Career Skill Feedback

[Slevin MacKnife]

1. Naval Officer

2. More sail resist for sure.

URR also needs work - 100% spike every 30mins is kind of a joke considering the damage output others can do. The only way this could really be worth it is if it enabled you to break the damage cap. I think people would much rather have a 50% spike every 5mins tbh

3. focus fire - it doesnt do what it used to....buff it back to its old state, -3 dr isnt enough to be worth it.

4. battle doctrine defence - its an AMAZING skill. even with just 4 NO's its 8% dmg res, 12% turning, 12% accell. Makes NO's very powerful and alot more agile in port battles.

thundering broadside - its s3x on a toolbar. nuff said.

guardian - OP much? tbh could probably do with a slight nerf (or pirates given something similar) as it is largely responsible for the big dmg resistance differences between nats and rats.

5.
port battles - overpowered due to the invincible/final d combo and then the fact i have thundering. also insane tankability with a good player
6v6 - same as port battles
1v1 - competative - great class, great debuffs. needs a slight sail buff though so they dont have to be slow as hell to be competative. Also needs a 1v1 frigate of some sort, currently have no real competitor to the hmc/pherc. maybe something similar to the achilles in toughness/firepower/manouverability

6. essentials: http://potbs.grindlama.com/no/?l=50&s=5500214007 8 skill points left after taking all the 'all-round' skills so lots of versatility there.

7. i wub u lum

[Slevin MacKnife]

1. FT

2. Less reload/more dmg - either via the skillset or give their boats higher lb'age guns with less of the reload bonus.

They NEED something to make them essential in groups, without making them any stronger in 1v1. Currently privateers provide jugular/break formations, NO's have thunderings/invinci/final d for leading charges, and tank alot better tbh. FT's do not have a viable reason for a group to NEED 1 or 2. Either the provision line needs a buff, or they need something along the lines of group repairs (maybe tied in with their experts?) or some kind of resistance/dr debuff that can only be applied to a jugulared target maybe?

3. determination - great little skill but often useless unless the fight turns into a close range brawl.

the entire trade line - its all about speed until the last skill, which is the only skill i really consider all that useful.

provisions line - ZOMG BUFF IT!

4. omnomnom rum rations <3. desp fire - 40% dmg every minute is epicly awesome too ^^

5. pb's/6v6's - underpowered, partly because they dont seem to have a defined roll and parly because they currently lack decent cost effective boats. the mb could change this.

1v1 - competative

6. yes and no. http://potbs.grindlama.com/ft/?l=50&s=5400400007 12 skillpoints left, although not that many combat skills to choose from. However, the ft has a secondary 'trade' spec which does imo, make it a very versatile class.

7. buff the cmc!

[Slevin MacKnife]

1. CT

2. Slightly stronger in groups, but only slightly (the dps is already insane). They need a counter to stuns.....maybe something along the lines of 20s stun immunity clicky, with a 5min cooldown, so they can actively choose when to give themselves a short period of immunity. Stops the break formation/thundering broadside destruction that currently causes alot of problems in 6v6/pb's

3. the debuffs, which i will go into in a seperate post.

wolfpack - its a VERY nice skill. however morale/cooldowns dont make sense. currently it allows rats to be balanced, and hell in my opinion stronger, then nats for the first 5mins of a fight. however, it drops after 5mins, and then even after 8mins, the 50 morale cost makes it hard to get back up.

Either needs to last 5 mins, with a 5min cooldown/50 morale cost. or a 5min duration, 8min cooldown, 20 morale cost

4. slaughter the crew - its OP.

desp fire - 40% dmg every minute means u practically dont need any other spikes

rum ration/sac for vic - omnomnom dps/manouverability out the ***

5. pb/6v6 - underpowered slightly. see 2 & 3 as to why
1v1 - slightly overpowered, but it depends on the class they face. their crew killing skills are just far too strong, although the crew dmg nerf to roundshot may help this.

6. there is not a single skill i havent specc'd for before in a viable combat build tbh - most flexible skillset in the game, although obviously no real ability to become a tank.

