screen, so you can see how many men you and the enemy have left.

The "starting morale" for a Fencing Match is determined by the proportion between your crew and the enemy crew. If your crew outnumbers the enemy, you will start the match with positive Morale ("Firm" or higher), while your enemy starts with the opposite, negative morale ("Angry" or lower). If the enemy crew is larger than yours, the reverse occurs.

During the match, at random (but generally short) intervals, the game will choose one crew and "kill off" some of its men, thus simulating the battle that rages in the background. This is accompanied by a distinctive sound. A different sound is used for when your own men are killed and when the enemy men are killed.

Crew loss is done with some randomness: the game can potentially choose either crew as a target for this effect. However, whichever crew is larger at the time is less likely to be targeted.

The number of men lost with each triggering of this effect is also randomal. Again, the proportions between the two crews influence to some extent how many men are lost each time. A smaller crew is likely to inflict smaller casualties on the enemy, and vice versa.

Effect on Morale[]

Most importantly, each time a portion of either crew is lost, the morale of the crew's leader will drop by a certain amount. For example, each time you lose some of your men during a Fencing Melee, your Morale will drop by a small amount, and the enemy's Morale will rise by the same amount.

This gives another reason to avoid prolonged battles. Not only will you lose crew (permanently!), but each time they die you'll be "set back" a few notches, making the battle last longer.

Note that crew loss cannot force a surrender. In other words, it cannot bring your Morale, nor your enemy's, below "Panic". However, if crew is lost repeatedly in a short period of time, you can reach such low Morale that your enemy's next blow will cause you to surrender, or vice versa.

Dropping to 1 Crew[]

If, during a battle, you lose all but 1 crew (or had 1 crew to begin with), the next hit from your enemy will immediately cause you to surrender and lose the match. This is completely regardless of morale and the enemy's chosen sword type! It will happen even if your enemy is in a "Panic" at the time!

As a result, even if you are willing to sacrifice your entire crew (it beats imprisonment and Marooning!), you should always strive to end the battle as soon as possible to avoid reaching that "1 man" state. Since blocking enemy blows repeatedly is very difficult, it's likely that you will suffer at least one blow and be forced to surrender, unless you were already extremely close to defeating your enemy at the time.

Note that in Fencing Duels, this rule does not apply. Both combatants are listed as having only 1 man from the moment the fight starts (I.E. themselves), and will not automatically surrender when a blow is landed. Only morale can win such a fight.

Swords[]

Main article: Sword

At the start of nearly every Fencing match (not including the one at the very start of your career), you will get a prompt asking you to choose your sword for the battle. You may freely choose between the Longsword, Rapier and Cutlass. Your opponent also chooses a sword at this stage.

The difference between swords lies solely in "Reach" and "Damage". During combat, your character's appearance does not change to show that you are wielding a specific type of sword (even the sword itself looks exactly the same). However, your opponent's shirt is color-coded to show what weapon he is using. This is only visible once the battle has started, and gives you the ability to alter your tactics to exploit the weaknesses of his chosen sword, and be wary of its particular strengths.

Rapier[]

Main article: Rapier

The Rapier is a long, slim sword. Its advantage lies in its reach: you can strike your enemy from a considerable distance. It is sometimes possible to inflict a hit even if visually your sword is a pixel or two away from the enemy's body!

On the other hand, the Rapier is a weak weapon. Each hit inflicted by the Rapier will only cause a small shift in morale, taking sometimes two or three thrusts (or one or two slashes) to shift morale by a single step (e.g. from "Firm" to "Angry").

The Rapier is good for players who like to keep their distance, dodging out of the enemy's reach only to strike from a distance. However, this makes battles take longer, as you need to strike your opponent more times to subdue him. For this reason, the Rapier is excellent for Fencing Duels, where you can take your time. In Fencing Melees, prolonged combat can mean the loss of many crewmembers. Note that each time crewmen are lost, you will lose some of your morale (see below), which can easily offset any gains you've made from striking the enemy with this weak weapon...

An opponent wielding a Rapier will always wear a green shirt in battle. If your weapon is heavier than a Rapier, you can try to press him by drawing ever closer and attacking repeatedly. Your hits will be more powerful than his, and thus you can hope to simply overwhelm him.

Cutlass[]

Main article: cutlass

The Cutlass is a heavy, short, curved blade. Its advantage lies in its damage potential: each strike will lower your opponent's Morale (and raise your own) by a significant amount, possibly shifting it by a whole morale step with each thurst, and certainly with each slash!

On the other hand, the Cutlass has a very short reach. You will need to advance quite close to your opponent in order to land a good blow. Very often, the game will register a "miss" even if your sword is visibly striking the enemy! Of course, getting close means opening yourself to the enemy's attack, whichever sword he might be using.

The Cutlass is a great weapon for inflicting damage quickly. It can be useful to simply strike again and again, disregarding the enemy's movements entirely - each attack that manages to land on the enemy will be worth it! However, coming close to the enemy means that every attack that is blocked or misses the opponent renders you vulnerable to a counter-strike.

