Fortunately, the current CCB spawn rate is inflated for the sake of the event. It will be toned down when Cursed Crews ends.

@antagoni-blurr I've been playing from the start a mix of solo and co-op. First it was solo + 3 man galleon (because my crew and I got tired of having a 4th random who was likely to just sabotage), now it's solo or 3 man brig.

I've always been aware that SoT is a co-op game. You're never going to be the best playing solo, and although duo sloop vs. galleon still feels like a pretty slanted fight, sloop vs brig and brig vs galleon don't automatically go to the bigger crew.

My solo sloop play has always been more risk and less reward than my co-op play. I don't get worked up over that, because it's the nature of the game. Having a weapon that trumps player skill (and having a full crew for your boat size) is just boring.

@nayfe-pacewell said in With CCBs, PvP battles are over with the first shot:

@daantjebnl i dont have a problem against ccbs. Easily defended if you learn them thoroughly enough... just practice and eventually you wont even know what you were worried about...

You'll get there padawan

Pro tip: if you need CCB's to shorten a fight you're doing it wrong..."padawan"...

@owl-hisson said in With CCBs, PvP battles are over with the first shot:

So, me and my crew have been playing several nights this weekend, trying to give the new update a fair chance.

It feels like CoD with boats. Boring, tired, and painfully generic.

We win more battles than we lose, but even winning isn't fun anymore. All you have to do is have a reasonably competent crew, fire the first shot, and the other ship/crew is too crippled to do anything except sink as you capitalize the advantage. Was on the receiving end of this a time or two as well, and it was just like ,"Oh, we sank. Whatever." I used to get enjoyment even out of losing, because it meant we had come across a crew that was more skilled or strategic. And it was hard to kill other ships. It was hard for them to sink you too, which led to some great close saves by our crew at times.

I assume that when the rarity increases, this will get unbearable. Victory will go entirely to the ship full of bored legends who have stocked out several hours with anchorballs and peaceballs and are hopped up on magic pineapples and coconuts.

Maybe there are some people who like these things, but I am seriously disappointed. It feels so pointless to even sink ships anymore, since it's no longer remotely a test of skill. All the wind has gone out of my sails.

In all seriousness, I don't see myself playing this game regularly for a lot longer. Pre-update, there was no end in sight. I was (and still am) doing the non-speed running grind to Athena 10, but who knows if I'll finish it. I just don't really care about playing Sea of Warcraft like I loved playing Sea of Thieves.

The first boat I attacked after the last update hit us with a CCB right off the bat. We eventually sank them but contrary to what some think it actually took longer. I did figure out a way to not get hit by them, I stopped playing and uninstalled the game.

For the record, I still don't like cursed cannonballs. I think they're silly. I don't like the way they've tainted what used to be somewhat realistic naval combat. We didn't need magic. Now it's like Dragonball Z in boats. It's annoying and ridiculous and immersion-breaking. Ugh.

That said, some of the posts here have opened my mind a little to the idea of cursed cannonballs being "okay." I mean, obviously I know I have to accept them. And I have, mostly. I don't like them, but since they are now part of the game, I have to use them and be prepared to have them used against me. That's just the way it is, so I may as well try to master them. Their ability to change the tide of any battle is obvious.

I think things will be a bit better once the wretched things are a little less common. On the other hand, that will create even more of a balance issue. Players who are either stubborn enough or lucky enough to find a lot of CCBs will have a distinct advantage. Crews who have been sailing a couple hours and collected a number of CCBs will have a big advantage over fresh ships.

Oh well. I have faith things will improve over time. It's still a great game that I quite enjoy, growing pains and all.

I completly agree, the only way CC could have worked would have been to limit it one per person.

Then the combination of balls a galleon crew could hold would deepen the PvP options, and it is balanced as they NEED to get the one shot. Or have more than one crew mate with the same type.

But the aim of the game is it would be BALANCED once again, instead of broken as it currently is.

