The Orb Functionally Killed Questing

@wolfmanbush said in The Orb Functionally Killed Questing:

Orb is 20k and events/voyages pay quite a bit more than that these days.

It's just another thing for casual play, a hybrid of sea forts and shrines.

It's not gonna be 5 minutes for most crews, efficiency isn't something that a majority of players are really focused on. Some are efficient, a lot aren't.

It really only works long term in the current design. Sea forts work, skeleton camps work. Stuff that doesn't take forever and isn't higher risk and that gives them some gold.

I dont know a single standard voyage that pays out more than the orb, and when i sold one the other day i got 30k for it, maby it was gold rush, but 20k is still more than most world events. And the 5 minute estimate was based on me just trying one out for the first time with no clue what i was doing, so about as casual as it gets.

I mean, no one really does voyages for the purposes if money any more, anyway. Even before this update.

You do voyages for commendation grinding or to level up your emissary level.

Anyone playing for the purposes of actually making gold are already doing world events, stacking the Fort of the Damned or attacking other players.

I think skeleton camps are fine. If anything they feel underwhelming, as all you get is gold piles and one orb. Sure, the orb is worth a lot. But, you have to hike it across the ocean to stack multiple of them, drastically increasing the chance someone comes across and attacks you. Also, the burning beacon at the top of every skeleton camp goes out when you get the orb, and that can be seen from very far away.
Let crews score an extra 20k, it won't ruin the game.

@goldsmen it’s not killing questing. Right now it’s the new hotness. But soon it will just be something people go to when they are chaining islands together.

It is REALLY slow building up your emissary grade. We did 7 of them and ended up having to do a few shipwrecks, kill a Meg, a few random island pickups, and sink 2 skeleton ships to get to emissary grade 5.

So again, it’s something that you will do on top of regular questing.

It’s definitely 20k base price, and I was surprised at 20k being the price on the orb, but I didn’t feel it was wildly overpriced. I think 15k would have been perfectly fine.

A Skeleton Camp is more on par with a Sea Fort with a normal Sea Fort netting you ~15000 gold on the low end and up to 25k if you get good RNG on the items. Depending on which color mermaid gem you get, how many hidden trinkets and which ones in the extra cabinets, and exactly how much in each item’s price range that it sells for, since only the mermaid gem is a set price in this loot pool.

But you are more at risk in a Skeleton Camp and I feel it takes a little longer. A Sea Fort has horizon visibility from most levels and sides, a Skeleton Camp has no visibility as you are deep underground. 4 of the 6 Sea Forts are set away from high traffic zones, while only 1 Skeleton Camp would I considered to be out of the way.

Yes it is a bit shocking seeing a single high price item in a vault, but it evens out with the effort and risk compared to a similar activity. Alternatively they could have put multiple lower value items that added up to 20k and then let you store it in the mermaid statue, but that wouldn’t have made a lot of sense for a skeleton land activity.

Plus them not attaching any super cool cosmetics to the commendation also helps(it’s a lantern). The Chest of Fortune individually does sell for the same price, but due to the high risk you unlock significantly better rewards that are definitely a flex vs showing off a cracked lantern.

I agree- while we are at it, what is the best emissary for these?

@goldsmen said in The Orb Functionally Killed Questing:

With the introduction of skeleton camps and the orb that costs 30k, there is near no reason to do anything else other than commendation.

Ok so the no-life & cheese squad have killed it. How about the casuals get some time this season, before it gets the nerf hammer?
I'd prefer we let everyone enjoy the new content before nerfing it.

More Reason to sink random ships...never know, might be like me and have all 7 dragon balls on my ship :D

The only reason the orb is worth 20,000 is practical.
It seems obvious that the same number of loots as in a sea fort would take far too long to bring onto the ship.
In reality, in terms of gold value, a skeleton camp is worth a little less than a sea fort.
You have to look at it that way to understand its price.

@rotten-rocko That is a commendation that may need some tuning.

Right now, all other ships are faster than the Burning Blade, so it is pretty easy to flee the ship.

Also, if the burning blade is at the Camp, a ship can't collect the orb from that camp, so getting the Orbs as the burning blade is exceptionally difficult. Would need to employ some really sneaky plays to succeed at it.

@madam-salmon said in The Orb Functionally Killed Questing:

I think skeleton camps are fine. If anything they feel underwhelming, as all you get is gold piles and one orb. Sure, the orb is worth a lot. But, you have to hike it across the ocean to stack multiple of them, drastically increasing the chance someone comes across and attacks you. Also, the burning beacon at the top of every skeleton camp goes out when you get the orb, and that can be seen from very far away.
Let crews score an extra 20k, it won't ruin the game.

The thing is that you dont need to stack any of them, you just gotta cash them in at the nearest outpost and you can do the next one with ease. Most people dont stack any more when they get valuable items. Some do, i have always loved risking large stacks, but stackers are a rare breed any more.

@guildar9194 said in The Orb Functionally Killed Questing:

@goldsmen said in The Orb Functionally Killed Questing:

@madam-salmon said in The Orb Functionally Killed Questing:

I think skeleton camps are fine. If anything they feel underwhelming, as all you get is gold piles and one orb. Sure, the orb is worth a lot. But, you have to hike it across the ocean to stack multiple of them, drastically increasing the chance someone comes across and attacks you. Also, the burning beacon at the top of every skeleton camp goes out when you get the orb, and that can be seen from very far away.
Let crews score an extra 20k, it won't ruin the game.

The thing is that you dont need to stack any of them, you just gotta cash them in at the nearest outpost and you can do the next one with ease. Most people dont stack any more when they get valuable items. Some do, i have always loved risking large stacks, but stackers are a rare breed any more.

Stackers are a rare breed because stacking carries 0% of rewards and 100% of the risks.

If you stack a large amount of treasure, and you're attacked:

• If you lose; You lose all the time and treasure.
• If you win; You gain literally nothing new, as a majority of people who attack others don't carry treasure before doing so.

So stacking takes time. Time increases your chance of being attacked. Being attacked does not gain you anything, and could lose you everything.

It's the largest flaw, IMO, in the open PvPvE concept; People with treasure don't want to risk it with 0 rewards. And people attacking to gain treasure have nothing to lose.

• Attacking? Everything to gain, nothing to lose.
• Defending? Everything to lose, nothing to gain.
  I mean, when was the last time someone attacked you outside of HG, lost, and had anything besides supplies aboard?

Last time some one attacked me with loot was in gilded season when 3 different people attacked with part of their gilded, but tbf i did take a break for quite a while just cause of burnout. Though i do get what you mean, but that really does make my point, the fact that there is no one stacking, which means people wont all too often stack the orb like salmon was making a hypothetical for.