@carcinoGenetxc
TL;DR:
I'd like to see the following:
M=Maneuverability, F=Fire Power, D = Durability, S = Speed with the wind (against the wind)
- Sloop (4 Crew Max)
M: * * * * *
F: *
D: *
S: ** (*****)
- Brig (5 Crew Max)
M: * * *
F: **
D: **
S: *** (***)
- Galleon (6 Crew Max)
M: *
F: ****
D: ***
S: ***** (*)
The "against the wind speed" is in comparison to other ships, not the ship's own speed. Sailing with the wind will obviously always be faster for every ship.
In full detail:
I'd very much like to see a nice in between for the sloop and galleon, such as a brig (two masts, four cannons, one large lower deck). With the new party system coming soon that will allow for 4 man sloops, I'd also very much like to see an increase to the max crew for the galleon.
They would have to make the galleon a little more weighty though in terms of maneuverability and maybe make the sloop just a little faster, with the third new ship being a nice balance between power/durability and speed/maneuverability.
I understand peoples' concerns about balancing a 5 or 6 man crew, but here's my logic in regards to that:
- The ships themselves would still be balanced against each other, meaning that escaping would still be a viable option and a good sailor could hold their own regardless of the numbers the pursuing crew has.
- The change would have the biggest impact on combat (primarily boarding). However, if you already couldn't take on 1v4 or 2v4, then it won't be a big change to have 2 extra bodies attacking you since you likely would have lost with fewer opponents anyways.
- For those that can take on 1v4 and 2v4 odds, in my opinion this should be far more difficult than it is<. The galleon is simply not intimidating or threatening enough as it is now (and will be even less so with the 4 man sloop addition).
- The galleon currently feels as though it's being run with a skeleton crew, even while "fully" crewed. While I get the intent is to make the gameplay more frantic, the fact that duo sloops can so easily overwhelm< them is absurd. Having up to 6 crew members allows the galleon to be the terror it really should be.
- Having a 5 or 6 man crew allows larger groups of friends to enjoy the game together. I only have a few people I play with regularly, but I understand that lots of people have several friends with the game and they can't crew together, let alone play in the same server together with the current state of things.
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My friend and I (along with many other duo crews and some very brave solo players) often go out of our way to take on galleons and more often than not we win the engagement.
One of us can easily handle all of the sloops needs on our own while the other boards and disrupts the galleon, such as pulling the anchor and fighting off the crew while the sloop lines up its cannon from a safe angle.
With 4 crew sloops coming, this would even further imbalance the sloop vs galleon fights and might phase out the galleon as a viable option unless the galleon could have more crew members.
Something I'd like people to keep in mind is that these balances are assuming that each ship would be fully or mostly crewed. While I agree that solo and duo players would take the biggest hit in these changes, Rare has made it very clear that people should play in bigger crews as opposed to solo/duo to have the best experience and frequently encourage people to crew up.
The option for solo/duo exists for players who desire a bigger challenge, but a big part of this game is the social aspect (both friendly and hostile) and as such solo/duo should not be a priority in terms of balancing the game mechanics.
Before anyone blasts me about "casual players" or "solo/duos" getting the short end of the stick; Please remember that this game is designed to be played as a crew. If you choose to play solo/duo, you are actively choosing to be at a numbers disadvantage to larger crews.
