Captain Skills: The Way Forward

[Baldor]

So,as i promised,here come the rat dmg and resitance,i go with resitance,cause too many variations for classes about spikes,put i am trying my best,so,let's get started

DEBUFFS:ct: -devil take the hindmost -5def
-target's weakness -6 defense -10% armor resist 2 min uptime,3 min cd
-death embrace -12% armor resist
-cripple enemy -2 defense -25%armor resist -15% structure resist

bucc:-jugular -25% armor resist max
-heated fire -3DR and -12% from each armor if max hits

they can use tw+de+cripple to make -47% armor and -15% struc resist,and they only have to 1 ct who shoots the vripple with bow gun,so all the 6 can spike with full resist on the enemy-this is rare,so on 500y they can achieve at least 5 players shooting at max resist(and this max debuff holds for 1min,15sec,than cripple off,22% till de and tw wears off(45 more secs),+ tw is 3 min cooldown,INSANE,it is better than de cause 6 def >2% armor resist,and has so much less cd time)

other way:they use jugular+ cripple(cause of secondary/primary debuffs) so with 1/2 broadside shoots they can make max -50% armor resist and -15% struc resist(ofc less than that,cause jug would be mroe effective than de+tw combo at 500+ range)heated can be used with jug/de+tw,
and for last i dont wanna talk about OP rts cause every1 knows that,i dont wanna talk about their passive accu&dmg stuff,+their high dmg 1 min cooldown spikes,i am sure fls knows that,but dont wanna ballance,

And for least not last ,nats have to take 3 classes to get all benefits(ft for reps and group buffs)while rats only need 2,and ft is useless about debuffing,so in 2v2 with ft,rats have a serious advantage in debuffing,cause if ft goes with priv for jug and de debuff what can take the dmg?ft,but it has to repair a lot,priv cant take too much dmg,and bucc reps like hell,ct can take a lot of dmg,not talking about bucc,that can take even more, that's my problem,and if NO+FT go out,they will only have 1 debuff:focus fire,and rats will have that many if they go for ct&bucc combo,,in 6v6 the chances are more even cause with 2 privs and 3 NOs nats can debuff,but cant take the amount of dmg and cant repair like 3 buccs,cause privs not equal buccs,and 3 NOs cannot outdebuff the 3 cts,that's for now,i'll write the nat debuff stuff too,take care!

[martinsau]

good morning

I would like to make a personal opinion, I believe shared by most players.

rather than patching percent each time, because they think their own benefit and start from scratch again? I get the feeling that this game do not care.

* Reasons why people play:
to have fun.
by pvp
by trade

* Reasons why you created the game:
To make money ... Seriously? I think not, I think you dropped this game and someone else could do better.


On this basis I would advise the following, if you really want to make money:

Back to gank system a while ago, it was very funny and real, since people are gone.
Make promotional campaigns of the game. It's called marketing (if you did not knew).
Only with these two, they would get many people. continued ...

Make the map more realistic, with pvp system in 80-90% full, if someone needs a transport, which will escort.
Depending on the port and contention points to extend the list of players to 32vs32 (many people are left out).
Make more events, duels, boat races, missions ...
Remove customizations and unique objects more often.
Let the skills of each character as they are.
Making an extension of worlds to Europe, only to escorted convoys, with missions etc...

Finally, I would like to say the following:

I've always loved pirates games, starting with Sid Meiers Pirastes Gold. I would like to know your opinion about it because I really feel that they have abandoned this game.

Martin Carmona.

[Superium]

The OS map is small.. it is so small that one group can control an entire redzone around a port with east....this red zone covers sveral up to 10 ports...makign it impossibel for other players to have fun in the game haul their goods ecetera...

lets say u have 100 players ranked in skill 100-1 the last ranked players quit the game...cause they never win.....new players come in...but they never win either so they leave....the SMALL OS map makes it imposible for them to have fun against players their own skill because a person can sail from spanishtown to pitre in the time it takes the battle timer to come down meaning 2v1 new players never win....not ever...they quit...so u have 90 players....and the bottom of that never wins so they leave then 80 then 70 and those at the botom of the seventy used to play cause they beat the 80s and 90s.....Now they are the bottom and they quit....

