A Pirates Life Hints and tactics.

First!  All of this is more fun and easier with a group!

No one can steal your Beacon!  Each player who hits with one cannonball gets a drop.
It does not matter who was there first, you should play nice and you all get rewarded!

If you have not been getting Cargo to turn in to the Maritime Black Market Merchant then you do not have Doubloons to buy items from the Maritime Black market.

How do you get Cargo to turn in for Doubloons?  They come from certain areas in the High Seas.
In those areas are Sea Monsters, Pirate ships, Merchant Ships, and beacons.

Killing Sea Monsters, Pirates, or Orcs will give you a chance for lesser Cargo to drop in your pack.
Looting Pirate Ships and Merchant Ships will yield lesser cargo from their Containers and Holds.

The Highest level cargo is Mythic.  It comes from doing enough damage to a Beacon. It is worth 10x more Doubloons than the next highest Cargo.

How do I maximize getting Cargo?

Scuttling Ships:
Ships have Cargo and you also get another benefit if they have a Dread Pirate. 
You can capture the Dread Pirate by getting the Professional Bounty Hunter Quest from The Officer NPC at Tokuno Dock or The Sea Emporium.  A Pole that binds the Pirate will be installed on your ship, so you must have a ship nearby. You can not Dry Dock your ship while on the quest. You get a Rope that you use to bind the Pirate when their HP is very low.  Then sail back to the Dock and Turn in the Pirate by dbl clking the Officer.  You do not have to capture a specific Dread Pirate.  You receive a part of an Orc Ship (8 total) or one of two exotic cannon ammunition.(they do the same damage as regular cannonballs. 
Or you can choose to kill the Dread Pirates, you do not need a quest, you will get a death certificate.
All Party members will get one and they give you 10k gold when you turn them in to the afor mentioned Officer. That Gold is split between party members or damagers.

How Do I Scuttle the Ships?
You have to shoot them with cannon fire.  It takes 11 hits to scuttle the Pirate Ships. You can either shoot one shot at a time or use other players or use the "Fire Port(or Starboard) Broadside" command to shoot those three cannons at once.

Once the ship is scuttled you can board it.  Look in all the containers and hold. Take the Cargo and Iron ingots. Also look in the Hold!  It has 12 to 22 of each cannon Resource. Take the Refinements from the hold also. You can also take the other resources, you will need a Beetle if you are resource gathering, especially from Merchant ships. 

How do I kill or Damage the Dread Pirate?
Dread Pirates have a lot of HP.  If you use an Archer or thrower it could take a long time.
Dread Pirates Do little damage to pets and a Trained pet can kill them pretty quick. I use two pets when alone. An AI/RC Giant Beetle and any other trained pet. I finish about the same time I am done looting and reloading.  They have no slayer.

Plunderbeacons are where the Mythic cargo comes from!

Each player that does enough damage will get a Mythic cargo drop into your pack.

That was supposed to be a short intro, but it was not...

Hints and Tips:

Repair cannons often, They will explode and you lose all the items inside.

Bard song Inspire will do more cannon and other damage to Beacons.
Evil Omen will do more damage to beacons on the next hit, no matter who hits.(so don't use w/ archers)
Beacons are weak to fire damage. Spamming Flame Strike will do enough damage to get Cargo.
EoO and Consecrate works but not AI.

Beacons should be a group effort!  Each person who hits with a cannon should get a drop.
An Archer or Thrower will get a drop if they start half way thru or more.
You do not have to be in a party.

Get into groups!  Each person takes their ship to a different area and first hunts for beacons. When a beacon is found, call out and gate them to your ship.  Take turns shooting if it is a large group.
When you cant find more beacons you kill Ships to make beacons spawn.

When I hunt alone or in a group I have one toon that steers and shoots the Cannon and two Archers.
Some of the orc crew has 50+ arrows on their body.

To work with the 300k Cap:
Turn in all non Mythic Cargo. Save the Mythic to turn in as needed.

Where are the beacons?

In Tram or Fel they are off the Jhelom coast or by the Sea market.  I don't use that area.

In Tokuno I marked a map.  Its from this atlas: https://uo.com/wiki/ultima-online-wiki/world/facet-maps/

Here is a Tokuno map that shows where Beacons and Ships are located:



And tilted to match CC map.



Some other resources:

Ship Guide: https://uo.com/wiki/ultima-online-wiki/gameplay/ships-guide/

Beacons came out with Rising Tide:  
Here is the info about that which goes into more specific detail: And is up to date on rewards.
https://www.uo-cah.com/pub-104/rising-tide-guide

A video on how to kill Beacons: https://www.uo-cah.com/pub-104/rising-tide-guide#plunderbeacons

A Pirates Life is New items in the Black Market.  If you do not like it fine. Its getting warm, go outside.

