Single Player Frustrations

  • GabrielDamato
    Sailor

    So I have played QUITE a bit, and I am very happy. However... at least half of the time, I am playing solo to try to actually turn some profit without needing a crew. I usually sail alone for 3-4 hours if given the chance.

    Yesterday: Solo sailing/questing. Attacked by Kraken in a Sloop. 3 hours of chests gone because there is literally nothing you can do against that thing if you aren't fully equipped to deal with it... even still... "thems the breaks o' the sea" and I get it.

    Today: Solo Sailing/Questing: Attacked by Kraken THREE TIMES IN ONE DAY. I understand the need for risk... but the "random" nature of it doesn't seem to random right now. In addition I got attacked by a Megalodon WHILE being Kraken-ed in the face. AGAIN: SOLO PLAYER HERE. While sailing alone, I have lost god only knows how many chests/skulls/goods because of the "random" attacks from the Kraken that are just too hard to fight as a solo player unless you are LOOKING for a fight.

    Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of a big beastie waiting below to spring up and make me spew my grog all over. HOWEVER: I do not like the idea of being targeted as a SOLO PLAYER by the thing THREE TIMES IN A SINGLE DAY, not to mention again YESTERDAY. I can't seem to "get away" from it since as soon as the water turns black my ship just starts ignoring wind altogether and just sits there.

    Maybe you should keep the beast in the cage like a LITTLE more often? It's not fun when it's this frequent. It's annoying and a waste of literally hours of game play. Not to mention, I have to PAY for Quests, then get NO RETURN when the thing decides to show up again, after my gold and hours are gone gathering the chests and skulls.

    I really believe that the Kraken should only be spawned against crews of two or more. Having it attack Solo Sloops isn't fun for anyone (or at least no one that I am aware of... though I am sure that SOMEONE out there really enjoys watching hours and hours of work literally sink for a "random" encounter... three times in a day).

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  • Rayzback
    Insider

    @gabrieldamato

    I need 2 more Kraken Kills... we need to sail lucky :)

  • I33I3
    Master

    what I would reccomend is hit the kraken's tentacles which are trying to pull you while you try to go out of tthe zone rather than staying in, just make 180

  • xCALYPT0x
    Master
    Insider
    Boatswain

    @gabrieldamato Hi there :) I'm in the process of making a video showing players how to effectively solo kill the Kraken. I'll link it here once I have finished and uploaded it to youtube. If you already know most of this I apologize for telling it to you again.

    As you alluded to in your post, there is not much you can do if you don't have the resources, but you can actually take her out using only about ~10-15 planks provided you have enough cannonballs. Just be shore to loot up at the outpost you spawn on and continue being proactive about gathering resources.

    First thing I do is raise my sails completely. She has you at a dead halt pretty much in the beginning but as you fight her your ship will move. If you somehow get off the boat this becomes a problem. It also makes it harder to hit her with the cannons because you have to factor the sideways velocity of the cannonball into your shots.

    The trick is to be super aggressive against her. I noticed that in my failed attempts to solo her, I was so worried about being sucked off the boat that I didn't put out enough damage on her. You still want to avoid getting grabbed at all costs but when you are confident she is not trying grab you it is best to be firing cannonballs like a madman. Don't even bother with guns except for when she is sucking and you're hiding below deck. I've heard people say you do more damage to the top of her tentacles. No idea if that's true because I've been more aggressive in general along with shooting her near the top but she's been dying so I'm not gonna go back to shooting low anytime soon. You want to target a single tentacle at a time, try not to alternate and pick the one that is the easiest shot. If it goes underwater with out shaking back and forth it is not a dead tentacle and you want to find where it relocates. Look for one emerging from underwater shortly afterwards. If it shakes back and forth before it goes under, you have killed it and are free to pick the next tentacle to target.

    The wrap mechanic has changed. You no longer hit the tentacle that is grabbing the boat. When she wraps, there should be one shorter tentacle, very close to the ship, that is "looking" at the tentacle that wrapped the ship. Hit it. After you hit this tentacle it will move to the other side of your boat. Do this 3-4 times to get it to unwrap. You can get 1-2 cannonballs on it before it switches sides. It takes a few seconds to switch so use this time to get an extra bail of water out of the ship or restock your cannonballs, etc.

    Prioritize the holes in the bottom of the ship. You don't need to patch all of the wholes in the back of the sloop, especially if you are running low on planks. You can leave 1 to 2 and it won't leak too much. I don't like to leave more than 2 unfixed.

    Don't worry about the loot floating in the water until she is dead. Getting off your ship as a solo is a death wish. If you are aggressive enough she will die relatively fast and you will be able to get all of the loot.

