This keeps annyoing me so much, I finally decided to post my opinion about the mermaids here. I'm happy that name tags will not be visible to another crew while diving, but a stealthy approach to a ship is still almost impossible with your fellow mermaid being visible to other crews as well. They'll always know someone is still sticking around.
I'd favor very much if crews could not see the mermaids of others, or at least the visibility of them was very much reduced.
So instead of allowing people to either pay attention to surrounding waters or suffer the consequences, you want cheesy mechanics to help people camp things like forts, and islands?
Not feeling it. Mermaid already doesn't give off a flare for opposition. Everything else is up to paying attention.
This isnt splinter cell. stealth is all well and good to a degree, but hiding around waiting to jump people shouldn't just become a new meta because no one can even observe and take action.
No reason to change this mechanic tbh.
No support. If you want to get crafty it's entirely possible to use the mermaid thing to your advantage, or at least offset some of the disadvantage. On a big island? Be aware of where the enemy ship is located, run to the other side of the island, have your mermaid respawn closer to you, then go in for the close. It's a really fantastic game mechanic which can prevent any ship, yours included, from being stealth attacked and it rewards players who are careful (or paranoid). For players who aren't, it's just as easy to sneak up on them as it would be without the mermaids. I've always appreciated being able to see the mermaids of other crews, but have never found my own mermaid disruptive, even when I'm trying to sneak up on another crew. Just another mechanic you have to learn to work with, if it doesn't operate in your favor (and in a PvP game, a lot of them will only favor you half the time, it's only fair).
@greenwarfare423 I agree the mermaid is too obvious as you swim over and it spawns like 5 times and mostly right next to the ship, alerting people that don't pay enough attention with their spyglass by sound.
I think the sound should be taken away for enemy crews to battle that issue, but the mermaids should definintly stay visible for other crews to spot.
Lets say there are campers somewhere, that mermaid is the only thing that would give that away, but only if crews are watchful and take heed, as it can easely be overseen as well.
@zeffin to each his own i suppose. Personally i would disagree with the added flare. I can see your point...but thats like easy mode: mermaid/flare, normal: mermaid/no flare, hard mode: no mermaid/ or flare.
Id say...if you or your crew cant see the mermaid...you deserve to be boarded. Its the same as looking out for powder kegs or supply barrels. Miss it, and its your loss.
I get what you mean aha! Ive had it more then i care to remember, im swimming to board a ship nearing the front of it...then out out nowhere my mermaid just appears right infront of the boat and gives my stealth attack away! Brings tears to my eyes! :P
Not sure about making them invisible for other players, but it would be nice to have some way of not summoning them maybe? If you are away from land anyhow.. i think there should be some form of giveaway if you are on an island or outpost.
Next you'll be b******g that you can't tell if there's a camper at an outpost. Bad idea.
@jesusthebird said in Hide the mermaids from other crews!:
@zeffin to each his own i suppose. Personally i would disagree with the added flare. I can see your point...but thats like easy mode: mermaid/flare, normal: mermaid/no flare, hard mode: no mermaid/ or flare.
Id say...if you or your crew cant see the mermaid...you deserve to be boarded. Its the same as looking out for powder kegs or supply barrels. Miss it, and its your loss.
I never miss a mermaid. I always circle the outpost before parking and use my spyglass to make sure no sails are close. It's been a few weeks since I lost any cargo to someone. So no loss for me. :)
Zeffin
I think the perfect middle ground to the issue is to delay spawning the mermaid until your player surfaces- this way if you are trying to be stealthy and swimming up under water, you have as much time as you have breath/health to reach their ship undetected. If you need to surface for air, you would risk being exposed by your mermaid.
Mermaid is fine as it is. With nameplates underwater being hidden, a perfect balance will be struck.
@AwesomecoreUSA hopefully you are joking.
@gloog mostly :)
They be fine as the be, that be me actual feelings.
If they sang but only ye could hear it, like the smoke, that would be fine.
@personalc0ffee said in Hide the mermaids from other crews!:
@squallycircle7 So a cheap and dirty tactic to steal the work of others because you couldn't sink them.
????? we were working the fort. they were waiting to try stealing it from us when we finished. i wasn't trying to steal the work of others, unless sitting around making smores while others unlock the vault is work.
The only change I can see making sense for stealth in this game would be removing the whoosh sound for others when they first appear or re-appear. There have been many times I’ve known someone was near purely by the sound of the mermaid. Seeing a mermaid is one thing - you still have to keep an eye out, but the sound makes it too easy, IMO.
I decided at the end of a session to take on a galleon at a fort. They sank me - good on them. I swam a good distance, killing a shark on the way, to get to shore. And I came very close to sinking their ship with a GP barrel chain reaction using stock from their crow’s nest while they were busy finishing the fort. As soon as they killed the captain, I shot the first barrel in the chain and then swam around to kill them on shore. I didn’t win in the end, but the mermaid didn’t prove to be an issue for me at all.
@zeffin wasnt directing to you specifically or anything. Just adding to your opinion. Nice! Thats how its done
I'm with the majority here, I like it the way it is, you can see them but they aren't overly obvious.
Although I would like it if they made your mermaid despawn once your ship was in the area. Was doing a fort the other day and got into a fight with another boat, we sunk each other but I stayed alive and made it onto island. My mermaid popped while crew grabbed new boat and headed back, we cleared the fort but mermaid was still there (w/out flare) and people kept seeing it and freaking out thinking some bad guys were lurking on the island, till I swam over to it and it offered to take me back to the ship I realized it was still my mermaid from earlier.
@jangles87 said in Hide the mermaids from other crews!:
Yeah its annoying having the mermaid pop up when your trying to get on someones ship.. or trying to hide on a island.
Which would hint that you're not supposed to do that. I think the intention was to encourage ship vs ship and direct hand to hand combat. The idea of sinking your own ship so you can lie in wait and ambush someone walking into port was probably something they didn't want to make easy.
