The Cutlass in PvP and Controller Aim

@captancola I think if they nerf gun combat then they need to buff sword combat. That way they're not just taking away but providing alternative options.

I'd like to see the cutlass be more viable in combat. I mean it is a good weapon, but against people with 2 guns your survivability is extremely low, even without the exploit.

The fact that the EoR can do more damage than a sword at any range is broken. I'd like to see EoR as the main medium to long range weapon but a poor choice for anything closer than mid range. Blunderbus seems fine, pistol is ok on its own. It's really just EoR and Sword that need work, imo.

If swords were better balanced it would help with the crossplatform balance discussion. They'll never make a controller as accurate as a mouse for aiming, but they might be able to make swords better than guns for combat, which could help differences in input device not seem like so much of an issue.

Some players act like running up to people with a sword is going to work eventually.

Wait a second! You're telling my, my patent pending Weed Wacker sword swipe tactic won't kill you come next Combat Patch?! Chasing and sword swiping is all I know, what will I ever do?!

I've heard more than one person tell me I wouldn't be able to kill them Feb 6th.

Real talk though, if people actually think that "Double gun" close quarter fighting is the only reason they are sinking. They are delusional, and I look forward to sinking them again. They really don't grasp ship v ship combat. Clearly they don't grasp boarding defense.

Side note: I'm calling it right now, Sword Pistol will be the new meta come new patch. Without being apart of the pioneer group and what not, they probably will buff the speed of reload for the pistol. Quick succession of shots with pistol with be the new king.

Heh, it's always funny when people say X weapon is useless, because pretty much any weapon and weapon combination can be used successfully in this game - if used skillfully and correctly based on the situation.

If you honestly believe no one has success with the cutlass these days - whoa, there are some pirates that can show you some things.
Seriously, playing smart and skilled with a cutlass is tons of fun and can be extremely successful. It's just no where near as easy for most players.
The pirates who know how to dance and leap around with a cutlass, while using obstacles and cover to their advantage, have been doing just fine! :)

Still, yes - a lot of people are in for rude awakenings whenever they run into other pirates who are actually good at the game. Now and after any upcoming combat updates.

@dyfrin said in The Cutlass in PvP and Controller Aim:

No need to worry, the dev team is at work! Over the last couple streams, they have said:

• More weapon balancing than just impairing double shot is coming.
• Keyboard and Mouse support is coming.

They specifically called out Hipfire in the last developer update, kind of curious as to what this could mean. I have been an advocate for increased bloom while hipfiring and more so while airborne like with falling and bunny hopping.

@pdt-mindstream

Heh, it's always funny when people say X weapon is useless...

Blunderbuss is useless, at least in its current state. It excels in way to niche scenarios, that their isn't a point in ever swapping it out. Its unreliable detonating kegs, the one shot feature is way to unreliable, and damage is way too inconsistent. This gun has an effective range of shoulder to shoulder. However, when you get within sneeze range, its damage becomes wonky and unreliable. I'd rather run Cutlass/Rifle or Pistol/Rifle these combinations cover a more reliable range of use then Blunderbuss.

@nabberwar said in The Cutlass in PvP and Controller Aim:

@pdt-mindstream

Heh, it's always funny when people say X weapon is useless...

Blunderbuss is useless, at least in its current state. It excels in way to niche scenarios, that their isn't a point in ever swapping it out. Its unreliable detonating kegs, the one shot feature is way to unreliable, and damage is way too inconsistent. This gun has an effective range of shoulder to shoulder. However, when you get within sneeze range, its damage becomes wonky and unreliable. I'd rather run Cutlass/Rifle or Pistol/Rifle these combinations cover a more reliable range of use then Blunderbuss.

No doubt that blunderbuss is the most limited and niche option. However, yeah, certainly not useless. I do know a few people that run the cutlass and blunderbuss pairing (most of the time) and at least one of them is super successful with it (he's actually a former pro E Sports gamer, so his instincts and gaming skills certainly help, lol).

And gunpowder skellies drastically reduced the use of the blunderbuss, hehe. I used to love having the blundy, but I only grab it very situationally, and pretty rarely, these days (maybe when boarding for skeleton ships and sometimes when I know we'll be having players climbing our ladders - and the most situational - when I know I'll be dealing with gold skellies, but even then... I may not bother).

That being said - the ability to one-shot kill with it is a wonderful power to behold (yeah, you need to be super, super close, and aim the weapon - and hope latency/client/server agrees with you, lol), but I've seen people use another aspect of it for their benefit. It's wide spray of pellets can actually be useful. While, it's difficult/situational to land all pellets to get maximum damage, it's actually very easy to land a few pellets - meaning, using the blunderbuss as a follow-up weapon and/or finisher, while an opponent is hopping around can actually work out quite well. I've seen people peppering an opponent on the defensive with a few wide-spray pellets here and there to finish them off many times. It's like an AoE attack, so just loading and firing can finish an already damaged opponent.