Or Take this advice:

Medea said:

So... what is your issue?

Play? Don't play?

Play your stupid tablet games anyone plays? (like Fo****te, the game as stupid as anyone has nowadays?)

Sure. Pay or don't pay. It is really getting on my nerves. 

It is your own decisions to play or not to.

Where's the issue?

It is your free decision, don't complain if you can't decide.

I did not know Inspire boosts cannon damage...although I manage enough damage without it.

Garth_Grey said:

I did not know Inspire boosts cannon damage...although I manage enough damage without it.

I don't count but it takes about 2 cannon shots off a beacon. That's with my archers also.

Nothing increases Ship damage.

There is no 300K cap. I had 400k and more turn-in points. 
Als bard's tribulation works on plunderbeacon. 

Gwen said:

There is no 300K cap. I had 400k and more turn-in points. 

I had 5M  Garth has/had like 10M.  Try to turn in cargo.  Test before proclaiming.
Had because I have sold down to 800k in items. 

You don't lose what you had.  Info Here:

It is non retroactive?  Im sure there is a word for it.

I just went below 13k.  I sold almost 5M Doubloons worth of trees and other items at 7.5M per tree. I figured Parrots are 10M so 1M per Mythic cargo, so I priced all the items accordingly.

The night crew just came on and I am out of stock.  Or I could have sold 20 more trees.

Beacons can spawn in other places in Trammel and Felucca.  Returning with a captured dread pirate I encountered a beacon near the Felucca Sea Market.

GREAT write up !!

Well done !!

thank you I like this write up, i haven't done this yet, but will try one day and this information will help 🙂

Finally Allen something useful from ya :P 

Thanks mate!

Ahoy!

Great write-up! Reminder to the landlubbers tackling a Beacon for the first time - unlike other vessels, they do fire back - and will do serious damage to your ship! Make sure you have some wood planks and cut-up cloth in your cargo hold to repair at nearest landfall.  Attack on the oblique to minimize damage (I believe the video shows that) or use a rowboat (cramped quarters esp if you have a big pet ) like I do to clear the beacon crew. I always do a shout-out in Guild and/or GenChat when attacking a beacon. Like Pawain says, no reason to not share the booty 🙂

I"ve gotten quite good at arriving and leaving beacons at 100% ship health. You can time their cannon fire, just takes practice.

TimSt said:

Beacons can spawn in other places in Trammel and Felucca.  Returning with a captured dread pirate I encountered a beacon near the Felucca Sea Market.

Seth said:

TimSt said:

Beacons can spawn in other places in Trammel and Felucca.  Returning with a captured dread pirate I encountered a beacon near the Felucca Sea Market.

Once I sailed from Magincia to the Sea Market, I also bumped into one beacon. I tried the same route but there is nothing. It would be nice if they can add more permanent pirate regions in Trammel, e.g. coastal area around Trinsic, Britain, Nujelm, Magincia, etc.

By right the seas around Bucs Den should be a pirate zone since that is their official base.

This has been asked since July 2020 ...

https://forum.uo.com/discussion/6887/plunder-beacons#latest

still no anwer

Well at risk of getting a warning, apparently the price of the new items once they're acquired by those that like High Seas content, is more important than the actual act of getting the doubloons to purchase them in the first place.

Aayla said:

Seth said:

TimSt said:

Beacons can spawn in other places in Trammel and Felucca.  Returning with a captured dread pirate I encountered a beacon near the Felucca Sea Market.

Once I sailed from Magincia to the Sea Market, I also bumped into one beacon. I tried the same route but there is nothing. It would be nice if they can add more permanent pirate regions in Trammel, e.g. coastal area around Trinsic, Britain, Nujelm, Magincia, etc.

By right the seas around Bucs Den should be a pirate zone since that is their official base.

This has been asked since July 2020 ...

https://forum.uo.com/discussion/6887/plunder-beacons#latest

still no anwer

Thanks for digging this up, if I am the one digging there will be complaints 😂

Hint for repairing cannons. Hold a +60 hammer to use a lot fewer ingots.

Use your carpenter to repair the ship if it is heavily damaged.

Pawain said:

Hint for repairing cannons. Hold a +60 hammer to use a lot fewer ingots.

Use your carpenter to repair the ship if it is heavily damaged.

I thought its cheaper to use iron ingots... the +60 hammer should cost so much more.

Well once you have a 60+ hammer it only use it charges while crafting so you can repair as much as you like for 0 extra cost.

