not sure how feasible or balanced this might be. but what about a Canister (shot gun) shot for cannons that doesn't damage the hull but has a wide spray that can severely hurt crew and damage components similar to how a direct cannon ball shot can. would be a short range weapon, maybe have similar ballistics as hand held weapons where they travel straight then rapidly drop after traveling a short distance. could also limit component damage to not stack per canister shot. thinking a blast of 6-8 balls in a wide spray could be damaging enough without putting stress on server/client loads. would be great for drive by shots where you might only get that one shot and dont want to use a curse ball or waste others because one shot can be easily fixed. would also make close ship fights more dangerous.
Canister Shot for Cannons
Yes, but also no. If you miss even slightly with a blunderbomb then nothing happens (splash) a canister shot while it wouldn't throw crew would be easier to use but be limited to short range. A blunder bomb could be better in a pinch at longer range and be thrown by hand. But a canister shot could be used to lightly damage the ships components and injure crew without much need to aim. So sacrifice the long range capable blast of a blunderbomb for an easy to use close range spray. Could also be useful in forts that have cannons pointed into the fort rather than out.
(Also no sure a cannon blunderbomb can hurt the hull or not, never really used them in cannons)
While I like the idea of being able to give another crew a whiff of the grape, I think in gameplay terms it doesnt really have a place. The non-cursed ammo for cannons is pretty well defined and differentiated. Standard ball does direct ship damage, chain shot does weak ship damage but can break infrastructure, blunderbombs and firebombs for interfering with crew but no direct ship damage on impact. In order to not make it absolutely devastating, canister would have to have short range, wide spread, and small number of projectiles (as you rightly pointed out). This would relegate it to last resort ammo or meme ammo for when you are already in complete control of the engagement.
With your example of a passing shot, I dont see a scenario where I would load this over chainshot or a normal cannonball. It is always worth taking a shot at dropping the enemy's mast for obvious reasons, and even if you miss, it might hit the wheel. Repairing the wheel takes time and wood, and during that time it cant be rotated very fast if at all (unless the person repairing it has cracked out tracking I guess) giving you time to out maneuver them. Similarly, a normal cannonball can be fixed right away, but in order to fix it that crew member isnt on deck adjusting the sails, firing cannons, or steering the ship. If instead you load the grape, you will most likely knock a handle off the capstan and put a crack or two in a mast. However, the mast isnt down and they probably didnt need to raise their anchor right now anyway.
I like the idea, who doesn't like canister (well, besides the people on the recieving end), but it just seems like it wouldn't be very useful in the context of sea of thieves gameplay.