7. invalid flag makes me smile


DEBUFFS

ok currently debuffs seem quite gimped tbh. the way primary/secondary/crew negatives stack mean that alot of the time its just easier to fire 1 broadside of grape then it is to bother trying to debuff them.

stacking needs to cap at -50% of the base ship stats, rather then capping your ability to debuff by a certain %. FT's can get silly amounts of turning for example, and therefore debuffing them by a good amount isnt possible to make them unmanouverable.

[Slevin MacKnife]

bucc

tbh the class just needs completely reworking. It seems to be far too confused, and has no real weakness except high morale skills, which is easily offset by the morale regen bonus's.

could do with starting again in all honesty

[Captain Lackey]

I have had a 50 in the 4 initial classes, haven't gotten my Buccaneer to 50 yet though, and can't access him at the moment since game is down, so I'll hold off.

I would like to say separate from the listings that I'd like to see Thundering Broadside's effect removed, with the concurrent removal of Invincible and Too Mean To Die. It's a game of "Hit them to stop them from making themselves immune to attack before they are immune to attack, and then spike them dead, dead, dead when they basically can't do anything".


1) Naval Officer
2) Can't really think of anything. Needs better turning perhaps. Hrm, maybe take off the -structure penalty on Last Resort: Maneuverability.
3) I use all my skills all the time. I think Last Resort: Speed needs to be a bit less draconian for what it gives.
4) Rapid Shot, Last Resort: Maneuver, Damage Discipline, Acceleration Increase
5) Competitive.
6) Good flexibility. So much stuff to take, and the required skills are pretty easy to get.
7) Can't really think of anything. Maybe give Military Grade Construction +10% Mast Integrity, sails are a tad weak on a NO. And URR is a tad weak for a 30 minute reuse skill. I'd reduce to 20 minute reuse, or even 15.


1) Privateer
2) Nothing. They do as they're designed, high-powered yet fragile skirmishers with flexibility.
3) Deception line. Evade Aggression has to be one of the most worthless captain skills in existence at the moment. No idea what to do with it though, the Priv has everything I can think of. Hit and Run, even though I have it spec'ed. See below.
4) Unpredictability line forms the core of the Priv flexibility. I use all of them. Evasion for spike survivability. Crushing broadside for being a powerful attack. Signals to scream "KILL THAT".
5) Competitive, borderline overpowered.
6) No flexibility. It is expected, if not nearly a requirement, that you MUST spec with the 5 Unpredicts, Agility 5 for Jugular (I don't spec for it, I go Agg 5 for ability to rapidly flip lots of skills) to deal with the damned overpowered resistance mechanics EVERYONE uses, Battle 5 for offense, Survival 4. That doesn't leave much leeway, particularly when you add in 2 Disabling for Cut Shroud. That's 21 points of required skills.
7) Nerf resistances. Burst of Speed might need to last a tad longer. Hit and Run needs...something. Either duration or less reuse, I don't really use it because it doesn't really have a purpose for its existence. Can't run after shooting it for very long, and have to consider all the turning, and wouldn't be useful for shooting someone (by then, I HAVE them).

1) Freetrader
2) Needs a smidegeon more accuracy, like +2 passive somewhere. It's all good on paper.
3) Provision line. Has an awesome group buff at the end of 4 buffs that you can only use 1 of at a time, and they're not particularly powerful anyways.
4) The whole Desperation line. Debilitating Broadside. Extra Rations.
5) Competitive in 1 vs 1, probably about right in 6vs6, underpowered in heavy fights. No "Oh ****, I'm primary" skill (Evasion isn't as good as a Priv).
6) Yes, lots of choice.
7) Ranging Shot was beat with the nerf bat a bit too much. Good on paper, but duration is too short. Lengthen to 1 minute duration, reset 3 minutes, maybe 4.