    Lastly, some of it comes down to RNG. How many times does she slap the ship? How many hits does it take to get her to unwrap? How many times does she try to suck you off the ship? And, if you get attacked by something else while you are fighting Karen... good luck... haven't figured out the best strategy for that and I hope I don't have to.

  • GabrielDamato
    Sailor

    I have seen many videos on how to do this, and I totally understand the dynamic of the fight (though I had like NO supplies when she appeared). My issue is the fact that it spawned THREE times on a Solo Sloop in a matter of hours. That stops it from being a cool rare thing to tell your mates about and makes it an overwhelming aggrevating situation. I don't mind getting taken down... But three times in a day? Two of them were so close together that I could barely tell where one finished and the next began.

    My suggestion is putting a leash on having it multi-spawn on a single ship so frequently. That would be an easy addition to the base code of the game. That's all I was getting at.

  • Galactic Geek
    Seafarer
    Founder

    Why are you not turning in your loot more often? I turn that stuff in every time I cross an empty outpost, if given the opportunity. Maybe you should too...

  • GabrielDamato
    Sailor

    @galactic-geek
    Once again, the issue I brought up is the FREQUENCY OF KRAKEN SPAWN on a Solo Sloop... Not sure why people keep taking this in different directions?

    I always turn in my loot when it is feasible to do so, obviously. I can control that factor of gameplay to minimize loss, but that doesn't really address the tabled issue.

  • Galactic Geek
    Seafarer
    Founder

    @gabrieldamato Well, Rare turned things up a notch, specifically for the current event and its commendations, and due to the overwhelmingly positive response from the community about the game feeling more alive as a result, Rare has decided to keep it that way. I'm sorry to hear that you're in the minortity in this case, especially since the kraken never attacked sloops at all prior to the update.

  • GabrielDamato
    Sailor

    @galactic-geek
    Oh don't get me wrong... I LOVE the Kraken as part of this game. Even yesterday when it Whooped me and made me lose my loot, I smiled and say "well that's new." But today, getting nailed three times in such a short span feels a little less fun. Please don't misunderstand me on this, my only complaint is that it "randomly" targeted the same Sloop so many times, and so frequently. That stops being fun fast, especially since you cannot sail away? It pops up, I'm like "well, there goes all that loot too...". I'm just saying it's OVER spawning.

  • Silentwish

    @gabrieldamato I feel your pain man but for me it's those skeleton ships.

  • SoldierOfAesir
    Ship Mate

    @gabrieldamato 100% with you on that its not always the issue of you under supplying either if you have enough planks it will eventually push you out my scenario yesterday was I got sunk on my way to sanctuary outpost just got out of the wilds in the empty ocean was expecting it since its barren ocean loaded everything into the row boat since it always survives the attack. Ship spawned sailed out claimed my row boat back sold the loot supplied up sailed south boom attacked me again. in the space of an hour I got attacked twice I don't care about crew size or skill level its enough to make anyone quit especially since the reward is not worth the fight or the supplies. Crates of tea or hateful skulls which of course usually sink by the time you've killed it

  • CotU42
    Lord
    Insider

    @gabrieldamato random events are random, I am sorry to hear you came in a bit of a bad situation and lost.

    It is a part of the game as a fellow sloop player from time to time I understand the frustration. Though realize you are playing the most challenging mode and therefore might sometimes will be overwhelmed by unlucky events.

    I hope you keep sailing and see it as an epic story to tell about the time the kraken denied your loot.

    May the winds be in your back and the seas calm when you are about to sell.

  • GabrielDamato
    Sailor

    @cotu42 oh, the sea is in my blood. I'll keep sailing to find that kraken and make it spit out my treasure with my bare hands if need be. Random bad spawns aren't enough to keep me at port. Cheers!

  • GabrielDamato
    Sailor

    @shurthugal
    I never did the legendary... As far as the two hour timer goes, it's possible? I got hit three times in five hours, so that could be perhaps? I don't know the exact timing but I would say (to any Devs) that that is still too frequent for a Solo player. Last night I played with a friend for about four hours and never say the beast once?

  • Reedski
    Marauder
    Insider

    I never stock my sloop, always just 15's & pockets, and I don't have any real difficulty solo vs Kraken or megalodon, I've come out of a few fights limping plank less for the nearest island leaving the loot behind in search of something to patch up, but I've never been killed by either

  • Galactic Geek
    Seafarer
    Founder

    I load up on supplies every chance I get, especially for CCs. I love hitting a skelly-ship the moment it emerges from the depths next to my ship with an anchorball. 😋

    Also, find a rowboat ASAP - if anything destroys your ship, be it tentacle, teeth, or cannon, that thing can lead to your great escape, as well as your treasure's salvation. 😉

  • Ruigtand NL
    Master
    Insider

    Does it matter if you have a voyage activated?

