The problem with "Ship Battles" and how to fix them.

  • zRise OG
    Founder

    Ahoy there landlubbers,

    To be a successful pirate you need to have mastered the art of Naval Combat, the problem is there is no real point to sinking another crew's vessel, sure sometimes you might get some Chests etc but other than that rare circumstance you end up wasting 15 mins (Due to the ease somebody can repair their ship mid fight) in an albeit fun but pointless battle.

    So how can we make it so that Ship Battles are not only fun but rewarding as well, In my opinion there are several avenues we could go down in order to accomplish this:

    Battle Reputation/Commendations
    The reputation system is cool and is an awesome grind, something alot of games nowadays are missing, nothing comes easy in sea of thieves and thats what makes people either love it or hate it, however i was slightly disappointing to see no commendations to do with combat, commendations linked to goals such as:

    • Ships Sunk
    • Cannon Balls Hit
    • Pirates Killed (Individual challenges for each weapon?)

    Gold rewards for sinking other ships
    If a fixed sum of money was awarded to a player after successfully sinking another ship it would give players the incentive to 'Stay and fight' rather than run away.

    This reward system could also tie into the Reputation system as mentioned earlier, maybe the higher the total reputation of the crew the more money their ship is worth when destroyed in combat.

    Wooden Planks & Ship Health
    I think the amount of time it takes in order to sink another Galleon may be a little off, now i like longer ship battles so that's not the problem however i think the fact that a battle in its current state is more like a war or attrition rather than a war of skill and aim, my recommendation for this would be to increase the time it takes in order to 'Board Up' holes in the hull, that way during a battle the trick isn't to just simply send a crew member into the Hull and hope you have more planks than your adversary.

    As of right now these are all the things i could think of, i may update this thread in the future if more idea come to mind, i want this to be a constructive thread so if you're coming here to tell us all how you think the game is bad, you wont be entertained.

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  • killermajaro

    Just add fire to the game lol, that would make it a lot harder to repair ships when they're burning while trying to throw buckets of water over it all, they will be throwing the water down below back down below once it hits deck

  • Bowtie Squatch
    Castaway

    @killermajaro said in The problem with "Ship Battles" and how to fix them.:

    Just add fire to the game lol, that would make it a lot harder to repair ships when they're burning while trying to throw buckets of water over it all, they will be throwing the water down below back down below once it hits deck

    This is an Idea I could get aboard with!

  • zRise OG
    Founder

    @killermajaro That is a pretty good idea, not only would it make it harder to repair you ship but it would also add another use for the water bucket other than throwing it at Skeletons.

  • killermajaro

    @zRise-OG Hey hey hey! you can puke in buckets atm aswell! don't forget that.

  • mMetal Wizardm
    Founder

    I can get behind longer repair times.

  • Bieltan
    Seafarer

    @killermajaro said in The problem with "Ship Battles" and how to fix them.:

    @zRise-OG Hey hey hey! you can puke in buckets atm aswell! don't forget that.

    And then throw it at people to blind them...

  • killermajaro

    @bieltan said in The problem with "Ship Battles" and how to fix them.:

    @killermajaro said in The problem with "Ship Battles" and how to fix them.:

    @zRise-OG Hey hey hey! you can puke in buckets atm aswell! don't forget that.

    And then throw it at people to blind them...

    Yep, though would you bring puke to a gun fight? You must be one crazy seadog.

  • Alymon
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    Alot of good ideas there OP. I don't necessarily agree with awarding gold for sinking a ship, but I like the idea of titles associated with PvP activities.

  • zRise OG
    Founder

    @alymon Could i ask why you dont like the idea of getting gold from sinking ships, i just figured you should get something from Ship battles, this being a Pirate game and all.

  • Alymon
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @zrise-og Absolutely! You can ask me whatever you want. :)

    My opinion here, but I think it would encourage more PvP.

    I am one of those players that loves PvE, loves Co-op and only loves getting involved in PvP in a limited capacity. Most times when I run into other players, I avoid them, hide, or jump on their ship and play instruments at them. I don't want other people to have more incentive to kill me than they already have.

