by Greg | March 21st, 2011
First off, I’ll start with a list of figureheads (in order of usefulness) – Seahorse, Commodore, Unicorn, Lion, Giant Eagle, Hero, Neptune, Dragon, Angel, Goddess. The first 8 are available almost everywhere (although there are a few ports I’ve noticed do NOT have the Dragon until you are able to get the Angel or Goddess).
And a list of guns (also in order of usefulness) Saker, Demi-culvern, Culvern, Cannon Pedero, Demi-cannon, Cannon, Carronade. The first 6 are available at any shipyard, and since there’s only one special type of gun, it seems easier to get than the Goddess figurehead.
Ok, now to the questions of where and how to get them…
I know for a fact they are available in Venice, Hamburg, Antwerp, and Athens. so I have reason to believe they are available in ANY non-capitol shipyard. However, there are a few things you must do to be able to purchase these elusive Angel and Goddess figureheads.and Carronades for guns.
1) The industry level of the port must be 1000. (This in and of itself makes getting them at capitol cities impossible since you cannot invest in the shipyards there) Some have speculated that having the economy of the port at 1000 helps… I can say I’ve personally bought Angel figureheads and Carronades when the economy was in the 900’s … So, it may require the economy to be 1000 for the Goddess.
2) Your character’s luck must be at the max. (THIS is what everyone groans about 🙂 … Luck is an unseen attribute of your character but you can judge it’s level when you go to a fortune teller and ask about ‘Life’ I’ll explain how to increase your luck in a bit.)
3) YOU (meaning the player) must have patience. Even if the above factors are correct, they are NOT available 100% of the time. You have to keep bugging the shipyard worker until he says “We have a great selection today.” (or something similar) And even then, most of the time he will only offer the Angel… so keep bugging him until you get the Goddess.
Now onto how to increase your luck. There are disputes about the actual method, but the root action is the same. Donate money to the church or mosque (PC version) or Round Earth Society (SNES and Genesis versions). The actual amount of money you donate is not as important as the PERCENTAGE of your cash on hand you donate. Luck also fluctuates throughout the game so you may find that you have to donate money at more than one stage of the game to keep your luck at 100.
I conducted the following test in the SNES version (with an emulator, since I know which memory address was the ‘Luck” for the character I was using I could check and modify it’s value) …
If your luck is: … The fortune teller will say:
0 – 24 “Oh. I see an ominous shadow across your face. You may be doomed to have a difficult life.”
25-49 “Your fortune doesn’t look very bright. Be careful, and watch out for accidents.”
50-74 “You have an average fortune. But remember, you are the one who carves your own destiny.”
75-99 “You have a good fortune. Have more self-confidence.”
100 “What a strong fortune! You have nothing to fear in this life.”
Quotes are from the SNES version. They may not match exactly in the PC version (although I think they are the same as the Genesis version). And remember, your luck should be at 100 to “unlock” the special figureheads and guns. If anyone out there knows the exact quote from the PC version please email me and I’ll include it the next time this comes up.
I also tested different percentages and charted the luck increase.
I started with 58 luck and 1,000,000 gold on hand. (easy number to work with percentages) donated an amount, noticed the increase and then reloaded the game for the next try. (Again, this test was on the SNES version on an emulator, I make no claims as to how it will work with the PC version)
Percentage of
Cash on Hand
donated Luck increase
—————————————————-
Less than 10% – None
10% – 1 point
11% – 2 points
12% – 3 points
13% – 14 % – 4 points
15% – 16% – 5 points
17% – 20% – 6 points
21% – 25% – 7 points
26% – 33% – 8 points
34% – 50% – 9 points
51% and up – 10 points
This is in NO way a comprehensive test. Results may vary. But I hope this helps.
In the SNES version studying can help you maintain high luck, but it probably isn’t something you would want to use if you need to raise your luck a lot. I use studying to pass the time when I arrive in port after business hours. I also use studying to get to the next day because if you leave a port at 11:00pm you use the same amount of food and water as if you leave at 1:00am. Anyway, all that is just some micro-management and my point is that studying can help with your luck.
I’ve had good luck with getting the angel and goddess figureheads in the Japanese ports, guns too, but Venice is usually where I go for those “great selections”. I have been able to get the great selections when the economy is in the 900s, but I look for the ports that have made 1000. It just seems easier to get the great selection offer when ports are maxed.
Well, I just tried more than 100 times to get a better figurehead in Venice using the pc version. The economy was 903 and the shipyard was 927 and 10,100 was invested in the economy. The port was neutral, so that may have affected the possibility of getting better figureheads. Joao ‘s luck was at maximum, verified with the fortune teller. I picked up a new ship that I had ordered previously and couldn’t seem to get anything better than the dragon.
I have been back to Venice a number of times (currently playing the pc version) after it reached 1000 industry and economy. Once I was able to get a goddess figurehead on the third try, and another time I kept getting the angel figurehead available until more than 100 attempts. By attempts or trying 100 times I mean the number of times I had to click on “figurehead”, so it isn’t as bad as it sounds.
The reason for yet another post was to note that I got the great selections while Venice was neutral, so I was just having some bad luck with the game when I was trying to get great selections before the economy was at maximum.
On gamefaq’s there’s a guide that quotes
“Angel and Goddess figureheads require more than just the
listed Economy. 801 (Angel) or 901 (Goddess) Industry is
also required. On top of that, you need to have at least 81
luck yourself. Drop by the Round Earth Society and donate a
bundle! (Luck stat is hidden, sadly)”
I was playing on the sega gen version so it might be diffrent than others but I was able to get the angel and the special cannons at 75-99 fortune according to your list of what the fortune teller says to you. I haven’t tried for the Goddess yet as I never really need it lol.
Did you try this in sega version when vinice you at vinice go to the bank and deposit all your gold leaving you with 1000 gold pieces and goto round earth society and donate 500 gp and get out side and donate the other 500 gp then study go back to the bank and take your gold go to the fortune teller and you have 100 luck 😀
Yeah, I don’t know why Luck is a hidden stat. It plays some very important roles in the game.
At least with Joao you can raise Luck to 100 with one action before leaving port the first time. If you return to the Round Earth Society after agreeing to take Enrico and choose the donate option (when money is offered to you) then your luck is set to 100 (I know this works on the PC version too).
Don’t plunder a village it decrease’s luck!
And the ships decrease 30 luck Always load the game when the fliying dutch mans ship comes too you or you will have too waste a few(hundred gold ingots)
I, for example, and have not seen in game neither Angel nor Goddess, though carronades on the ships put – under the description they are capable far to beat and in capacity do not concede to gold guns. Probably, these latent figures to receive much more difficultly.