This past Saturday was the first day in SoT where the entire day was a PvP day for me. We didn't go out seeking it, but it ended up being that way, it just came to us. And yes, several times others hit us with CCB's of different types, but not once did they cause our ship to sink or us to lose a battle. I had a two man crew on a brig. We went against 4 man galleons, 3 man brigs, sloops. And sometimes more than one ship at a time. The only time we sunk, and it only happened once, was while I was adjusting angle on the wheel and got hit by two well placed, normal canon balls that knocked me off my ship while my partner was on an enemy galleon.

And while we sunk many ships that day, we only used a couple of CCB's, and those were once a rigging, once a helm and once an anchor ball. Did they give us an advantage, yes. But only because we my shipmate is excellent at direct PvP and I am excellent at the helm and on the cannons. But again, we got hit many times with CCB's and not once did we lose our ship as a direct result. We sunk a sloop 3-4 times before they gave up, a galleon 4-5 times before they gave up, and several brigs multiple times as well.

Now, could we end up sinking someday, sure, but when you know how to maneuver your ship to keep it out of the line of fire as much as possible, while keeping the enemy in your line of fire. Then no special cannonball is going to help. I will say, on the day we sink because of a CCB, and I have no doubt it will happen soon, especially after saying all of this LOL, I won't blame the CCB or call it unfair, I will simply say that they outplayed us and I need to get better.

I have mentioned this elsewhere and will repeat myself here. I would like to see a rotation system so only a few, let's say 3 for example, types of cannonballs can be found every week and of course make them rarer. This would afford players some idea of what the opposition might have so it can be played around.

@mith-bosevem said in With CCBs, PvP battles are over with the first shot:

@owl-hisson
And being on the recieving end makes you feel like youve been completely robbed. You see a cursed ball sail through the air and you basically just leave the game because there is nothing you can do other than maybe give them a hard time.
Anchorball = GG
One ball to rule them all.

I have to agree with this because it happened to me.

I was solo slooping and a Galleon was chasing me. They were firing all kinds of cannonballs at me and missing - not the best crew. But, they managed to tag the very back of my ship with an Anchor ball and it was over. A normal cannonball would've done very little damage where they hit me - it was a bad shot, but it was an anchor ball. Now, I didn't do any of the Skelly Ship battles where the Anchor Ball was in play, so I didn't realize that it not only drops the anchor, but there's a time where you can't interact with it. So, you're just dead in the water. As soon as they saw me stop, they were out of my firing arc, they stopped and unloaded on me. Done. I died, respawned and they were bucketing my ship to keep it afloat. I killed the bucketeer, and was able to board them and fought with the other three, but... I was done - from one lucky, badly placed anchor ball shot.

If CCs are going to be as available as Joe Neate mentioned in the Weekly Stream, there will be a lot of them out there.

@bran-the-ent I have a different read of the scenario that you later out. It sounds to me like you were being chased by a larger ship with a full well coordinated crew that had taken time to prepare for a fight. You had every possible disadvantage stacked against you and lost. I see that as a "well played" situation, not an indictment of the ammunition.

I do get the frustration but this scenario is one of the reasons many in the community wanted something like this. With no way to get an opposing ship to grips a chase continues until frustration for all involved. I would recommend spending some time thinking about how you could have used the new ammo to escape situations like this.

@strinder No. Being that you weren't there, I doubt you could fairly "read" anything of anything. You can project what you think based on your preconceived notions (and apparent frustrations with chasing), but that's all in your head and has no bearing on reality. I can definitely tell you that a well coordinated crew they were not - I've been sunk by well coordinated crews, and I've always thought, "fair cup, they did well," and, I've been playing long enough to know the difference. If they were, they wouldn't have wasted the vast number of cannonballs fired well short of me prior to getting the lucky anchorball on the rear of the sloop. An even remotely well coordinated crew wouldn't have let me easily kill them as they blissfully bucketed, nor would they have been so blind as to fail to realize I jumped off my ship after the kill and boarded their ship. After they were done sinking, one of them ignorantly said, "Okay... now let's look for survivors," but I was already on board sword lunging one of them on the back balcony. These folks were not very bright, but managed to barely land an anchor ball.

