Skeleton ships

Lol, please dont... not to bad to destroy. If u have a cursed cannon ball, use that, it will help.

Their was people doing the Cursed Sails event with sloop with success. Are you refering to the individual ships or tackling the Ship cloud? I ask because I could understand tackling the cloud while slooping being difficult, not impossible though. However, if you are refering to the solo roaming ships, I disagree whole heartily.

I sank two this morning, one after the other, solo. No help whatsoever. They are not impossible.

I’ve sunk twice - both times having them rise from the depths immediately after I left the dock out of Golden Sands at the beginning of my session - no CCs to be found. I have also sunk a couple, but I’ve been more prepared. I can understand it being difficult if you’re new. A tip is to immediately engage and try to use the maneuverability of the Sloop to your advantage. If you can anchor them, swing the ship in an arc around them, and you can put several holes in before they can even hit you once.

It’s not easy, but solo slooping ain’t meant to be easy.

I feel the new emergent encounters may need a bit of a tweak, but they don’t need to be removed.

@itslukewarm99 said in Skeleton ships:

PLEASE GET RID OF THEM!!!! They are impossible to destroy with a sloop and they are very annoying. GET RID OF THEM!!!!!!

@AceBead40319154

as acebeard said any meny meny others there easy to sink

but unlike acebeard u dont need curse cannon balls me and my dad sunk 2 in a row with only normal cannon balls :) and ive fought a meg + a skele ship then a kraken after that on a solo sloop its quite fun :) only thing that me find anoying on the seas is other pirates XD (not all just the nasty pirates)

I normally duo on a Brig, but I have also sunk a few while solo on a Sloop and a Brig.

The only frustrating experience I have had with the new system was two-manning a brig and we were spammed with Grog-Balls. Literally every 2-3 shots was a Grog-Ball, so we were non-stop drunk until we sunk. I am not complaining about this as we allowed ourselves to get caught in that situation, lol.

ya only complate ive got is the unlimmited curse balls the skele have me mean there barrels have suplys they shoud be using them up not having unlimmited ammo :thinking:

Most of the roaming ones have explosive barrels in them and they are extremely easy to destroy in a sloop

@meltdown-666366 really? ive yet to see 1 with a keg in it ....then a gen me dont noramly board them in till after we fired a few cannon balls so that mite be y

@monkeybee11 You haven't found one with a keg? All the roaming ones I fought had kegs in them.

Soloing in the sloop, all you need is one or two GPBs and have the skeleton ship chase you. They'll sink almost instantly.

@itslukewarm99 said in Skeleton ships:

PLEASE GET RID OF THEM!!!! They are impossible to destroy with a sloop and they are very annoying. GET RID OF THEM!!!!!!

I'm sorry you are having a difficult time with the skelly ships. If you are talking about the ones that just appear at random out at sea - they really aren't that difficult to take down. Some are a tad time consuming, but can't you just either avoid them or plan ahead and whallop them with cursed cannon balls etc?
If you speak of the skelly ship cloud/alliance battle, I would avoid that altogether if you aren't prepared for a six ship battle - alone.

I personally love the skelly ships and find them a lot of fun! :-D

Me and my wife solo'd did a skelly cloud last night in a sloop.

It takes a while but wasn't too hard. I've done it solo before but it was rather stressful and again took a while. I also missed some of the loot due to the lack of staff hahaha!

Remember to try and position yourself behind their ship whenever possible and load up on supplies before you get there.

Please don't try and get content removed though, just because you can't do it. Do something else, there so much to do in the world.

I wonder if I was just really lucky, or if I'm better at the game than I thought I was, but I've successfully killed two and they have never sunk my ship.

The kraken is another story though. When the water turns black, I just turn my Xbox off. After all that time collecting resources, it's all just gone in an instant. Wish they wouldn't spawn on small crews.

It takes me literally 1 Gunpowder barrel and less than 5 minutes to take them down.

Do you want Rare to get rid of skeletons on islands too? What's up with people and giving up at the first sign of struggle?

@monkeybee11 said in Skeleton ships:

ya only complate ive got is the unlimmited curse balls the skele have me mean there barrels have suplys they shoud be using them up not having unlimmited ammo :thinking:

I don't have an issue with them having Unlimited Ammo / Cursed Canon Balls., but they are poorly balanced (especially given how powerful they can be) to where they can effectively be spammed by either Players or Skeleton Ships.

With this said I'd also argue that their acquisition (i.e. Randomly appearing within the Game World) isn't something that I think is really a great approach.

