Barbancourt

10 would make it much easier to station ships around the map to participate in things. Depends a lot on your nation. 5 of my 8 outposts are free ports...

Will fir/crew space shop ships (e.g. surprise/cerberus) work? Otherwise that seems like a route to bankruptcy through losing several dozen ships and their cannons/rum/repairs. (Even with the cheapest ships a lot of PVE hours would be required to fund the experiment) Depends on the ships. You could sterncamp my LGV all day long without breaking a sweat. That thing turns like a city bus. ...I have no idea what this part means.... 🤔

It would be very crippling to lose your shipyards and all the supplies gathered there to build ships, and if your safe shipyards were limited to 5th rates how would you ever capture and hold anything if you got beaten back to your reinforcement zone? The raiders would gather like vultures around any gains you made knowing all your trade had to be flowing in and out of there.

I approve of this message. Permanent capital Santo Tome de Guayana. Put a little life into this corner of the map. Oh, and bring in the portuguese ship (Princesa?), pretty please. 🤩

I hope this is a fleet tournament. I do not like 1v1 at all

I'm sure some people would enjoy getting the extra distinction for successfully sneaking a rated ship back to their capital as a prize. We could perhaps even have Combat News make an announcement when it happens.

Most of us don't have much opportunity to participate in port battles, and in my experience more than 90% of port battles are not contested ("empty") anyway. I just want to roll out in some frigates and have an honorable battle with some other frigates. Sure battles are uneven, but within reason that isn't a problem and doesn't make it a "gank". 7 frigates fighting 5 frigates is uneven, and competitive. I've lost battles where we outnumbered by the enemy something like 7 to 2. A "gank" is not just an uneven fight - a "gank" is an execution, with a foregone conclusion, where the target has no competitive chance. A "gank" is not fun. A battle is fun.

Well, I was wondering what the hey was going on....

So you're saying there's no server for those of us who want fun competetive battles? I have no interest in either side of a "gank", because they aren't fun for either side.

I imagine that a lot of the players that would have been interested in the arena format Legends during the early Sea Trials period probably left the game after it became the time-intensive Open World. There just wasn't much momentum for a second unrelated Naval Action among people already invested in the Open World game.

Don't assume what I'm like. Actually, I'm one of the rare wierdos that has used the gimped 5th rates, just because I have contrarian moments and I don't do solo PVP. Essex only works in a group, so I've only bought a couple as throw-aways when they're dirt cheap in the ship shop. I have a few Belles only because I was in France on Global and generally used only french ships. However, I wouldn't put resources into crafting these handicapped ships when similar ships fully equipped with chasers are available. It doesn't make sense to waste dock space on them versus a more versatile fully outfitted ship. If they were fixed I could consider using them. Well, keep in mind that you always have the "choice" to not mount the available chasers if this kind of "variety" of lacking basic features that excites you. I'm not being snarky - you can really do that if you like.

I'm not sure how you define "working" here. If these ships don't get chasers then people will continue not using them, which would seem to demonstrate that they aren't "working" or "balanced".

OP compared to what? The ships aren't supposed to be equal, and they will always have different BR accordingly. Sailing profile, manouverability, woods, mods - there are so many other variables. It would be nice to see a more variety out there on the seas, but not many people want to build and sail something without chasers when they could have them on another ship.

If one sloopy ship has them, they should all get them. (Brigs and frigates should all have standard bow and stern guns as well.)

There should be moon cycles and a moon in the sky, yes

the darkest part of night, before the pre-dawn mist starts, certainly seems too short

It's more fun if you arrange a real battle to do away with the tedium of flipping and counter-flipping.

you're all dadgum workflippers to me

If I did that I'd just get mega-ganked by the ROVER Requin fleet, LeL.

I'm thinking more of an Essex or LGV that lacks butt guns and doesn't have an exceptional broadside or mobility.

Whadda ya do when you don't have butt guns and they just camp on your rear end pecking away your butt armor to grape your peeps and to break off your poop mast?

Well, I've never seen it, so perhaps...

I remember that time as "the good old days". I only started after the Great Wipe, so I wasn't quite sure what the big fuss was.

I don't want to "simulate real life" - I just want all ships to be able to have a proper role in the game, and to have a nice mix of ships in large battles.

You are one of the primary reasons the reinforcement zones exist.