    Last 2 or 3 days i sailled without a voyage and it was like a quiet peacefull world. I only did bottles..

    Normally when i had a athena on the powder keg skellies, skellyships , megans and karens attacked me non stop?

  • Mac1ver
    Captain
    Insider

    @gabrieldamato I personally don’t have a problem with it, I only play solo and I find Krakens fairly easy to defeat even with the basic amount of resources. Megalodons to I find a bit more challenging but again easy enough to defeat with a solo sloop (hardest I’ve fought is shadowmaw however) although I do agree that a meg and a kraken at the same time shouldn’t happen as a solo. One thing that ALWAYS kills me is skeleton ships, every single time they come up they kill me and I have yet to find a way to kill them or at least flee from them, that’s one thing I think that’s needs looked at.

  • GabrielDamato
    Sailor

    @maciver01 that's so weird because I solo the ships and Meg's easily in my Sloop? Strange how playstyle effects game challenge, eh?

  • KattTruewalker
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Founder
    Deckhand

    @gabrieldamato

    Yikes, that is some bad luck right there, I don't think I've seen the kraken for 4 or 5 days either, still chasing that commendation, I certainly see your point though......

  • m1sterpunch
    Master
    Insider

    Loot aboard doesn't matter as I've fought the kraken solo after a fort and after joining a server. Be aggressive and get and much damage on close tentacles as possible as only 3 or 4 hits will make them de-spawn. Encounters have been dialed way up for the event so I feel your pain but as long as you have planks and (cannon)balls you should be ok. Hardest part for me is when she sucks you up.

    • Repair anything below ASAP and bucket when you can (preferably when she's trying to suck you and you're line of sighting her)
    • Hit the closest tentacles with cannons. Aiming low will be an easier hit but less damage so I usually aim low at further tentacles when close ones are clear but use your own judgement based on your own skill.
    • If you do get sucked up slash your sword as fast as you can and always have full bananas. If you drown you're most likely toast but if you get free that's one tentacle you've defeated.
    • Prioritize bucketing over repairing cabin holes. Unless you just got whipped and you have the time to repair close together holes.
    • The longer you take to kill tentacles the harder it will be so be offensive.

    PS The meg is usually only found in deep water so if you hug close to islands her spawn chance is greatly reduced.

  • gatorwocky
    Captain
    Insider

    I'm a single pirate as well. I'm seriously considering establishing an account on e-piratey.com.

  • BadRobott
    Captain
    Insider

    I play solo almost all of the time and I would hate to see Kraken attacks disappear. I was thrilled when they made it attack sloops a well. If you’re finding that you can’t fight it because you run out of supplies, stock more supplies. There is almost no limit on the supplies anymore. Alternatively, there are ways to escape the kraken as previously mentioned. Seens like a lot of people would rather the game change than learn how to deal with the game’s challenges and that’s a shame.

  • LilDagnamet

    I to am a single player and feeling frustrated with the frequency that I have seen the Kraken and Megalodon over the last two days. I have seen the Kraken 4 times and was able to fight it off two times but out of the 4 times I saw it I lost my ship 2 times. And the Megalodon I've seen 6 variations (Normal Fin, Yellow Tipped Fin, Orange Tipped Fin, and White Tipped Fin) and got attacked twice, the second attack consisted of 5 attacks before it left. I would suggest that the Kraken and Megalodon become somewhat rarer occurrences because as of now they are just annoyingly common, or maybe my RNG luck is non-existent. Love the game otherwise.

  • BluthSitwell
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    Also a solo player and am beyond frustrated with the frequency of the spawns of meg, krakken, skeleton ships, geysers and volcanos. On average I spend about 5 minutes in devil's roar before I am sunk by one of these threats. I understand solo sailing has its risks but this is beyond rediculous. So many hours with no treasure to show for it. Some serious cool items in devil's roar but how am I supposed to do anything if these treats come at me so frequently, these threats must be as infrequent as finding a chest of sorrows or at least be restricted to a small part of the map. I cant tell you how many times I have had 10+ chests on my ship and am literally about to dock at an outpost only to be killed and sunk by one of these threats. Absolutely rediculous, needs to change now or I wont be playing anymore, it's just not fun when you have nothing to show for all your hard work.

  • BluthSitwell
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    @gabrieldamato totally agree. I owned the game since launch and never encountered the krakken, I enter devil's roar and get attacked by him about every 10 minutes

  • Mac1ver
    Captain
    Insider

    @gabrieldamato I’m just saying I personally think this doesn’t need changed just have to adapt and learn how to deal with these challenges. Not trying to big myself up or anything, I’m average at best, lose 90% of PvP situations.

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