I don't understand why it's an open world item. Like this feels like it would be perfect as a real weapon or throwable... And since it is an open world item I am scared it's just not gonna be accessible in HG. Like the worst thing would many of us PvP players not really being able to enjoy the weapon at all because it's not realistically usable in the part of the game we enjoy.
Shooting it out of the cannons is a really interesting mechanic (would be way more interesting if it was a weapon btw) but I feel like it's definitely too weak. It depends how it actually works but I think the base mechanics of just a "corked" hole is going to be pretty pointless. With it just being a T1, you can literally ignore it with basically no consequence. If the spear prevents further damage in that spot, or is overridden with further damage (like the spear "falls out" and is replaced with a tier 3), it's going to be useless. The tier one is just way too little damage. If the spear stays in but the hole actually can increase in tier (effectively doubling the repair time), it'd be pretty good imo. We'll just have to see on this one, but it seems weak.
When it comes to actually using the weapon in hand to hand, I think it'll be pretty chill. I hope it isn't just a one shot, but if it did like 70-90 damage it'd be fine. Not really much to say here.
From here on this is my thoughts on what should/could have been done to make this better
Starting off, I wish this was just a weapon or a throwable, not an open world item. Having it so you can actually use your weapon in the cannon, for an ammo cost, would have been really interesting IMO. As a weapon it could have also had a melee attack, just longer range than sword but longer time between swings and less damage. Ofc throwables already kind of work like how the spear does so that would have made more sense as well. Trying to pick up this "weapon" mid combat and load it into your cannon or use it against a boarder is just going to be so clunky and slow. I really don't understand their decision to make it an item.
When it comes to shooting it out of the cannon I think it would have been really really cool if it put down a stronger harpoon line that you can easily walk across. This stronger harpoon line could let you freely run across it (w/o the mini game thing) and use weapons/items, it wouldn't have any pulling power but would hold both boats "rigid" (you can't get further apart), and it can't be cut/shot down (unless the tip is removed). You could keep the same level of ship damage that the spear already has and make that cannon unusable. This would turn it from a pretty useless dps tool to a really powerful and dynamic boarding tool. I mean just thinking of the decision making, do you shoot high for easier boarding or low for the extra damage? How does it affect the helming? When do you use it? Do you use multiple? Who is responsible for removing it? Is it better for the bilge to remove the harpoon or for the helm to keep an eye on any potential boarders? It's this kind of decision making and complexity the competitive community really wants out of these combat changes. I appreciate the recent efforts, but they have largely fallen flat.
When it comes to the hand to hand utility, like I already talked about if it was a weapon it'd be cool if it had a melee attack. Maybe it could do 20 damage with 1.5x the range of sword and a .75x swing speed. When it comes to the thrown attack I think if it did like 45 damage with a fairly short time between shots it'd be cool. Definitely slower than dagger but much better arc and range. As a throwable I wouldn't change much, just get rid of the melee. The goal would be to make it replace blunderbombs job as the "extra underwater weapon" that most melee users treat blunderbombs as.