1) Cutthroat
2) Scavenge more bonus loot %. Exchange places on Overloaded Shot and All or Nothing Shot.
3) Plague Ship. I have to take it because its on the way to Sacrifice For Victory. Takes too much morale, has to be very very close, obviously for boarding. Poor pirate's version of Terrorize. Vaporing, I like it on paper, I use it SOMETIMES, but normally I rarely have 60 spare morale when I'm in range to use it. Black Market is more of a gimmick, and fortunately is out of the way in the 5th slot of its line. Hit and Run suffers same problem as a Priv's.
4) Sacrifice For Victory. Cutthroat version of unpredictability, it's a feature of the class. Rum Rations for extra stuff. Bosun's Whip for ignoring crew penalties.
5) Competitive
6) Good flexibility. Only really have to take about 14 skills (depending if you view Rum Rations as essential).
7) I wish I could take Burst of Speed rather than Dump Guns.

[Quineloe]

1. Naval Officer

3. BD>Offense is very weak compared to BD>Defense.
Reload Discipline is way too high on morale to use it, ever.
The entire "Escort" line I avoid because it is nothing but a bunch of self-speed buffs that promote ganking gameplay and nothing else. Taking out "Hold Formation" was one of my least favorite changes.
I hate URR. In fact, I hate every way of getting to the damage cap of 200%. Especially
in combination with high firepower ships such as the HMC, First Rates and Pirate Hercs, spiking is currently too heavy for my taste. I'd prefer a cap on damage at 150%. Spiking at 200% damage is plainly not balanced and fun.

6. The flexibility is very limited. 5 points in defense, 5 points in gunnery and 5 points in prestige already greatly limit what I can use from the other lines. Defense is mandatory because of invincible, Rally and Repairs, Gunnery is mandatory because of Gunnery Drills and Prestige because of BD>D

Because of the spike problem I've explained above, a NO must always be specced to last as long as possible, NOs that are specced differently will get sunk much easier in group fights.

I think "must have" skills should be career skills and all other skills should be optional. Rapid Fire is definitly not a must have skill, neither is Guardian. This should be true for all careers.


2. I'd give NOs a Wenden refit similar to the Treason, but give it slightly heavier guns while maintaining it a 72 gun ship so NOs do not have to grind millions of dbs to be competitive against first rate fleets in PBs.
I'd change URR to a +15 accuracy +25% damage skill with a 4 minute CD.
I'd merge Guardian and Escort into one skill and replace Guardian with Rally the Crew as a career skill. I'd replace Rally the Crew in the defense line with a 1 minute duration 15% sail repair that also increases sail def by 5 points.
I'd change LR:Speed to 120 seconds (it's pretty pointless to get away for 90 seconds and be put back into combat as you lose all your speed for the last 30 seconds it takes to get out of combat, and that is assuming nobody shot you after you fired it off) and I'd slightly boost the speed and also add an acceleration bonus. To make sure someone who used this skill doesn't reenter combat right away, I'd also add damage gun batteries 50%.
I

[Hooch]

1) Name a career

Privateer.

2) If you could change anything about this career, what would it be?

Take command. (But this would be OP) Either give us the equiv of a 1st rate as an (almost) unattainable goal or an upwind solo boat.

3) What are your least favorite skills, and why? Do you avoid them? Do you take them and not use them? Do you use them but hate them?

Jug is expected for group work. Some like it like that - I don't.

Unpred: speed seemed to receive a bit of a nerf from 2 years back. Increase the percentage of speed to make it more viable compared to the sail resist.

4) What are your favorite skills, and why?

Evasion is good - others seem to be crying for a nerf on this however it is not as powerful as other defensives. Therefore it should be on a shorter timer compared to them. Leave evasion alone.

5) Do you feel you are underpowered, competitive or overpowered relative to others?

Slightly underpowered.

6) Do you feel like you have flexibility in your skill choices? Why or why not?

Stealth would be good to bring (back) into the game. the visibility on OS of ships that can actively take down the boats running around nowadays makes trying for stealth gimping your fittings too much.

7) Is there anything you want to add?

Ask yourself, "what makes a privateer?"

NO's have their lineships and group fighting.
FT's have their econ and survivability
Rat's have their ship choice and crazy damage. Oh and speed.

What REALLY defines a privateer? An extra boarding wave?

