Thank you Rare - The Weapon Changes are Great!

Great post. My two cents:

As someone who has at one time or another used every weapon combination possible in the game, and someone who mostly prefers sniper/pistol, I can still appreciate the change to make every weapon viable, for its own distinct purposes, allowing people to use different loadouts as they wish and be able to hold their own against another player with a similar, or completely different loadout. With that being said:

I don't think this was actually accomplished in this update. The buff to the sword makes it silly not to carry one, just as the previous stats of the EoR made it silly not to carry one. It feels great to swipe with the sword and be able to move more freely but by adding this buff while keeping the swordstun the same, it is extremely difficult to fight outnumbered unless you can spread your enemies out.

Example, if you board a galleon and run for the anchor, and three of them rush you with swords, you have no chance once that first slice hits you and you're locked into place. You can't outheal the damage and you can't escape. Sure, you can block, but eventually one or more of those players is going to circle you and take you out from behind.

I speak as someone who looks for (and thoroughly enjoys) PvP but if you want to look at this from the perspective of someone who tries to avoid PvP, or plays on a solo sloop, it's going to be a lot harder to defend your ship on your own than it was before.

I know double gun was hated, and I'm not saying it didn't need to be changed, but with double gun, you had to actually land your shots. If you missed your shots, you were penalized by the 3 second reload time. Now with the sword, there is no penalty at all for missing your sword swipe...so spamming a button over and over is all it takes.

So as I said, while I agree that it's a good idea to have each weapon have their own use and purpose, I feel like Rare has still missed the mark here, and some additional tweaks are necessary to make weapons feel truly balanced.

@mortarchelle I get that. I definitely enjoy the new utility of the cutlass, but like you said perhaps it could become a matter of winning in combat by spamming a button. I can see that.

I suppose we'll have to see how it plays out in the coming weeks. The guns are definitely in the right place now IMO, but perhaps they'll need to do something about the cutlass stunlock effect. That never really felt right anyway. It may be a good way to balance it without undoing the long overdue cutlass buff.

Agreed!
As someone who ended up being a cutlass/EoR pirate (although, I also regularly switched to blunderbuss in certain situations and used it with much success - despite the majority of people not realizing a pirate could still do so)... I LOVE the changes made, especially to the EoR.

The hip fire inaccuracy is so fantastic. It's exactly what was needed. I'm so glad they went that route instead of not allowing hip fire, or limiting to melee and range combos only (never believed they would do that). The weapon draw times are great.

Combat in this pirate fantasy game was always best when it was slower - it allows more character and exchanges to happen. I think these changes absolutely steer the gameplay in a way that truly matches the design of this game... and it makes it more fun!

I say all of this as someone that plays MANY hours as a solo sloop pirate.
Last night, I had a galleon pull up on me while I was messing around in the clothing and vanity chests... I ended up slaughtering and sinking them.
Yeah, I'd imagine it was easier using double-gun... haha, go figure... but these changes are fantastic.
(And, to be perfectly honest... being a solo pirate and NOT having to dodge double-gunning exploiters is a major bonus - not a detriment)

Without a doubt the re-balancing is the best part of this update. Pirates fought with swords. Every pirate fantasy is a pirate with a sword. So finally having the cutlass be not just viable, but what should be every pirates primary weapon of choice is fantastic.

I love the fact that all of the re-balancing means that skill is now more important than ever. Now you have to make a conscious choice of which weapons to wield in every situation. You can't rely on the old habits of EoR and Flint Lock or EoR and cutlass. Last night I had a brig crew try to harass me. My ship to ship skills have always been good, but direct PvP I was not great at. I sunk the brig 3 times and killed every pirate on their ship at minimum twice, and one of them 4 times. Before, I would have been overpowered, and lost. Or would have given up believing I didn't have a chance. Instead, it took them three tries before they finally sunk my ship. And even after that I boarded theirs, killed on of them, and ate almost all their bananas. LOL.

Why, because I actually was finally able to use movement in and out of battle, and because the cutlass was actually useable.

Great post and yes great weapon changes. The weapons and combat feel better. Love the feel of the cutlass. It has returned to being important again as it should be. The changes were necessary and long overdue.

Feel more like we are pirates again on the high seas and not in the old west. All the weapons have meaning and a true purpose like Rare said they wanted them to. There may be tweaks along the way, but I am sure that will be ok.

Thanks Rare!

@nofears-fun

How things were for us last night. We are back to swinging swords and relying on skill, luck, and the fickleness of the sea. Not battling some exploit that became an infestation. Let’s all work to keep that way.

@x-crowheart-x
Agreed, all around, but I just feel the need to say that the cutlass has always remained important... but I know what you meant! ;) Obviously, it will regain prominence among the majority of players again, with these changes. :)

Still... three cheers to all those who've always kept to the ways of the sword! :D
May our experience shine in the renewed melee engagements!