    The titles associated with PvP stuff that I liked in your original post kind of is counterintuitive to what I just said and may seem a bit hypocritical, but I like the idea of being able to identify those that are heavier into PvP by their title/appearance. So it's sort of a double-edged sword on that one.

    I do think that ship battles tend to be more about running away for most people though and that some tweaking might change that for the better. I especially like your feedback on the ship repair piece and agree about the battle of attrition comment.

  • SSG Felony

    @zrise-og said in The problem with "Ship Battles" and how to fix them.:

    @alymon Could i ask why you dont like the idea of getting gold from sinking ships, i just figured you should get something from Ship battles, this being a Pirate game and all.

    Because "Ships" don't drop gold. how would this appear? a Mario style coin floating in the air? although I think all their planks cannonballs and Banana's barrels should float up. As well as any chests they might have collected.

  • D0mInAT0rXXX
    Marauder
    Insider

    @alymon I can 100% agree with you. Although with my crew we have sunk 27 ships and only lost 1. A lot of you may not believe me but that’s fine so that’s where appearance for ships that show more pvp focused players would be amazing. If someone sinks us they would normally get somewhere around 17chests and a few skulls when we are fully loaded. They need something better than just the loot that they get when we sink.

    My suggestion would be to add killmails that way you know who you sunk and also what ship you sunk (if legendary).

  • B H SNIP3R
    Founder

    So, I saw a flaw in getting gold when sinking ships, and here it is. You would be surprised on how many players and crews would gather up and work together to sink each other ships to "Farm" gold and or reputation. If there was a system that could stop this I would 100% go for this idea, the other ideas that you proposed I like.

  • Im Axis Rahl
    Marauder
    Insider

    I've seen a lot of people ask for a "Ships Sunk" stat or tally. Not against it myself, but I see an issue with it that no one else has mentioned.

    There are many ways to get holes in a ship. How do you determine if you sunk a ship with your cannon ball or if they had a hole from running aground? If they run aground trying to fight you, do you get credit for the holes it causes? What if they somehow blow up one of their own gunpowder barrels? Who gets credit for that?

  • Capt Baguette

    Yaar,

    Good idea @zRise-OG
    How to avoid the extra pvp incentive?

    Have a ranking system that 'seperates' casuals and harcores. Hardcore kills casual: harcore gets a (heavy) penalty.

    Come on: ranking systems Rare, wake up.
    For now: no stats, but x number of chest sold or just 'gold earned'... no fame, no restrictions no penalties, Ziltch... What do you expect? Players with 35+ years of experience keep telling you that you're headed into a wall.

    You will obliterate your casual crowd, unhappy with pve content and harassed by the pvp crowd.
    Your pvp crowd will be left alone with nothing to compete for and will also eventually die out.

    All that being said, the game is great right now!! I am having a super blast. I am sure Rare is super happy too, lost of hype, players, cash flowing in... but

    Nothing ever lasts and I wish this phase could last a little longer^^, it's so rare these days to come across such a great game... Wake up, add competition but make it so that casuals won't be bothered by it and will come back for your 'content updates'.

    Cheers,

  • Lucid Stew
    Founder

    I've not had a chance to test this, but according to other posts I've read, it is possible to bail ships faster than they can possibly take on water using only 1 or 2 crew members. This means a ship can not sink if crewed by people with knowledge of this while they are still alive in the game. And that means the only way to win a ship battle in the future when everyone figures this out is to board and kill, then spawn-kill, the opposing crew until the ship sinks. In other words, ship battles will eventually be a bizarre griefer battle of attrition until they change the rate at which ships flood and/or can be bailed.

