Here's a friendly warning to have in mind of the games future, regarding a specific NEW item.

  • The item I am concerned about is of course the newly implemented (Black Powder Barrel)

    Please read this warning carefully and take it into consideration. I got over 3,000 hours in this game and I have seen many ups and downs, but this could be one of the greatest decline if not handled in time.

    Let's start from the beginning, from when the item was added. The new (Black Powder Barrel) have more or less replaced the normal (gunpowder Barrel) and that's really not good. The availability of this item is ridiculous!; They are by the shoreline, Skeletons can carry them, Shipwrecks got them, Skeleton ships have like a 100% chance of having one, And by the only way I agree upon to obtain one, is the Smugglers missions.

    Almost all natural conflicts that happens now since this item could be found everywhere is now settled upon a BOOM. This of itself isn't new, it could be done with normal kegs, but the POWER this one have in the short amount of time it takes to find one, compared to collecting the amount needed for the same amount of damage from normal kegs, there's no reason not to go for the new (Black Powder Barrel).

    My experiences

    1. Sneaking (ONE) onto a enemy ship is a guaranteed win.
    2. Getting snuck up on with (ONE) of these is a guaranteed lost.
    3. Emergent skeleton ship battles have lost all its challenge, they practically sink themselves by having those on board.
    4. Noobs could barely handle a normal Keg on board before, and now they always find and carry these around to dangerous situations, if they didn't already blow themselves up before then.

    There is practically no Canon on Canon battles anymore (in a natural setting i mean) not in hourglass. And it's going to get worse, since you have announced that you will be fixing the player encounters issue so to make sure more players will meet naturally. I assure you rare, people will start to notice, and mayhem will endure.

    And here's how to fix this, before your hot fix.

    First, you might remember that there are another overpowered item in the game called (Wraith Balls) Very powerful, so you had to limit the ways one obtained them back then. But the power of those balls are nothing compared to "ONE" (Black Powder Barrel) which I must add again, is very easy to obtain compared to Wraith Balls. You neutered them down to only "ONE" world event, and that was the right call, now let's do it again.

    Remove the (Black Powder Barrel) from everything and everywhere except from the Smuggler bottle missions. but don't make it part of the Smuggler run, make it a (REWARD) for players to (OBTAIN) from the Smugglers after you have (COMPLETED) the run, But to make the Commendation still work, you would still be able to sell it to the Smugglers, but not the one you obtain it from, like the merchant mission, you can't hand in cargo where they were obtained.

    This solution will strike a needed balance, like the Wraith Balls, time spent = big boom reward. No more insta-kill barrels being on board every ship unless they spent the time to obtain one.

    I don't see enough people talking about this, so I hope I'm being heard.
    Please, whoever reads this, push this forward and have a good long discussion about this issue.

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  • @SWE-PansaR

    While I agree they are too common and waaaaaay too powerful, I don't think they should be removed from everything but smuggler's route, but just the spawn rate lowered. Also remove smuggler loot from reaper forts. Nobody wants that garbo

  • Almost all natural conflicts that happens now since this item could be found everywhere is now settled upon a BOOM

    What else is different? Also, it beats the typical "drop anchor, spawn camp" nonsense. I rather go out in a blaze.

    but the POWER this one have in the short amount of time it takes to find one, compared to collecting the amount needed for the same amount of damage from normal kegs, there's no reason not to go for the new

    It really isnt all simple to find one.
    Shipwrecks: Often not in there. Shores? Havnt seen those in a while. Skeleton ships, your more likely to accidently blow it up to sink the ship fast.
    Only real good place is starting a Smugglers voyage.

    So if I want power, and quick. Im going to a Fort where I am more likely to find 6 kegs of small boom that = greater boom.

    Sneaking (ONE) onto a enemy ship is a guaranteed win.

    IF you can.

    Getting snuck up on with (ONE) of these is a guaranteed lost.

    Not so. 15 second timer is long ways to defuse.

    Emergent skeleton ship battles have lost all its challenge

    and alot of players would be happy to hear this. Besides they lost there challenge when they nerf them...3 times already.

    I assure you rare, people will start to notice, and mayhem will endure.

    I hope for more mayhem.

    another overpowered item in the game called (Wraith Balls)

    If it misses..which a lot of players do. It worthless.

    Remove the (Black Powder Barrel) from everything and everywhere except from the Smuggler bottle missions.

    Making it super easy to collect.

    I don't see enough people talking about this, so I hope I'm being heard.

