Cannon

The Cannon is a Weapon, Ship component and Ship customization Item in Sea of Thieves. They are purchased at a Shipwright and equipped via a Ship Customization Chest. In addition to being standard equipment on Ships, Cannons also appear on some Islands as coastal defense or within Cannon Towers, often operated by Skeletons to increase the difficulty for approaching the island or just as a hindrance to those passing by.

Cannons are also a prominent feature on Forts, especially when active, where they play a major role to deter enemy ships from raiding the inner boundaries.

Mechanics
Cannons are your ship's main offence against Skeleton Ships, other Player Pirates, Megalodons, and Skeletons. Cannons can be loaded with a single Cannonball, Cursed Cannonball, Chainshot, Blunderbomb, or Firebomb at a time. Outside combat, Cannons can be used to launch players to their destinations; be wary that Players can still suffer from fall damage if they fall high enough but they won't take damage from impact. Players can also launch Pets out of cannons.

As Cannonballs are treated as ballistic projectiles, the laws of physics must be obeyed in order to be effective; Therefore, Players will need to take into account ship movement of both theirs and the target, gravity and speed of their shot. Usually this is done by leading (aiming ahead of the target). Cannons on islands and Cannon Towers are naturally easier to operate than on vessels.

Cannons aren't only used punch holes in a ship's hull, they're also powerful enough to cripple various parts to hamper a ship performance. Hit the Mast to hinder your opponent's sailing speed, strike the Wheel to make it harder to steer or damage the Capstan to limit the number of Players able to raise it. Planks must be used to repair damaged components while the Sails need to be hoisted to the upright position before repairs can start. Each of these Ship Components can take up to three points of damage from regular Cannonballs. Chainshot are specialised Cannonballs that have a lower firing arc and distance, but are capable of dealing maximum damage to the Wheel, Capstan or Masts. Chainshot do half the damage of a single Cannonball to the Hull or Players though.

Players can use Cursed Cannonballs with Cannons to apply different cursed effects to Ships, Players or Skeletons. Green Cursed Cannonballs are focused on effects that hinder Players or Skeletons, Purple Cursed Cannonballs are focused on effects hindering the Sailing of a Ship.

Throwable Grenades can also be launched through Cannons to increase their firing distance. Firebombs can be used with Cannons to spread Fire at a larger distance. Blunderbombs can accumulate enough force when used with a Cannon to blast a Ship off course without dealing any holes.

Tips

 * When fighting Galleons, plan and aim your cannonballs just below the waterline on the opposing ship first. Attacking the first deck is far less effective without hitting the second. This can be made easier with Ballastballs.
 * Try to spread your cannon shots out. Hitting the same spot over and over only widens an existing hole (although it will prevent the other crew from patching that one hole temporarily), but it does not speed up the buildup of water that much, it is better to leave the ship with more holes to fix.
 * The Sloop and Brigantine are extremely vulnerable to attacks from the rear. You can be shot by cannon fire while on the wheel, the anchor, the sails, or even while repairing holes in the bottom deck. Players on top deck can get knocked off their ship from Cannon fire. Players attacking Sloops can use this knowledge to their advantage and players piloting Sloops should use this knowledge to guard their ship's weaknesses.
 * Gold Skeletons have a special weakness vs Cannons. Kiting them in a pool of water before firing a Cannonball will make quick work of them.
 * Shooting a Mast via Cannon will cause damage, causing the Mast to break and fall over in 3 Cannonball hits or 1 Chainshot hit. This is particularly effective against Sloops due to having only the one mast.

Variants
The following are all the available Cosmetic Cannon Variants in Sea of Thieves:

Cañón Canon