PvP1. Merchants hubs for upcoming June upgrade patch

[Bach]

Looking at the new patch and without the ability to teleport ships building them in strategic locations will become more important. I'd like to create some player made content in the form of primary multi-national merchant markets in key locations. So I'm looking for true Econ minded players to stock and create competitive markets in the following free cities: Key West, Ile-a-Vachi and Plymouth.

How you get the goods to them and what mark up on materials is certainly up too you. What need is to create the stockpiles of necessary ship building materials and competition. By using these three hubs we create three centralized markets. Players can then visit, buy goods and either sail them out or mail them to another free City. Similarly suppliers can either sail goods in to maximize profits or mail them in from frontier producer free cities.

If we get this content up and running then empires and more can be built from them. So become a merchant prince of the New World! Get at least one raw material or product up on a market nearest you.

KEY WEST

ILE-A-VACHI

PLYMOUTH

[Ned Loe]

Key West is N1 pvp spot. Who will be crazy enough to haul through those waters?

[GrapeShot]

I think that's the idea - to situate shipyards in PVP areas so you don't have to sail ships to them.

Materials can be sent risk free via deliveries.

[Cpt Blackthorne]

Materials can be sent risk free via deliveries.

Hopefully not, if the devs show player deliveries in OW as "NPC Contra Smuggler - Player Name" or something of the like. I truly hope this is considered soon.

[GrapeShot]

I agree that automatic material deliveries are a problem. They kill trade routes.

I've long argued that Port Battles, with their ever increasing set of Rube Goldbergesque rules to try to get them to work are nonsensical, unworkable and should be gotten rid of.

Robust trade routes and trade centers would organically drive PVP.

Alas, I think we'll get endless diddling with damage models for realism's sake, while the unnatural rule sets to try to solve time zones and port flipping lumbers on.

For now, with the upcoming closing of the "send capped ships to outpost" trick this might be a good move.

Edited June 20, 2016 by GrapeShot

[Bach]

Key West is positioned at a cross roads for Florida, Cuba and the Northern Bahamas. Theoretically x3 nations one spot. Will this be a potential problem due to pvp? Yes. That's why it creates content. Sure YOU may choose to mail your goods into the market and avoid all that and build a ship right there. On the other hand I may choose to smuggle in my goods and in so doing undercut your cost by the free city mailing fees. Pirates and privateers may try to stop me. Spain or USA may decide to secure the waters for free trade. Maybe they will secure them for themselves and charge travel visa fees to the rest.

So what the advantage to the merchants you might ask? Supplying all that pvp = customers = profit. What's the advantage to the nations to protect it? A common multi-national market place will drive down prices and the rediculous inflation currently infecting the game at capital ports. What's the advantage to pirates and privateers? Fat rich targets taking chances for big profits. That's all player made content in a sand box. So jump on board and let's do this. I will be using Key West myself so that's at least one crafty brave merchant making the run to undercut the no risk competition.

I'm looking to make a cargo run to Key West June 21st in Pacific Standard Time zone. Any Spanish want to secure Key West or Escort?

Edited June 20, 2016 by Bach

[Lonar]

Plymouth is Gankers Paradies (from Plym and Island Harbour) last time i checked, so also a bad choice ...

[CaptVonGunn]

I think that's the idea - to situate shipyards in PVP areas so you don't have to sail ships to them.

Materials can be sent risk free via deliveries.

Only semi risk free. SInce you still have to get them to a Free Port to send them.. it will make every free port a magnet for trader hunters.. which is not really a bad thing

[Bach]

Plymouth is Gankers Paradies (from Plym and Island Harbour) last time i checked, so also a bad choice ...

I disagree. This is what makes it a GOOD choice. It creates content, pvp and customers. Last night I moved two ships full of coal, iron and hemp into Key West. Yes, I said I was doing today but I might have exaggerated the convoy time a bit.

