I've had an officer (German rank 10) that has not gained any hero skills as of yet and I'm on my 4th patrol, averaging about 40k in tonnage. Quite a few of my sailors have the medals and whatnot. I found an officer in port whose hero ability was to reduce dud torpedos, but I was short about 1000 prestige. What a great guy he would have been.
Yep. Later, you'll get to assign ships to vector into an area just like planes. I dont know what, if anything, happens after that, but I'm liking it.
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"I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast. For I intend to go in harm's way." - Captain John Paul Jones, 16 November 1778, in a letter to le Ray de Chaumont.