Empty horizons and emptier servers

To me it's been one extreme to other. Servers are either really quiet or complete chaos. Not having 6 ships has certainly reduced interactions, seem to be less emissaries about too and alot more silent reaper hoppers. Hopping is probably causing servers to be quiet, the slot on the server will be taken for 10 minutes when someone logs in and out. Hopping is the meta rather than organic play so naturally servers will be quieter of emissaries and people actually producing loot on the server.

@wolfmanbush said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

Perfect but predictable storm

People are back in school/work

imbalanced risk/reward which kills off high risk

poor performance and increasingly worse than the day before

long time pirates had their stats removed from overview and were presented with 0's, a lot of production motivation was lost with this

Stuff not saving which isn't a huge deal but when combined with some of the rest it amplifies the frustration

People putting it on the 5 ship thing won't see more production or interesting activity with more ships because none of the core issues are being addressed and it will only crowd the servers and bring down production even more, it'll cause more interaction but not useful interaction for server health it'll just keep even more people away from anything risky.

I don't even know how pvpers stay motivated with the combat related issues combined with the overhunted environment, if I was more pvp focused I don't think I would have lasted as long as the ones that aren't stuck in the content creation game. Even the coordinated hopping situations aren't producing anything anywhere near as interesting as it once was as far as consistency goes.

I think youre waay too fixated on this supply and demand concept. Most pvpers just look for other reapers, which are either server hoppers who provide an enjoyable and tough fight, or a pve grinder exploiting the reaper emissary to make as much gold as possible. I enjoy sinking both. Also, runners get sunk 100% of the time and pvpers dont really care about loot.

@wolfmanbush said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@alienmagi said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@wolfmanbush said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

Perfect but predictable storm

People are back in school/work

imbalanced risk/reward which kills off high risk

poor performance and increasingly worse than the day before

long time pirates had their stats removed from overview and were presented with 0's, a lot of production motivation was lost with this

Stuff not saving which isn't a huge deal but when combined with some of the rest it amplifies the frustration

People putting it on the 5 ship thing won't see more production or interesting activity with more ships because none of the core issues are being addressed and it will only crowd the servers and bring down production even more, it'll cause more interaction but not useful interaction for server health it'll just keep even more people away from anything risky.

I don't even know how pvpers stay motivated with the combat related issues combined with the overhunted environment, if I was more pvp focused I don't think I would have lasted as long as the ones that aren't stuck in the content creation game. Even the coordinated hopping situations aren't producing anything anywhere near as interesting as it once was as far as consistency goes.

I think youre waay too fixated on this supply and demand concept. Most pvpers just look for other reapers, which are either server hoppers who provide an enjoyable and tough fight, or a pve grinder exploiting the reaper emissary to make as much gold as possible. I enjoy sinking both. Also, runners get sunk 100% of the time and pvpers dont really care about loot.

you want to make the case that organic activity and production is healthier now or as healthy as when emissaries were released?

There are more people and there is more content there is no excuse for the poor organic activity. It's an effect from a lack of maintenance.

The "everything is fine" narrative is coming from people that do not understand the long term damage that is caused from an unhealthy food chain and a dropping production situation in year 4 of a 10 year plan.

Im not saying you're wrong, I generally agree with your opinion on this, im just saying its not the biggest issue around this topic.

Well, they did introduce a few hundred hours worth of content that, for all intents and purposes, removes ships from servers. You've got ships tucked away behind rocks trying to get hours of sleeping, fishing, burning, playing music, etc.

All those milestones and rewards were intended to be achieved through organic gameplay over YEARS...but knowing this playerbase, I'm not shocked there's crews trying to max those milestones out before Season 8 rolls around LOL.

Also doesn't help that the newest Emissary Ledger rewards are incredibly unintriguing...and we shouldn't expect them to be refreshed until January at the soonest...So you've effectively got 4+ months to hit the ledger reward knowing that the next ones are probably just going to be a banjo and a hurdy...meh...

That being said, I've feel the seas have been pretty active this season, and in a good way (aside from exploit week).

@wolfmanbush said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

Ledgers are only effective when they draw in large amounts of organic activity

a mix of people not paying attention to them and people that alliance up during double gold and community day to safely earn the rewards doesn't do much

and that's what a lot of production has become in this game, anti-alliance people alliance'ing up for gold cheese one weekend a month to safely make a month's worth of gold

and what are they doing the rest of the time? not producing and hunting production

not sustainable and doesn't even make sense game design wise, it makes perfect sense to people that want easy gold and no risk throughout the month.

