Ramming

When cannons fail, ships can still revert to the simple strategy of crashing into their opponent at full force. Ships in Maelstrom are massive, and even the lightest of ships can cause significant damage to an opposing ship by ramming into them. In order to ram an enemy, simply sail your ship directly into them.

The damage dealt by a successful ramming hit is determined by where the hit connects and the speed of the ships in question. Every ship has a base ramming damage amount. This amount is multiplied by the speed of the ship - going full speed or even above full speed with powerups will deal increased damage, while moving slowly apply a weaker hit. Where the hit lands on the enemy is then checked - hitting the target on the sides or head on will cause the most damage while striking the aft deals less. However, ramming an enemy ship head on will deal damage to both ships, so be careful!

Tips

 * Running into terrain will cause a small amount of ramming damage to your own ship.
 * Dwarves can ram in reverse when using their reverse engines.
 * Orc ships have the most powerful rams with their spiked prows and strong fore armor. Bloodfin in particular excels at ramming enemy ships - don't let her in close if you can avoid it!
 * Some hardpoints and mates can grant Ramming Resistance, which lowers the damage taken when an enemy rams your ship. This can be a great investment for slow ships, which might make easy targets.

Hints

 * All battleships have larger keels and a hardpoint usually dedicated to add a bit of ramming flavor to them.
 * The Dwarves are resilient to ramming actions. They can shut down rams with knockback effects and some of them have hardpoints for ramming resistance as well as ramming damage too!
 * Human and Undead have more traditional ships that cannot take a head-on collision well. Try to avoid ramming in these ships!
 * Ramming the aft of a ship may deal less damage but it is the most vulernable part of many ships and could be a better option opposed to trading damage head on or risk boarding actions from the sides. The exception are the Undead, who are resilient in the aft and whom typically lose to the trade from a frontal ram.