  • Nomadical13

    Rankings for PVP and PVE actions would greatly help.
    Adding PVE actions would greatly help.
    "Build your own story" isn't a $60 AAA title.
    Skins are skins are 'that person probably server hopped forts' are who cares? They look cool for a few moments then it's 'so?'
    Ship spawning at nearby islands is terrible.
    Current ship combat penalizes people for having treasure and gives bonuses to those who relentlessly throw their newly spawned ships at you.
    Titles mean the person dug up a lot of boxes. Same with faction skins.
    Game IS fun, for now, but I don't see it lasting three months. Game Pass players will bounce once their trial ends without content. Casual PC will move on when they're bored with the repetitive faction grind. PVP Life will be scarce. Sessions will take longer to load into. Everyone will eventually have all the same skins, and titles.

    Ranking will extend some of the life of the game, but it needs more content. For all those who will spam with 'make your own' 'emergent' 'content is fine', you're entitled to your opinions but you'll be just as bored when the other players required for content to emerge are gone.
    I feel like even though more and more friends are buying the game now, in a couple months it'll be shelved with all the other hype-releases if skins and pretty waves are the only point.

  • Octopus Lime
    Master
    Founder

    @lucid-stew This is how I already fight. I usually board and kill the crew repeatedly until my ship mate can sink them.

  • Sintered Souls

    What ship battles?

    As someone that actually wants to play a pirate game, I've been dismayed to see that after 20 hours of game play, I've seen 4 ships. It's a progressionless, constructionless sandbox with a PvP that was falsely advertised.

  • Blam320
    Legend
    Insider

    @nomadical13 said in The problem with "Ship Battles" and how to fix them.:

    Rankings for PVP and PVE actions would greatly help.
    Adding PVE actions would greatly help.
    "Build your own story" isn't a $60 AAA title.
    Skins are skins are 'that person probably server hopped forts' are who cares? They look cool for a few moments then it's 'so?'
    Ship spawning at nearby islands is terrible.
    Current ship combat penalizes people for having treasure and gives bonuses to those who relentlessly throw their newly spawned ships at you.
    Titles mean the person dug up a lot of boxes. Same with faction skins.
    Game IS fun, for now, but I don't see it lasting three months. Game Pass players will bounce once their trial ends without content. Casual PC will move on when they're bored with the repetitive faction grind. PVP Life will be scarce. Sessions will take longer to load into. Everyone will eventually have all the same skins, and titles.

    Ranking will extend some of the life of the game, but it needs more content. For all those who will spam with 'make your own' 'emergent' 'content is fine', you're entitled to your opinions but you'll be just as bored when the other players required for content to emerge are gone.
    I feel like even though more and more friends are buying the game now, in a couple months it'll be shelved with all the other hype-releases if skins and pretty waves are the only point.

    No no no no NO!

    This isn't a run-of-the-mill, generic shooter game with matchmaking lobbies and ranked. Everything you just listed (save for adjusting ship spawns), if added, would completely ruin the core of what the game is supposed to be. For the last time, do we really have to keep explaining this to every dolt who comes across the game expecting it to be just like every other game out there, but with a pirate-themed skin on?

  • CaptainSloopDog

    @zrise-og

    I like where your head is at, but ship battles really were wars of attrition. In the early days of this type of naval combat, they could go the latter part of a day or two and no one was sunk.

    I like the suggestion by @killermajaro. Adding some sort of fire shot would mix it up and give us a use for buckets.

    What I would also suggest is that as the number of hits increases over a period of time - the length of time to board up the hole increases. So, at first it is easy to repair ... but as the combat draws out - each repair is tougher.

  • Bieltan
    Seafarer

    @killermajaro said in The problem with "Ship Battles" and how to fix them.:

    @bieltan said in The problem with "Ship Battles" and how to fix them.:

    @killermajaro said in The problem with "Ship Battles" and how to fix them.:

    @zRise-OG Hey hey hey! you can puke in buckets atm aswell! don't forget that.

    And then throw it at people to blind them...

    Yep, though would you bring puke to a gun fight? You must be one crazy seadog.

    When else can you load a Puke-Toting Crewmate into a cannon as you yell "READY THE VOMIT CANNON!!"

    This game man...

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