I've been thinking about this, and I still can't get over how having to pay to start a session with a fresh-looking ship feels like a major downgrade with the Captaincy update. I've heard arguments for and against this functionality, and so I have some changes to the system I would like to propose.
- Captained Ships can opt out of having cosmetic damage carry over to their next session.
- Ships can still mid-session go to the Shipwright and pay to have their ship fully restored, whether they opt out of having persistent damage or not.
This allows for player groups to get what they desire from the game without having an added burden to those who don't care for it.
One of the arguments I've heard for having to pay to repair the ship is that it's a gold-sink. Players have so much gold they need somewhere to spend it, and this does that. While I don't agree that this is a good use of a gold-sink, and don't think the cost will actually effect players with tens or hundreds of millions of gold, that's besides the point. The proposed system still gives those who want a gold-sink one. They can choose to spend their gold to repair their ship when they want.
Another argument I've heard to pay to repair the ship is that players like keeping the damage on their ships as it tells the story of their ships, showing off their battle-scars. The proposed system allows this as well! It allows players who want to keep battle-scars on their ship, only removing them by paying the shipwright, and allows those who don't care for such things to spawn in with a pristine-looking ship.
Another reason I've heard for keeping this in game is that it makes sense with the lore/reality of the game. You can't just expect a shipwright to repair your ship for free? To that I have to say that it doesn't make much sense. For 4 years the shipwrights have been granting us brand new ships every session to do with what we please, never expecting a rental fee or to pay for insurance. So why now would there be this need for gold to repair ships? Especially when players without their own captained ship can still spawn fresh ships without cost at the beginning of the session?
At any rate, the system I am proposing allows those who want those options to have them! They can roleplay having to pay the shipwright for repairs, they can repair mid-session for a gold cost, they can sink their gold into repairs because they have too much, etc. But it also allows players who want to start each session with a fresh-looking ship that option without having to pay gold to have it. For 4 years we've had nice-looking ships at the launch of a new session, and then with one update, because we have our own ship, now we have to pay?
These are just some changes I would like to see, and I don't honestly think it's asking very much. The current system reminds me a lot of the "Death Tax" that was eliminated early on. It grossly over-punishes more casual players and those who don't rake in huge amounts of gold each session, and those who have tens or hundreds of millions of gold will not feel the effect in the slightest.
Please, Rare?