Alliance bonuses don't count towards ledgers (unless something changed?). You get silly gold cheese for sure, but no credit towards ledgers. Ledgers don't necessarily encourage alliancing, they encourage not fighting. They unintentionally cause more players (at least for that first month) to go into full blown PvE mode and do their best job at avoiding other ships...so players are metaphorically alliancing a whole bunch for that first month for sure. Production goes way up, but thievery and competition goes way down for a month.

That's why me and my crewmate usually save our GH/OOS/MA/AF ledger grind for the second month of ledgers being available...SOMEone's gotta hunt as a Reaper during that first month 😂...and what better time to do it than when everyone is running Emissary 😈?

Just because you have not seen people, doesnt mean they arnt there, if your in a server, then theres at least a couple other ships there, because if it thinks your server is too empty, it merges you into another server with more players. Odds are, they are just somewhere you havnt gone, or are somewhere you were, but no longer are.

@wolfmanbush said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@alienmagi said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@wolfmanbush said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@alienmagi said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@wolfmanbush said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

Perfect but predictable storm

People are back in school/work

imbalanced risk/reward which kills off high risk

poor performance and increasingly worse than the day before

long time pirates had their stats removed from overview and were presented with 0's, a lot of production motivation was lost with this

Stuff not saving which isn't a huge deal but when combined with some of the rest it amplifies the frustration

People putting it on the 5 ship thing won't see more production or interesting activity with more ships because none of the core issues are being addressed and it will only crowd the servers and bring down production even more, it'll cause more interaction but not useful interaction for server health it'll just keep even more people away from anything risky.

I don't even know how pvpers stay motivated with the combat related issues combined with the overhunted environment, if I was more pvp focused I don't think I would have lasted as long as the ones that aren't stuck in the content creation game. Even the coordinated hopping situations aren't producing anything anywhere near as interesting as it once was as far as consistency goes.

I think youre waay too fixated on this supply and demand concept. Most pvpers just look for other reapers, which are either server hoppers who provide an enjoyable and tough fight, or a pve grinder exploiting the reaper emissary to make as much gold as possible. I enjoy sinking both. Also, runners get sunk 100% of the time and pvpers dont really care about loot.

you want to make the case that organic activity and production is healthier now or as healthy as when emissaries were released?

There are more people and there is more content there is no excuse for the poor organic activity. It's an effect from a lack of maintenance.

The "everything is fine" narrative is coming from people that do not understand the long term damage that is caused from an unhealthy food chain and a dropping production situation in year 4 of a 10 year plan.

Im not saying you're wrong, I generally agree with your opinion on this, im just saying its not the biggest issue around this topic.

what is the biggest issue around this topic?

The fact that there are only 5 ships per server when it should have been at least 6, if not 7 because of devils roar.

@wolfmanbush said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@alienmagi said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

The fact that there are only 5 ships per server when it should have been at least 6, if not 7 because of devils roar.

adding more ships as a way to increase activity is one of the most counterproductive narratives around

in high risk situations the risk has only increased, the value of the activity has stayed the same or has become irrelevant and non-competitive with other sources of loot

Fotd isn't dead because of a lack of people it's dead because it's a non-competitive event. Higher and higher risk with forgettable rewards

Fof takes forever and people don't do it because they know that a hopper is just going to ambush in full on supplies at the end, they know they are better off without doing them and that's why they are rarely done

People popping out of portals, everyone being ridiculously stocked on supplies from the dock which serves hopping pvp, dying high risk activity which means there is less to eat so it's not spread out, this only increases risk.

Respawn times created a scenario of long drawn out fights when they are competitive that many are not enjoying

Not all activity or encounter is quality. Production will go down even more and things like running/chasing will go up, drawn out fights over no loot will go up, less events will get done, less veil voyages will get done.

Flooding servers with people isn't the answer for organic activity that people will largely enjoy

5 is enough when there is actually a risk/reward scenario that makes sense for the middle. Fotd that actually makes sense, fof that actually makes sense, high risk that is balanced and not just a scenario where the risk goes up and up while the reward is non-competitive for the risk

fof/fotd keys shouldn't be marked anymore, there is no reason to have marked keys in an environment where the risk has only increased.

more athena loot at fotd, save lights to the boat through captaincy

add trident drops to fof's so people can have the opportunity to finish them efficiently

add harpoons to reapers to sell

tie chain shots to activity and production, server investment

high risk activity needs to make sense to the middle for healthy activity, for a couple of years people have accepted the unacceptable which is increasing risk without any balance for it, we don't need more people on the server, we need more balance for the risk at interesting levels of activity.

You seem to be looking at the issue from an entirely PvE player perspective. As someone who occasionaly server hops for pvp I can tell you fof and fotd are not dead and ANY player interaction can be turned into something fun (i dont sink new/wholesome players). This is far more important than risks and loot.

I honestly dont think that someone who exclusively plays pve, sloop and on xbox really has a broad enough experience to have a meaningful contribution to this particular topic (or anything involving pvp balance) but thats just my personal opinion.