Anyway, I set up in Key West, also considered a ganker paradise, undercut La Habana prices by 30% and sold out the entire stock in 3 hours. This works! You just have to be brave enough to try it and smart enough to succeed.

FYI - La Habana was running >60% mark ups. In some cases greater than 100%. So even undercutting them I made over 30% profit on a half million in 40 minutes of sailing. If I had help and convoyed larger ships I could have made a lot more. Only question is whom to ask for help. I don't know if my buyers are Spanish getting low prices or British building ships in Key West to fight the Spanish. ????

Edited June 21, 2016 by Bach

[Lonar]

I disagree. This is what makes it a GOOD choice. It creates content, pvp and customers. Last night I moved two ships full of coal, iron and hemp into Key West. Yes, I said I was doing today but I might have exaggerated the convoy time a bit.

Anyway, I set up in Key West, also considered a ganker paradise, undercut La Habana prices by 30% and sold out the entire stock in 3 hours. This works! You just have to be brave enough to try it and smart enough to succeed.

FYI - La Habana was running >60% mark ups. In some cases greater than 100%. So even undercutting them I made over 30% profit on a half million in 40 minutes of sailing. If I had help and convoyed larger ships I could have made a lot more. Only question is whom to ask for help. I don't know if my buyers are Spanish getting low prices or British building ships in Key West to fight the Spanish.

 

Well, you want a unsecure Trade Hub? Why would anyone besides you who only wants to attack Traders (the only Thing why this would make sense) use this ... Trader will be attacked when they bring their Goods to it and when the Buyer bring it away ... honestly this is so stupid i have no idea why i write something about it ...

[Bach]

Well, you want a unsecure Trade Hub? Why would anyone besides you who only wants to attack Traders (the only Thing why this would make sense) use this ... Trader will be attacked when they bring their Goods to it and when the Buyer bring it away ... honestly this is so stupid i have no idea why i write something about it ...

One could ask why you bothered to join a pvp server? Everything you want safe and sound is available on the PVE server with minimal risk.

Why did I join a pvp server? The challenges.

When the crew patch goes live and teleporting ships stops players will need a way to build pvp ships IN or NEAR the pvp action. This fills that need by making supplies available and shareable between Free Cities. The safe alternative is to build the ships far away and sail for an hour or so to get to the action. Nothing wrong with that but it's not very efficient. This is a war game and he who takes risks gets a chance for the bigger wins. By smuggling arms, building materials and essentially weaponry into the combat zone I expect to make better profits in the long run than the safe crafters sipping tea watching the war.

Now that said, you can still build your stuff in safety. Sail it to an out of the way free city and have the computer ship your goods to Key West, Ile-a-Vachi or Plymouth. Both of us will be supplying the war effort and creating content. The only difference is that by risking my ship and cargo now and then I should be able to undercut your prices. The system will still work even if some merchants elect to take the safe route.

Edited June 21, 2016 by Bach

[Enraged Ewok]

Well, you want a unsecure Trade Hub? Why would anyone besides you who only wants to attack Traders (the only Thing why this would make sense) use this ... Trader will be attacked when they bring their Goods to it and when the Buyer bring it away ... honestly this is so stupid i have no idea why i write something about it ...

 

You are on a PVP server yes? You have friends who sail combat ships yes? 1 + 1 = 2. Pay your friends in materials, discounts, PVP, whatever their asking price is to escort your ship into and out of the freeport. They get PVP, you get into port safely and can go about your crafting. Its a win-win.

[Lonar]

You are on a PVP server yes? You have friends who sail combat ships yes? 1 + 1 = 2. Pay your friends in materials, discounts, PVP, whatever their asking price is to escort your ship into and out of the freeport. They get PVP, you get into port safely and can go about your crafting. Its a win-win.

 

And because iam on a PVP Server means i must be stupid? Its not about getting attacked or whatever but why should i use one of the suggested harbors when there are 30 safer others ... and the pvp argument is lets call it nice ... useless ... since if you so much need your pvp press the random battle button .... so when i want pvp so hard like you why should i sail with a trader to such a harbor and dont use simply a warship to have pvp? (see your argument isnt pvp its more like "I want to gank!" and for that you dont want to look for traders but want them come to you so you dont need to move and can jump into the harbour if there is a escort ...)

