Shallow water, shallower gameplay

[Lisa-Azra]

I do a little sailing. When I heard of this game I was excited over it. The chance to sail and use lots of different boats in epic navy battles. The sell went something like that, ha sure you can do that but

 

You can only progress in this game if you sail square riggers

You must join a clan or you can't play

The purpose of crafting is ONLY for making big ships, the little ones ,if and I mean if you do get the blueprint are just a means to the end the developers want you to have.

 

I am 1st lieutenant rank, in the missions I face two opponents of the same type ship or a higher armour level and I'm no longer allowed to hire fleet boats to help me, what a crock. Why have fleet hire at all?

Oh fleet hire is to help new players.

You don't need to hire fleet when you start all you need is to change the cannons on the cutter 

 

Reality check

canons = 2 grand

fleet ship = 18 grand

which is more accessible to a newbie?

 

If I don't want to conform in sailing ever bigger ship or joining a clan, which is actually hard finding a small group of likeminded players, then missions are no longer playable. Most of the game in its current state GONE!

 

oh yes, I can capture trade brigs, everyday all day. Real interesting

 

WHY even bother having all these wonderful boats, WHY? When you use them for a few missions then have to discard them.

 

When all I hear is Cerberus or above can come along.

 

Make the game more balanced or just give everyone a Victory or Santissima and stick them in compulsory groups to blow the hell out of each other.

All the rest is just very expensive window dressing

 

 

[Justme]

Nothing is stopping you from using smaller ships OP, and there is plenty of small ship pvp.

[Galileus]

Wait, what is your complaint exactly?

 

That there is progression...?

[Lisa-Azra]

I was very angry yesterday when I wrote my first post. I felt cheated, both in the £30 I spent on the game and the time I have spent playing but more, cheated because I really like this game and playing it at the level and style I am currently at and like a lot, and that is being stolen from me. Why?

The way the missions are set up I can no longer do them because

a) I sail solo and at my level I require team mates and hired fleets are not permitted above 1st lieutenant, please tell me why that is I would really like to understand the logic behind that decision.

the opponents' ships bets bigger with each rank, so eventually I have 2 choices get a bigger boat or get sunk a lot where the costs of repairs outmatch the gold received

 

In this game's current state I can trade but only locally. The cost to set up trading outposts, so I can leave goods in the warehouse until sold is way too high. That fact also inhibits exploration.

Port battles are biased and small pvp battles, no in both you spend more time chasing than fighting 

[Galileus]

Ah! One of this cases where you hate a game, because it's so good you cannot forgive it for there being so little of it, aye?

 

As for your problems - it is unfortunate, but this is how things look right now. It is an early access game, and mission variety and viability of smaller ships will be slowly updated. Until now you either will have to wait - or group up with other people. I sincerely advise the second option. Sailing a small ship in a bigger scrap can be amazingly fun for both sides - the one running away and the one trying to protect the small guy with their own hulls

[Ruthless4u]

I was very angry yesterday when I wrote my first post. I felt cheated, both in the £30 I spent on the game and the time I have spent playing but more, cheated because I really like this game and playing it at the level and style I am currently at and like a lot, and that is being stolen from me. Why?

The way the missions are set up I can no longer do them because

a) I sail solo and at my level I require team mates and hired fleets are not permitted above 1st lieutenant, please tell me why that is I would really like to understand the logic behind that decision.

the opponents' ships bets bigger with each rank, so eventually I have 2 choices get a bigger boat or get sunk a lot where the costs of repairs outmatch the gold received

 

In this game's current state I can trade but only locally. The cost to set up trading outposts, so I can leave goods in the warehouse until sold is way too high. That fact also inhibits exploration.

Port battles are biased and small pvp battles, no in both you spend more time chasing than fighting

I find the missions dull and repetative soi don't do them, they are working on adding more variety so I can wait. But if I wanted PVE I would of joined that server.

Trading is not my thing, I work in logistics for a living so yeah not doing that when I get off work lol.

PVP can be a pain to find, but if you look in the right area's it's not to hard.

My biggest frustration right now, finding Bermuda and learning how to sail the snow in combat. I'll get both figured out eventually.

Because I can't use any type of voice chat, I will never likely be able to join a clan, but I'm still having fun.

I have been following the game for over a year, so I like to think I knew what to expect at EA launch. At this point I'm happy with it, I get about 90 mins a day playtime and I'm not rushing to the top ranks/ships.

In the end it all depends on your outlook for the game, if you want to rush to the top and define progress that way I have a feeling your going to be pretty miserable.

