Assassin's Creed Odyssey: 18 Tips & Tricks The Game Doesn't Tell You
17. Board Ships To Freeze Others In Place
A very "video gamey" thing, turns out boarding a ship actually freezes others in place so you can focus on the brawl at hand.
Though it doesn't feel natural to go from being in the midst of a multi-ship skirmish to fighting on-deck, hold Triangle/Y to initiate the docking procedure when a foe is on low enough health, and the rest of the battle will be put on hold.
Useful if you're trying to manage groups of enemies and want to take a breather, it also means you can board said enemy vessel to acquire the loot at its centre, then equip to make the other boardings FAR easier.
Lastly, you don't need to board ships to finish them off. Just hit a fatally-wounded craft with another arrow flurry and they'll be taken out the fight altogether, at the expense of whatever loot they were carrying.