Reaper's Bones Faction and consequences

  • HappyCuz
    Seafarer

    So right now, everyone remotely interested in PVP is going to be an emissary for Reaper faction and trying to hunt down anything they can find, which will automatically result in quite a bit of frustration for others. I love mechanics that drive PVP interactions personally, however I am a little bit surprised that no counter-balancing faction was introduced together with the Reaper Faction.

    What I am thinking of is in the vein of a "police" force, whose task it is to collect specifically Reaper's Bones emissary flags. Lore wise it could be explained with the other trading companies hiring someone to protect their emissaries during their travels.

    My first thoughts immediately went to the Sea Dogs venturing into Adventure, being hired to hunt down the Reaper's Bones emissaries. They could for example level up with handing in anything/heroic acts (as do the reapers now, except not for sinking trading company emissaries) and then, upon reaching a certain emissary rank, be able to see all Reaper emissaries above emissary rank 3 on the map. Obviously this needs to be tested and balanced properly, however I feel like it would be a good incentive for people with the desire to play "clean" PvP and not just hunt down anyone they can, whilst also making Reaper's Bones gameplay more difficult and skill based.

    Of course I completely understand if the Sea Dogs are to be kept strictly in Arena to enable Arena players to identify with the cosmetics they have achieved by playing it... I suppose in that case other factions could be invented.

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  • D3ADST1CK
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Founder

    The counter balancing faction is ... every other faction. If you see a reaper on the sea you don't need to go to a special faction to deal with them, you just do it.

  • Captain Fob4141
    Commander
    Insider

    @happycuzofu all other emissaries can sell reaper flags, and reapers appear on the map at all times. That is a good balance.

    Another note is that if you arnt an emissary there isnt a reason for them to hunt you. If you choose to be one you get a big reward by accepting a huge risk.

  • Fllw3rb0y
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    they totally shouldve set athenas emissarys against reapers lol

  • Captain Fob4141
    Commander
    Insider

    @happycuzofu

    ...be able to see all Reaper emissaries above emissary rank 3 on the map>

    If you are a reaper, you are visible 24/7 and people know your grade and can therefore tell how much loot you have.

    "A reaper just went from 2 to 5, they must have a lot of loot. Quick go to reaper's hideout and camp"

  • HappyCuz
    Seafarer

    @d3adst1ck I understand the point, however that is technically not the main focus of the other factions, and it's not what their players have in mind most of the time. The Reapers faction and all of it's perks however are designed to drive that PvP interaction. Just feel like there should be a similarly focussed force being put up against that.

  • HappyCuz
    Seafarer

    @rattlyfob Yeah, sure, so it would not be a specific Perk. They would just have to think of some other incentive/mechanic then... Mark them visibly with a beam of light when they are fighting other players or smth.

  • D3ADST1CK
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Founder

    @happycuzofu You're trying to add a redundant faction to the game. Having a reaper in the game should be a point of concern for the emissaries and they may want to deal with them. If there is more than 1 reaper, the reapers can also fight each other.

    There's no point in adding a "police force" that is functionally equivalent to how every other faction should be dealing with the reapers.

  • BurnBacon
    Vanguard
    Insider

    Any other faction that sinks a reaper ship and turns in the flag, or simply sinking one gets a big payout for doing so.

  • Captain Fob4141
    Commander
    Insider

    @happycuzofu marking them from the sky would be way too easy... the map and glowing red flag is easy enough.

    Beyond that, every other faction (including reapers) ups their grade and gets rewards for killing and sinking reaper flags.

    It is balanaced out by having all of your information shared instead of just location.

  • HappyCuz
    Seafarer

    @d3adst1ck Well it would create one more option for PvP focused play that is mechanics driven. This would create more PvP focused players vs PvP focused players engagements. Right now ppl who like Pvp tend to all go for the Reapers faction, which kind of makes the whole thing quite one sided. I feel like it is way too easy to clean out a server as a Reaper emissary, and do kind of feel bad for other players.

  • D3ADST1CK
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Founder

    @happycuzofu It wouldn't change anything.

    What is the difference between a police force and just another reaper player? Both are hunting other players. If you want to have a faction geared towards going after the reapers, just use the reaper and hunt other reapers. It's the exact same thing.

  • HappyCuz
    Seafarer

    @rattlyfob Sure, in theory it is. I do hope it does pan out in a way where ppl actively take advantage of that as the weeks go by. Right now it's kind of a slaughter and Reaper emissaries often just hunt down anyone, even new folks.

  • Captain Fob4141
    Commander
    Insider

    @happycuzofu

    1. if you raise any emissary flag you choose to make yourself a target.