[AKPyrate]

I do a little sailing. When I heard of this game I was excited over it. The chance to sail and use lots of different boats in epic navy battles. The sell went something like that, ha sure you can do that but

 

You can only progress in this game if you sail square riggers

You must join a clan or you can't play

The purpose of crafting is ONLY for making big ships, the little ones ,if and I mean if you do get the blueprint are just a means to the end the developers want you to have.

 

I am 1st lieutenant rank, in the missions I face two opponents of the same type ship or a higher armour level and I'm no longer allowed to hire fleet boats to help me, what a crock. Why have fleet hire at all?

Oh fleet hire is to help new players.

You don't need to hire fleet when you start all you need is to change the cannons on the cutter 

 

Reality check

canons = 2 grand

fleet ship = 18 grand

which is more accessible to a newbie?

 

If I don't want to conform in sailing ever bigger ship or joining a clan, which is actually hard finding a small group of likeminded players, then missions are no longer playable. Most of the game in its current state GONE!

 

oh yes, I can capture trade brigs, everyday all day. Real interesting

 

WHY even bother having all these wonderful boats, WHY? When you use them for a few missions then have to discard them.

 

When all I hear is Cerberus or above can come along.

 

Make the game more balanced or just give everyone a Victory or Santissima and stick them in compulsory groups to blow the hell out of each other.

All the rest is just very expensive window dressing

 

I haven't joined a clan and right now don't plan to.  I enjoy the smaller square riggers (the various brigs, mainly) the most, though in earlier patches have tried the large ships as well.  Missions are only there to help progress level.  If you want to stay with the smaller ships, there's really no reason to do them.  You can find a neutral or free port near an enemy port and harass their traders, harass their smaller NPC ships and look for PVP options for other battles.  Without support of others, whether in clans or just other random players online at the same time, you won't make as much profit.  Same goes for smaller ships; the efficiency of size is why ships have gotten bigger over the years.  As for fleets, my experience is that they did nearly as much damage to myself as they did to the enemy.  So if you want to sail those small boats alone, go ahead and do it.  However, if you want to get rich or make admiral by doing so, it's just not the most efficient way.

 

As for just giving everyone a Victory or Santissima, that's just ridiculous.

 

Another option (one that I use a lot myself) is to have more than one ship.  If I feel like sailing a Privateer in a small battle, then I take that one out.  If I want to trade, I'll take a trader brig or snow out, if I want to help in a port battle, I take a frigate or a ship of the line (eventually, maybe).  So far, I think my favorite ship in game has been the navy brig and I truly enjoy sailing it, even though it's below the 'rank' I currently hold.  Just yesterday I joined a battle that I happened upon where 4 or so navy brigs, a snow, and a cutter (exact numbers/ships might be a little off, and I'm not counting the Surprise which fled immediately and never fired a shot) took down a couple of cutters, a brig, a frigate, and nearly sank a 3rd rate!  So it can be done, though if you really want to tackle bigger enemies you will need help and/or a larger fleet.  Missions, which are a relatively new dynamic in the game and I believe mostly to help people progress faster if they want to (especially when we were still testing heavily), are not a major part of the overall game.  Best of luck and hopefully I see you out there, either as a worthy opponent or a helpful part of a 'pick up' fleet.

[Henry d'Esterre Darby]

I was very angry yesterday when I wrote my first post. I felt cheated, both in the £30 I spent on the game and the time I have spent playing but more, cheated because I really like this game and playing it at the level and style I am currently at and like a lot, and that is being stolen from me. Why?

The way the missions are set up I can no longer do them because

a) I sail solo and at my level I require team mates and hired fleets are not permitted above 1st lieutenant, please tell me why that is I would really like to understand the logic behind that decision.

the opponents' ships bets bigger with each rank, so eventually I have 2 choices get a bigger boat or get sunk a lot where the costs of repairs outmatch the gold received

 

In this game's current state I can trade but only locally. The cost to set up trading outposts, so I can leave goods in the warehouse until sold is way too high. That fact also inhibits exploration.

Port battles are biased and small pvp battles, no in both you spend more time chasing than fighting 

 

Head to the Bahamas - lots of shallow water, lots of little ships.  Profit!

 

The missions are a levelling crutch - you'll get lots of XP and have lots of fun fighting other players, get out there in your Privateer or Pickle and have fun!

[theprof739]

Try not to be frustrated, the early ranks can be a bit of a grind. Try out the small battles as they can be a blast in a small ship. even if you don't join a clan make a few friends in chat and with 2-4 people any mission will be easy. Also if you find you are fighting a mission that's too hard, don't be afraid to run away, sometimes retreat is the best option.

[Hethwill]

Stay true to history. Fly a brig.

[maturin]

Hopefully shallow water will enter instances soon.

 

It would also be nice to see certain shallow water ports exclude brigs.