Blunderbuss Nerf ----Horrible Call (Opinion)

  • Win Blocked

    As an avid user of close range weapons in almost every game, the blunderbuss in Sea of Thieves was a great option to board unsuspecting enemy crews with. If you got within range, it was almost a quick and efficient guaranteed one-shot kill on a player using a cannon, as it should be. With this new nerf, it is almost unusable because the distance at which it kills has been greatly reduced. There are many reports of players being within kicking distance of the enemy and yet have not gotten the one-shot kill, this is very troubling because in the sense of boarding if you don't eliminate as many players as possible from the jump, they will eventually team up on you and not allow you to achieve your intended purpose. (pulling anchor, grabbing loot, preventing repairs).

    The Flintlock and Eye of Reach both badly needed buffs, that is the reason why many players were not using them. This does not mean that the blunderbuss was greatly overpowered, it just means that it was the only viable option until now. I argue that with the new buffs to the other weapons, they will be just as viable as the blunderbuss was. Talking from a personal level now, it just saddens me to see many games going in the nerf route, Destiny did it and it eventually led to many of their fanbase abandoning the game altogether. I would not like Sea of Thieves to take this course. Especially on a game where everyone has access to the same weapons, and everyone does the same exact damage.

    For those that argue that it was too overpowered because you could take on a whole Galleon crew, well then that was largely because of the player's skill to fend off that many people. Also, who doesn't want to take on a whole crew? Those are the moments you live for in a game like this, which doesn't have much to do at the moment. I took certain pride in being able to use the same weapon as someone else and use it better than them. I've tested the blunderbuss myself now, and it frustrates me because shots that should kill, simply don't. With the new buffs to the Flintlock and Eye of Reach, the blunderbuss should be allowed to resume it's original form.

    Thank you for reading. Please voice your opinions, I would love to hear them.

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  • LoboFH
    Marauder
    Insider
    Founder

    When one weapon is the only option to remain competitive then we have a clear problem of balance and lack of variety in tactics, guns and combat builds.

    And I don't think they would fix anything buffing all the other weapons to 1S1K madness, the time-to-kill in a game is an important part of its design and perhaps nobody, devs and players want it so insanely short.

  • urabout2die

    @lobofh
    The lack in variety in tactics stem from elsewhere. Making the gun less useful isn't going to change the range of most fights in the game.

    Think the route they solving the problem is going to eventually remove any hope or fun for the little guy like I previously posted in another topic.

    Lastly, because the damage falloff range is terrible now people will if they are smart enough take all 5 of your shots while eating bananas what a fun fight. (sarcasm)

    Suggestions
    -They could just make the sniper do even more damage it's still weak. As well as give the sniper/pistol head shot damage if they did not add it yet.

  • Call Blocked

    @Win-Blocked Completely agree, almost all fights are at close quarters. Blunderbuss should have remained the same. Now its like shooting a cap gun!

  • Win Blocked

    @lobofh
    I’m not suggesting by any means that they buff all weapons to one shot kill, there’s advantages to using every weapon. The flintlock excels in water combat, and the sniper is great for long distance. What’s a weakened blunderbuss good for? The fact that there isn’t much variety is because there’s only 4 weapons in the game. You can’t build much around that anyways.

  • Win Blocked

    @urabout2die
    Agreed.

  • Chud Stuffens

    The problem I see is if the Blunder and Flintlock are both a two shot then the Blunder just got nerfed out of relevance.

    The Flintlock has better range so why would I ever use it over the Blunderbuss now?

    They should have buffed the Eye of Reach and Pistol as OP said. But it was a poor decision to nerf the Blunderbuss.

  • Nightmare247365
    Master
    Insider
    Founder

    TBH if the Devs believe that the Cutlass and Pistol are exactly where they need to be and want to balance the weapons to those two levels, which is what I believe occurred, they bring the weakest gun up (Eye of Reach) and the strongest gun down (Blunderbuss). This was my first thought, that they are trying to balance each weapon...Now, in theory, this sounds great, but in reality, each gun had its own purpose.

