What makes these vessels stand apart is their unique design, generally lacking any sort of living quarters, bridges or catwalks. Instead giving more space for vital components, making these ships resilient, yet agile and speedy.

Allied or not, these entities will be the most common across the Archipelago, some being challenging standalones like A hunt contracts or cargo ships, but are most notable when in large numbers, like in sieges or installations and require a good ship or crew.

Generally speaking the best way to victory is by outsmarting them. Either by picking one off at a time, keeping outside their weapon range, boarding, taking advantage of the surrounding terrain, or simply having overwhelming firepower.

But as a rule of thumb, given their trade off of any armoring for redundancy, any regular or AOE projectiles will work best, with a special mention to needle cannons that serve well against their exposed components and as drone defense.

Some examples of unmanned vessels:



GENERAL INFORMATIONS:

• Most AI vessels have reduced durability and damage output.
  
• Installations are firepower dependant, the stronger and the more allies, the stronger the installation will be.
  
• Taking out all the weaponry on an AI ship will have it flee.
  
• Installations vary in complexity based on location, some more difficult that others.
  
• Cargo carrying forts will call reinforcements once attacked.
  
• AI weapons have a range bonus of 30m
  
• Unmanned vessels are not unlike airmen themselves, which are controlled by an encased soul.

The souls that inhabit the majority of vessels and airmen alike, can rarely be found wandering at night across the Archipelago, easily spotted by their ethereal presence.
These are much more swift than their counterparts and will turn entirely invisible if attempted to board.

Some of these can be summoned as part of a pact either with the Obelisk on Horizon island, or ringing the three bells at night on Harbour.


The four Obelisk pacts will summon one or two ghosts of equivalent D, C, B, A rank hunts.
The vessel types are random, but none deadlier than their counterparts, only being faster and at full damage and health potential.


The pacts will reward some random resources and each a Black Knight airman cosmetic.



The three bells found on the northernmost island of Harbour must all be sound at night to invoke the Dutchman.

A fearsome ghost that seconds only the Mechalodon in strength. Bringing to battle rows of highly durable balloons shielding its vitals, all protected by short and long range weaponry with no blind spots.

Ultimately these same features turn the vessel incredibly cumbersome, making it more a battle of attrition, where the most well armed will prevail. Make sure to bring long range weaponry to avoid direct confrontation if possible.




GENERAL INFORMATIONS

• Defeating the Dutchman is the fastest way to achieve an armoured dragoon.
  
  
• Shooting dead center on either side, in-between the balloons will cripple the ship the fastest, as all the vitals are grouped inside the ship.
  
  
• It will spawn center of the northern Harbour lagoon, from which it will take a path flying on top of Avenfold. To avoid direct barrage of its cannons, try to park anywhere else but Avenfold.
  
  
• Given long range is not an option, flanking the ship maintaining a 45* angle to either bottom side, will reduce the amount of firepower concentrated on your ship.
  
  
• Any weaponry in quantity works, but piercing or AOE gives the best results.
  
  
• Ghosts can appear from any creature, even whales!

Consult the map for locations of the islands and challenges:

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3329903360

Drones can be found freely roaming the Archipelago, or deployed by various types of enemy vessels as a mean to overwhelm your point defence and saturate your ship's weaker spots.

They sport two types of armaments:

Laser drones will reach their target and enter an orbit around it, pommelling it with lasers and targeting crew.
Twin turrets or breach work best against these due to ones high ammo capacity and the others fast reload time.

If they hit an obstacle, they will explode, making it particularly useful to hug the ground if overwhelmed.

Demolition equipped drones are the most dangerous, as they will head straight for your ship and explode on impact, making it particularly important to keep enough of a window for your turrets to engage.
Needle turrets work best against these due to their high projectile speed and precision.

Depending on the enemy type, there can be:

REGULAR


These are the drones used by unmanned vessels, and have no special ability or armoring.

Any autoturret will work against these, and generally do not present a threat until in large numbers (As good example the Trinity Pass installation)



MEAT


These are the drones used by demon vessels, and have increased HP and damage output.

Best dispatched by needle cannons due to the necessity for high precision and fire rate to intercept their dreaded demolition type.




ARMOURED


This is the drone used by the Mechalodon, and have front armouring and penetrating lasers, but no demolition version.

Best dispatched by ship mounted twin cannons or breach turret deployers, due to their fast reload time.

Demon ships can be found laying dormant on the shores of several islands, more often on Spearhead.
These can be awakened by taking an axe to their corpses, at which time one of three possible demon ships will spawn:

MEAT

The regular demon ship, it is easily recognizable by its dark red colour.
Although considered the weakest of the three variants, it can still take an inexperienced airman by surprise.
It uses only laser meat drones as a mean of attack, which can easily be taken out by good point defense. Meanwhile its deployers can be destroyed by using penetration weaponry or AOE projectiles.



MEAT TAINTED

The stronger variant of the demon ship, easily recognizable by bright red veins crossing the body.

Employing a mix of demolition and laser meat drones, this demon also sports two bone cannons on its dorse, lethal against un-armored components.
Much more formidable than its predecessor, can be taken out by penetration weaponry or AOE projectiles, but good point defence is mandatory to disable the drones.

MEAT UNSTABLE

The strongest variant of the demon ship, easily recognizable by green veins crossing the body.