    It not a problem or will be. Unlike your example of a Wraith ball. The Black powder keg is a double edge sword. You could accidently destroy yourself in the process, and happens more often.

  • @swe-pansar
    yeaaahhhh Ive gotten kegged way too many times by people who have like sub 200 hours in the game and lost to that+sword combo
    remove them from the normal mission/skelly ships/shorelines

    put it in reaper forts and high level quests and that's it

  • @swe-pansar

    I really don't think your assumptions are accurate here. To date, since Season 17, we've had 2 attempts where a player used a normal keg on us, one on a rowboat (didn't work out for them), the other managed to board during a 3-ship battle (we were fighting 2 allianced sloops and a brig), blew it, and gave us 4 holes (oh my goodness major drama). I have yet to see anyone trying using these against us. I know in the past, we've been mega-kegged twice and didn't sink (I have the video), mainly because it failed to kill us and only damaged the ship. I don't think they're a concern at this point, and wouldn't worry about them.

    LOL you can also get wraith balls from the OoS ghost voyage, which you can vote down and finish multiple times. They don't only come from the Flameheart world event.

  • Maybe I haven't been blessed by RNG enough but I personally haven't seen black powder barrels that much even on random islands unless I am looking for them... More often than not I see regular powder kegs in the water too. I'm a frequent solo slooper when none of my friends are online, so I like the added edge black powder brings because of how horribly disadvantaged I am solo slooping.

  • @snugplayer18335

    I suppose lowering the spawn rate could be a popular take, but personally, I stand firm on decreasing the amount of way to obtain one, would be the way to go.

    And yeah, smuggler loot in reaper forts is a no go bro.

  • @burnbacon

    1. Lack of confidence in breaking free from a spawn camp i see.
    2. It's almost every shipwreck, one out of six that I've (recently) came across didn't have one or two in them. And if you seek the keg from a skeleton ship, you could easily not blow the ship up before extracting it.
    3. Doesn't matter how you get it on there, if you desperate enough you could even do a surprise Ram Strat, sinking your own chip in the progress, a noob's favorite.
    4. Who said this hypothetical player will give you the time to Defuse, or Escape. The blast radius will take you all out, including the ship before you'll back on it.
    5. This is no simple nerf, in my eyes they don't even exist anymore. I could sneeze one cannonball at their direction, then to notice that they were never there to begin with.
    6. Me too, but not the kind of Mayhem that makes new and returning players say BS then leave for good.
    7. Well yeah, just as worthless as a Black Powder Barrel blown up by the enemy before you swim close enough to their ship.
    8. Well, someone forgot to read my text more closely i see. there was a solution of mine in the text so that this wouldn't be the case.
    9. Agree to disagree.
  • @europa4033

    My guy, you're clearly an experienced player, but I'm speaking for the casuals and new players, where this could concern. Normal powder kegs is not the issue, even noobs could recover from that from time to time.

    And experienced players like us (CAN) survive a Black Powder Barrel if we see it coming, the issue here is the (AMOUNT OF TIMES) we don't see it coming. Lucky you, for the lack of exposure to this issue, I guess. No seriously, It just takes (ONE) to explode under your boat for you to sink, with the entire crew dead, due to the extreme damage radius, so we need to limit the ways it can be obtained.

    And about the Wraith Balls. Dude, basically the same mission, but one is shorter than the other. There's like a one in three chance of getting the burning blade, through the Order of Souls mission, and Im simply happy with the ways it is obtained, due to the amount of time you need to spend to earn them. And I want something similar or better for the (Black Powder Barrel)

  • @cutecoffins

    I'm not discounting the fact that they are a useful tool for solo sloopers or others, I just think that those who need it, should not have so many different ways to obtain it. Luckily enough, finding one in the water, is not a thing.

  • @swe-pansar

    I guess the lesson here is to always be observant, instead of asking Rare to remove a possible way of sinking.

  • but I'm speaking for the casuals and new players, where this could concern.

    Causals (like myself) enjoy it. The players Ive met who got 10 days, enjoy the stupid stuff.
    You speak for them, but do you?

    Normal powder kegs is not the issue, even noobs could recover from that from time to time.

    Not all the time...easy to find, easy to collect and they even float in the water. Most vets still hit those and are dumb founded to die along with it, then the Ferry tends to take forever, you get stuck on Loading back and...Ship sank.

    explode under your boat for you to sink, with the entire crew dead

    As long one remains.

    Those kegs are the only Tool a Solo sloop can have that matches against bigger crews or bigger threats.

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