Initial Thoughts on Scattershot

  • Koubles8324
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    With the recent preview event we got to see the reveal of the new Scattershot cannon ammo and how it looks like it is going to function in the game.

    My initial reaction is that it's not very effective at all and will likely be unused without some tweaks. Here's why:

    Range:
    With the effective range demonstrated in the trailer, ships will have to be close enough where getting a one-ball against enemy crew will be way more effective as well as easy to accomplish since it not only puts a hole in their boat or cracks their mast, but crucially takes an enemy player out of the fight which is very game changing.

    Damage:
    Needing to get in very close, and losing the ability to kill players could be balanced if the damage output was high but quite frankly it isn't. 4 tier 1 holes doesn't quite seem to cut the job, especially when the spread is so high you could miss some pellets or most of the pellets will just make superfluous holes that mean nothing.

    To me the Scattershot seems like a glorified sneeze on the enemy ships when analyzing all the info we have. What are your reactions, do you think it actually is balanced? I'm curious to hear what other pirates think.

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  • twodozenrats
    Master

    @koubles8324
    Well, the damage can’t go to tier two holes because that’s what you get from a regular cannonball
    Also, the scattershot might be a very effective way to crack masts, wheels, and capstans considering the low hole tier shouldn’t affect that, you’d be less likely to miss, and more than one projectile might strike
    They’re meant to be short-ranged, and if they were too long ranged then at short ranges all the projectiles would be bunched up and hit the same spot (which is unfun and overpowered, since that has the potential to be an instant tier three hole)
    But they definitely shouldn’t one shot, that would be far too easy at short range. They’ll probably just be high damage.
    I suppose we’ll see how balanced it is when it releases, but from what I’ve seen in the trailer it seems fine.
    What I would advocate for is consistent spread, or at least one projectile that always follows the same path so you can get a more reliable hit.

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