Dying is a regular occurrence in Rogue Waters. During the tutorial, players are told not to worry if they die, as they will wake up back at their ship with all their crew and ruins intact. That said, it can get a little tedious to keep dying in the early game, so here’s a guide on what to do if you keep dying in Rogue Waters.
Although dying is a part of Rogue Waters, there are things you can do to mitigate the damage to your crew during sea and ship battles. A full attack will include several battles of both types, and you’ll be lucky if you find a point on your route that will heal any of your crew’s wounds. If you find one of these stops, you can usually only heal one random wound from your crew.
Because of this, it’s up to you to keep your crew healthy during an attack. There are various ways to add additional HP to your crew members, including items that can heal them during ship battles, and ship modules that add to your crew’s Max HP.
Below, you’ll find several sections that cover the various ways you can avoid dying in Rogue Waters. These include classes that have skills that add HP to a character, modules you can find/buy/loot from ships that add to your crew’s Max HP, and items that must be equipped to your specialists to heal them
How to avoid dying in Rogue Waters
Be aware that this guide is geared towards new and struggling players, so it won’t cover modules and items you’ll see later in the game after you’ve spent enough hours raiding. These are modules and items that you will come during your attacks, so staying alive will feel more attainable.
Classes with health skills
Many classes have at least one skill that you can unlock for extra health. Here is a list of classes that have such abilities. This is not an exhaustive list, but it does include a large number of classes that you will see quite often in the Tavern.
| class | Skills that add HP |
|---|---|
| assassin | Fast and Robust. |
| A fighter | Fast and Robust. |
| Bruiser | Hard II |
| Combat medic | Cure I, Cure II, Cure III, Tough II. |
| commander | Assemble I, Assemble II, Assemble III. |
| Knife | Fast and Robust. |
| escapist | Hard II |
| Fencer | Hard II |
| Grappler | Hard II |
| Heavy Arm | Diffuse and Slow, Hard me. |
| Hunter | Fast and Robust. |
| musketeer | Fast and Robust. |
| Reaver | Bite I, Bite II, Flesh Eater, Hard I. |
| Shepherd | Shiv’s Presence I, Shiv’s Presence II, Shiv’s Presence III, Shiv’s Presence IV. |
| Lancer | Fast and Robust. |
| iron man | Fat and Weak, Strong I. |
| Sturdy | Diffuse and Slow, Tough II, Tough II. |
| Trick Shot | Strong me |
| Virulent | Fast and Robust. |
Modules that add HP to your crew
You will have access to some modules before starting your journey and you can choose which ones will accompany you when you go to the Shipyard. Other modules can be earned from ships during naval battles or purchased from various ports during your journey. Here are some of the more common modules you’ll find that can add HP to your crew:
| Name of Module | effect |
|---|---|
| Fortified Huts I | All crew members gain +1 Max HP. |
| Fortified Canteen | Also gains +2 Max HP, but -1 Movement. |
| Sturdy Quarterdeck | Captain Cutter gains +2 Max HP. |
| Sturdy Spardeck | Grapplers gain +1 Movement and +1 Max HP. |
| Pennant of Fortitude | +1 Max HP to all Companions. |
| Supply of Rum I | All crew members heal one point at the start of your turn. |
| Solid Colors | Buddies are immune to bomb blasts and heal one point at the start of your turn. |
Items with HP effects
Items can be purchased at a number of ports during your raiding journey, although some can be earned from looting ships. They must be equipped to one of your crew members to be used. Some will require manual activation – which you can do during that unit turn in a ship battle. Here are some of the more common items you’ll find that can add HP to your crew:
| Item Name | effect |
|---|---|
| Brew of Healing | Take a sip to heal one HP. Three uses. |
| Cleansing Water | Take a sip to heal one HP. Eliminates burping and bleeding. One use. |
| Fantasy Buckle | +1 Max HP, +1 Movement |
| Leather Belt | +1 Max HP. |
| Ring of Moulting | A unit heals three points at the start of their turn. +1 Max HP, -1 Armor. |
| Ring of Renewal | A unit heals four points at the start of its turn. |
| Seaskin Ring | A unit heals one at the start of their turn. |
| Robust Zone | +3 Max HP, -1 Movement. |
10 Tips to keep you alive in Rogue Waters
- even if you die keep attacking. It doesn’t matter if you don’t finish a raid, you’ll still keep your experience points, Glass and Blueprints.
- Have a full replacement crew always available. Instead of starting a new attack with specialist crew members who have wounds, switch them with other specialists waiting in the Galley.
- Let your crew recover. Similar to the point above, always let your crew heal where possible. This is more difficult in the early game when you don’t have enough money to hire more specialists.
- Always attack with full crew. There is no benefit to raiding with fewer people. You will almost always be outnumbered by the enemy, so take as many crew members as you can during your attack.
- Avoid fighting with less than two cannons that can attack other cannons. During naval combat, your enemy’s cannons will do all the damage to your cannons, modules, and crew members. If you only have one cannon that can attack other cannons, you will get pounded.
- Get more Command points. These allow you to fire more cannons during sea battles.
- Have at least one dedicated healer in your crew. Although Captain Cutter has healing abilities, you may not want to use your captain as a battle medic at first; especially since there are specialists who are in the Combat Medic class. You can find a table in my Rogue Waters Crew guide that highlights specialists with healing abilities that you may be able to hire from the Tavern before a raid.
- Use the ropes. Ropes can help your crew get across the deck of a ship faster. If you have specialists with certain abilities that do more damage, you can send these characters to fight by themselves. I would recommend sending specialists who can use guns, have melee skills, or have unlocked skills that do more damage. They are more likely to outlast an enemy than new specialists without unlocked skills.
- Fight enemies into fire. Grapple class specialists come in handy if you’re on a ship that has patches of fire burning. Use their grappling skills to throw enemies into fire. Even if your Grapple specialist can’t take damage themselves, they can use their environment to inflict it, instead.
- Have specialists work together. It is best to bring together certain specialists to work together. Take the Grapple class and the Spearmaiden class, for example. Grapplers must unlock various abilities to deal damage while throwing enemies around, and Spearmaidens can hit up to two enemies in a well-placed attack. Use your Grappler to get the enemies in position, and attack with your Spearmaiden.
Looking for more Rogue Waters content on Pro Game Guides? Check out our Rogue Waters review and our guide to the Best mods and cannons for your ship in Rogue Waters.
