Something I thought would help, particularly for newer players. Experienced negative rep players likely know all of this already, but I thought I might as well post it anyways while I work on other stuff.
Taking cover
With the introduction out of the way, the most important factor to consider is shelter. Beam and blast spammers will destroy you if you do not take cover. The obstacle you hide behind should preferably be partially indestructible, which by that I mean captains can’t fully break it. Examples include the large stone walls around the map. If you’re inside a town, which is likely, since caps only spawn during threats, you may hide behind a house, but remember that it will likely break.
Never attack captains while they are spamming beams or blasts. You will almost certainly die.
Damage thresholds:
Captains’ damage varies based on magic and settings, but attacks will usually be within this range of damage.
Blast (singular)- 300-500
Blast (multiple)- 100-250
Beam (singular)- 200-300
Beam (multiple)- 50-125
Explosion (singular) - Uncertain, but about 200-300?
Explosion (multiple)- Uncertain, but about 100-200?
Environmental DoT (clouds, puddles, and glass shards)- 50-75 per tick
Applied DoT (Effects like scorched, burned, etc) - Around 10-20
Distance and height
These two factors are the two most important to consider when retaliating. Captains will not shoot spells at you if you are far away enough, and will only walk/fly/hover towards you. Do not attack captains if you are in shooting range, except maybe a singular blast (remember to maintain cover). Height is another important factor, as it will effectively reduce the amount of people assaulting you. As captains are always accompanied by soldiers, the backup can make it difficult to focus down the captain. If you go high up enough, such as on the Castilian Shore rocks, the soldiers cannot reach you, and they will only high jump with spells (or normal high jumps) or stand still. This lets you shoot at the captains, who also have to use hovers or high jumps before they can actually hit you.
Spell settings
Now, these are mostly up to you, but there are a few tips still. Obviously, do not have too many blasts. Blasts will be the primary way to deal with captains, as you will be fighting long range. Beams and explosions, therefore, will be less effective. I recommend having a single blast and a multi, which should be around 5 (which is my preferred setting). Size depends on how accurately you think you can hit.
Environmental factors
Ocean- Captains can be stupid sometimes, and will hover over the ocean only to fall in once their spell ends. You can use this to your advantage and kill off some of the captains. Also, threat squads will drown immediately if you’re far out enough into the ocean when they spawn.
When to attack
As mentioned before, you should shoot at captains when they are at a far enough away distance so that they won’t attack’s you. However, a second time is when they charge up their flight spell. This is indicated by an aura around them that will pulsate out. They usually cannot attack in this period. Hitting them also cancels their fight spells to allow them to not gain on you.
Other considerations
Captains can sometimes freeze their AI if you go far enough away. They will stand still, as if they have effectively unloaded. You can shoot at them still, however, allowing for easy kills.
Equip loadout
You should have at least about 800-900 HP to fight captains, as the default lv 90 HP (about 600) is too low, and you could get oneshot by stronger captains. Try to use a hard defense amulet and hard iron armor, this will let you resist a few hits if you make a mistake. My personal loadout gives a total of 1,076 hp, which is good enough for the most part.
Aggro redirecting
Captains are much easier to fight when there’s a teammate. Simply hit a captain and hide, which will redirect all MCs’ aggro to you. While you take cover, your companion can shoot the captain without worry of attack. (Again, however do not shoot them while they are spamming.) Then the other person can hide, and you can shoot at the captains once again. It’s a highly effective strategy as long as you’re careful not to die.
Captains’ healing
Captains will often heal to full hp when they kill a player. Keep this in mind.
Other NPCs
Finally, you can use wild NPCs to your advantage. Bandits or dark wizards can redirect aggro, die, and cause the captain to stop chasing you as long as you’re not within aggro range. They can also contribute damage, keep in mind however that it will be minimal unless the NPC is a villain or the Minotaur (who can actually kill captains, but will likely be unable to before they respawn)
Bounty thresholds
At about 250 bounty, one captain will show up. At max (5,000), eight will spawn. Below 250 bounty, only soldiers spawn (usually six).
Most NPCs that start threats spawn in six soldiers. Mino and Villains will spawn in more, as well as one (and only one) captain.
If I missed anything let me know in the comments. Keep in mind this is not a for all scenario, only some general tips to help fight off captains. Remember to keep calm in the rush of a threat, as irrational decisions may lead to arrest by the Magic Council.
