So it seems to be a hot debate amongst my friends. Are the number of "human torpedoes" outrageous? It does seem that the meta is to always send someone overboard with a gunpowder barrel, then have them respawn on the ship. However its a damn fun time.
So is this something you all like and want to keep?
Or should they find a why to tone it down a bit, increase respawn time when not on ship or something similar?
@captain-arcanic yeah I agree... however does that not decrease their respawn time?
From my point of view, I like it, its a load of fun. However, I wish it wasn't so freaking easy... it's kinda become the meta.
Keep it, it is a balance; for the one man sloop with about 4 powder kegs, the for man galleon must consider losing all their loot if the sloop captain has the skills.
Also, solid galleon crews expect it and therefore solo wins are not always guaranteed. Plus the blast doesn’t always sink the vessel.
I love and live by the powder keg; please keep it as is.
Yarrr!!!
@captain-arcanic we’ll technically the blast floats above the carrier and occurs over the carrier and the blasts moves upward, so based on the physics it’s absolutely feasible.
Kinda, plus the solo sloop Captain would be nerfed if he died every time he made the move. As a predominately solo captain I’d be effected, I know that doesn’t matter to anyone but me and, we’ll, every other solo captain that utilizes this tool.
Again, it’s balanced and is part of the uncertainty that comes with being on the sea of thieves.
Cheers
@the-estler said in The human torpedo, good or bad for the game?:
@captain-arcanic we’ll technically the blast floats above the carrier and occurs over the carrier and the blasts moves upward, so based on the physics it’s absolutely feasible.
Kinda, plus the solo sloop Captain would be nerfed if he died every time he made the move. As a predominately solo captain I’d be effected, I know that doesn’t matter to anyone but me and, we’ll, every other solo captain that utilizes this tool.
Again, it’s balanced and is part of the uncertainty that comes with being on the sea of thieves.
Cheers
I understand the balance argument, but not the physics. In this game, you can actually be carrying the barrel when it explodes and take no damage.
Check this out:
An underwater explosion or UNDEX won't absorb the destruction like air does. Learn why an underwater explosion could harm you more than one on land.
Honestly I think a fine way to "nerf" the powder keg strategy, would be to make it so you cant explode the keg under water, or at least make it so it does less damage to a ship when you detonate it on the ship exterior. I personally think its just too easy for players to drop a keg underneath a ship and deal 4 holes of damage risk free... If they made it so a player had to actually board a ship in order to cause a significant blow, it would add a lot more strategy to the use of the keg, those are my initial thoughts, because I do agree the keg strat right now is just too easy, and honestly at the time the use of the keg and ship camp strategy is making cannon warfare somewhat obsolete, and just not worth your time. I would love to see some changes in that direction.
@lonegoatknifer said in The human torpedo, good or bad for the game?:
@captainsloopdog I could keep a ship afloat forever unless someone boards me.
No. No, you could not. Not unless you run. You'll eventually run out of supplies.
I was in an epic battle with a Galleon last night. Broadside to broadside. It was great. But we were low on supplies after fighting off a Sloop and Galleon about 10 minutes earlier at a skull fort. We had to turn tail and run ... and had they got a few more shots on us ... we would have sunk as we were down to 5 boards between us and no cannon balls.
That said, they could do a lot to make ship combat more deadly (reduce the amount of water buckets hold, make repairs take longer, increase water flow, make bigger holes when a place gets hit twice and it requires two or more boards, etc) to compensate for reducing the "ladder spam metagame".
Personally, I like the idea of being able to roll up your ladder. It can be undone by getting shot. If it unfurls in combat, the player can raise it back up, if they have the time (and no one is on the ladder).
If it gets shot by a cannon, you have to repair the ladder before raising it (which leaves you exposed) and gives you another thing you have to focus on.
This makes it more like real life where boarding was done at the end - after cannons injured/incapacitated the crew and ship. Not as the first thing you did and the only viable option for most crews.
PS - Most people don't realize that real ship combat could take hours, if not days, to resolve. Being upset that you can't sink a ship because you hit them with a few cannonballs is absurd. The problem is the game lacks content depth to allow us to damage sails or rigging. Being able to hinder a ship or put it in irons can be a death sentence ... and Rare definitely needs to address this eventually.
@gatorwocky Swimming under a ship and exploding a keg without consequence isnt exactly "high risk high reward", its just too easy for the amount of damage you can do to a ship without even boarding, imo.
@captainsloopdog You're right. I would need at least 2 people to keep the ship afloat forever. As of right now one person can bail water faster than it will ever fill the ship.
The other day I wanted to see just how fast I could bail water out in a sloop, so I put 8 holes in my ship with 2 gunpowder barrels. 6 holes went below the water line and the other two went by the map. I was able to bail and keep the water level in the ship down to the minimal amount.
Yesterday I blew up a galleon but they manged to save themselves because one team member bailed water out while the rest went to kill me. I've save many ships myself, both galleon and sloop, thanks to my handy dandy ocean sized bucket.
@lonegoatknifer - The bucket is the most OP item in the game. Period.
I would definitely not suggest simply making boarding harder without making ship-to-ship combat more effective. I don't think it needs drastic changes ... but it definitely needs some.
There are so many things they could do ... but the content isn't there yet and they won't address the boarding metagame.
I don't want to make it never happen, but I bought a ship about pirates ... and the current meta essentially makes my ship's cannons obsolete.
When I'm FAR more concerned about swimming pirates than I am a fully armed Galleon firing on me ... there is an issue with balance.
@captainsloopdog said in The human torpedo, good or bad for the game?:
- Buckets bail less water;
Absolutely
- Holes let in more water;
I think they let in a reasonable amount of water. It could be a little too overwhelming if it was increased. You still want people to be able to save the ship.
- Holes can be hit more than once to allow more water in;
I'm ok with it but you can already keep people from repairing if you can hit the same spot.
- Repairs take longer;
I think it could feel too tedious if it takes longer.
- Holes slow a ship down considerably;
I could see holes in sails doing that.
- Allow damage to sails;
- Add fire to game (buckets put out fire);
You would need a way to get water while on the ship.
There are so many things they could do ... but the content isn't there yet and they won't address the boarding metagame.
I don't want to make it never happen, but I bought a ship about pirates ... and the current meta essentially makes my ship's cannons obsolete.
When I'm FAR more concerned about swimming pirates than I am a fully armed Galleon firing on me ... there is an issue with balance.
Ideally you have one or two people boarding and the rest on cannons. If you are good with cannons you can take out the crew and put some holes in the ship.
Anatomy of an Underwater Explosion