[stokes234]

1) Name a career
Privateer
2) If you could change anything about this career, what would it be?
Possibly OS speed abilities, but they are fine in combat.
3) What are your least favorite skills, and why? Do you avoid them? Do you take them and not use them? Do you use them but hate them?
The crew line is stupidly hard to get without making yourself useless in groups, and they don't have much OS speed or any OS snares - it has always struck me as weird that a freetrader can slow down opponents on the OS to make them easier to catch, while a privateer can only make himself faster but unable to attack - wouldn't it make more sense the other way around?
4) What are your favorite skills, and why?
Jugular, because it makes you indispensable in a group. Break formation does the same. Concentrated fire is a particularly nice spike.
5) Do you feel you are underpowered, competitive or overpowered relative to others?
Competitive towards all classes in 6v6 fights, competitive towards all classes except NOs in 1v1 fights. Overpowered towards NOs in 1v1 fights.
6) Do you feel like you have flexibility in your skill choices? Why or why not?
Yes, I feel that privateers are capable of speccing for group fights or 1v1s, or being fairly good at both, or for hauler hunting to a certain extent.
7) Is there anything you want to add?
Some players claim the privateer to be overpowered. I disagree, but if anything were to be changed then extending the morale cost or cooldown of evasion would make most sense.


1) Name a career
Naval Officer
2) If you could change anything about this career, what would it be?
Their ability to defend their sails in 1v1s - however, I gather that sail damage is being reduced next patch, so this may be moot.
3) What are your least favorite skills, and why? Do you avoid them? Do you take them and not use them? Do you use them but hate them?
The crew resistance/crew level skills, because I prefer fighting in group fights with my naval officer, and taking these skills requires you to drop neccessary group skills.
4) What are your favorite skills, and why?
Last Stand, because it is a great charging/brawling skill, Invincible because it's a great charging skill, and precision fire/vital strike/extra range, for making it very difficult for other classes to try to kite you to death.
5) Do you feel you are underpowered, competitive or overpowered relative to others?
Competitive in group fights, with one overpowered ship (macedon, being nerfed next patch) but currently underpowered in 1v1s.
6) Do you feel like you have flexibility in your skill choices? Why or why not?
Yes, I believe it is possible for naval officers to spec differently for small group fights, 6v6 fights and port battles.
7) Is there anything you want to add?
I think the naval officer should be left to see how the macedon nerf and mercy buff pans out before changing it, but if anything were to be changed I would favour removing the group speed buff and changing it to self only.

[Tsushima]

1) Naval Officer

2) Their speed skills need an overhaul. Speed Increase shouldn't be a group buff and should be a toggle. Last Resort: Speed needs to have less of a downside to it. Instead of the 2min stun I would give LR: S something like a 50% debuff to turning, and make it a toggle like LR: M with a small cooldown to prohibit it from being toggled off and on again in fast succession.

3) The Battle Doctrines. You need them for port battles, but I hate to have to respec all the time and put points in such an underwhelming line.

4) Last Stand. The all-in-one skill. I wish it had a shorter cooldown though since you use it for so much (survival, maneuverability and damage).

5) Competitive in port battles and 6v6 because of Invincible, Final Defense and Thundering Broadside. Underpowered in 1v1 and ganks because of low turning, sail resilience and inflexible speed skills.

6) Not much flexibility. It's mostly one skill line (5pts) that gets moved around depending on the situation.

7) More flexibility in speed. It's what makes me not want to sail around solo at all.

[Brawr]

1) Freetrader
2) My only big complaint is the lack of a true end-game RvR ship. CMC is too weak or too expensive... one or the other needs to change.
3) Trade Connections should be the first skill in the logistics tree and also should have some small ship addition (like the other skills in the tree). Also debilitating broadside needs to have a longer timer or a +dmg to be useful in my opinion. Having only two spikes sucks.
4) Rum Ration is awesome but the +10 morale is completely useless for a FT. The entire travel line is a must for me. Great skills.
5) I think the FT is competitive in 1v1s, but is UP in 6v6 and RvR because a lack of spikes and skills such as the NOs Invince or the Privs Jugular which are used relentlessly in group fighting.
6) Definitely... there are multiple builds that provide a decent amount of flexibility to play styles.
7) Fix Cournne and the MC as mentioned in point 2!

Glad to see FLS asking the community like this. Keep up the good work ladies and gents!