This is the second of two devlogs discussing the work we’ve done in 1.16 focusing on ways to give players more loot, more rewards for PvP, and more reasons to explore and fight on the Open Sea.

In last week’s devlog, I talked about three changes to the PvE side of the game. This week, I’m going to outline three PvP changes, and one change that will benefit both PvP and PvE players.

Marks of Victory and Insurance

Currently, when you sink another player in a PvP battle, you get Marks of Victory and Marks of Trade based on the level of ship you killed. There are no real problems with this, but it doesn’t give you the sensation of a big reward for sinking an expensive ship. Sinking a Prince is worth the same as sinking a Hercules.

In 1.16, we’re changing the way we reward MoV/MoT for PvP kills to work based on the insurance value of the ship you sink. More expensive ships will be worth more Marks. For sinking a basic level 50 ship, like a Mastercraft Capricieux, you’ll get about the same as you do now – 5 Marks. This scales up to the First Rate ships which award roughly three times that amount.

Captured ships, which have no insurance value, will be worth the same amount of Marks as the non-captured versions. Refit ships, which have a large portion of their insurance value derived from their MoV/MoT cost, will have their insurance value increased as a result of this change.

Blockading

Although we’ve increased Fleet spawns on the Open Sea, there are still areas of our world that are difficult to attack, and some that are difficult to defend simply because there are not enough ships in the area. We’re introducing a completely new mechanic to help mitigate this: Blockading.

In 1.16, all players over level 20 will receive two new skills: Blockade Port, and Patrol Port. These are passive skills that will periodically generate or reduce unrest at a target port, as long as you meet a few requirements:

• You must have the Voluntary PvP flag enabled.
  
• You must be stopped on the Open Sea within range of a valid port.
  
• You meet a minimum Group Strength rating. One ship alone cannot effectively Blockade, or Patrol a port.
  

Groups of attacking players with their PvP flag enabled will generate small amounts of Unrest every second, until they move, or are attacked. The same goes for players of the defending nation, only they’ll reduce unrest at the same port. To prevent huge fleets from bombing a port too quickly, a maximum of 6 players can generate unrest via Blockading on any given port.

Port Battle Titles

In 1.15, we introduced Port Battle Rewards. Both winners and losers get doubloons, Marks of Victory, and Marks of Trade. In 1.16, you will also get a title if you participate in port battles, either as a winner or as a loser. You won’t get the title until you’ve achieved the required amount of wins or losses.

There are three Titles for each:

• 10 Wins: Battle Worn Commander
  
• 25 Wins: Veteran Commander
  
• 50 Wins: Heroic Commander
  
• 10 Losses: Unlucky Commander
  
• 25 Losses: Ill-Fated Commander
  
• 50 Losses: Cursed Commander
  

Removing Chat Restrictions

We want communication to be easier all players, so we’re introducing a change that’s for everyone: In 1.16, we’re removing language restrictions from chat channels, and we’re also changing Area Chat so that it spans beyond town into the Open Sea.

As a result, the Diplomacy skill will no longer have any use, and you will no longer be able to get it from any skill trainer. If you already have the Diplomacy skill, you will need to use a respec if you want to use that skill point for something else.

We hope you enjoy these changes. Try them on Testbed and let us know what you think!