What I'd like to see would be to take a similar approach to Ability-Based Games., where-in the usage of the Cursed Cannonballs have a Cool-Down Period between Shots.
Say for example 30s (as a starting point), which might seem low but I'd also recommend the introduction to of a (per Cannon) De-Buff System.

Where-in each Shot, within 8s results in +1 Overloaded Stack.
This should increase the Cannon Spread by +2.5% and Blowout by +8.0%... meaning that firing in Rapid Succession results in Lower Accuracy and a chance for the Cannon to be "Unusable" until it is Repaired (say a 12s Repair).
Cursed Balls should add +2 Stacks and increase the Cooldown Timer by Double.

Now this would actually resolve a few problems that Sea of Thieves has., first it would stop the Cursed Ball Spam, which could lead to Stun Lockouts.
Secondly it works as a deterrent for common Code Injection Cheats (such-as Rapid Fire / Instant Reload Cannons), especially if this is handled Server-Side as opposed to Client-Side in terms of tracking (which most MMORPGs do, for... well the very reason to prevent such Cheating).
Thirdly it actually adds a layer of Depth to the Naval Combat., where instead of simply Firing "As Fast as Possible" instead you're trying to hit an "Ideal Reload-Fire" Timing, which would be entirely detached from the Framerate (thus negate input lag).

If this also was used "Per Side" to where, each Additional Cannon being Fired also added Minor Overload Stacks... not only would it encourage more coordination by larger Crews / Ships but it could be used to both better Balance current Ships (Sloop, Brig, Galleon) but also open the doors to variations or new Ships in-regards to allowing for a Trade-Off between Damage-over-Time / Tank / Alpha.

It's a "Small" Change overall but could be used to great effect for balancing.
Still I still argue in favour of some additional elements beyond this., such-as the Addition of Cargo Barrels (100 Cargo / 20 Slots / +10 Weight)
Cargo Chests (50 Cargo / 10 Slots / +5 Weight)
Cargo Crates (10 Cargo / 2 Slots / +1 Weight)

Each Ship should of course start with 4/8/12 Respectively, but they shouldn't be Pre-Defined in what they hold, instead the Players (Crew) themselves can set the 'Cargo Type' symbol on them as well as move them about the Ship as they see fit.
Either leaving them "Loose" or putting them in a "Battened Down" Position (these being pre-defined for each ship)., with those that are loose; and this should be true for Chests / Crates sliding about the ship.

Extra Barrels / Chests / Crates should be Purchasable from the Shipwright, or rarely discovered on Islands (intact), or appear as Flotsam following the sinking of a Player / NPC Ship.

I'd also add "Shot" as a new Resource, with the Ammo Crate basically holding 10 "Reloads" (i.e. 10x5 Shot),. which could be replenished via the Gunpowder Barrel.
The same should be true for the Grog Barrel., so this would become in essence a "Respawn / Crew Lives"... it could remain Unique, with it being Replenished either via Visiting a Tavern and Purchasing a "Refill Barrel" or the usage of a Barrel of 1,000 Grogs.
Once dry, instead of Respawning on the Ship,. you respawn at the Nearest Outpost.

When you're ship sinks, it respawns your crew at a Random Outpost,. with the Addition of said Outpost having a "Drydock" that slowly builds a new Ship (say over 120s / 2min) once requested from the Shipwright (and if Multiple Crews are on the Island, then this would occur on a First-Come, First-Serve Basis).
I'd also suggest that the "Scuttle Ship" option within the Barge of the Damned, doesn't just Scuttle the Ship; but transfers the Crew to a new Server Instance (with "Alive" Crewmates being transported when they use the Mermaid / Die)

In addition to this there could be a new "Damned Lantern" that's in the Galley / Captain's Quarters,. which is refilled via Skulls... that limits the number of Mermaid Teleports back to the Ship (until it's Replenished).

A lot of this would actually resolve some key issues that the game has had since launch, that have had numerous "Respawn" Balance Changes., but nothing that actually addresses the fundamental behaviour. Where-as what the above suggestions do, is without changing the current Gameplay Loop., said limitations instead add a Risk-Vs-Reward approach to actions.

I mean if you can't simply infinitely respawn, then Battles of Attrition won't take Hours but instead 15-30Min... without the ability rapidly "Return-to-Action" then a lot of Engagements become more "1 Shot", but also give the Victims not just the Aggressors a chance for a Respite to Repair, Heal, Resupply, Evade and/or Regroup.

Without the ability to infinitely use the Mermaids, the tactic of "Fling Ourselves at an Enemy ship until we can get on-deck to Spawn Camp" becomes something that need more planning., else result in your Ship being down in Manpower / Adrift.

