Ships in Quarterdeck are not sunk; they are beaten. A ship fights until its crew's morale is gone, then it strikes its colours, and the fight is won by breaking the enemy's will faster than your own.
Morale
Your ship's morale shows on the HUD as a percentage, with the crew left above it. Another ship's morale shows as a bar under its name when you look at it through the telescope (hold Shift). Morale starts at 100%.
What costs morale
- Casualties. Every man killed costs morale, five times his share of the crew: lose one man in a hundred and morale falls five points. A ship that loses a fifth of its crew without a pause loses all its morale.
- A mast going over the side. Each mast lost costs a quarter of the ship's morale at a stroke. See Gunnery on chain shot.
A fifth of the crew is a different number of men in each ship:
| Crew | A fifth of the crew | |
|---|---|---|
| First Rate | 850 | 170 |
| Seventy-four | 600 | 120 |
| Frigate | 280 | 56 |
| Brig | 120 | 24 |
| Cutter | 60 | 12 |
Recovery
Morale comes back, but only in a lull. Once two and a half minutes have passed with no man lost and no mast down, morale climbs again at one point a second. That is longer than any gun takes to reload, so morale never recovers between one broadside and the next. It only comes back when the fighting stops: by breaking off, by staying out of the enemy's arc, or in the pause between one opponent and another.
Morale doesn't come all the way back. It recovers only as far as the share of the crew still aboard: a ship that has lost a tenth of its men tops out at 90%. Each mast down takes a further 10 points off that limit for good.
So the way to win is to hit the enemy hard and keep hitting it. A ship that lands a few broadsides and then lets the enemy draw off for a few minutes gives back much of what it won.
Striking
At zero morale a ship strikes. It stops fighting at once: its fire ceases, its guns are stood down, its sails and staysails are furled, and a white flag goes up in place of its ensign. It takes no more orders. Your HUD reads STRUCK.
A ship that has struck is a derelict: it belongs to nobody. Nothing fires on it, it can't fire, and it never un-strikes on its own. The only way it fights again is as a prize, if the other side boards it and takes it: see Boats and Prizes.
When your ship strikes
If your own ship strikes, a notice says so in the middle of the screen. Once the ship has lost its way, its boat is lowered with you in it. You can't go back aboard the derelict. Nothing fires on a ship's boat, so you are safe in it. From the boat you can row to a ship of your side that you have commanded before, such as one you left in squadron, and take command again, or ride in another player's ship as a passenger. You can take no prize until you're back in command of a ship.
The fight goes on
Engagements never end. There is no victory screen, no defeat and no time limit. When a ship strikes, the fight goes on around it, and the other side can row across and take it as a prize.