See we have had server merge after server merge..as the greatest skill players beat the lesser skilled the least skilld leave.... until u get a near empy server...

the OS map...is very small...there should not be ANY red from a single port that covers more than just the port thats in contention.....ONE port perred zone... battle timers should be removed and ONLy ships within 10 miles of the start should be allowed.....

[LordScrod]

I thought I'd drop in a quick note as to why I don't pvp much (as in 'almost never'):

It takes forever to find a fair fight.

I've loaded up and gone looking for trouble on more than one occasion only to see red zones devoid of life or populated with big packs. It's almost one or the other. I know that the anti-ganking mechanics are in now (kudos on the change), but I still don't want a 2-on-1 situation. Plus, back to the original point, sometimes there's just no trouble to be found.

I'll be honest, I've fought in my share of port battles and 1v1's (mostly in the early days), but I'm certainly not the best pvp'er. I'm excellent at avcom, but my ships get sunk quite a bit. I'm fine with that. I have the knowledge, but not enough practice, and finding that practice is probably the biggest barrier to keeping me from being much more active. And I've got a nice solo econ setup (using just one account and ten slots) with my FT building ships to supply herself and the NO. I make plenty of cash, and I'm willing to risk some ships to get the rewards. But do I really need to spend hours looking for one?

I know I can ask in /nation for where the bad guys are (and I do). I know I can challenge individuals to 1v1's (and I have). But I'm not a terribly social creature, and sometimes I just don't want to have to WORK to PLAY, you know?

It's all the more frustrating because there are probably opposing players that would love a fight RIGHT NOW just like I would, but they're stuck in port, or sailing the edges of red zones, just like me, looking for trouble, but wanting to avoid an unfair fight.

I'd really like some form of pvp queue. I pick a port to put points on (or defend) and queue up. And maybe the contention gain is minimal to reward OS pvp as it stands right now. Or maybe you earn fewer MOVs from a queued match or something. I dunno. Basic game design philosophy teaches that you reward playstyles you want to encourage. You guys know that.

Anyway, that's my biggest barrier to pvp: the time invested and potentially nothing to show for it. It was not the complexity of the skill system.

Now, speaking on the new skill system, I like the philosophy outlined in the devlog. Allow new players to concentrate on sailing, then let them start tweaking with more advanced skills. I also like the idea of tradeoffs like packing on more sail (with the possibility of a blowout) or overloading the cannons (with the possibility of fouled guns). I also like the idea of crew allocation. The idea of directing all hands to set the rigging faster or hands to the guns for rapid fire situations or more crew on repairs has a great feel to it. Sort of reminds me of Star Trek Online's ship's power mechanic. All power to weapons means harder-hitting phasers, but your ship is moving slower, the shields aren't regenerating quickly, and so on. You can change those levels as the battle evolves, but it takes some time for the change to occur. So, if crew allocation is that kind of notion, I'm liking the sound of it.

Thing is, if you're going with the 'more realistic' model of ship sailing and introducing a risk-vs-reward element with captain skills, then it's a radical departure from the current game. Folks are going to be upset. And I think what you're proposing (introducing gradual changes to bring us into the new system) is going to be a balancing nightmare. Pvp-centric games live and die by the players' perceptions on the relative balance of power.

My suggestion would be to go ahead and build the game you want this to be as an expansion. If you're going to revamp the mechanics, go big. Start from the ground up. Warcraft does that every two years to great effect. Figure out exactly what you want me (the captain) to do during fights. Is it a chess game or click fest? Am I toggling modes and allocating resources (crew), or am I waiting for cooldowns (the current system)? In truth, I think sailing should be the chessgame and avcom should be the click-fest. You guys have played some Guild Wars 2, right? THAT is what avcom should feel like, if you ask me. Limited skill selection, highly mobile, rapid cooldowns. FUN!