Pawain said:

Hint for repairing cannons. Hold a +60 hammer to use a lot fewer ingots.

Use your carpenter to repair the ship if it is heavily damaged.

Can my archer-mage hold the +60 hammer and get the benefit or doe sit need to be someone with Smith skill?

Chrille said:

Well once you have a 60+ hammer it only use it charges while crafting so you can repair as much as you like for 0 extra cost.

Ok noted and thanks! Excellent tip!

Hippo said:

Pawain said:

Hint for repairing cannons. Hold a +60 hammer to use a lot fewer ingots.

Use your carpenter to repair the ship if it is heavily damaged.

Can my archer-mage hold the +60 hammer and get the benefit or doe sit need to be someone with Smith skill?

It gives you 60 Smith skill like a ring would. That makes a big difference in the amount of ingots used.

@Seth They were cheap before the BOD revamp because players got them while hoping for a runic.

I can solo a beacon with my archer mage (Spellweaver).  Orc ship

Drakelord said:

I can solo a beacon with my archer mage (Spellweaver).  Orc ship

Sir, you are one of the elites. 

Corpse Bear also posted alot of solos on Youtube.

Hope they don't make it more difficult for commoners. 

 😂 

I too have posted a video, and I think it can be agreed, while I know a lot of facts, as a player I'm no better than 'average', if that. My vids are not so much 'look how great I am' as 'if I can do it, anyone can'. This is how I succeed, see if you can adapt my tactics to your template. My char is a chiv archer (template & bow shown at the end). I can also do it using a pure bard with summoned daemons.

Thanks to Petra I finally decided to try it on my chiv archer....it takes longer solo but the beacons are easy...much easier then they are portrayed to be. I'd rather just find orc ships, I get more cargo that way and resources. 

Petra_Fyde said:

I too have posted a video, and I think it can be agreed, while I know a lot of facts, as a player I'm no better than 'average', if that. My vids are not so much 'look how great I am' as 'if I can do it, anyone can'. This is how I succeed, see if you can adapt my tactics to your template. My char is a chiv archer (template & bow shown at the end). I can also do it using a pure bard with summoned daemons.

Seth said:

Petra_Fyde said:

I too have posted a video, and I think it can be agreed, while I know a lot of facts, as a player I'm no better than 'average', if that. My vids are not so much 'look how great I am' as 'if I can do it, anyone can'. This is how I succeed, see if you can adapt my tactics to your template. My char is a chiv archer (template & bow shown at the end). I can also do it using a pure bard with summoned daemons.

Think in the shoe of new players, not someone with X years experience.

Maybe a beacon that shoots 6500 damage in 8 directions on approaching ships will be most enjoyable and challenging!

Try watching the vid before you dismiss it. I don't get my ship shot up, and no one who copies what I do will either. I make vids to help players, as many who have watched the few vids I make realise. 

I don't get my ship shot up either....I take more damage from orc ships then beacons. I didn't even watch her video until AFTER I tried one myself because she explained it so well.

Come in from the corners because you can see the beacon on the map before you get close enough to take damage.

So on Origin orc ships still do damage ? Because they don't on other shards.

Petra_Fyde said:

Seth said:

Petra_Fyde said:

I too have posted a video, and I think it can be agreed, while I know a lot of facts, as a player I'm no better than 'average', if that. My vids are not so much 'look how great I am' as 'if I can do it, anyone can'. This is how I succeed, see if you can adapt my tactics to your template. My char is a chiv archer (template & bow shown at the end). I can also do it using a pure bard with summoned daemons.

Think in the shoe of new players, not someone with X years experience.

Maybe a beacon that shoots 6500 damage in 8 directions on approaching ships will be most enjoyable and challenging!

Try watching the vid before you dismiss it. I don't get my ship shot up, and no one who copies what I do will either. I make vids to help players, as many who have watched the few vids I make realise. 

My ships are also hardly damaged when fighting Beacons, thanks to tips from another site. My point is that we have benefited from this... so its unfair to those who come later and do not enjoy the same if the game is changed. Its like what some said when existing have alreadyreaped the benefit of an existing system (or exploit), and then its changed to something more difficult. Those who was already farming the under the old system has already accumulated alot of "weath" to control the price in the market because the game is now made more difficult.

Pirate ships maybe....I don't really pay attention unless I'm on a beacon but yesterday I did full repairs on my ship and cannons before going out, did 4 pirate ships and 3 orc ships and my ship was at 81% health when I was finished. Did no beacons at all yesterday so the damage is coming from somewhere lol, I'll pay attention next time I go out.