As a result, Cutlasses are useful for Fencing Melees where you are seriously outnumbered. The powerful strikes will offset morale lost due to dwindling crew, and may also offset any hits suffered from the opponent's attacks. This will usually end a battle quickly, before too many men can be lost in the melee.

Opponents wielding a Cutlass are shown with a yellow shirt. The danger here is from their powerful strikes. If you were lucky enough to choose a lighter, longer sword, you can simply keep your distance and strike only from outside the opponent's reach, withdrawing after each attack to prevent a counter-strike. If both you and your opponent are wielding Cutlasses, expect taking a LOT of damage! If either of you can manage a couple of successful strikes in a row, this can easily turn the entire battle upside down.

Longsword[]

Main article: Longsword

As in all other games, the Longsword provides the middle-ground between the two weapons described above. Its reach and damage are both "medium", thus making the longsword more versatile than other weapons. It is used differently depending on the sword your opponent chooses.

If the opponent is using a Cutlass, then your Longsword has the advantage of Reach. You can withdraw to safe distance and strike your enemy from a position where he cannot strike back. Naturally, you'll want to hit the opponent and make sure to withdraw with your weapon in the correct position (low/middle/high) to block any counter-strike he makes while you're backing away.

If the opponent is using a Rapier, you'll need to close in to make better use of your damage advantage. Your strikes deal a little more damage than his, allowing you to batter him to submission with a series of powerful attacks. He will likely counter-strike repeatedly as well, but again his attacks do less damage, so you will have the overall morale advantage.

Opponents wielding Longswords will wear a dark-blue shirt in battle. These opponents are quite dangerous, as they offer no clear weakeness. In this situation, if you have a Rapier, use your reach advantage to strike from a distance. If you have a Cutlass, close in and strike hard.

Speed and Skill[]

In the original version of the game, both combatants have the same speed of attack and movement. A thrust, slash or step will take the same amount of time for either combatant, regardless of morale or the chosen sword type.

However, on occasion the game will speed up the entire match. When this happens, both combatants will perform all actions at a faster speed.

Sped-up matches are designed to provide a greater challenge. When the match runs at a faster speed, it is significantly harder to anticipate your opponent's moves, react to his attacks, and so forth. Note again that both combatants become faster: your attacks, as well as your enemy's, both take less time to complete. The difficulty is in the player's reaction time, rather than the character's movement speed.

Sped-up battles occur primarily on higher Difficulty settings. They are far less common on lower difficulty. However, when battling a "challenging" opponent, such as an enemy Named Pirate or a Suitor, there's a good chance of a sped-up battle occuring regardless of the current difficulty setting. Sped-up battles can also occur in any Fencing Melee where your crew is significantly outnumbered by the enemy. Another common example is the battle at the very start of your career: if you failed the Copy Protection, a sped-up battle ensues (with other severe penalties applied during combat) which makes it nearly impossible to actually win.

The Fencing Skill appears to reduce the frequency of Sped-up Fencing matches.

Note that speed does not change during a battle. If a battle started at normal speed, it will remain at normal speed until concluded. Sped-up battles will remain sped-up until concluded as well.

Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004)[]

In the 2004 version of the game, like all other mini-games, Fencing has been thoroughly revamped. While the basics involved in Fencing are the same, significant changes have been made to the actual mechanics.

Fencing matches are now much more dependent on speed and reflexes. For one, it is impossible to "back away" from the enemy, meaning that each attack has to be met with either a faster attack or a proper defense. Morale has disappeared, and is now replaced with "advantage", which influences the individual speed of each combatant. Since movement is now automated, swords no longer have "reach" and "damage" properties - instead they modify the user's speed. In addition, a plethora of Items now influence your success in battles, and Age has its own effect on your performance.

Fencing Occurences[]

2004 Fencing Melee Shipboard — Most Fencing Melees occur during Boardings. Your Crew will participate in these fights.

As with the original game, Fencing is one of the most common mini-games you'll play during your career. Its most frequent occurence is, by far, during Naval Combat, where it will ensue whenever a Boarding is performed (assuming the enemy has not Surrendered automatically or before contact, something which is much easier to force now, thanks to Chain-Shot and Grape-Shot).

Fencing Melee also occurs during Raids, although it is now not absolutely mandatory. It will normally occur when a Raid is performed against a poorly-defended Port, which does not have enough men to fight a Land Combat. It is also possible to force a Fencing Melee from Land Combat by marching a unit all the way to the enemy Fort during the mini-game.

Fencing Duels are now considerably more frequent than in previous games. This is mainly due to the prevalence of Annoying Captains and Criminals encountered in Taverns, as well as the ability to duel many Suitors even after marriage with a Governor's Daughter has been secured. A particularly difficult Fencing Duel occurs also at the climax of the Main Quest.

Duels no longer occur during Sneaking attempts - if an enemy guard is encountered, you will be imprisoned immediately. It is still possible, though much rarer, to have Fencing Duels with the Evil Spaniards; they no longer spend more than a miniscule amount of time in Ports, so the chance of fighting them off their ship is remote.

Also note that since the game has no active Copy Protection, the fight at the start of your career has been removed entirely. Most players see this as a blessing.