Idea: More loot = heavier ship = it sits lower in water = your ship goes slower.

@dash-lee-rowan Nope. There are plenty of good PvPers who are perfectly capable of running down other ships that are less organized.

If you are having problems running other ships down, than perhaps changing to better ambush strategies would be a good idea.
My crew has admittedly gotten very good at keeping a distance from attackers and giving them the run-around. However we often get sunk by more clever stealthy ships that know how to stalk and surprise their victims.

This game is all about organic learning and direction, making your own fun and figuring out how things work for yourself. People don’t need automated tools that tell you if other ships have loot, or hold your hand when deciding to attack said ships. Just practice and learn for yourself how to succeed.

@dash-lee-rowan I understand the base idea of trying to force more direct engagement. But sometimes you’ll get it, and othertimes it becomes a sorta mind-game. What you suggest is only an issue cause it either forces people to fight when they’d rather run, or blatantly favors the ship carrying less, whether that be an attacker or defender.

I have been chased by sloops that know my Galleon can out-run them, and take advantage of the fact that I’ll have to specifically turn towards the wind as much as possible when reaching the edge of the map. Same goes with Gally to Gally chases. Sure, the other ship CAN abruptly turn around and risk going slower, but you can always try to plan ahead based on where they are and where they are going.
Yes runners are counting on you to have less-patience, but they are bound to either make a mistake or try to pull something sneaky while passing an outpost. My crew are pretty efficient runners and we almost always have ONE point where we pretty much screw up critically.

@dash-lee-rowan I think adding more things for players to do/use would be a good alternative. We can already launch from cannons, but I have seen posts floating around suggesting things like ropes up in the masts that could be used to swing yourself to nearby ships easier.

Having different ship layouts that let you change the placement of cannons on your ship (perhaps rear or forward facing cannons) would also be nice.

Different tools and items could be useful too. Perhapse have harpoons you can load into the cannons that let you snag into other ships so they can be slowed until laboriously cut or shot off. Maybe nets that you can fill with explosive and drag behind your ship below water Incase anyone get too close to your rear etc. I think different ship and character tools that add variety of potential strategies is a good idea.