I like that the game tempers it's tactical gameplay so that it never feels like a chore to sail and fight at sea.
There are no worries about wind direction hampering your ability to get from one place to another as it doesn't exist in the model. Instead there is a waypoint system that makes it a snap to get to most of your objectives without the need for super ;ong voyages. However, you are limited to creating ten waypoints of your own, so you can't simply pepper the map with them. But when combined with the pre-existing waypoints set up at faction owned islands, ten should be more than enough.
Ship-to-ship combat is straightforward with positioning being the most important element. Reacting quickly to your opponent's course changes so you can get immediately get fresh guns to fire is key to success. Especially against higher level enemies who can deplete half your hull with a single broadside.
There are also boarding actions where you climb aboard a crippled enemy vessel with your crew and fight hand-to-hand against the enemy crew. The rewards for doing this vary only slightly and unless you are boarding a transport vessel, it's really not woth the effort. You will never find rare or special loot after a successful boarding action, just coin, repair kits and insignias with which you can earn the favor of the various factions you encounter.
The land based combat is likewise fairly simplistic without a lot of intricacy that needs to be mastered. Outside of specific circumstances, combat consists of strikes, heavy strikes, dodging and parrying. I found this enjoyable enough, but others may crave more depth.
You can hire workers for your base that give you slight improvements to different production tasks. For instance, there is a worker who will generate extra dishes for you each time you cook. There aren't many of these workers but they are generally worthwhile if you can afford to hire them. Watch out though. They have a tendency to get underfoot and block access to rooms and stairs. I've found providing seating options nearby helps a lot as they will use them now and then instead of randomly wandering around. Good base design can also help alleviate these problems.
I found the mechancis of building to be very intuitive with a good amount of variety available to you. However, many of the nicer items and building elements need to be unlocked with blueprints. These can be found as treasure when adventuring or they can be purchased for a premium from certain vendors, if you have high enough favor with them.
If I was to single out one area for complaint, it would be the lack of specialists that can be hired for your ship's crew. Right now, the crew are just a bunch of generic sailors with nothing that sets them apart from one another. I would like to be able to recruit specialist crew members such as navigators, marines, engineers, doctors or cooks that can provide buffs to the rest of the crew and to you while at sea. I feel that crewing could use some work so that your ship feels more and more unique and is more reflective of your style of play. Expanding on the hull and sail designs couldn't hurt either. Or maybe even adding in a couple more ship classes for variety.
Although somewhat simplistic, I find this game engaging enough to keep me interested these many hours, with no plans to put it down in the immediate future. Recommended.