I do take damage from a beacon if I sail into it from the wrong direction...made that mistake once and now I am super careful on my approach. Only happened one other time when I was trying to get around a damn kraken that kept getting in my way!

Drakelord said:

I can solo a beacon with my archer mage (Spellweaver).  Orc ship

Yes players can solo beacons or ships. But there is no reason to be greedy, Invite others to come take a cannon shot.  You will get the same amount of cargo you get solo.

Larisa said:

Thanks to Petra I finally decided to try it on my chiv archer....it takes longer solo but the beacons are easy...much easier then they are portrayed to be. I'd rather just find orc ships, I get more cargo that way and resources. 

A Beacon drops a Mythic cargo and you usually get a few other types from monsters and Orc crew.

A Mythic Cargo is worth 10x more than the highest on a Ship.

Yeah but more times then not I only get a mythic and nothing else..maybe one other one. I get a lot more cargo with the others and it adds up to about the same in less amount of time.

Plus I get resources so that's a bonus.

More tips:

Mystics can cast RC on the Pontoons of a Beacon to help kill the crew. So a Mystic Thrower can go fast.  Could Prob cast EVs there also.

Using Chain lightning can hit the furthest away Orc when an Archer can not. You aim at the Orc in range.  A Player with high SDI and a Orc slayer book does a lot of damage to the Orcs.

Larisa said:

Yeah but more times then not I only get a mythic and nothing else..maybe one other one. I get a lot more cargo with the others and it adds up to about the same in less amount of time.

Plus I get resources so that's a bonus.

Did they change the amount of refinements in Ship hold with the patch?  I was getting 5 before, Now just getting 3.

Not that I've noticed. I get between 3 and 5 plus 14-20 each of Fuse Cord, Powder Charge and Cannonballs...I leave the grapeshot. I'll take the apples, ingots and boards too and if I find liquor I'll take the special bottles out unless I'm feeling cheeky, then I'll take the whole chest because those bottles are worth 30 turn in points each.

Garth_Grey said:

So on Origin orc ships still do damage ? Because they don't on other shards.

not the ones I fight !

i think what @Larisa is talking about is the crew attacking you which in fact the orc crew does 

She was talking about ship damage, not damage to herself.

Tracking can do up to 5 arrows.
If there are a lot of Player Ships and/or you have moved a few screens.  You can say Stop Tracking to turn it off and Start Tracking again to hopefully pick up new targets in range.

For beacons I use this method.  It can be done from the front or back.  I prefer this side.
Pull up to one side close enough to get the first Orc. Then scoot forward as needed.  Keep the side of your ship out of hit range of the back.

Then the last Orc takes practice, you can Forward one or eventually get used to scooting up enough.  When too far in you will get shot.  This is the 3rd day since I have repaired, Im at 95% ship health.

The second picture is the perfect spot to hit the last Orc with my archers.

Go to the other side and repeat.

I try to sink the beacon quick enough to loot all the orcs arrows. That dark chest orc in the first spot has arrows.  So I have to sink it and still loot him.


I am going parallel to the beacon. There is a sweet spot if you go perpendicular to the point at the front of the beacon you can get all 4 orcs from one spot.  Works great like that if you use Chain Lightning with high SDI and a slayer book.

@Pawain - How many arrows we talking from those orc scouts? like 20-30 or 200-300?

50 to 60 arrows.

Sometimes I can play for hours with the 500 arrows I started with on each archer by looting.

I play two pirate crews: On Legends I use Necro-Archer in wraith form wearing Repond Cameo with a HLD/SSI/HML shortbow  and a Mystic-Mage-Tamer w/Mage mastery Unicorn on two computers.  When attacking a beacon I gate and additional GM archer and Mystic/Mage/Spellweaver on board to get an extra 2 Mythic cargos. On ATL I use a Mage with Orc slayer SB and 110 Archer/100 Tactics with Hit Lightning SB and 1st Mate is Mystic-Mage-Tamer with a Mage Mastery Mare. Back up is another Tamer and Archer.  Hit Lightning works great whether bow or spell and on beacons can attack 3 of the 4 orc crew at same time. The EV's and RC's keep Krakens and serps/Elementals at bay while concentrating on Beacon.  For pirate ships, the pets jump aboard and kill the crew while I concentrate on scuttling the ship.

One thing I forgot.  If someone without a Ramrod tries to prep a cannon, the cannon locks up and only the person who tried it has to get a Ramrod and finish loading. So, carry extras.
To fix the cannon if they left, you have to go to land and disassemble the cannon to reset it.

So, I always tell them just to shoot and I reload.