Make wind changes Unpredictable

@rellimkaz I think they need to make it so the wave direction matches the wind direction like it does 99% of the time in real life. Waves are caused by the wind, after all.

I will second wind changing directions more often, here is why. With an addition like this, you reward proactive sailing much more, and it makes chases more exciting. How does it reward proactive sailing? Well, when you are paying attention to the wind, you will be adjusting sails more often so there is less reasons to be idle on the ship. Ships that are proactive with sailing will not only be faster, but more engaged with sailing. This also has the side benefit of making chases more interesting regardless of if you are running or chasing.

The more active sailors will make more ground than what the other will. This causes better sailors to catch up to targets while doing the reverse for better sailors running. Right now, chases are dull with little effort that can be done to gain or lose ground. It becomes a dull game of a small adjustment then.... nothing but wait. Lets liven things up. Right now, it takes very little effort to make a chase last 30 minutes or longer. Imagine giving players a better method gain ground in the chase while simultaneously creating a system that allows players to increase the chasing gap?

I see no downsides here to be honest.

@galactic-geek

@nabberwar I agree with your sentiment, but I don't think it would pan out like you think. I've seen numerous pirates who simply ignore the wind, for example. I have a good friend with whom I have to constantly remind to adjust sails as is. Somehow, I think making the wind change more won't change his bad habit - it would just widen the gap further between good and bad players.

Honest question, what are the downsides if any at all? I mean I feel this is rhetorical personally, but maybe you might have insight. Who does it harm if wind changes direction more often? I feel like making proactive sailing a more rewarding experience is a good thing.

You say how you need to remind people to adjust sails. This is due to how inactive the role is, that it becomes understandably forgettable. Now if it is something you have to be active with, I feel you will be less likely to forget. While it may not break some peoples habit, it does reward players that do. Rewarding proactive sailing should be rewarded. Having a larger skill gap is rather needed in my opinion, the gap is too small as is. As previously said, the amount of effort it takes to extend a chase to absurd proportions is trivial and low effort. That shouldn't be the case, and in this case, a skill gap would be a good thing.

@d3adst1ck

For one, it would increase micromanagement of the ship rather than just playing the game.

This type of change really only effects combat, if players are idle, then it isn't bad to ignore sails once in a while. However, I think that ship management is playing the game in this case. People who fight other crews often tend to do a lot of that micromanagement anyways, this just rewards them better for it.

This also does nothing to change the running behaviour of other players. They will run regardless.

The goal isn't to curb behavior though, that isn't at least why I am in favor of the change. I see this as rewarding better marriners in chases, it rewards the ones chasing and the ones being chased. One can gain more ground easier by being proactive, but the same can be said for the one running. Right now, crews can be rather inactive in the role of ship management. They can adjust the sail and then ignore it for a bit. With a small change like this, we create a system to distinguish the active sailors from the inactive to a larger extent.

People can run all they want, but this aids them in running better, or rewarding the chaser if they are better. Let the mariner skills shine by giving them tangible rewards of more distant from the pursuers or gained ground for the chasers.

When I read posts like this, I can't help but think that these 30 minute+ chases are due to a mixture of poor target prioritization, poor positioning, and poor preperation.

First: Pick a target that is likely to reward you for sinking it. Too many posters with similar concerns on these forums just chase ships without paying attention to whether or not they're an emissary, quietly boarding the ship to case its loot, checking ship glow, etc.

Second: Sea of Thieves naval combat is about ambush and the element of surprise. As the attacker, you have the initiative. Defenders may dictate the direction and pace of the battle, but you can manipulate that with how you choose to initiate. Position yourself favorably so that you limit your opponents options. Make sailing in favorable winds difficult, limit the amount of time they have to react. Make no mistake, once the ship you're after knows you're after them, the battle has already begun.

Thirdly: Stay stocked. Do not engage unless you have the resources you need to win. The amount of necessary resources will decrease as you become better and more efficient, but you must always keep your eye on how much you can engage with. Supplies are your lifeline.

However, that said. I do think it's certainly more interesting if winds changed a little more frequently. Getting stuck in particularly bad winds for a long time sucks for just about anyone.

@awyrlas

First: Pick a target that is likely to reward you for sinking it. Too many posters with similar concerns on these forums just chase ships without paying attention to whether or not they're an emissary, quietly boarding the ship to case its loot, checking ship glow, etc.