This one employs only demolition meat drones, which must be intercepted before they reach your vessel, otherwise quickly saturating your ship explosive damage, which has a high chance of killing the pilot.
A solid ship with a covered cockpit, autohammers and perfect point defense is mandatory to quickly dispatch of this adversary.




GENERAL INFORMATIONS:

• Demon ships are incredibly fast and will circle your ship trying to avoid fire, sometimes changing course to ram your ship directly. At that point a magnetic repulsor is needed to distance yourself from it.
  
• Demon ship bodies are extremely resilient, and the side ribs will tank most incoming hits. This is why either penetrating or AOE weaponry is recommended.
  
• Taking out the dorsal autohammers is recommended to reduce its self healing abilities, as any of them can cover and heal the entirety of the meat ship.
  
• Demon ships are best fought hugging the ground, as this will force them to fly a little higher than the tree line, both mitigating incoming drones and continuously exposing the demon belly.
  
• Demon ships are covered in APATs, hence boarding is impossible, and taking them out by rifle is overly challenging due to the demon's snaking motion.
  
• Mixing autocannon types to leave no reload windows is the best way to take out their drones, as both twins, needles and breaches are similarly effective.

Demon worms can be found in the Steelsands desert jumping in and out of the sand and will attack any ship close enough to the ground.

These incredibly fast creatures will use their natural burrowing capabilities to pass through your ship, damaging everything on their path, especially engines.

Due to their elevated speed, any kind of ship turret will be ineffective against them, making the use of handheld weapons mandatory to dispatch of them. They are best defeated by standing on the ground, as this will give you ample time to shoot at them before they re-enter the sand.

Two types inhabit the desert, the common Bone Worm, recognizable by its smaller size and white - red tones.

Killing these during the Spookening event will reward you with the 'Bone Katana'



And the rarer, but much deadlier Glass Worm, easily recognizable by its bigger size and black - red tones.

Killing it during the Spookening event will reward you with the 'Meat Turret Deployer'




The shard demon is a mysterious entity that has a chance to spawn every time you cross a demon portal back and forth.

It's body appears to be composed by demon glass shards flying in formation, releasing a dark cloud that enshrouds your ship. Burrowing explosively through it, in a similar motion to a demon worm.

It must be dispatched quickly to ensure the survival of your vessel, as it cannot be escaped from.

Once killed it will reward you with the 'Shard Weaponry'





GENERAL INFORMATIONS

• Although any handheld weapon can be used, carabines and lever actions seem to be the best for damaging these entities.
  
• Desert worms can be hunt down in relative safety by approaching them from afar aboard a dragoon.
  
• Even though the attacks may appear erratic, they follow a well defined pattern, keeping your ship still and observing their movements, will give you the best chance of success.
  
• You can use the synthetiser grinders in the desert to kill the worms.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3329903360

Mechanical entities are easily recognisable by their sizeable dimensions and resemblance to some sort of living creature.


The Mechalodon is considered the strongest enemy in the Archipelago, and although it can be defeated alone, it is highly recommended to bring several ships, crew and dragoons to accomplish this.

It can be awakened by reaching Table island and ringing the bell next to the carcass, afterwards you will head towards the open ocean and try to spot it at distance.

It will deploy armoured drones, delayed firing missiles, and occasionally ram the ship if too close to the water, dealing tremendous damage. Time is of the essence then, making a plan of attack is crucial for your survival.

It is highly recommended, to start off by eliminating the top fin and the drone launchers on either side of it, this done by using AOE projectiles or any precision fire cannon.

This is best accomplished by keeping the ship close enough to the water for the mechalodon to ram it.
Forcing it to circle the ship without submerging, giving ample time to damage the deployers and the top fin, which is difficult to avoid once the mechalodon goes ramming.

It is best to bring a ship with an exceptional turn and climb rate, so to avoid ramming attacks and keeping the Mechalodon targeted.
Once this is accomplished, you can either retreat safely back to Table island to shield your ship from the missiles, or tank them until you have taken those out too.

The best way to destroy the silos is by boarding the Mechalodon, armed with lever action and axe, which now cannot defend itself with drones.

Hack at the silos until they become entirely blackened, and finish them off by gun, as they will explode once destroyed.

Once this is done, you can finish off the Mechalodon by shooting at the joints and fins via ship weaponry, or using boarding charges. And complete the hunt by grabbing the sword stuck in the tail as reward.



MICRO MECHALODON

A MiniMechalodon also exists, and can be found roaming freely the oceans, and it can spawn allied to a local faction. This one is much less formidable, sporting only 2 deployers and one silo.



WHALES
Whales are part of the mechanical entities, and can be found roaming peacefully the northern areas of the map. They drop valuable cargo if damaged and killed, but this will also reward you with a bounty on your ship.



GENERAL INFORMATIONS

• Automatic weaponry does not work on targeting any of the Mechanical entities.
  
• Leaving the Mechalodon area, will have it disappear. Hence if your ship needs factory repairs, have someone stay the fight.
  
• To facilitate the fight, given you have ample crew, you can use transport dragoons to airdrop airmen with boarding charges atop the Mechalodon. The drones will not have enough time to react. This can be done entirely by Table island, shielding oneself from the missiles.
  
• Approaching any island while aggroed, or sinking entirely to the seafloor, might have the Mechalodon stuck to the seafloor and despawn entirely.

Special thanks to the members of the Onion Communion that make all of this possible.

Our official discord link: https://discord.gg/sn55DzqXpj