what i have been told by a few experienced players is that the captain is useless.

Which leads to the question: why did Nordeus program this into the game?

Which leads to another question: Why does Nordeus not publish a list of rules and instructions to this game? Apparently, the developers have answered many questions about the game already but they have either not been asked these important questions, or they have decided not to answer them for whatever reason.

I have mentioned in a previous thread that I have never seen a game, online or not, that does not provide some sort of tutorial or instructions when you first start. What type of game does this? These are things that should not be shrouded in mystery.