Cannons
Cannons are an essential part of Tradelands. They are used to combat enemy ships while on the open sea, or while defending a port against enemies. They vary in size and type, and they all require roundshot to fire. Firing a cannon in Tradelands accurately takes practice, and many players take pride in their ability to fire a cannon accurately to hit a target.
Controls
The controls for cannoning are different from other aspects of Tradelands. To aim a cannon left, press 'a', 'h' or the Left Arrow Key. To aim a cannon right, press 'd', 'k' or the Right Arrow Key To aim a cannon up, press 's', 'j', or the Down Arrow Key. To aim a cannon down, press 'w', 'j' or the Up Arrow Key. To fire a cannon, make sure you have any amount of roundshot in your inventory (or if you are in a crew on your captain's ship, any amount in the ammo storage container), and press either 'f' or 'l'. WASD with F to fire is the most common and usually most practical form of aiming and firing.
Crafting Cannons
Cannons are made by crafting them at the Crafting Station (although some cannons come equipped already on certain ships, such as the Minnowclad or the Super Steamfish and variants.) In order to craft them, you must have the required amount of wood and metal of your choosing. The size and type of cannon that can be crafted depends on your crafting level, as well as the durability of the cannons you craft. The highest possible durability a player can craft is 400/100, which is only doable by achieving a quite of bit of crafting experience after reaching Crafting level 10. Because cannons can be crafted with all craftable woods and metals in Tradelands, many players decorate their ships with cannons made out expensive materials, such as gold or ebony wood.
Types and Sizes of Cannons
There are many different types and sizes of cannons in Tradelands. The types of cannons that can be crafted are Long guns, Carronades, Mortars, and Swivel guns. All of these types come in many different sizes and forms, which all have different purposed during combat.
Long guns are the most common type of cannon in Tradelands, as they are easy to control and aim, and fire long distances. Long guns are usually placed on the broadsides of ships, but also can be used as chasers and rear guns.
Carronades are shorter and fatter than Long guns, but serve many of the same purposes. The advantage of Carronades over Long guns is damage. Most ships that fit Long guns, can also fit Carronades that are one step higher caliber than the Long guns. This means that a ship using Carronades can sink another of its class using Long guns faster. The disadvantage of Carronades is their range. The range of Carronades is much less than that of Long guns, and are not often used on ships where Long guns can be placed.
Mortars are very long range high powered cannons that fire shots high up in the air in order to fire longer distances. These cannons can only fit on the fronts of certain ships, or on a Mortar Platform. These cannons are great for inflicting damage on enemies that would otherwise be out of range, letting you gain the upper hand before a fight starts, or sink a fleeing enemy, stopping them from escaping. The downsides to mortars are their difficulty to use and their limited range. Mortars can only fire when a certain at a target, before not being able to hit due to the enemy being too close. This means that Mortars can be made useless by closing the distance between you and the ship or fortress. Mortars are also very hard to use, and take much more practice than other cannons. Many players do not know how to use the Mortar properly, and waste time and roundshot firing at a target they'll never hit.
Swivels are the least used cannon in Tradelands. They only fit at the very rear of certain ships, or on the front of a Minnowclad and variants. They are primarily useful in situations where an enemy has reached a blind spot of your ship. Swivels are useful for their maneuverability, as they can twist more than 90 degrees left or right, allowing them to fire at enemies in the most unreachable spots. However, because they are so small, they do little damage to enemies, even when hit directly, and are unlikely to kill or do any serious damage to ships.
As previously mentioned, all types of cannons come in various sizes. This list is sorted by type of cannon, and is sorted by size from smallest to largest.