New Player Exeprience - 3 v 1???

[z4ys]

1 minute ago, Liq said:

knowledge slots are not essential for pve -they just help to speed it up. You can play much slower, but I Just wanted to get done with it - took some unnecessary damage in the process, but completed the mission faster.
 

With 1 - 3 slots you should be fine aswell, most of those books I equipped are just "nice to have" 

When you still can do it drunken new player might be able to do it as well

[Hethwill]

Of course. All is valid and the focus fire  on the same side advice is golden.

With 2 slots I will dish less damage and will repair less, or maybe turn worse or accelerate even worse.

It may be marginal and dependent on what perks I select for those 2 slots that I have as a fairly new player, but do not make it look like it is less than what it is. 

 

[Farrago]

3 minutes ago, Wraith said:

Not to mention that most guys who are trying those missions for the first time in a brand new store-bought ship (they can't have the skill or resources to have capped a sixth rate yet) might not have the perks for double/charge yet either, or potentially have wasted them on other less useful perks, etc. because they don't know better. Remember, these missions are the *first* thing someone would do when they step up to a sixth rate.

I'm not saying they shouldn't have a challenge laid out for them from time to time, but potentially it should be a low percentage mission occurrence and they'd then have the chance to learn how to run if they are scared to take on three?

Yes. I really hope that the final tutorials include either an FAQ or other instruction on how the perk system and knowledge slot system work. The community can also do a FAQ but I’d feel better about the time commitment required after the Devs get their UI in place. 

[Jim Beamreach]

@Liq 

How many new players know about the perks. I think they shoud get guided to the perks in the Tutorial. Then new players know they can set some perks like double ball to make there life more comfortable.

[GrubbyZebra]

2 hours ago, Liq said:

So I just tried the infamous "impossible 3 ships 6th rate mission" - In a storebought ship with basic upgrades (dropped by mission npcs) and skillbooks you can get for combat marks. No "Gear-Warrior" excuse there.

Got me against 2 rookie snows and 1 rookie brig. as expected. So I focussed the rookie brig first, because I knew he had little HP - 3 broadsides of double ball do the job.

I think the most important thing players need to learn doing those missions is that a ship only needs to lose one side to sink - shooting both can be a waste, especially when they dont try to protect their weak side. This can also become handy when moving to PvP - Try to focus on one side, and work on the rigging / masts when the healthy side  is shown. Of course if the player is clever he will know to not show his weak side, but thats another topic.
And of course: Angle yourself! Don't take unnecessary damage.

Overall it didnt seem too bad to me. Perfectly doable, even in storebought ships with very affordable "gear".

 

 

Liq, you are also an experienced and accomplished player that knows how to handle a ship. This counts for more than kit imo. A new player can get a 6th rate ship their first day or 2 (not hard to rank up to crew one, even just sailing around). Couple this will the fact that most (all?) npc-crafted 6th rates are square riggers (and none of the 7th rates are), it can be an entirely new experience to that player, one they are not usually able to handle.

[SKurj]

He won't have any knowledge slots open...  no permanents filled, or perks likely and he still will not have a 'feel' for aiming...  

 

As I said in the opening post...  

Edited February 15, 2018 by SKurj

[Liq]

12 minutes ago, SKurj said:

He won't have any knowledge slots open...  no permanents filled, or perks likely and he still will not have a 'feel' for aiming...  

 

As I said in the opening post...  

the bonusses you get from these basic upgrades are very small, it just helps to get it done quicker - may need a few more min without them

I dont really think the difficulty difference between with and without the upgrades is that big.

[Barbancourt]

5 hours ago, Liq said:

So I just tried the infamous "impossible 3 ships 6th rate mission" - In a storebought ship with basic upgrades (dropped by mission npcs) and skillbooks you can get for combat marks. No "Gear-Warrior" excuse there.

Got me against 2 rookie snows and 1 rookie brig. as expected. So I focussed the rookie brig first, because I knew he had little HP - 3 broadsides of double ball do the job.

I think the most important thing players need to learn doing those missions is that a ship only needs to lose one side to sink - shooting both can be a waste, especially when they dont try to protect their weak side. This can also become handy when moving to PvP - Try to focus on one side, and work on the rigging / masts when the healthy side  is shown. Of course if the player is clever he will know to not show his weak side, but thats another topic.
And of course: Angle yourself! Don't take unnecessary damage.

 

LOL I have never had a Mercury that buffed.  Basic Hull Refit is the only one of the upgrades that really matters, but I don't have patience to do 5 knowledge slots on this sailboat.  I can't even remember if I got one or two of them done - it was many months ago and it got gang-raped and sank at the Battle of Les Cayes. 

Anyhow, I've always been of the impression that the AI will always try to protect their weak side, and they're better sailors than we are with the new sailing physics so it's a bit of work against the wind and exposing yourself to fire to always be chasing their weak side...?

 

[SKurj]

The point is not that these missions aren't impossible.  Here is the scenario:

You've just done X number of missions in the damn cutter while everyone else you see around you is sailing them damn big ships and you want one!!  "Game must be much better in one of those".  You head over to Port Y and can finally afford that Snow in the showroom.. happily you have have gold left for guns and mebbe some repairs. woohoo! 

So you select the 6th rate mission at the lowest level.  You jump in and wtf...  3 of them...    So here you are in your first square rigged, multi decked ship, possibly no permanents installed, probably no idea of best point of sail and thrown into a situation you haven't been in before.

You lose that ship... you learned a lesson, probably along the lines of "i had no clue what to do against those 3"  and now you don't have enough gold left so back to the cutter..  

Instead you log off to watch tv...