Get rid of boarding 45 timer!

[Ferahgo86]

This is killing boarding combat! Who wants to risk boarding when they know their opponent will sit back for 45 seconds unharmed while his buddies surround you and sink you before the 45 seconds even expires. There is no need for this game mechanic. The boarding combat should start the moment the loading screen gets done loading.

If by some reason you wish to keep this 45 second ready timer, make both ships invulnerable to any and all damage during it. Once the 45 second timer expires and the fight begins (if it hasnt already), then the invulnerability can be lifted and you can be attacked. But being completly helpless during the 45 seconds that are being exploited by your attacker is getting annoying.

[Centurion]

This is killing boarding combat! Who wants to risk boarding when they know their opponent will sit back for 45 seconds unharmed while his buddies surround you and sink you before the 45 seconds even expires. There is no need for this game mechanic. The boarding combat should start the moment the loading screen gets done loading.

Problem is, the game server can't tell how long the players' machines need to load the instance.

[Kamui]

Why not just wait until you sink his friends to board him?

[Whitey]

make both ships invincible until both people in boarding combat perform a move.

[bpdlr]

So, you don't want to read through the other thread on the same subject, so you just create another?

[Mamluk]

make both ships invincible until both people in boarding combat perform a move.

That would be the best solution honestly.

[keline]

Why not just wait until you sink his friends to board him?

because boarding should be a legit attack in combat, not a coup de grace

[Captain_Korr]

As others have mentioned, I feel the best fix for this problem is to make both players ships invulnerable for the 45 second period, or until both players actually engage in sword combat, thus removing any unfair advantages and still accomplishing the goal intended by the timer.

[Garbad_the_Weak]

The best solution is to make AC PvE only. :o

[Captain_Korr]

The best solution is to make AC PvE only. :o

The day that happens is the that I cancel my subscription.

[Poe]

The best solution is to get rid of being able to get rid of that firing into boarding crutch in the first place.

There was a time when it was stupid easy to get a board on, now its much harder more so if you fit a counter.

I don't think there there is need to allow ships to fire into boarding get rid of it and you can give them a minute to load and they can play run around the ship or hide in the corner all they want, but as it is... Meh, teh suck.

[Jakkin]

make both ships invincible until both people in boarding combat perform a move.

As others have mentioned, I feel the best fix for this problem is to make both players ships invulnerable for the 45 second period, or until both players actually engage in sword combat, thus removing any unfair advantages and still accomplishing the goal intended by the timer.

Wouldn't work. That'd just mean that I could simply not touch my keyboard and keep a player locked in the boarding instance forever.

There needs to be a timer to allow for loading latency, it can't rely on client response alone or it's possible to never start. That said, 15 seconds should be more than enough to load. I'm playing pretty close to min spec and never take longer than a few seconds to load a boarding instance.

However the greater problem is using boarding as CC - too bad Rev seems to think it's all good.

[Hotan]

There are so many complaints about about speed boarding gankers not getting to fully exploit their preferred game mechanic, that boarding combat must be too quick. 45 seconds either isn't long enough, should be inforced, double the number of waves, or double avcom cooldowns.

Each one of these threads about the 45 seconds is just chock full of pots looking for a kettle to call names.

[dogstar]

Difficult to find the balance, because it needs to suit the needs of both sides. If you have invulnerability, you'll just have 'boarding' raids (fitted for maximum chance), who will simply pile in and if they're pirates, nick your ship whilst your friends sit helplessly by. On the other hand you need to allow for parties to be able to defend themselves, and make boarding useful as a tactical option, rather than simply be sunk before boarding gets underway.

So the current rule seems to strike a balance, between preventing uber boarders (if your in a gang, the longer you hold out, the better for your boys) and preventing boarders being insta-sunk.

[Rev]

The timer is actually 60 seconds, you're just loading for the first bit. :)

We are cutting the timer from 60 seconds to 30 seconds. That means for most people, the timer will be about 15 seconds after the loading screen drops. But 30 seconds should still cover the occasional long load. (Testing on a minspec machine shows load times in the live game are typically 14-18 seconds, so we're using 30 to be safe.)

This change will be in v1.1, coming shortly.