Greater draft for ships.

I actually really like this idea. It would make the row boat more functional too and not just used in The Devils Roar. Galleons would need to anchor further out from islands to avoid the shallows, hence using the row boat to avoid the sharks.
Sloops could hug islands closer when trying to escape and hope to lure larger boats onto coral reefs.
Also when Galleons are searching for deeper waters to approach islands, having a pirate on the bowsprit to warn of approaching shallows would be essential.
This idea sure would level the playing field.

@guybrush3pwood2 off topic, but had to say you officially have the best name on the forums after whoever guybrush3pwood1 is.

@galactic-geek these things bug me. But the reason for increasing the draft is actually for game balance and to add depth (see what I did there?) to gameplay. The realism aspect is just a bonus.

I don't know. I feel the galleon already has a decent depth to it.

I'll take one of my fave Galleons as an example. Here's the Batavia:

https://www.catharinavanmijdrecht.nl/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Bataviawerf1.jpg

As you can see it's comparable to a Galleon in game.
Now when we take a picture of the same ship when it's on shore:

We can see that it isn't as deep as you'd think.

@william-flint LOL thanks. :D

@william-flint Arrrrrr, and this is my 2nd account :D lol

I do think that it would make sense for row boats to be able to land on beaches, sloops to go in quite close and Galleons to have to park a little bit further out. Perhaps some of the seas surrounding the islands could stay shallower for longer instead of dropping off as they do.

I was really excited for the introduction of row boats but hardly ever use them. Except for The Devils Roar, do any of you use them regularly and if so, what for?

Perhaps the sloop could have a drop keel. An extra control on the boat that lets it travel in shallow waters. The down side would be, if it wasn't dropped and you entered a storm, you run the risk of capsizing

@hynieth well I stand corrected. Still, I think having to be more cautious in navigating around islands would be a good addition to the game.

@galactic-geek I'm not actually convinced that they are unbalanced, but there have been a number of posts asking for sloop speed increases which is what led to this thought. Either way, I think it would be a good way to add to the depth of the game with the binus that it might quite the complaints about balance.

@william-flint What would be nice to have a galleon use more caution is to have more underwater rocks, ones that are too deep for a sloop but that can hit a galleon, and just do a large hole of damage when hit in stead of a small hole that you get now.

@guybrush3pwood2 we use rowboats all the time. To drop off treasure while the rest of the crew carries on. For a last ditch escape with the treasure. And most importantly for sneaky boarding actions or as a fireship when loaded with explosives.

@william-flint I can see the benefit of the last one. I guess, as it hangs off the back it could be lowered into the water loaded with powder and steered into a chasing boat. You do run the risk of the barrels being sniped though.
I guess, nearly all the fights I end up having are moving battles. I very rarely sneak up on something stationary, unless you are attacking a very unobservant crew I would have thought they would see you coming.
Perhaps sneaking up on someone currently doing a skull fort could work. They're more likely to be occupied and not see you coming.

@galactic-geek Thank God tho, if balance was perfect that would be special, and to achieve balance you need feedback (complaints).
That doesn't mean that this should blindly be accepted.

@guybrush3pwood2 skull forts are the primary use. A few times we have taken out a ship that was waiting off an outpost to ambush us when we turned in, by sailing past the outpost and while there were focused on the ship rowing the explosives in. Also if there is a lot of loot at stake and you are desperate you can use yourel ship as the fireship, putting the explosives belowdeck in the front of the hold. Ram the opponent, fire a pistol into the barrels. Now no one has a spawn point. If you can kill their crew before they kill yours you can make off with the loot in the rowboat. Have also had success when we were anchored at an island using the rowboat and explosives to intercept a ship that was heading in to attack us. You might be suprised how easy it is to miss them in the waves.

Also there us the Athenas use of the rowboat: dispatching a crewmate or two to take care of quests on islands right next to each other while the rest of the crew heads to further away ones.

@galactic-geek true. But if you can adress a complaint while adding to the depth of the gameplay it's a win/win.

I really like this idea, but it's definitely a very delicate change. It would involve changing the actual model of the galleon, unless you'd rather it just sit lower in the water, which introduces the possibility of balance issues depending if it allows mid-level holes to 'activate' sooner

I'm not one to care particularly about the realism aspect. Realism is great and all, but I'd gladly throw it out the window for a more fun/better balanced game.

I do absolutely agree that sloops have lost a little bit of their advantages by virtue of harpoons functionally increasing the maneuverability of larger ships (this is much less pronounced with brigs, but still also the case). The maneuverability advantage of harpoons does generally only occur when near islands/rocks/etc, so forcing galleons (and to a lesser extent, brigs) to sit farther away from islands (and indirectly, to make larger turns around them) is an appropriate adjustment to maintain the agility benefits of the sloop. This also increases the usefulness of rowboats, which, like many have already said, is definitely a good thing.

Either way, I personally think it would be good for the game to expand upon the Sloop's strong points some, since it definitely feels like the most under-powered of the three (and this comes from someone who regularly uses sloops to sink galleons and brigs)