    But after thinking it through we know the Eye of Reach needed a buff. It needs to be able to do more realistic damage. However, the Blunderbuss nerf I think was a reaction to instant deaths and griefing. I love what the devs are doing with the game, mostly, but I am fairly certain they don't know how to solve the problem with griefing in this game. Right now, the griefers are the players who actively board other ships, stand at the spawn location with that blunderbuss, and one shot kills the player as they respawn. Making it a 2 shot or less likely to 1 shot kill a player does fix the instant death option, but I think it does it completely wrong.

    Here is how I would fix it:

    1. Boarding actions should be much more difficult. If the ship is going faster than 75% of its possible speed, boarding from the water should not be an option. Players could shoot themselves, but not grab a ladder, making boarding a precision attack. Or Ram the ship and jump on board.

    2. Since players cannot board ships from the water (75% speed or greater) - This includes their own - they will either need to wait for a mermaid, have their ship come get them or die of drowning/shark bite to return. An opponent needs to be able to slow another ship down. So damage to a ship reduces a ship's speed. 1 hole reduces it to 80%. 2 holes reduce it to 60%. That means two holes allow for boarding to be possible from the water.

    3. Make taking over a ship possible. Make it a king of the hill type battle around the wheel. This requires a 120 to 180 second battle in an area around the ship. If not king of the hill, then allow a player to raise their flag which will take the same amount of time. This should be enough for 1 respawn to attempt to defend.

    This solves your one shot kill scenario as we can now return the BB to its former greatness. It still requires players to pay attention to their repairing/bailing. Once on board, it allows you to still take out an entire crew and feel more like a pirate.

    This provides a bit of resolve from griefers (not 100%) because they don't take over the ship they can still instant kill, but they could put in a randomized KOH space. If an enemy has not taken control of the ship after 2 KOH spaces move or the KoH can be captured by the player it automatically forces the enemy off the ship. Maybe make it a magic summon or something that grabs the border and throws them back into the water.

  • urabout2die

    @nightmare247365
    People spawnkill mostly for an objective(to buy time) or to remove you from the equation(skull forts). Really you should never re-spawn on a mermaid in the water and they added a thing so you can scuttle from death I think.

  • Nightmare247365
    Master
    Insider
    Founder

    @urabout2die You are right about scuttling, but here is the thing, you should not have to scuttle your ship unless it is the last resort and the mermaid is there for a fast travel if you fall in, get left behind, not if you respawn.

    I mentioned the mermaid for players who shoot or jump into the water and try to board.

  • urabout2die

    @nightmare247365
    I am specifically talking about spawning in without a ship should never happen. It is why you will be spawned killed even more most likely :P. The ideas you presented are interesting would make the game have more depth but not sure all that change is needed. Random spawning based on proximity with more spawn points will help not get killed on spawn.

  • ii AxelForce ii
    Seafarer

    @urabout2die said in Blunderbuss Nerf ----Horrible Call (Opinion):

    @lobofh
    The lack in variety in tactics stem from elsewhere. Making the gun less useful isn't going to change the range of most fights in the game.

    BRB, boarding the ship with a EoR

  • urabout2die

    @ii-axelforce-ii
    L**o :)
    The 2 weapon limit is the reason I rarely will ever have that thing you are right.

  • Xultanis Dragon
    Sailor

    Agree with OP.

    I also understand where some players are suggesting that it was the ONLY weapon used in PvP which I believe is a very correct statement. However, I think the nerf they took could have gone a different direction. I'm with the OP on that I've been boarding ships and getting drops on cannoneers and I couldn't one shot them. If I get the drop on someone and their back is turned I should be able to rekt them. Instead of nerfing the damage they should have lowered the amount of ammo to 3. This would force someone to either pick a 3 shot gun or a pistol. Do you want 2 more shots, or the potential of one shotting someone?

    Spawning killing isn't really a thing since you spawn in different locations of the ship. Also if more of your crew is dead, instead of spawning 1 by 1, you can all wait and spawn together. Yes it makes it harder to save your ship, but you have the option to fight back and win.

    Boarding is okay and shouldn't need to be changed.

  • Biter Wylie
    Seafarer

    I do think it has led to more fun battles myself.