With the addition of Weight resulting in Slowing-Down Ships Laden with Treasure / Supplies., this means that it becomes easier to not just catch but KNOW if a Ship is even worth chasing for some actual Pirating as opposed to Murder / Harassment.

If Supplies are substantially reduced in their World Spawn Rates, primarily being discovered in damaged Supply Piles / Beaches... but a reasonably guaranteed drop from other Ships,. with the primary means of acquiring said Supplies from Outposts (for Gold); then this not only gives Gold much greater value (and purpose to acquire) but also means that even "Worthless" Supplies gain some value worth pursuing / acquiring.

With such, I'd argue that Cosmetic Upgrades should be shifted from being "Earned via Gold" and instead Earned through Achievements / Commendations. Thus being more "Badges of Honour" as opposed to simply being a result of Playing Longer and becoming Rich.

I mean I was talking with my friend about how awesome would it be that you had say for example the "Hunter" Sets., you acquired a "Shark Tooth" form each Megalodon Kill (on top of the Treasure)., which were then traded in for Reputation as a "Shark Hunter" that would unlock Tiers (like the Traders) to have access to said Outfits... and with a Random Drop from each "Special" Meg that would allow you to dye said Clothes so that their Accents Glowed the same as the Colour of said Meg; or some other effect, like maybe the Shadowmaw could give you a black mist (like Reaper's Winter Outfit in Overwatch).

It isn't that far removed from the current "Grind-tastic" approach of the Pirate Legend / Athena nonsense; but it would feel much more involved and achievement as opposed to Arbitrary Grind... which would greatly improve the sense of accomplishment, as well as personal appeal; again as opposed to a more general appeal that is more "Meh" for most people.

I mean you look at the "Success" (or more engagement) from the Commendations System, and it's clear as blasted day which approach is more appealing to the Player Base.
Consider why Fortnite is as popular as it is... because the Core Game Loop is Enjoyable? Well, sure... but then really so is Sea of Thieves.

So, what does make Fortnite so appealing to keep coming back to play over-and-over?
Simple... it has A LOT of Short-Term Goals., completion of which actually greatly accelerates the Long-Term Seasonal Goal.
On top of this there's a constant sense of Progression., so rather than a Reputation Bar that barely moves (without a seriously large time commitment) with completely detached rewards that are very sparsely granted; you have connected (thematically) Cosmetics that are accrued reasonably often as well as the myriad of smaller goals that constantly shift your focus / engagement to the various activities / gameplay elements.

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Now the last element I'll cover are the Cursed Balls... while they've been a great addition., there has been an odd focus on Quantity over Quality.
I'd like to see Rare overhaul them to where there are fewer, but that they're more unique and creative.

The other thing I'd like to see would be for there to be the addition of Curse Ball Forges., so instead of simply randomly finding them... Crews would first acquire a "Curse Skull" from the Pirate Captains around the World, then Travel to and using it on the Forge.
This would then not only send a Beacon into the Clouds above (say a Cloud with the Pattern of the Curse projected onto them) while the Forge is active for all the other ships to see., but trigger a Survival Horde Mode, where-in you have to hold out until the Forge Completes it's Production Task; with Skeletons that are afflicted with a related Curse (so say, their hits make you drunk., prevent you from attacking., hold you still., force you to keep moving forward., etc.)

I think this would be an engaging mechanic to acquire said Curse Balls., making them quite valuable, rare and also something you can specifically focus on acquiring; else simply sell said Skull to the Order of Souls (being of reasonably high value).

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Beyond this, I think the Skeleton Ships are fine... I'd like to see both them AND Megalodon somewhat toned down in their Spawn Rates., instead connecting them as Random / Potential Spawns should a Trigger occur; such-as if you have more than say 10 Pieces of Treasure, then there's a 5% Chance of Spawn; and for each piece beyond that it increases the Chance... for the Megalodon, it's from playing Music / Using Cannons / Shooting / etc. (i.e. making a lot of noise), and the for the Kraken; if you attacked other Crews (Players) enough.

This would make them more reactive to your Actions within the World, with them being Rare until you REALLY DON'T want to be facing them. So, they'd again be a Risk-Vs-Reward element of the World.

Just let me sink about 10 more...

@itslukewarm99 git gud scrub

@leyvin

sry but TLDR ...me will at some point XD but atm it is really to long for me S:
DANG U LETTERS DANCING ON THE SCREEN

but me mean the other day me and dad got shot by 4 weary balls in a row its a mirical that didt sink us XD im glad each random gally is limmited to 1 kind of curseball but its still anoying they have unlimmited amount of them