I know youre already thinking of a way to counter my point because you never consider other perspectives or find middle ground with anyone on this forum, so I'm just gonna agree to disagree with you, as always.

@wolfmanbush said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@alienmagi said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

I honestly dont think that someone who exclusively plays pve, sloop and on xbox really has a broad enough experience to have a meaningful contribution to this particular topic (or anything involving pvp balance) but thats just my personal opinion.

I know youre already thinking of a way to counter my point because you never consider other perspectives or find middle ground with anyone on this forum, so I'm just gonna agree to disagree with you, as always.

You just proved my point. I have considered your point despite knowing your lack of experience.

You didnt consider mine at all, not even once and only put effort into trying to spin my sentence into making it seem like hypocrisy when it clearly isnt since I agreed with your concerns and processed what you have to say. Which is something you never do when you encounter an argument.

@wolfmanbush said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@alienmagi said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@wolfmanbush said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@alienmagi said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

I honestly dont think that someone who exclusively plays pve, sloop and on xbox really has a broad enough experience to have a meaningful contribution to this particular topic (or anything involving pvp balance) but thats just my personal opinion.

I know youre already thinking of a way to counter my point because you never consider other perspectives or find middle ground with anyone on this forum, so I'm just gonna agree to disagree with you, as always.

You just proved my point. I have considered your point despite knowing your lack of experience.

You didnt consider mine at all, not even once and only put effort into trying to spin my sentence into making it seem like hypocrisy when it clearly isnt since I agreed with your concerns and processed what you have to say. Which is something you never do when you encounter an argument.

I don't view any of my conversations as arguments or view them as winning or losing.

I believe it's healthy for people to disagree with me, it's healthy for me as I never want to be in a situation where I am not held accountable for what I say and healthy for the forums to host different views and opinions.

I'm not here to win or to be right I am here to offer my experience on behalf of the organic environment to hopefully contribute to preserving the organic environment. One that I have spent a lot of time participating in. You may not see me as qualified to participate but I spend a lot of time considering what others say and how they express that they feel and I stand by the consistency in my post history that I believe supports that.

I never said you're not qualified to participate. I said your opinion isnt as meaningful as someone who has more experience. Stop spinning peoples words, this is exactly why I try to refrain from replying to your posts

There is nothing more I like than an empty server while Slooping and doing athenas for example. It just sucks when you are solo, the server is empty, and just when you have 1-2 more maps remaining you notice a level 5 reaper, which then forces you to go sell and finish the session.

I do not know how portal hopping works yet, however, does your emissary flag carry over? Imo it shouldn't unless I could also leave the server and come back with my own one, lets say next day in the evening :D

@wolfmanbush said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@alienmagi said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

I never said you're not qualified to participate. I said your opinion isnt as meaningful as someone who has more experience. Stop spinning poples words, this is exactly why I try to refrain from replying to your posts

When you tell someone that they do not have enough experience to meaningfully contribute that is what that means.

It quite literally isnt. Now you're just straight up lying.

Not providing meaningful contribution is first of all a subjective opinion and doesnt in any way mean that your point will not be considered

Not being "qualified to contribute" would mean you arent supposed to post at all.

Just stop spinning peoples words, its really not hard. I know most people dont really notice when you do it but its impossible to conclude a debate that way. Im so tired of talking in circles every time I reply to you on any topic for the last 2 years and im not gonna entertain lying and "nuh uh-s" anymore, its just a waste of time.

@danbeardluff said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@alienmagi said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@wolfmanbush said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@alienmagi said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@wolfmanbush said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@alienmagi said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

I honestly dont think that someone who exclusively plays pve, sloop and on xbox really has a broad enough experience to have a meaningful contribution to this particular topic (or anything involving pvp balance) but thats just my personal opinion.

I know youre already thinking of a way to counter my point because you never consider other perspectives or find middle ground with anyone on this forum, so I'm just gonna agree to disagree with you, as always.

You just proved my point. I have considered your point despite knowing your lack of experience.

You didnt consider mine at all, not even once and only put effort into trying to spin my sentence into making it seem like hypocrisy when it clearly isnt since I agreed with your concerns and processed what you have to say. Which is something you never do when you encounter an argument.

I don't view any of my conversations as arguments or view them as winning or losing.

I believe it's healthy for people to disagree with me, it's healthy for me as I never want to be in a situation where I am not held accountable for what I say and healthy for the forums to host different views and opinions.

I'm not here to win or to be right I am here to offer my experience on behalf of the organic environment to hopefully contribute to preserving the organic environment. One that I have spent a lot of time participating in. You may not see me as qualified to participate but I spend a lot of time considering what others say and how they express that they feel and I stand by the consistency in my post history that I believe supports that.

