Eras II is the best mod, the biggest, the most historical and artistic in content.
Hundreds of ships represented in great detail.
Hundreds of items, weapons and armor.
Historical figures.
Wide variety of officers to recruit.
The cities are visually improved.
The difficulty of the game is customizable in 10 levels and different skill levels. The low levels are very easy, but the high levels are extremely difficult. It's up to you to find the appropriate level.
You can give directional movement orders to your ships. Ideal to go in the right direction according to your purpose. I don't recall seeing such an option in the original game.
Many flags to customize your ship.
The experience after playing for hours is really rewarding.
The graphic environment is far superior to the original game. And most importantly, in Eras there are no performance issues. In the hours I've played I haven't suffered a single crash on the desktop.
Also, if you have Maesltrom, you can download the rest of the mods. I recommend you play Eras II, but I also recommend you try New Horizons. The two are different mods. New Horizons is more arcade, but fun in fencing matches. Eras II is a serious game for purists, without a doubt the best mod. If you like Age of Pirates, you can't pass up the opportunity to play Eras II and New Horizons.
I hope you enjoy it as much as me.
All the best.