[Wolfar]

What you have to do in a town is choose a mission which will create and "Admiralty Order". Soon as your back on the ship pull up the map and you will see where your mission is with BIG crossed swords on the map.

Note of caution here, this is where you may go up against a ship that may have more guns or bigger guns than you. Also the AI needs to be toned down a bit as the AI is a crack shot. Too good of a crack shot!

So I take missions that are right outside of the capital with the most ship traffic. These guys cant wait to jump in a battle. So now I have FRIENDS with me to kill of some ship that may be better than mine.

Another trick I learned. Click on every ship you can see. When you get a trader that has contraband cargo on it you can attack it. You can even attack your own country's ship if it has contraband cargo on it with no penalty.

Still learning all the ropes myself. The world is massive and you don't know where you are on the map until you find a town. Then you can figure out with the help of the map where you are.

Hope this helps a bit.