Anyway, I am absolutely not intending to preach about this at all, hehe. And blunderbuss is indeed limited in use. I've just seen different weapons being used successfully and honestly feel like the weapons are balanced enough that any of them can be used well, in the right hands and with the right strategies. I find it very interesting and thought I'd share, is all. :)

@pdt-mindstream
For me its just outclassed, while maintaining similar results through the other weapons uses. I will use some of your examples...

sometimes when I know we'll be having players climbing our ladders

Any other weapon knocks players off the ladder, now if we are on a moving ship they are essentially the equivalent of dead. As in they may be still alive, but they are out of the fight til they can grab a mermaid.

That being said - the ability to one-shot kill with it is a wonderful power to behold (yeah, you need to be super, super close, and aim the weapon - and hope latency/client/server agrees with you, lol),

I can achieve equivalent results with weapon combo-ing. Rifle + sword swipe is an instant kill while using the same ammo equivalent as the blunderbuss. The same could be said about double gun, except 2 ammo is used. I may have technically lost the ability to one shot, however, I can still get a reliable equivalent at the same distance.

I've seen people use another aspect of it for their benefit. It's wide spray of pellets can actually be useful. While, it's difficult/situational to land all pellets to get maximum damage, it's actually very easy to land a few pellets - meaning, using the blunderbuss as a follow-up weapon and/or finisher, while an opponent is hopping around can actually work out quite well.

Unless you can follow up with the correct damage amount in a short time frame, your opponent can just eat a banana and live to fight another day. I find that in order to actually kill someone efficently, you must kill them within seconds with no time for health items. With how unreliable Blunderbuss damage is, I avoid using this weapon. I know Rifle + sword is an instant kill. The same for Rifle + pistol, except I keep reliant damage no matter the range.

Blunderbuss is just in a sad state, it needs some sort of buff or change. If this games weapons were tiered, blunderbuss would be at the bottom.

@nabberwar said in The Cutlass in PvP and Controller Aim:

Clearly they don't grasp boarding defense.

Matey, boarding defense for solo or two man crews while in ship to ship combat is not as easy as you make it sound by stating this, or perhaps I should say it may not be an "grasp boarding defense" thing, but simply a not enough hands to do everything needed situation.

@nofears-fun
Ship size wasn't a variation within the original post. So to clarify, my comment is directed to those who believe that double gun is the only reason they will sink. The fact that someone can gain easy access to their ship, demonstrates a larger problem they need to deal with, not just double gun.

@nabberwar Thanks for the clarification Matey. I had a feeling I understood what you meant, but brought it up to be sure. And I agree, I lose more PvP because of decisions I make rather than because of tactics others use. I would also add to that, that when I have my other two members of my normal crew, then our ship to ship combat is pretty good and we generally don't have to worry about boarders.

@nofears-fun said in The Cutlass in PvP and Controller Aim:

@nabberwar Thanks for the clarification Matey. I had a feeling I understood what you meant, but brought it up to be sure. And I agree, I lose more PvP because of decisions I make rather than because of tactics others use. I would also add to that, that when I have my other two members of my normal crew, then our ship to ship combat is pretty good and we generally don't have to worry about boarders.

This is an excellent point.

When you look back at the combat after you have lost, there's always a decision somewhere that you made that could have changed the outcome. I rarely feel that other people won because they were better or had some unfair advantage, it's usually because I allowed them the opportunity to use their advantage or skill through my own decision making.

Double gunning does ruin the flow of combat though. I think it was supposed to be clunky but tactical. Lots of considerations, when to banana, when to shoot, when to reload etc. You only have max 5 bananas, then you need to guard the barrel and so on. Instant kills from full health completely smothers that sort of excitement. Combat just turns into: "Avast ye Scurvey... oh, I'm dead"

As someone else said above though if you are finding a controller too clunky an input device to win in combat maybe try an elite controller? Those paddles and hair triggers make a huge difference, being able to use your ring and middle fingers of both hands to run/jump/change weapon/use instead of needing to take your thumbs off the sticks results in you being able to do anything a PC player can.

I don't buy into the PC advantage stuff, I use a controller and it is fine, but I did try out an Elite controller yesterday and it was much easier to pull off some of the more difficult timing based combat manouvers like the infamous jump 180 EoR shot that xbox controller users find so difficult to pull off (In fairness it is hard with a standard conroller)

They're not exactly cheap, but an Elite controller is still a lot cheaper than a high end PC gaming keyboard + mouse is.

I’m a little confused you’re a PC player but you’re worried about Xbox players aim and trying to help them improve it? I come up against pc players all the time and I don’t see the problem atall :/

@aglasgowthing I think it's because there's a narrative that xbox players are at an extreme disadvantage against PC players.

Many PC players and xbox players believe this. I disagree, from my own personal experience, the differences are minimal and situational.

If you believe you are at a disadvantage then in a practical sense you are. You won't have the courage or confidence to achieve your best in combat, but it's a psychological disadvantage of your own making not a physical disadvantage due to input device.

I think the OP is just trying to get some controller users to put the time and energy into practicing combat with a controller, practice builds confidence and confidence will help them win in combat.

It's a pretty good way of trying to combat a (in my opinion) false narrative.

@boxcar-squidy I agree, I have two Elite controllers. One for my console and one for my pc. The PC still has advantages, but rarely did I say to myself that I lost because of those advantages. And even rarer than that have I believed the person was not only on PC but also using cheats. I would say a handful of times at most for the cheating.