I'd recommend you know what you're on about before being condescending.

@antagoni-blurr said in With CCBs, PvP battles are over with the first shot:

As a mainly solo player, CCB's are fantastic! I am finally a viable opponent in PVP, which was NEVER the case in more than a 2 on 1 situation pre-CCB. Fact is, I engage in a lot more pvp now instead of just running, because I feel like it's no longer just a numbers game.

Seems to me the people most vocal about not liking CCB's are the PVPers who were previously able to just dominate others with superior numbers. Now that it's not so easy for them, the game must be broken...

A cursed cannonball should not be a replacement for skill. Playing solo on a sloop should be more difficult and not balanced. This is why CCB's ruined the game.

people made fun of me when i made posts saying these things would break the game...
they better be suuuuper rare after the event. But yes, well said, agree w OP

I actually don't believe that making them more rare than they are now would make them more balanced.

Maybe I am wrong, but it seems the people most upset are the hardcore PvP players that have some misguided belief that there is a right way to PvP and a wrong way. The game design, lore and all, point closer to Pirates of the Caribbean than they do any other pirate show/movie fantasy that you might have. PotC had witches and items of great magic. We are simply seeing more of this introduced into our hands for our use.

Please remember this is not just a PvP game. And CCB's are just one more tool available for attackers and defenders alike. It will take some time to get used to them, but they are not the end of the game. Maybe for some they will be, but there are just as many people that love them as those that hate them.

I have had gaming sessions start where before I even left the bar my ship was gun powdered, does that make gun powder kegs unfair? I have also had situations where I tried to use gun powder as a defense and failed. And then there are those occasions where it worked. But all in all, it was just one tool to be used in a fight. I can remember when I used to just leave the server when faced with PvP because I knew the outcome was not going to be good for me. Now, I tend to face it head on more often than not. I am still not strong at straight up hand to hand PvP (no matter which gun I chose it never seems to end well, and sword play I lose more often than not) but I am really good with ship angles and my cannon. Still, I don't tend to use the CCB's, mostly because I forget to. But when I am solo, it gives me one advantage over my foe and is especially a welcome one when it is me vs a galleon with 3-4 peeps on board. It evens the playing field some.

And while these new tools are really fun, they are just that, one more tool that introduces one more way to go about combat.

the combination of the new looting system and the cursed cannon balls make it hard to enjoy this game. I really dislike the latest update.

I don't think cursed cannon balls were a needed addition
I don't think the new looting system or inventory system was a needed addition
I don't think new food types are a needed addition

The issue with these "improvements" are that they add either annoying mechanics or make fights uneven.

The good thing about this game was that skill was the differentiating factor with pvp. Everyone is equal with their tools.

Now cursed cannon balls takes that away and gives the difference to the person that has the right cannon ball. Skill is no longer what separates the winners and losers. Add a looting system that slows you down in moments where timing is critical and you get a system that is un-enjoyable for most.

just my $.02

@bran-the-ent First, not condescending just pointing out that there is more at play here than one anchor ball. Second, they obviously had brought more people to the fight and came prepared which shows some level of preplanning. Third, they were able to coordinate enough to take advantage of the hit they made. Fourth, those shots that fell short likely allowed them to range their shots and hit you. Blaming the loss entirely upon "one lucky hit" is a mischaracterization given all the information you gave us.

Again I realize the frustration of losing a fight, especially if you feel cheated. I would once again recommend that you take a step back and consider what you might have done differently.

I would also point you to @antagoni-blurr and his post comments earlier in this post. As a fellow often solo slooper I agree with his sentiments that using CCB's wisely can allow you to stand toe to toe and punch above your weight if used properly.

@strinder Come shoot first at me and see what happens ARRRRRR!@!!!@@!!!!

it was already like that because the vast majority of crews are terrible, then you hit a decent crew and it catches you off guard...

CCBs aren't insta win it just makes that "good" crew that can defend against the curses harder to find.