    2. reapers have an incentive to kill other reapers

    3. reapers should never be able to sneak up on you as they are on the maps of all ships at all times

    4. all trading companies benefit by hunting reapers

    If you dont want pvp dont raise the emissary flag

  • Captain Fob4141
    Commander
    Insider

    @happycuzofu said in Reaper's Bones Faction and consequences:

    @rattlyfob ... Reaper emissaries often just hunt down anyone, even new folks.

    Yes

    And those are bad reapers who dont level up fast. Considering even a grade 5 reaper cant see fresh spawns, its kind of hard to hunt them down so much as just happen to see them.

  • HappyCuz
    Seafarer

    @d3adst1ck Well, with the way things are going now that is not actually happening. If I were a new player I would get very frustrated by being hunted down by reapers... Maybe there could be some sort of more visible extra incentive for Reapers to hunt down other Reapers ?

  • Captain Fob4141
    Commander
    Insider

    @happycuzofu the visible incentive is that other reapers are always on your map and are easier to hunt down.

  • D3ADST1CK
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Founder

    @happycuzofu Adding a new faction would just change new players being disappointed that there are no reaper players chasing other reapers into new players being disappointed there are no police chasing the reapers.

    If you want to get rid of reapers, you need to fight them yourself or ally up with other ships who will help you. There is already plenty of incentive for fighting them - the flags are worth quite a bit.

  • HappyCuz
    Seafarer

    @rattlyfob I am concerned for new players honestly. The Reaper Crews I have been on of course take advantage of the map to find their next target, but also just hunt down everything they sail by on the way.

  • HappyCuz
    Seafarer

    @rattlyfob Not sure if that is enough of an incentive, at least it doesn't feel so right now. So far PvP players have jumped on Reapers and hunted down anything they could find, in my experience.

  • Captain Fob4141
    Commander
    Insider

    @happycuzofu said in Reaper's Bones Faction and consequences:

    @rattlyfob I am concerned for new players honestly. The Reaper Crews I have been on of course take advantage of the map to find their next target, but also just hunt down everything they sail by on the way.

    And new players will learn to watch the map and hide, fight, or run when they see a reaper nearby.

    And again, those crews are bad reapers then. Unless fired upon there is no reason to hunt unworthy prey. Why hunt an empty ship when i can get 25k+ for hunting an anthena emissary.

    Edit: your police are just as likely to hunt other random ships just like the reapers. Plus when you look at it from the perspective of the police why would they limit their rewards instead of being a reaper hunting reapers and other emissaries?

  • HappyCuz
    Seafarer

    @rattlyfob You have some good points, but they are mostly valid when assuming the majority of people understand these mechanics and how they work. That's just not the impression I get on my average servers.

    However, I hope that with some time, and as ppl understand how the mechanics work, the situation might change on its own..

    Maybe then there could be some sort of extra voyages for the other companies, granting you extra rewards when hunting down reapers ? just to incentivize it a tiny bit more.

  • HappyCuz
    Seafarer

    @rattlyfob Just not sure if you want those to be the first lessons/experiences new players have in your game...

  • Captain Fob4141
    Commander
    Insider

    @happycuzofu the other companies get a gilded voyage at grade 5. That is the reward. The risk is being attacked by a reaper, but if they are and win they get a bonus reward.

    Its like doing a skull fort and being attacked by a skellie ship after... its just the skell ship drops a 25k pay off to your faction plus whatever loot they have.

    The problem, as you pointed out, is people not realizing what the emissaries actually mean.

  • Captain Fob4141
    Commander
    Insider

    @happycuzofu said in Reaper's Bones Faction and consequences:

    @rattlyfob Just not sure if you want those to be the first lessons/experiences new players have in your game...

    Yes, and that is why you cant be an emissary on your own until level 15 in a trading company.

  • HappyCuz
    Seafarer

    @rattlyfob Which only matters if Reapers know what they are doing, and actually hunt down other emissaries....
    But yeah, you are right, if everyone was playing and employing these mechanics optimally, there would be no problem.
    Maybe there could be ways to make this more apparent to players ?

  • Captain Fob4141
    Commander
    Insider

    @happycuzofu said in Reaper's Bones Faction and consequences:

    @rattlyfob Which only matters if Reapers know what they are doing, and actually hunt down other emissaries....
    But yeah, you are right, if everyone was playing and employing these mechanics optimally, there would be no problem.
    Maybe there could be ways to make this more apparent to players ?

    The best way is to tell everyone you meet about it. (Like right now)

    Oh! And always discourage spawn killing as wasting time when you can sink them and get the reward. There is no reward for brutality:)

  • HappyCuz
    Seafarer

    @rattlyfob Yeah, except the majority of folks don't rly go on the forums I suppose. But thanks for elaborating and discussing. Hope this all normalizes in a few weeks, when people don't feel the need to grind reapers bones anymore.

  • Captain Fob4141
    Commander
    Insider

    @happycuzofu no, but if you tell everyone you sail with, and talk about it on the forum like this them people will start to get it and spread the will of the flame.

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