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Hard, fast, light, and precise, Cinder’s reputation proceeds her. Strong passives give her the invaluable ability to pick her engagements. I’m pretty sure the 5 skull difficulty label attracted some of the most adept players up to the challenge, and they certainly did not disappoint. These are some of the most notoriously skilled players in existence, responsible for some of my most upsetting defeats and challenging battles. It’s also a ship that took me quite a while to fully get. But after a lovely discussion with some Cinder mains and a good deal of practice, I think I’ve hammered out some successful builds.

From the "Getting Started" guide:

The Human sloop Cinder is the fastest ship in the game. With decent cannons and an extra speed boost when out of combat, she makes for deadly prey if she leads you on a chase.

• Cannons only on broadsides
  
• Passive out of combat speed boost
  
• Tier X: Oracle (can see anyone within sight radius, regardless of fog or obstacles)
  
• Pros and cons:
  + Cannons pack a punch
  + Amazing speed
  + Maneuverable
  - Light on the armor
  - Low crew

At risk of sounding repetitive, I'll again mention that Cinder is the fastest ship around. This is worth emphasizing because it's a core part of Cinder gameplay. Cinder is designed to not be caught. This of course means enemies will try to catch you, employing tactics such as chain shot, boarding, and cornering. Cinder players must find a balance between countering these weaknesses and building their strengths.

Cinder does well out of combat. This has to do with its ability, Tail Wind Passive (speed boost out of combat), and the fact that Cinder has low health bars across the board (sails, armor, hull, crew). These may scare you to start, but the point is that the less health you have, the easier it is to regenerate it. Regeneration mates such as the Bosun, Shipwright, and Sail Master will make it so that if you're low on anything, you can simply sail away for a bit and make it all back. This is a particularly frustrating strategy for any slower ship trying to chase you. You can sail circles around them, taking seemingly no damage while tenderizing them with your cannons volley by volley. These out of combat perks can be capitalized on if you equip a Flag Cook. Once leveled, combat flag will last less than a couple seconds, meaning high regeneration and speed can be used during encounters, not just outside of them.

If Cinder is not the fastest ship in the waters, trouble ensues. Sails are one of its most valuable assets--if a Cinder ever loses them without a way to regenerate or a deus ex machina, their fate is sealed. Open waters are a Cinder's domain; stick to them! Orcs and Dwarves can and will better navigate tight spaces and have the advantage there. You want them to chase you to open waters, getting enough distance to shoot them and resume the chase. If their attention is diverted, punish them with a couple volleys to unguarded quadrants. On that note, Cinder is one of the best ships to take advantage of battles in progress. It simply sails around to an unguarded side and pumps cannonballs into it. As such, many players will divert their attention to a Cinder when one comes around, for they know they'll both end up dead if they fight each other instead of you. As a Cinder, keep in mind you are a high priority target, and they'll kill you first--if they can catch you.


Now, on to the more specific builds.

This build is all about being untouchable due to its sheer speed. High damage output both in and out of your long range allows you the freedom to sail like the wind with hardly a scratch.

Captain: Morrigan Shale

Mates
Cook--Flag; Bowser
Bosun--Regen; Misty [Freckles Peppins]
Shipwright--Regen; Pants [Ross the Architect] OR Sail Master--Regen; Marijun [Needletooth Vaalyn]

Level 5 Traits: Thrill of Victory, Zephyr, Getaway, Dead Water Sprint, Killer Instinct

Hardpoints
Cannons: Harbringer
Utility: Harbringer Rudder
Defense: Wickwind Plating
Offense: Talon Gunports

Arguably the most important mate on this ship is Bowser. This cuts your combat flag to 1.6 seconds, allowing you to always make the most of Tail Wind Passive. A close second is the Regen bosun, which avails of being almost always out of combat to give outstanding repair numbers. This combo results in a quintessential aspect of Cinder gameplay: it’s extremely difficult for the enemy to land a hit, and when they finally do, you regenerate back to full by darting away for a few seconds.

