My AI crew will not fire...ever - Xbox

[M.E.R.C. 0]

Hi, 

So I've been scouring the internet and forums for days trying unsuccesfully to get this answer but, so I'm not starting this thread lightly.

I have a brig with gunports full of ship cannons. An NPC sits at each cannon, they are set to target ships. There is an ammo box right in the middle of the deck with about 300 medium cannonballs in. The crew are all paid and fed from a larder which is full and in the middle of the deck.

They will not fire... ever.. whatever I do. A ship of the damned will almost sink me without me being able to fire back...even though I have a ship of loaded cannons...

I have tried grouping them, ungrouping them, seating them, unseating them, they are on aggressive the cannons are on targeting ships. The gunports are open. When on the podium I have never seen these cannon targeting lines that I hear about, Rt is supposed to bring them up but it doesn't. I can press LT and see a green target, but I cant get them to shoot...⁹

Please can someone tell me what I'm getting wrong?

 

Thanks in advance. 

[RyuujinZERO 122]

I don't know which button corresponds to which on XBox, but here's a breakdown of the process and what you might be missing. It sounds like you have it all set up right and gunports open so that's good.

•  At the bottom of the screen are your weapon groupings. You will need to make sure the groups you want to use are actually selected, when a grouping is selected it will have a purple hue instead of just being black, and will be ready to receive commands.

There are 3 main firing modes of interest, Fire at Will, Attack Target and Manual Fire:

• Fire at will, (V on PC) will change the icon on the weapon group to a cannon firing. The AI will open fire automatically at hostile targets if they have a clear shot in this mode. Remember your cannons only have a ~15 degree arc of fire, and large cannons can't swivel sideways at all!
• Manual Fire (LMB on PC) will give you a targeting reticle as long as you hold the button and hold the reticle in a position they can actually hit. If you are doing this correctly, it will draw the grey/yellow tracer lines to help you aim the shot. They will fire once you release the button.
• Attack target (RMB on PC), will also give you a targeting reticle as long as you hold the button, however instead of drawing any line, you instead drop the reticle on the target you wish to attack. If you do it right the weapon group icon will change to a crosshair, and a large red reticle will ping the target you selected to confirm it worked, and your gunners will focus fire on that target as long as they can get a clear shot.

I suspect the mistake you might be making is releasing the button too soon. Most attack commands aim while you hold the button, and activate when you release it in the correct location.

Edited April 7, 2020 by RyuujinZERO

[lordkhan4444 113]

you said you are using med cannonballs are your cannons in your gunport med? or large? large cannons will only fire large cannonballs. also to fire at something pull left trigger put the crosshair on the target you want to shoot at. rt will give you the yellow lines to fire manual. also if you want to know if the ammo box is reaching your cannons simply get on the cannon yourself and it should say 300 cannonballs left, if it says nothing then ammo box is to far away.

Edited April 7, 2020 by lordkhan4444

[jonm4ck 0]

Hey,  as RYUUJINZERO said you need to make sure you select the group and the correct attack option (if you see the HAND symbol at the bottom then they wont do anything)  I turn mine to fire at will.   you do this by left bumper and push down or the right thumb stick.   however, make sure you turn it off when you approach land (left bumper and down on the d pad) or they will just shoot at everything and waste your cannon balls.   you can also go into the settings of each cannon and change the range.  I've done this to hit the ships further away.     once you get used to selected the correct group  you can then try the other options mentioned by RYUUJINZERO.  it shows you on the right of the screen the button combination you need.   its not as easy as it should be so may take a little practice