Main Weapon

The primary, most powerful hand-held weapon that players use while they are fighting in a match, accessed by pressing **1**.

As of Patch 3.1, there are 4 different types of primary weapons: The Blunderbuss, the Standard Musket, the Nockgun, and the Hand Mortar.

## **Main Weapon**

The primary, most powerful hand-held weapon that players use while they are fighting in a match, accessed by pressing **1**.

As of Patch 3.1, there are 4 different types of primary weapons: The Blunderbuss, the Musket, the Nock Gun, and the Hand Mortar.

### The Blunderbuss

 Reload Time | 10s

Blunderbuss fires multiple weak shots at once, which spread out in a cone-like fashion over a wide area. It has infinite ammunition, and takes 10 seconds to reload after firing. At close range, Blunderbuss kills in 1 body shot. At mid range, it takes 2 body shots to kill. At long range, Blunderbuss appears to do no damage whatsoever, or is so inaccurate that its shots will rarely land.
While being totally ineffective at longer ranges, Blunderbuss is best used when in close quarters with enemy players; it can kill enemies standing next to each other in a single shot. At mid range, its large spread helps cancel out its inaccuracy, making it easier for you to hit enemy players than the Musket, Mortar or Nockgun in the heat of battle. Even if it fails to kill the enemy, it has a significant chance of causing heavy bleeding. All these factors combined means that Blunderbuss is one of the best weapons to use in the event of boarding the enemy ship.

### The Standard Musket

 Reload Time | 15s

Musket must aim down the sights (by pressing M2) before it can fire. It has infinite ammunition, takes 15 seconds to reload after firing, and will kill enemies in one shot to the body at any range. Musket has the best accuracy of any primary weapon.
As the game's most effective ranged weapon after the Cannon and Swivel, Musket is best used in distances of 50-10 metres; attacking boarding enemies from the far side of your ship, or even "sniping" valuable targets on the enemy ship, such as their Captain. Due to its longer reload time and mandatory aim-down-sights, Nockgun or Blunderbuss may be a better choice if you wish to board. However, it is almost always good for at least one kill in any combat situation, due to its high damage.
Keep in mind that Blackwake small arms are only reliable to a distance of 50 metres. Once you can no longer see individual players on the enemy ship, it's a good idea to stop trying to snipe with your Musket, and use Cannons instead.

### The Nockgun

 Reload Time | 20s

Nock Gun's 7 barrels all fire at the same time in a straight line, as opposed to the wider spread of the Blunderbuss. It has infinite ammunition, and takes 20 seconds to reload after firing. Nock Gun will kill in one hit at close range, in one hit at mid range, and becomes highly inaccurate at long range.
With the slowest reloading time of any primary weapon by far, Nock Gun's best use is when boarding or being boarded at the very beginning of the ramming phase; a single shot can kill multiple approaching enemies, as its shots pass through multiple players, instantly killing every one. Enemies approaching in single file will be very vulnerable to your powerful one-man volley. But despite all this power, once you've fired it once, it's useless for the rest of the fight, unless you have somewhere you can retreat to in order to reload.

### The Hand Mortar

 Reload Time | 5s

When fired, Mortar will launch a rolling, bouncing Grenade projectile with a 5 second fuse. If this grenade directly hits an enemy or friend before its fuse has ran out, it will harmlessly bounce off their body. When the fuse runs out, the Grenade will explode, heavily wounding or instantly killing any players within a seven-foot radius. Mortar has 4 carried ammunition per life(formerly 2), and takes 5 seconds to reload after firing.
Mortar can be useful with good aim, but its potential to accidentally kill the player using it must be respected. It's also entirely useless if you need to kill an enemy right away, as the projectile does no direct damage on hit, and in the 5 seconds it takes to explode, an enemy will simply shoot or stab you. Where Mortar shines is in bombardment of the enemy ship when both ships are pulled up near to each other, or in the process of grappling. A well-timed Mortar can be just as useful as a cannonball in this situation, as many enemies will be on the top deck eagerly waiting to board you, and the explosion can hit many at once. Try to avoid using the Mortar in situations where your allies are fighting, as its friendly fire potential may get you kicked from the server.