The last mate has some play, and I recommend either Regen sail master or Regen shipwright. The former almost guarantees you cannot be caught, since you can’t lose speed. The latter uses the short combat flag to stay full health, just as the bosun always keeps your armor topped off.
Ross the Architect doesn’t offer any hull repair, but will double your hull and offer ramming resistance and damage buff. Pretty hard to pass up. The speed debuff from Saltspitter Rynold isn’t worth it in my opinion, but you’re welcome to try him.

The end result is one of the fastest ships around, with powerful, accurate cannons--quintessential Cinder, to sum up. Long range and low firing delay from Harbringers supplement this quite well, letting you keep the pressure on from afar.

As stated earlier, darting away doesn’t have to mean letting up. Morrigan Shale with upgraded talents is one of the most powerful captains available. High DPS, directly to the hull, and long lasting. Their sails will burn faster than gunpowder, ensuring you remain uncatchable and rendering the enemy a sitting duck, perfect for Harbringers target practice. And if you’re overwhelmed, you can just leave. Cinder has that option. You also have the invaluable ability to pick your battles with Ocean Oracle, selecting who you want to fight and when, and scouting out boons faster than any other ship.

Once you try out this ship, it really becomes a more intuitive feel of how you want to run your Cinder. You’ll get the hang of timing, turning, aiming, and firing just with sheer practice, and it helps you get better with most of the other ships too.

Still slippery, but focuses less on speed and more on turning. Gives consistent, accurate shots as a result. Why "chicken"? Try chasing one in real life and then reexamine your question.

Captain: Flint Brinetide

Mates
Helmsman--Turn; Murphy [Cricket Rudderbuster]
Bosun--Regen; Misty [Freckles Peppins]
Shipwright--Regen; Pants [Saltspitter Rynold]

Level 5 Traits: Zephyr, Cautious, Dead Water Sprint, Stealthy, Swift Start (for boons if you want)

Hardpoints
Cannons: Harbringer
Utility: Harbringer Rudder
Defense: Phoenix Bulkhead
Offense: Talon Gunports

This build really shines if you grab all the legendaries. It took some tweaking and more... reactionary configuration, if you will, but it shores up the induced debuffs nicely, allowing you to enjoy the superior stats.
Freckles Peppins is one of my favorite legendary mates, if not #1. Regeneration and armor damage resist with turning rate, I cannot emphasize enough, is just amazing. She costs some Crewman Health, but Flint’s left tree, Smothering Wind, will fix that up.
Turn rate and acceleration come from a helmsman. Cricket Rudderbuster in particular gives you unparalleled turn acceleration, which is a good choice given the amount of buffs to turn rate alone. She also offers sail damage, an ability you might miss from not having Morrigan at the helm. Reload debuff can be handled by Saltspitter Rynold.
A shipwright seals the deal defensively, and while I’m a huge fan of Ross the Architect, Rynold gives outstanding regeneration in and out of combat. One of the first things you notice that’s hard to adjust in transitioning from the previous build to this one is the combat flag. The full 8 seconds feel really long, and so you can take a beating without outstanding armor regen. Hull regen works just about as well out of combat as in, so this keeps you nice and alive when armor fails. Still keep an eye on high DPS builds, as low bulk can cause issues. The speed debuff is canceled out perfectly by Flint’s right-hand tree, Blazing Wind, fixing the last debuff we need to worry about.

With debuffs handled, we can more fully appreciate the benefits. Now, nothing comes close to having as much bulk as a build with Ross the Architect, but this ship has hull values in the 400’s. That’s enough for you to shrug off a hit if you do get caught. As stated earlier, high DPS builds are really the biggest problems--frigates especially; Undertow’s poltergeist, Thunderhead and Ashborne’s firepower, and Bloodfin’s ramming are all capable of sending you fighting for your life after one pass. Blast to shove them away and end boards, then weave your way out of combat for a bit and you’ll get back to full quite quickly.

To be clear, this is a highly maneuverable build. With all the legendaries I mentioned, you get 61 turn rate and 113 turn acceleration, which is better than even Cleaver. On Greased Lightning, if you miss it’s not that big a deal because you’re sailing circles around them. Simply loop around and then fire again.
On this build, you don’t miss.
Between Harbringers’ firing delay and the unparalleled maneuverability, you are an apex predator. This buff also works defensively, letting you dodge rams, cannons, and even homing torpedoes--I’ve entirely dodged a barrage of three, even with some of them looping back for a second pass!

