I absolutely love the naval battles and deck combat, its a blast (except when the enemy ship doesn't want to fight and run away, haha). I did some HG yesterday, and it's still as enjoyable. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but it's pleasantly entertaining and challenging. However, the only negative thing in PvP for me, and it should be illegal HG, is the curse balls. What the hell am I supposed to compete with that? Nothing. People may not know, but sloop combat is incredibly tight because the one firing the cannon should have the upper hand. If you manage to damage the cannon gunner enemy sloop with a cannonball, you gain the initiative and advantage. They can try to snipe, blunderbomb, or firebomb you. It's a significant advantage, but it's fine there are ways to counter it.
But what about curse balls? Well, they ruin this rivalry and combat balance. How am I supposed to reclaim my ship if I'm dancing on the cannon for three seconds? It means the enemy can do absolutely everything without us making a comeback. It kills the fight. My crewmate can't bail, adjust the sails, snipe, or flee the battle. And me? I'm a punching bag for all attacks, unable to eat or dodge. Do you know why they removed 90% of stuns in Overwatch? Because there's nothing more frustrating than telling a player, "No, you can't play for a few seconds, but your enemies can :)." It's literally the worst feeling... you know when you have a dream where you can't run, escape, or throw punches? That's called a damn nightmare. I'm not suggesting removing curse balls but giving them advantages with drawbacks or simply nerfing them, which still remains strong.
Now, for each curse ball:
Jigball: Allow movement and dancing simultaneously, preventing us from taking everything that comes in our face.
Grogball: Our pirate takes a sip of grog, affecting movement slightly but not preventing bailing (although the grogball is already better balanced than other curse balls).
Weavyball: This one is more aesthetic than gameplay. I propose a new animation where our character actually falls asleep, dropping to the ground for a few seconds, with a hitbox on the floor. For only for 1 or 2 seconds, not more
Limpball: Perfect as it is now, no changes needed.
Venomball: Perhaps not the best idea, but it would be a bit less annoying. It spawns 3 to 7 snakes on the enemy ship (depending on the ship type). As you give them a tap, it's done, the enemy still has an advantage as you become busy for a bit.
Anchorball: Drop the anchor to 75%, meaning it hasn't fallen completely, but the opponent still has to raise it. It remains a HUGE advantage in the middle of a battle.
Helmball: Perfectly balanced, no changes required.
Peaceball: Cause cannons to have a massive recoil and climb to the top. So you can still shoot, but you have to lower the cannons completely after each shot for a few seconds, of course.
Ballastball: The only thing I would do is reduce the rate at which water fills the ship. Introduce a cloud above the ship, and it starts raining, making the ship "cry," haha.
Ringinball: Sails begin to raise gradually. Players must stop their tasks occasionally to readjust them. Or someone holds the rope to prevent the sail from rising.
Now, here are three additional curse balls:
Freezeball: The enemy ship freezes in time. The ship continues to move to maintain its trajectory during combat, but all pirates are frozen. They cannot take damage, and neither can the ship, and the water stops rising. The only things that can happen are blunderbombs and blunderbusses can still knockback the enemy, and fireballs work but deal no damage. All of this occurs over a few seconds, obviously.
Next, two illusion curses:
Scaryball: When fired at the enemy, they hallucinate that your ship becomes an enormous skeletal Man of War with a storm in the sky. Therefore, it's challenging for them to know exactly where to shoot and where the pirates are.
Bananaball: This one is my favorite, haha. Everything in your inventory, barrels, and storagecrates looks like bananas. So you don't know what's in your hands or what you're eating. And the only thing pirates can say in the chat is "Banana!" "We have lots of bananas." "Don't take my bananas!" 😂😂
In addition, introduce a 30second interval between each curse ball shot for cannons, and during this time, display a distinct red or another colored smoke to signify that the cannon is temporarily unable to accept curse balls. This would prevent excessive spamming.