I never said you're not qualified to participate. I said your opinion isnt as meaningful as someone who has more experience. Stop spinning peoples words, this is exactly why I try to refrain from replying to your posts

Wolfman has quite a lot of experience bro. Just look at his stats in his 'adventures post'.

Not sure if this is sarcasm, but if not: if the majority of your experience is derived from solo slooping and doing PvE that means you're inexperienced in the game as a whole, even if you have a 1k+ hours of playtime.

@wolfmanbush you're my favorite person to disagree with in the forum, brother.

As for the topic, these hamster wheel-powered servers are barely able to keep up with player interaction between 5 ships. Adding more will certainly help you see more ships, but it won't guarantee interaction with them. What it would guarantee is less server stability.

If they want more interaction between the 5 that we have, Rare needs to add incentive to participating in the stuff that drives interaction: World Events. Make the reward worth the risk, and rebalance (nerf) the rewards from activities with less risk. Make them more fun & engaging than the current bullet-sponge-whack-a-mole designs.

Also, if chains & specials weren't as common as coconuts, some folks might feel less apprehensive about approaching other ships. Less chance of them getting de-masted and curse spammed in the first broadside.

@wolfmanbush said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@alienmagi said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@wolfmanbush said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@alienmagi said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

I never said you're not qualified to participate. I said your opinion isnt as meaningful as someone who has more experience. Stop spinning poples words, this is exactly why I try to refrain from replying to your posts

When you tell someone that they do not have enough experience to meaningfully contribute that is what that means.

It quite literally isnt. Now you're just straight up lying.

Not providing meaningful contribution is first of all a subjective opinion and doesnt in any way mean that your point will not be considered

Not being "qualified to contribute" would mean you arent supposed to post at all.

Just stop spinning peoples words, its really not hard. I know most people dont really notice when you do it but its impossible to conclude a debate that way. Im so tired of talking in circles every time I reply to you on any topic for the last 2 years and im not gonna entertain lying and "nuh uh-s" anymore, its just a waste of time.

You have posted factually incorrect info about my pirating and I have not corrected it or implied that you did it maliciously. I have not been negative or personal towards you at all.

What is important is that people feel welcome to post their experiences here. If they participate in the environment their experiences and views are as meaningful as mine or yours.

Stop it already please. You announced many times about your usual playstyle on many different topics.

And now you're trying to score social points with everyone by saying everyone's opinion is equally meaningful, even someone who just started playing 1 hour ago, their opinion on, say, pvp balance is just as meaningful as a 1k+ hours pvp vet?

I just cant anymore.

@r3troraccoon idk what to say man, I know you said players either run away or try to PvP. Sadly Rare can’t control player culture, that’s a societal problem.

@hefty-henri said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

@zig-zag-ltu said in Empty horizons and emptier servers:

There is nothing more I like than an empty server while Slooping and doing athenas for example. It just sucks when you are solo, the server is empty, and just when you have 1-2 more maps remaining you notice a level 5 reaper, which then forces you to go sell and finish the session.

I do not know how portal hopping works yet, however, does your emissary flag carry over? Imo it shouldn't unless I could also leave the server and come back with my own one, lets say next day in the evening :D

Flying an emissary flag should come with the real risk of drawing Reaper ships to you. It seems most people just want to fly emissary without any of the risk of combat, by dodging servers with Reapers on them and complaining about server hoppers. The real solution is that if you want to avoid Reapers, you stop flying any emissary flags.

Reaper portal hopping should be encouraged. The playstyle relies on finding emissaries to sink, and with people dodging this constantly it's easy to find yourself on a server as Reaper 5 without a single other emissary. Are you supposed to log off and log into another server here, resupply and get to 5 all over again, just for a chance to find another emissary?

Seeing a Reaper 5 all of a sudden while flying an emissary flag shouldn't be a sign to sell and log off, it should be an indicator to prepare for battle.

Mate, I dont have any problems at all with reapers when I'm not in a solo sloop or playing with my girlfriend (also in a sloop). There is nothing I can do vs skilled Brig or Galleon reaper crew. 3v1 or 4v1 works only against inxeperienced players or if you get super lucky. Yesterday I nearly sank a brig reaper who were chasing my empty ship. (All experienced, dark adventurer sails etc) (they eventually gave up and finished what I started :D)
If I play in a Brig or Galleon myself, we like to go after them.
If I am solo, I would prefer sloop only server if that would be possible. Then whatever emissary they would be representing it would still be a fair fight no matter the odds.
However, server hopping is a bit like cheating. Also, how does one do that? I'd rather atempt to change servers than sell or run from a reaper galleon while trying to finish athenas that give me marauder chests and mid tier skulls