I've been playing this game since launch, and I haven't had much to say in terms of PvP because I always ran away from it. But thanks to the addition of Reaper's Bones, my PvP skills have developed to the point where I can pretty much board and sink galleons now with relatively experienced crews. But what this new combat prowess has made me realize is that even after all this time, despite what the game says, the three ship types are not balanced. Sure, they play to different advantages, with speed or maneuverability or firepower being scaled differently, as well as general management of tasks. But the by far biggest factor is crew size. In my experience, even when I'm playing with other PvP-oriented players, the bigger ships have advantage just because of their crew size alone. Because all it comes down to 90% of the time is how many crewmates you can spare to board the enemy. If you're a crew of 2, you can only spare 1 person to board so the other can manage the boat and keep it from getting boarded or lit up. On a brig you can use 2 and be in the same situation, with boarding advantage, or play it safe and have 2 guys manage the ship and 1 guy board which allows for sailing, boarding, and cannons at the same time, and the ability to comfortably repel boarders and repair if the need arises. And the galleon can spare 2 boarders by default and have the same level of security as the brig with an extra advantage to boarding. Going up against that as a sloop, you're straight up at a disadvantage by default. In a lot of these cases, even when I've sampled the skill of the crew and they're not particularly good there are quite simply more of them than there are of us. And so they win through greater numbers. There have been cases where I board and I kill 2 guys, but they've got blood to spare so the remaining 1 or 2 guys board and kill my crewmate, leaving my boat defenseless and from there it's a matter of respawns. 1 or 2 guys spawn camping 1 guy is easier than 1 guy spawn camping 2. And quite literally it requires that the lone boarder must be higher skill than the greater sized crew in order to win but even then, if his teammate can't spawn cause he's outnumbered, then no damage can be done to the enemy boat and the edge is still the larger crew's. Anyone can shoot a cannon, and so as long as the larger crew overwhelms the smaller one, they can obliterate their opponent's ship and win. And all because they've got the numbers, even if they're not quite as good as the smaller crew. I don't necessarily know what the game could do to make the ships more fair but as it stands, they aren't balanced and it makes PvP frustrating. As a sloop, even as an experienced one, I have to worry about going up against bigger ships because they straight up have advantage so long as their crew is even moderately skilled at the game. And I'm well aware that there are smarter tactics one can employ to make the most of a smaller ship's perks to take on bigger ones but on top of requiring more skill than the opponent, all that needs to happen is one small mistake and the tables can turn in an instant.
The ship types are NOT balanced
Everything you described is an issue with crew size, not with ship type. Good crews, even smaller crews, don't get boarded. They k ow how to sail to a kid rams. They know to look for swimmers. Even the lucky cannon shot landing can be dispatched with a blunderbomb.
Yes, crew sizes are not balanced. Or should they be. Boarding should not be your primary measure of successful PvP (though it's a reasonabke viable tactic against less attentive and lesser skilled man-2-man combat.)
But when boarding is removed from the equation (as it is with twwo skilled crews) and thus you are talking about ship to ship combat, the balance of ship types shows. And yes they are balances. Who wins will depend on 1) who makes a sailing mistake first and thus becomes incapacitated via Chanshot, etc.) or 2) who runs out of supplies first. The fact that mistakes and supplies decide combat more than ship size does is a testament to how balanced they are.
Even as a solo sloop, and with my one mast being a particular weak point, the relative proximity of everything on the sloop and its vastly superior responsiveness and the galleon's slow to stop and slow to turn has meant that I've gotten my mast taken down by a Chanshot but have gotten it up, repaired, and I'm on a new tangent before the galleon could even slow enough or ake a turn to take advantage of their chainshot success.
I am by no means saying I win all matches. I'm rather mediocre at PvP. But I use the above to illustrate that even my solo sailing skills keeps me out of trouble or gets me out of trouble against larger crews. And soloing a sloop is my choice whe I do so. That isn't a direct disadvantage of the ship itself.
@wraith-04 as @strangeness said, this is all related to crew size, not ship size...when they are at the same experience level you are in a disadvantage with a smaller crew or solo...now with reviving it's even more obvious that they have an advantage
I'm fine how it is, but I would definitly prefer reviving put out of the game, because I can handle bigger crews, as long as they aren't able to revive...Don't board them, and don't let them board. Your ship remains fully functional and ensures that crew size won't matter. If they try to board you, you can use that to your advantage by avoiding the swimmers and then taking out their much bigger ship while in its weakened state.
Pirates make the mistake of thinking boarding is the best tactic - it's not; it's high risk/high reward and usually only good for a distraction or slowing them down.
One of the things I love in this game is the debate about which ship is best. I would pick a Brig every time, and you would pick a galleon. You aren't right, nor am I. Play styles are different and as such, so are ship preferences. Even the sloop isn't under powered imo. It may be very hard to sink a solid galleon crew with one (not impossible), but your galleon would never sink my sloop either.
And if you try to board me with 2 of your galleon crew, I promise you it will be sunk before they respawn from the ferry.
