Duke Suraknar

Ahoy Captains! I started playing NA some time ago, with some more than 250 hours in the game as of this writing. Personally I find the game quite good in its core and I am enjoying every moment of it. As a long time Sailing Games player (both Solo and MMO-RvR) going all the way back to Bethesda/Akella Seadogs in 2000, I also was a Beta Tester and then Player of Pirates of the Burning Sea (POTBS). I find that NA has managed to gather the best elements in one bundle establishing a very strong enjoyable core gameplay. The same cannot be said about the more advanced Nation vs Nation (RvR or NvN) feature of NA. Spending the better part of the last month gathering information from Veteran Players, discussing things in various Forums, STEAM and here on Reddit I think it is safe to say that this statement is attested in the game's History since its launch in 2016. There have been wipes and major changes as initial systems and approach were exploited by various player groups in one way or another. Example creating Alts and Joining Port Battles to Sabotage them put an end to Participation Based Port Battles for everyone. And many more. Both Players and Devs have engaged in coming up with solutions to those common gameplay problems and all these efforts have led to the current system of Port Bonuses, Clan Ownership and Clan ally Lists. I think that the basic idea of Port Bonuses is great. Where I think there seems to be an issue is on how it has been implemented. Many players argue and agree that Port Bonuses should apply to all member of a Nation regardless of Shipyard location or Clan affiliation. Personally I agree as well, and so I make this thread to suggest an Alternative implementation for Port Bonuses. The goal of the suggestion aims several targets. The biggest one aims Make Port Bonuses available to all of a Nation's Members, while maintaining the focus on Nation vs Nation feature and keeping it worthwhile for Clans. On a second level the suggestion also aims to enhance Nation vs Nation Participation and foster more National Unity. And as a bonus, tries to be satisfactory to a larger audience. While no game can every be satisfactory to everyone (it is why we do have many different games to begin with), a game does not have to be a Niche either, or if you will it can appeal to a bigger Niche. What the suggestion will not do, for Brevity, is to point out directly the issues and consequences of the current system. Nevertheless it can be discussed in the comments if wished, along with commentary and thoughts about the suggested system. Without further ado, the suggestion: National Port Bonuses So the core of the suggestion consists of eliminating Port Bonus Ports in their current form. Right now, there are a few key Ports (some 37) in the Caribbean which offer Port Bonuses of various degrees. For instance, the Port of Nassau presently Controlled by the Russian Empire bestows Bonuses of Crew 4, Gunnery 2, Hull 4, Masts 0, Sailing 4, to the members of the Controlling Clan and their short list of Allies who may build a Shipyard there. (source: https://na-map.netlify.app/ ) Instead, of the current approach, a new approach is suggested which consists of distributing single Bonuses to various ports around the Caribbean that when Captured would bestow their bonus to the Capturing Nation and can be accumulated by Nations to achieve desired National Bonus, up to 5,5,5,5,5 ship building Bonus that all Nationals can benefit from within their respective Nation. Regardless of Shipyard Location or Clan affiliation, and based solely on National Affiliation. Continuing with current example of the Russian Empire, the Port of Nassau could bestow a Bonus of 1 on Sailing. As long as the Russian Empire Controls Nassau, all Russian Empire Shipyards will benefit from a +1 on Sailing Bonus to the ships that are Crafted by them. Further +1 bonuses would be distributed to various other ports in the Caribbean, lets say that Morgan's Bluff bestows Masts Bonus +1, since it is now also Controlled by Russian Empire all Russian Empire Shipyards will also now Bestow +1 to Masts when they build ships. This accumulation of Bonuses can Continue up to a maximum of 5 bonus points per Category for a total of 25 Port Bonuses. Any additional Port Bonus Captured beyond the Maximum will not provide any direct benefits but would have a Meta Value to the Capturing nation serving as a buffer should any ports be lost to an Enemy nation but also a way to deny Port Bonuses to other nations in the Game of the Nation vs Nation Domination, a way to assert some attrition. Of course, losing a port which provides a Port Bonus to a Given Nation means also the Bonus it provides. The Port Bonus in that case goes to the current owner of the Port. Ideally according to the suggested System there should not be enough ports so that all Nations Achieve 5,5,5,5,5 at the same time, this is 75 ports out of 365 or so available ports, and there are 12 playable Nations, plus AI Nation. This creates something to Fight for something to fight to maintain and something to try to deny from one's enemy. Not to mention of course Clan and National Bragging Rights. I estimate that there could be enough Bonuses around for 3 Nations to Achieve Maximum Bonus status. This way there could be at least Three Top Nations Contending for the Caribbean at any one time which fluctuate according to the NvN conflict, This opens the way for Meta Diplomacy (RP) as well between the Leading Nations, Challenging Nations, and Underdog Nations, who could maneuver to achiever 44444 or 33333 or 22222 or any combination there off while also maneuvering to achieve all the Bonuses. In essence with this system, Port Bonuses become a National Endeavor where all National Member Benefit from the concerted Economical and Military Cooperation and Contribution of both Clans and Individuals and within their respective Capacity. Clans and Port Ownership Clan port Ownership mechanics remain largely unchanged from an Economical point of view. Capturing Clans retain the Tax income based on the Transactions of the Ports. Also Capturing Clan Alliance List remains the same as well. Clan port Ownership remains more clearly an Economical Benefit and Incentive. Port Economical Development remains the same too as well as Clan Resource Production. While the Port Bonuses would be focused more on Port Development and Economics. Victory Conditions Victory Conditions could fit in with the suggested system A winning Nation could be considered (or declared) the Winner of a War, when it manages to become the sole Nation which maintains all of the Bonuses for a certain Time. And just Getting there would be a Daunting Task involving National Effort from all. Nation Flavor Under the suggested system some National flavor in terms of Bonuses could be given to nations too. Each nation could start with a combination of 2-3 bonuses by default. For instance maybe Great Britain could start with +1 Gunnery and +1 Sailing, While the Pirates +1 Crew, +1 Masts etc. This would provide some value to all Nations should they be pushed back to starting Home Locations without any other bonuses but also a starting variation in terms of shipbuilding Economically. Plus, for RvR it offers variation of possible targets for each Nation too. For instance, in this example Great Britain would only need to seek to capture 4 more ports with +1 Gunnery to Achieve +5 bonus, while the Pirates would need to Capture 5 such ports. And this concludes this suggestion. It is my view that it would help steer this game to something more unique on its own right and most importantly, a more enjoyable gameplay experience for all, with clearer purpose and clearer benefits as well as incentivize and focus towards a common goal both Clan and Independent play unified under the game of Nation vs Nation competition. And this concludes this suggestion. Feel free to discuss and share your comments as well. Cheers and Fair Winds to all Captains! - Duke Suraknar

Would like to see some more little things that foster National Unity. At times this games feels more like a Guild vs Guild Game (or Clan vs Clan) rather than a Realm vs Realm (or Nation vs Nation). It would be nice to knw o that such and such Clan or Nation X is attacking a port of Nation Y for example.