Njord

This is the real problem.

Why can't we just have longer speed buff and / or longer invisibility the longer the battle lasted? It's realistic and much better for enjoyable gameplay. Revenge fleets shouldn't get their target served on a silver platter when in reality they could and should be long gone from the battle location.

Yeah, but if you learned how to sail on PvE you can do the exams on PvP and get the M&C rank + some goodies in like 1-2 hours. I'd argue this is good enough to get a new player started. I see your point tho. I would like to have some lake like Guacata exclusively for new players with only a few free ports or something similar like a tutorial zone but that is probably nowhere near the priorities at the moment.

I really wish it would be possible for everyone to grasp this simple truth but apparently some do struggle with understanding it. You can even start playing on the Peace server and then move onto the War server after you learned how to sail etc. ( if you want PvP but think the start is too rough ) .

I completely agree here. It is very vital for a mmo. The only end-game content, within what NA has to offer at the moment, should be RvR and being able to field a fleet of 1-3rd rates with your clan. I think shop ships / NPC ships should be cheaper and there should always be traders cutters available ( this ship has no valid place in the game anyways, wouldn't this be a good idea? who ever crafted a traders cutter to actually use it? ). NPC ships seem to be only very basic ships without bonus slots or trims and always have crew space "planking" anyways, so clearly inferiour to crafting in this regard. As long as the shop ships cost some reals but are very cheap, people can always move out in the next ship after getting sunk. Still better than DLC ships, from a economical point of view. Keeps poor new players and plebs in their ships, and the ocean filled with targets... everyone's happy.

Is there any ETA on the release yet?

Probably not in game for the same reason gun recoil isn't - would hit too hard on the performance in big battles.

I don't like where this will lead us to be honest. I want new players to enjoy the game as much as possible but at the same time there has to be some meaning to economy and ship value / loss. We also already have DLC ships and ship ensurance now and you get XP for damage aswell, even if you are sinking. If we go further we might aswell remove crafting and ship cost and make all ships redeemable with a cooldown.

The more nations and flags, the better. Still waiting for the Portuguese...

It is all that I am asking for... and maybe some increased fire chance. Even if it is only a downsized version of the explosion after fireshock, to save development time.

It was launched in 1767 and destroyed in 1807 during the Battle of Copenhagen. Also the most famous age of sail battle, the Battle of Trafalgar, was fought in 1805. Explosive shells were not invented in 1812 either but earlier than that. It was simply their first famous and well documented use in battle. It fits the timeframe very well.

I would be interested in testing this, if it is multiplayer / PvP. Great work.

Most famously used in the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 only 5 years after the last Battle of Copenhagen that saw deployment of the Christian VII that was recently added. I think as it fits in the timeframe of NA, it should at least be considered. I also don't think there is a balance issue. The actual performance could remain the same ( only with much higher chance for a fire ) or there could alternatively also be a reskin of the Mortar Brig called HMS Terror / HMS Meteor with higher BR to compensate for potentially higher performance / buffs in damage. Even if only the visuals would be added at some point, I think it would make for more interesting cinematics in port battles. Adding only higher fire chance seems reaonable, given the minor effect of fire ( unless used on purpose to fireship ) and the low chance of currently implemented mortar balls actually causing fire.

The mortar brig should have them.

Well, yeah the Wapen has very smiliar hp and thickness to frigates but presents at least 3x the target size to shoot at - yet another disadvantage. And as you mentioned, when frigates move hull to hull up to it then you have no chance of hitting them with your upper decks, especially vs low profile frigates like the Essex for example. The Wapen being slower than a sea cucumber does not exactly help with avoiding this scenario by not letting the enemy frigates get under your guns in the first place. However I'd say the low calibre guns and their poor convergence are the least problem for the ship. I agree. The combination of low speed, weak hp and armor ( comparable to frigates like Endymion ) , while being this massive target, makes the ship a bullet sponge more than anything else. The Wapen also seems to bounce shots off its hull less than most other ships, which is most likely also due to its very oddly shaped and stubby hull. I still think turning it into a heavily armed trader that sacrifices hold space ( compared to other traders ) and the ability to enter enemy ports in favour of much more firepower would be the best approach and historically accurate. The hold space should be very limited to keep the normal traders viable ( higher risk and higher reward ). I think 1200-1400 hold space ( Trader Brig has 1750 and can enter shallows ) would be balanced.