  • Sir spishush
    Lord
    Insider
    Founder

    @win-blocked i disagree im really happy with the nerf, sword fights have become a thing again and i love that. more varied combat is a good thing in my opinion, no more 1 bang and somebody dies 👍

  • BearInADress
    Master

    The problem is, they nerfed the Blunderbuss to balance PvP, but didn't make a single tweak to anything PvE. Pre-nerf, sharks could be reliably killed in 2 blunderbuss shots & rusted gold skeletons could be reliably killed in 1. After the nerf, it might as well be a coin flip.

  • BearInADress
    Master

    @xultanis-dragon said in Blunderbuss Nerf ----Horrible Call (Opinion):

    Spawning killing isn't really a thing since you spawn in different locations of the ship.

    Except on a Sloop, where you have.... what, 3 spawn points? 4?. I know for a fact that if you stand by the map table on a sloop, facing the stairs, you'll have an easy 1-shot on one of the spawn points, as that one spawns the player facing away from you. You'll also be able to see a player spawning in the hold or on deck. Put another camper near the bowsprit, and you've got 100% of the spawn points on a sloop covered.

    I assure you, spawn killing is very much a thing.

  • Belzebub1978805
    Seafarer

    I like the nerf because fights are much more fun now when they dont last only half a second. One shot weapons are always a bad design in my opinion except for maybe sniper head shots which we havent in this game which is also a good thing.

  • Rutta

    I can’t even aim the thing to get a hit with it

  • syntxerr
    Master
    Insider
    Founder

    I also like and agree with the nerf.

    The blunderbuss was the go to weapon for both PVE and PvP and that was a problem. I also consider one shotting a bit of a problem in general.

    You can still do it, but you need to come really close, which is a risk in itself and there is always a chance your instakill will not succeed now and that is good.

    There is absolutely no skill involved in instakilling people. If you manage to hit someone in their back, that’s disadvantage enough already for them. Now if they turn around and fight you and win, well then they were just better than you.

    The blunderbuss is much more situational now and you need to consider when to pick it and for what activity. Perhaps you need to combine it with a pistol now for boarding or a cutlass for skeletons. Those are the choices everyone was making for other weapons as well.

    I think it is a good thing that people don’t blindly choose the shotgun for everything anymore and I also noticed more swordfighting in PVP, which is good. Someone with a sword can now actually charge you, whereas before it was hiding behind the mast, hoping you would miss your blunderbuss shot, because you could almost oneshot everyone on deck.

    One shotting people was boring in general and the fact that point blank pistol shots or rifle headshots didn’t do the same were proof that the BB was out of line. You have actual fights going on now and that is a good thing. Before, it was mostly a game of frustration and luck. Let’s not forget the lags and high pings in general on the servers.

    Personal I especially like the cutlass becoming more important now. It was the main weapon of a pirate after all.

  • Kawaii Dumpling
    Founder

    I just took down an entire Galleon crew using said Blunderbuss.

    It's not much different to me, man, but if others are gonna complain that they can't one shot from a million miles away, then oh well. I'm sure Rare will change the numbers on it eventually, with enough feedback, regardless.

  • BriskEmu
    Ship Mate

    @xultanis-dragon said in Blunderbuss Nerf ----Horrible Call (Opinion):

    Agree with OP.

    I also understand where some players are suggesting that it was the ONLY weapon used in PvP which I believe is a very correct statement. However, I think the nerf they took could have gone a different direction. I'm with the OP on that I've been boarding ships and getting drops on cannoneers and I couldn't one shot them. If I get the drop on someone and their back is turned I should be able to rekt them. Instead of nerfing the damage they should have lowered the amount of ammo to 3. This would force someone to either pick a 3 shot gun or a pistol. Do you want 2 more shots, or the potential of one shotting someone?

    Spawning killing isn't really a thing since you spawn in different locations of the ship. Also if more of your crew is dead, instead of spawning 1 by 1, you can all wait and spawn together. Yes it makes it harder to save your ship, but you have the option to fight back and win.

    Boarding is okay and shouldn't need to be change

    Your three shot recommendation is the best solution ive heard yet, i dig it!