I'm not just a PvP player. My gameplay since hitting PL has been about 20% intentional PvP, 30% solo sloop, and 50% brig Athenas. Me and my crew are super organized, been playing regularly together for months. We know how to use the CCBs and the inventory. My disappointment is not from being bad at the game, or not knowing how to play the new mechanics. It's the fact that stun-lock sinking is boring on both ends of the cannon.

@strinder Live the dream. I have no interest in going through every minute detail to dissuade you from the reality you’ve manufactured. Pre-planning, brought more people... lol. It was a Galleon and CCs are a dime a dozen. And, it’s not difficult to get into an advantageous position when the ship you’re attacking can’t move, genius. Wow. Just... just stop.

And, stop projecting. Frustration is a word you brought into the conversation. The only thing frustrating here is your asinine commentary on a scenario about which you know nothing.

And nothing that you’ve said changes any of the facts I stated about CCs. Unless you have come up with some magic way to turn a ship with the anchor down.

@urihamrayne The spawn rate on CCs is what it is due to the event. The spawn rate will definitely be decreasing - this was confirmed by Joe Neate last week. To what, exactly, we don’t know. As far as losing the battle anyway... no, nope... nope. If that anchor ball had been a foot to the left or a slight degree higher, it would’ve missed. If it was a regular cannonball and hit where it did, it would’ve been some time before I even needed to think about repairing - it was that bad a shot. CCs require less skill to incapacitate a ship - only one lucky shot by any yahoo who is lucky enough to nick the corner of the broadside of a barn.

@urihamrayne said in With CCBs, PvP battles are over with the first shot:
If you lost a fight and cursed cannoballs where used, it is more than likely you would have lost if cursed cannoballs didn't exist as well.

This is 100% not true, and you're deceiving yourself if you think so. The whole point of this thread is the fact that CCBs decide the outcome of a battle as soon as the first shot lands. Because if two competent-or-better crews battle, the one who lands the first curse will win. Even if one crew is just decent, and the other is amazing, if the decent crew hits first, they can follow it up while the amazing crew is stunlocked, their ship is stunlocked, and their chickens are drowning. It's not hard to do, and it. is. boring. Zero fun in sinking a ship that way. Zero fun being sunk that way. At least previously, being sunk meant the other crew was more crafty, now it just means they landed the first hit.

@urihamrayne said in With CCBs, PvP battles are over with the first shot:

@bran-the-ent it could have been a boarder that shot himself and may or may not have managed to hit your boat, may or may not have hit your anchor and may or may not have prevented you from raising it. The point is the outcome of the battle wouldn't be different if cursed cannoballs didn't exist. They do exist now, and if they were such bad shots, as you said, you could have probably used a ccb of your own, or even used boarding tactics to stop them on their tracks. All of this is anecdotal, irrelevant and none of my concerns, only truth here is that you people are blowing this out of proportion, when there is no real threat.

It takes a lot of practice and skill to be able to efficiently board a boat and drop the anchor, especially when that boat is moving. You could miss the ladder or get killed climbing the ladder or while making your way to the anchor. Sometimes they could catch the anchor in time and kill you. If you missed or died, it meant your crew had to make due without you for a short time. Now all you need to do is land one hit. There is zero risk now in attempting to anchor another boat. There is no possibility of being without one of your crew while he or she is dead or out in the water.
CCB's are replacing the need for skill. It's nothing less than silly.

I quite like ccb they add something different to battles

Personally feel they need to lower the amount you can store. Should be max 300 cannonballs total maybe even go as far as to say 1 ccb takes up 10 standard cannon ball spaces.

Decrease how many you can find

I also think there needs to be either repercussions to using them so if you fire and hit an anchor ball then you get hit by a random player ball.

Or just some way to counter ccb maybe introduce some kind of orb that if your ship has it on board then you don't get affected

Personally prefer former though cause it means people will think twice about using ccb

Regardless what they do I'm getting a little fed up with this whole just releasing something, wait for feedback then alter over the coming weeks because the game then becomes annoying till its fixed

Much as I dislike the whole concept of the cursed cannonballs, in practice they haven't been quite as bad as I feared. I have to confess they make for some interesting moments. Mind you, I still don't like them. But I'm adapting.