bubz

Thing is, whats the point? Why even bother to adapt and change if you can just pick yourself up a Wasa and sink every other 4th rate without a problem? In fact you would be shooting yourself and 24 other players in your team in the foot if you didn't do that in a 4th rate port battle.

Sure. But whats the point in doing that if you could just use a Wasa instead?

I am going to be comparing the Wasa to most used 4th rate war ships before The Wasa was released - The Constitution in open world and the Agamemnon in port battles. Not that it matters anyway, since now the only ship I ever see being used is the Wasa: in both open world and port battles. For the reasons I am about to attempt and explain. Using the data available on "official" wiki www.navalactionwiki.com So the Wasa can be purchased for 150 combat marks, much cheaper and much more accessible than crafting any other 4th rate ship - it does not require a level 2/3 shipyard, it doesn't require any crafting level, it doesn't require any of the materials needed to craft the ship at all, not even the very expensive woods like white oak and bermuda, if for what ever reason you want to make a wasa out of them. No. All you need is 150 marks and BAM, the ship is yours, out of any wood type that you could possibly wish for. It has almost the same turn rate as the Constitution and the Agamemnon. But unlike the Agamemnon and the Constitution it has almost 10% more Armour HP. Ah well, couple of cannon balls you might think. Well a broadside with a weight of 765pd (Same broadside weight as an average 3rd ship rate in fact.) with 32pd, 24pd, 9pd armament might change your mind when a Constitution and The Agamemnon have a broadside weight of 504pd and 600pd respectively, and none of them can even mount 32pd making it much more harder to penetrate the Wasa at any angle than right angle which has the same thickness as the 2 other ships. Surely there are two other 4th rates that can mount 32pd cannons, whats the big deal? Well both of those ships lose out big time on speed and armor (even though their broadside weight doesn't even come close to the one of a Wasa, highest topping at 642pd on an Ingermanland) unlike our beloved Wasa of course, which has the same speed as the Constitution (fastest 4th rate) resulting in an absolute joke when combined with her 6 bow chasers. The sailing pattern in average through out all 3 ships, est angle being around 30 degrees from Running with the wind. Conclusion? Wasa is Superior and outclasses every other 4th rate to the point when people ask you "Why the hell would you use the any 4th rate ship instead of the Wasa?!" regardless of the wood type and the upgrades that you may have on it, and hence absolutely killing any diversity there could be within 4th rates used. Which is perfectly understandable in fact, since its just so much cheaper and accessible than every other 4th rate ship and better in every possible way, there is absolutely no reason to use any other 4th rate apart from aesthetic reason of course (because lets be real the Wasa Is not the most aesthetically pleasing ship) which is a real shame because those ships do in fact look beautiful (for the likes of the Constitution and the Agamemnon), just such a pity they are so futile and obsolete now. Solution? Nerf the Wasa, or buff the other 4th rates. Make Wasa considerably slower and slightly decrease its turn rate as an example or screw with its sail pattern. Alternatively make the Constitution and the Agamemnon a bit faster with a bit more health and turn rate. Or even make the Wasa a 3rd rate instead of a 4th rate (effectively locking it out of 4th rate port battles) and increase its price (like 250 marks), after all it is more like a 3rd rate in game than a 4th rate stat wise, albeit a weak one when compared to another OP ship: Bellona which just like the Wasa is the top of her class. I do apologize if these points were mentioned and addressed elsewhere. Thank you