Edited June 22, 2016 by Lonar

[Bach]

And because iam on a PVP Server means i must be stupid? Its not about getting attacked or whatever but why should i use one of the suggested harbors when there are 30 safer others ... and the pvp argument is lets call it nice ... useless ... since if you so much need your pvp press the random battle button .... so when i want pvp so hard like you why should i sail with a trader to such a harbor and dont use simply a warship to have pvp? (see your argument isnt pvp its more like "I want to gank!" and for that you dont want to look for traders but want them come to you so you dont need to move and can jump into the harbour if there is a escort ...)

Hopefully your not one of those trolls that has to drag "ganking" into every gaming discussion. I'll try to answer your "why build in a pvp area" question below.

First consider the lay of the battlefield post crew patch. Let's consider Plymouth area. Sure there is currently piracy and privateering there. That also means there is pirate hunters there. Now if the Danes, Swedes or French decide to RvR there will also be RvR there. So we have all these different styles of pvp going on around Plymouth. Like it or not pvp drives the main market. There are small markets for new player ships and crafted modules but they are tiny compared to pvp ship replacements.

Today those players simply teleport ships built safely at capitals or way down south in the corner of the map to Plymouth. Then they do whatever style of pvp they do. So today they only use Plymouth for ship storage and repairs.

Post crew patch they can no longer teleport a ship into Plymouth. So if they are pirates, Brits, Spain or USA they have to sail fresh ships in from Far west. Very impractical in game time and probably takes them 2-3hrs of just sailing. But if they can just pop up a shipyard in Plymouth they are back in business. Maybe they buy our local Plymouth materials or maybe they have the computer ship them in from their own free city in the west. Either way building ships in Plymouth is the future. Now due to the chaotic and dangerous nature of the pvp surrounding Plymouth I am also betting that the locals (Danes, Swedes, French) also decide to build combat ships in Plymouth. Especially if we have a robust market their that can fill in any missing items they may need for quicker production. Remember their isolated capital city markets are plague by inflated prices. Now again, none of this requires the participating merchants to actually sail goods into Plymouth if they don't want too. They can use the free city to free city shipments and still stock the markets. Merchants that do risk the cargo runs get the ability to lower prices and have their goods bought first. It should be a win win for everyone in the Plymouth area.

It should work the same for the hot spots of Key West and Ile-a-Vachi. But the idea does hinge on players losing the ability to teleport ships in upcoming patches. Otherwise it's pointless as players would just continue to craft anywhere they like and just teleport ships to the battle fronts. This idea will work.

Edited June 22, 2016 by Bach

[Kiefer Cain]

It is a solid concept, and one that has a working example in one other ship sailing game, that many (not all) remember.  I hate bringing up PotBS, but the econ hubs of that game were also the pvp centers of that game (Port Royal, Matthew-town, St. Johns, Ruddy Cove).  If anyone remembers way back in 2008-2010 there was a raging debate between the British clans about basing econ in safe but isolated Turtling Bay or the dangerous and pvp harried waters of St. Johns.  TB lost and St.J became the econ hub of the nation (and server, iirc...).

 

By concentrating the game's econ into a smaller set of international trade-points, you introduce competition opportunities which typically (with true economic conditions... no 5 contract limits...) drive prices down.  The trade-off for selling at lower prices, is that a hot market will buy your goods faster and more reliably. 

 

The free-port deliveries offer the safe, yet expensive route to the market and those that choose to smuggle via open water risk more, but profit more.  No matter how you choose to get your goods to market, this idea ensures that there is a lively market destination to arrive at.  It is a win win.  If economy minded players are still playing the game in numbers, this stands a chance at working.

Edited June 23, 2016 by Kiefer Cain