  • Lord Sphinktus

    The blunderbus needed fixing. Weapon balance is much better now.

  • Kapitan Klaps
    Captain
    Insider
    Founder

    1v4 shouldn't be easy. I was doing it without an issue with blunderbuss on PC. Worked every time. You're mad because the other team has a chance to fight back?

  • Arch Fable

    I agree. The weapons should have received buffs instead and to make them feel different, each should have had situational dependencies to influence decisioning from the beginning. Simply nerfing damage numbers in an environment like this makes the game feel less unique and more generic. Not that this is the only issue when it comes to 'uniqueness', but this is one of the areas having this major issue.

  • Belzebub1978805
    Seafarer

    @arch-fable
    And because of your owen argument they changed it. Its situational now! Because in a game where almost all fights happen cqc a oneshot weapon is op. And more important its no fun. Its only fun to people where the only goal and fun is to dominate others.

  • Arch Fable

    @maximus1978 said in Blunderbuss Nerf ----Horrible Call (Opinion):

    @arch-fable
    And because of your owen argument they changed it. Its situational now!

    Just because you narrow the target sign from its true borders closer to its middle, it doesn't make it situational, but only tests your focus and aim, which is always tested. I'm not speaking about the test of aim, but when to aim as well. That is what I mean by situational dependencies. Not just what, but when, where, by whom, how and why.

    Because in a game where almost all fights happen cqc a oneshot weapon is op.

    Cqc?

    And more important its no fun.

    Depends what you meant by cqc. When I know, I will be able to give a further accurate answer. What comes to fun, indeed, just killing everything in one blow is not fun for everyone. Maybe for the spectators, observers and some others, but the ability to one-shot isn't necessarily the issue. The issue is revealed when we ask all necessary questions around every relevant variable.

    Its only fun to people where the only goal and fun is to dominate others.

    Fair enough. However, I know some of these individuals and some of them also embrace challenge. They put challenge before domination; journey before fate. If every item truly had meaningful situational dependencies in place, they would indeed cherish the experience, not frown it.

  • Jeccckk
    Marauder

    Blunderbuss is still better for melee brawlers. Opening shot then sword nonstop. Pistol and sniper are for range only, and still aren't going to be used as much. Blunder is still going to be the most used weapon.

  • zynxed
    Marauder
    Insider

    i think this nerf was good before the blunderbuss nerf i never saw someone use pistol or sniper.

    this also makes it a bit harder for PC players to one shot other players. (i main pc)

  • Ghost 0f Dawn
    Master
    Insider
    Founder

    I dont think it was nerfed enough. Its still pretty much the only gun for boarding action PVP, but Ive seen more sword use too. What could happen is disable ammo resupply when non crew is on your ship. This way boarding action doesnt turn into circling around like rabbits for ammo. Get your shots in, use them wisely, and draw to your sword.

  • LoboFH
    Marauder
    Insider
    Founder

    @arch-fable Close Quarters Combat.

    With changes like this one perhaps we need another tweak for guns: more ammo, 5 bullets feel not enough. In PvE this makes cutlass mandatory, unless you get married with an ammo box in the terrain.

  • Belzebub1978805
    Seafarer

    @arch-fable
    As lobo said cqc means close quarter combat.
    And yeah everbody his playstyle. But still in a game like this where most fights are on such small space a oneshot weapon isnt a goid thing. Had made swordfights pretty pointless. I would give you right if we talked about a game like battlefield where i could stay away from you and use another tactic, a one shot shotgun wouldnt be a problem.

  • GRIZLEDORF
    Marauder

    the blunderbuss was stupid strong and i am glad they nerfed it. pvp is more fun now.

    I used the Eye of Reach for wo weeks straight before they buffed it because I liked the projectile speed and imo - being up close is an unreliable tactic used only as a last resort. The Eye of Ronch buff has been a boon for me - just the increased damage, I had to lower my sensitivity because it's too fast now. I was using the Pistol before swapping to EoR.

  • SCSkunk
    Master

    Nerf was fine and needed imo. Also, can barely tell the difference. In fact, I just got one-shotted aboard my Solo Sloop...wierd!

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