I bought a subscription and I'm enjoying my time in Pirates however I noticed leveling seems a little slow. I'm doing storyline and side quests as normal but exp gain seems minimal. I have been raising my nautical level by grinding ships in different areas.
Other than drops should I stay in an area and grind reg exp for a bit? Any advice?
If you do the main line and the side quests you find you will be the right level for the quests (you a few levels up on the foes, your companions about equal or slightly better). I did find myself grinding the ships for nautical level, but only because of gear NL requirements.