Well, "use it effectively in PvP" is rather vague and I asked in another thread for recordings or battle result screenshots of PvP matches where a player used a Wapen to great effect vs skilled players. I did not receive a single one. Any superiour PvP player can kill a bunch of scrubs in any ship, but it doesn't depend on the ship as much as the difference in individual player skill. No doubt the Wapen can be a decent ship when used in a brawl vs similar sized and smaller ships but it is rather useless in the OW where speed matters. I have seen Ram Dinark using a Agamemnon several times but never a Wapen... why is that? Why are there no recordings of popular PvP players achieving great battle results in a Wapen? You mean other than the Wapen? Would be nice but it has to have some downside to not make to Indiaman obsolete... maybe it would have to be significantly slower.

I am well aware of that and NA has a great community ( for the majority anyways ) but why should new players completely depend on that instead of having a basic trader readily available but still the chance of being gifted a better one with speed mods etc. ...?

Fair point but it is more like I envision some new player joining the game and wanting to make some cash with trading. Now he has to beg for a trader first, buy an overpriced one from market or go through the whole process of building a production chain and shipyard to build one themselves... I don't really see the point of warships being available from NPC but traders not.

I think it should be considered to add the trader snow as default NPC shop ship for new players. It would allow new players to get into trading without having to find and capture a trader far away from their capital or depend on other players to get one. Also nobody has any reason to craft a trader snow or trader cutter when there are trader lynx and brig. I would think it makes sense to add these otherwise obsolete and inferior traders as bottom line ( traders cutter maybe even free and trader snow cheap ). It would also help to have it available when you are in need of a small transport but no player sold traders are available and no AI trader in OW is in sight. The worst side effect of this could be too many traders in the OW?

Well it was planned / supposed to have low draught to be able to navigate the Elbe river but Jacob Mencke, the ship designer, kind of hello kittyed up and the Wapen still had a draught of 5.5 meters ( HMS Bellona only slightly higher with 6.02 meters ) which is considerable. Also there would be somewhat a balance issue with its decent turnrate ( for a ship of its size ) and facing only brigs and sloops, I suppose... Letting it enter enemy ports is too much I think but there should definitely be some buff for it and something with cargo hold and trading seems most fitting. I would wish for it to be a slow but heavily armed trader with medium cargo hold ( less than LGV and Trader Brig but more than any other warship ).

1 Slot less for the ability to enter ports seems fair, I guess... still think 5 knowledge slots wouldn't be too good either.

I don't think it's justified, that it only has 3 knowledge slots to be honest... even less so with the new doubloon price. It can enter enemy ports but it has a 90pd broadside - comparable to shallow ships ( niagara has exactly 90pd aswell but ability to swap it out for 320pd! carronades ) but on a less agile platform - a frigate. Also let's not forget that you can craft other frigates very cheap ( compared to the LGVR doubloon cost ) and have thus a much higher chance for even more additional slots. LGV Refit 3/3, 4/3 or 5/3 with a lot of luck and / or massive doubloon cost Comparable frigates 3/5 and with a bit of crafting 4/5 or 5/5 I would say on average you end up with a 3/3 LGV refit with 90pd broadside having to deal with 4/5 featuring much heavier broadsides. Still a fun ship to go raiding traders but rather gimmicky than really potent and viable. I see no balance problem with giving it full knowledge slots. A captain of equal skill sailing a Belle Poule for example should have no problem dealing with a LGVR in a 1 vs 1, no matter of 3 or 5 slots. BP taken as example because the ships are very similar but the BP features more than double the broadside weight and higher turnrate. Another disadvantage of the LGVR is how its heel is ridiculous ( last time I played it anyways ) so there is always the risk of getting leaked to death without great caution.

All I am really getting out of this is the ship fought at the Battle of Copenhagen (1801) and was burned down / destroyed there. Not a very rich history for the flagship of the danish navy, but that is probably to be assumed, considering how expensive and important it was. Anyone can confirm with source what the decorations depict, especially the bow figure?

Very well said, Sir. I like the current amount of outposts as it limits zergs a fair deal and requires strategic choice of outposts.

What about a mission to visit every port on the map? This could be a long term goal for the average player and should grant a appropriate reward. Should not be too hard to implement since the ports even keep track of when you visited them last. If the reward is good enough, this could give additional drive for players to sail all over the OW and not only stay in one corner. Still wish we would get small unmapped islands with smuggler outposts, native tribes and treasures to be found. Just like Kidd's but much smaller - just a sandbar with a few palm trees and huts on it. Some places on the map that neeed to be found by searching in the OW would be great. There is a lot of potential with the seemingly endless OW.