Anyway, I guess I'm just saying that the specific mechanics are neither here nor there. What feel are you going for here? Currently, POTBS is the only game that gives us a moderately realistic ship-to-ship combat system that's relatively accessible and pretty entertaining. It's your claim to fame, and it's why most of these folks are still here. So, if you're going to change that, we're going to want more of the same. Build it into an entertaining game in its own right and don't try little tweaks and adjustments over time. The longer you stretch out the coming changes, the more howling you'll hear as each thing you fiddle doesn't sit quite right with someone. Plus, don't forget the balancing nightmare (and I'm sure you haven't!)

That ended up being a lot longer than I expected. Sorry for the ramble.

[RaiVeN]

now baldor you can 1v1 a bucc and maybe you will be 3 shoted

[Baldor]

i am already canceling the 1v1 againts OP classes,so i rarely do any,1st:i am bad at 1v1,2ndnly a few privs and NOs around ,and if any,they just go to loldemast ,and i know i still havent wrote the nat debuff report,will write soon,and an over problem reviel,that will be a very long post :P

[LordScrod]

Actually, your stated goal is to reduce barriers to pvp for new players. So, what are those barriers?

1 - They really need to be 50.
2 - They're going to get sunk a lot (demoralizing).
3 - Until they hit 50 they won't get any useful practice.
4 - It's hard to find any fights (my own personal peeve).
5 - They can't usefully contribute to port battles.

I'm sure there are more, but that's a bit of a daunting list to start with.

So, fixing these things. Hmm... Well, I hate to say it, but I'm going to anyway: The biggest problem is that the game uses levels.

The fact that I can't contribute usefully to pvp until I'm 50 means that, as a new player, I can either spend time running missions, or fleet up, neither of which is about the endgame. Missions are fun, and the stories are solid, but I'm not fighting enemies that will fight the way human players will. So, the leveling process isn't really teaching me about how I'll spend the majority of my time at level 50. Nor can I really help in a port battle. Heck, I've seen people yelled at for joining without the 'right kind of ship' let alone without being 50.

To fix it, the game needs a complete rework to get rid of leveling (yes, I can see you guys will get right on that. I'll be over here holding my breath! ;-).

But, consider this. Ever play Planetside? A brand new player can start with the heaviest body armor and biggest gun. He can join any battle and contribute immediately. The level 20 guy in scout armor or an inflitration suit will die in seconds to that newbie with his massive assault rifle. You don't get hit points as you level or bigger guns or bigger numbers. What you get is flexibility. So that level 20 that just died horribly can say 'That's how it is eh?' and load up in a walking tank, or a real tank, or his own heavy assault kit, or whatever. He's got flexibility, earned by playing for days, months, years. The newbie can only do one thing. The veteran can do many things.

Think about how sought-after able crews were. Prime hands were valued above all else because of their flexibility. You'll take landsmen to fill out the boarding parties and perform other menial tasks, but a man that could hand, reef, and steer was invaluable.

Heck, maybe your crew is the very thing you upgrade as you progress. That'd be interesting. You crew as part of your character. Hmm.

Anyway, I guess my main point is that currently the game doesn't teach me much of anything about how I'll spend most of my time, and it can take a long time for me to get there. The main focus of your game is not what new players are doing, and it really should be. Think about how econ works. That's perfectly executed. If I really, really want to, I can set up to build ships at level 1. I'd be better advised to do a manufacturing line, or just raw materials, but I *can* do it. I'm immediately useful. Not so when it comes to guns and swords.

[Baldor]

GJ FLS,you destroyed your game,very good,i wonder if you can mek 20 pvpers at prime time and i bet max 1 6 group out,less are demasters and failcadias to board,very good FLS,very good

[AndreaD'Oria]

LOL FLS, really u did it...

[Whaler]

I am liking the new direction. Less spells more captaining .