This isn't a stealth game though, it requires a derelict of duty to not spot those quiet boardings. The game, while allowing stealth, doesn't foster it well. Mermaids always announce player presence as well as rowboats being easily spotted. If I can just role up on a ship by swimming or row-boating, there is a high chance I can just bring the ship over and not waste time with stealth. The problem with this whole setup is the ship itself will be spotted even if you are parked a few islands away. My crew keeps tabs on those ships, so if I see a ship parked an island away, I am already suspicious of the very sneak play you describe. I expect a swimmer in this case, so I then proceed to look for mermaids and row-boats.

Second: Sea of Thieves naval combat is about ambush and the element of surprise.

It takes very little effort to not be surprised in this game. We almost always have 360 degree visibility with ships being giant eye-sores on the horizon. You reach a point in this game where you stop getting surprised. As said earlier, minimal effort and paranoia prevents most ambushes. Looking around periodically is the biggest counter to most ambushes or surprises.

Thirdly: Stay stocked.

This plays a role only if you are engaging in combat but run out mid fight, but supplies in of itself plays little role in a chase. You might burn some planks, but is a purely cat in mouse chase, supply usage is minimal.

However, that said. I do think it's certainly more interesting if winds changed a little more frequently. Getting stuck in particularly bad winds for a long time sucks for just about anyone.

I am glad we agree though.

@rellimkaz said in Make wind changes Unpredictable:

@galactic-geek I was a bit over doing it saying they were 100% afk but i dont think people should be able to run for 30+ minutes completly avoiding pvp this wouldnt be a problem if it was like every 10 ships but recently people running into the wind is happening everytime i try and go into a pvp encounter and they run for upto 50 minutes before they eventually red sea which imo shouldnt be possible or should be harder to do than it is currently

Ooof you would hate me and my crew mate. We have ships chase us an hour plus, we will actually drop anchor for them to catch up. We bring them through storms, volcanoes, into ghost ships all kinds of fun stuff. Why do we do it? For fun of course.

Im not against proposing more difficulty in sailing though, I would welcome it.

Also people can avoid PvP all they want. Its not up to you how others play.

How frequently does the wind change direction currently? Anyone know?

@galactic-geek said in Make wind changes Unpredictable:

2 or 3x per region, I would think. It's more a matter of distance rather than time.

Oh interesting. So the wind isn't a global direction that shifts over time, but static directional "pockets?" Is the wind at, say, Snake Island always blowing the same direction then?

@rellimkaz I get the underlying problem you're trying to solve: chases are dull and simplistic.

Two other ideas that could solve the same problem:

More emergent encounters. When skellie ships suddenly pop up, it adds another wrinkle and much interest to a boring chase. Maybe there are other events that could add extra variables?

Variable wind strength. Maybe there are patches of sea where the wind is very light, and if you sail into them you risk becoming becalmed. You would be able to spot these as glassy patches or areas with no white caps. During a chase they could be deadly, as you would temporarily become a sitting duck.

@prescafatty said in Make wind changes Unpredictable:

@rellimkaz I get the underlying problem you're trying to solve: chases are dull and simplistic.

Two other ideas that could solve the same problem...

1. If you don't want to be chased for 40 minutes, turn around and fight.
2. If you don't want to chase for 40 minutes, turn around and go do something else.

The wind mechanic was designed for a reason, and if you fail to get the drop on someone, then obstinately chase them around for six hours without making any progress, the problem is not the wind, the problem is you.

@rellimkaz said in Make wind changes Unpredictable:

Also if its a galleon chasing a sloop or a sloop chasing a galleon if the crew being chased is smart with wind its almost impossible to catch up because the distance between the ships will increase so once you get wind your like 5 squares away giving them time to re adjust into or with the wind, Sounds like it wouldnt work on paper but it really does and its really stupid

Not almost impossible. Is impossible.
And it's not stupid - the point is that regardless of the size of your ship, if you sail skillfully you can escape unwanted encounters.

Again, if you aren't good enough to get the drop on someone, the problem is not that the game sucks, the problem is that you suck at PvP.

@galactic-geek Most people run into the wind and as the wind barely changes direction (only by a few degrees) they will reach the red sea especially if their already near the edge of the map (if you have chased a boat before you would know this). If the wind was to change more often or more uncreditable rather than a just few degrees after a long period of idle time then this issue would be fixed.

@galactic-geek However this becomes an issue when many boats do it. By the fact you have only had 3 boats ever do it then I'm assuming your not a PvP player as this happens many times per week and most PvPers would know about this. This can make the game unenjoyable as if you have had to chase a boat for a long time before and then the loot getting despawned which is an unintentional game mechanic this can discourage players to even fight especially with the fact that 90% will not fight and choose to run.