The 8 second combat flag takes a while to get used to, but with the right level 5 traits you can have amazing bursts of speed when you need it most. Zephyr is arguably more valuable here than on Greased Lightning for this reason. Cautious can also prove very useful, because armor can go out suddenly and put you in flight mode. On top of that, with combat regeneration from the bosun, if you do get hit again while on the run, Cautious will simply activate again, resetting your timer. When the combat flag drops after losing armor or picking up a boon, you can dart away with amazing speed.

Crit build for Cinder. Offers an offensive, fight-not-flee style that packs quite a punch.

Captain: Morrigan Shale, MAYBE Axton Harrowfel

Mates
Powder Monkey--Crit; Beckett [Halle of Corinth]
Bosun--Legendary; Freckles Peppins
Cook--Crit; Meyers [Piersen the Carver]

Level 5 Traits: Thrill of Victory, Zephyr, Cautious, Dead Water Sprint

Hardpoints
Cannons: Phoenix
Utility: Stargazer Mast
Defense: Phoenix Bulkhead
Offense: Longshot Gunports


When first attempting Cinder, I went for crits, and really didn’t get it. The previous two builds I wrote are better ways to handle it. This build isn’t a good option for learning Cinder; it’s really if you already know what you’re doing and all those subtle details for how to handle the ship. When to turn and fire the other broadside, how in-tune you are with your own HP, frequently availing yourself of the Ocean Oracle in real-time, and so on. So if you’ve passed Cinder 121, follow me.

Of course, we want to stack the loadout--mates, hardpoints, captains--to maximize critical chance and damage. The hardpoints should be pretty obvious; once you see something that says anything about crits, click it. Phoenix Bulkhead is necessary because you don’t have any mates helping you with mobility. Wickwind Plating is great when stacked, but you’ve gotta stand and fight, so get some extra bulk in there.

Mates are a little trickier. If you know about Cleaver building, you’d recognize it takes at least two mates to really drive the crits home (except Ashborne, who just has great hardpoints), and still allowing something for defense. Same pattern here. Get Freckles Peppins. Regen bosun Misty can do the trick for a time, but the combination of turning, armor resist, and regen are unparalleled. She’s still one of, if not THE most useful legendary mates in the game.

The other suggested legendaries are quite useful--but aren’t as mandatory. If you choose Halle, you’ll get more crit chance in lieu of crit damage, along with some armor resistance. The hull resistance will be easily absorbed by Phoenix Bulkhead. Piersen the Carver’s turn debuff will be absorbed by Freckles. It’s really nice to have the lower combat flag and captain cooldown, but considering you aren’t going to be the most mobile ship in the water, the acceleration comes in quite handy for quick linear evasions. It’s great to dodge cannonballs just by going faster sooner, and you may not want to rely on Cautious to trigger to avoid a nasty ram.

If you get all the legendaries, and maxing Morrigan’s left-hand tree to get another 50% crit damage, you’ll get 43% crit chance, 250% crit damage. A normal powder monkey would do 33% chance, 350% damage, so the trade-off is up to you. Thrill of Victory makes you very dangerous when kiting an ongoing brawl, not to mention the already outstanding damage output of the captain ability.

Now, if you were to use Axton, there are a few changes. With the same legendary mates, you’d get 48% crit chance, 200% crit damage. Here, you may instead want to go for another powder monkey, but mainly consider a cooldown cook, Bones. 5% less crit chance, so you’re back down to 43%, but you’re instead cutting the combat flag in half and lowering the cooldown by a significant amount, allowing Widow’s Powder to be used every 35 seconds. Max Axton’s talents, and invest in Brace for Impact and Extended Focus, and you’ve got a great defense while using the ability to empower your cannons. 15 seconds on, 20 seconds off, just like the “Relentless Fury” build. You can even have some points left over to put into a small turning buff, or push force. But you don’t have the mass damage output of the phoenix ability if you use Axton, so really make sure every shot lands.