An Open World PVP gameplay Mechanic

[Chug]

PVP is obviously a big part of this game and you have the organised Port Battle pvp and then the open world small group/solo hunting pvp. Where you go looking for easy pickings, such as lone traders or enemy ships. It is fun, when it's you hunting and making money/marks and bad when its you losing all your items. It adds risk/reward and some "spice" to the the open world sailing, which without, would be really boring ( well, lets be honest, more boring).

Usually the ships of choice for players to go hunting in are the Surprise,Renommee and/or the Endymion. They usually base themselves in a freetown/friendly port near an active enemy area, where trade is going, and easy pickings are to be found. Then they begin to hunt players for the marks and loot.

So far so good, but here is a problem. No ship below a 5th rate can realistically deal with these ships ( Surprise/Renom/Endy) they can not out run them or out fight them. Yes, the trader lynx can beat them all upwind, and yes people do escape them on occasion thanks to a bit of luck or skill or simple lack of, but they don't really have much chance. The only real counter, is to match them like for like with the same ships. So you can hopefully catch them and beat them (two very different things). This becomes a real problem for low level players who are just starting out. Loosing your new Mercury for example with the new cannons you just got crafted for all your money or even worse, your trader brig with your life savings invested in goods in its hold can be brutal and cause many people just to quit.

My suggestion is, what if (like shallow and deep water port battles where only certain ship rates can take part in each) the open world pvp mechanic was changed slightly so that people in 5th rates and higher could not tag/attack or pull into a fight any player in a 6/7th rate, only those players actually sailing in 6/7th rates could. 

Just to be clear. This is just for player versus player and is only for being attacked not for attacking. Obviously BR difference is still in effect.

It would mean new players would come up against ships they can compete against on a more even field and have a better experience. Meaning better player retention for the game and also mean veteran players (as in more established) would have to use lower rated ships if they wanted to catch those traders brigs for example. Expanding the need and the market for the smaller vessels ( if they wanted to hunt LGV's or Indiaman's then they can still take the surprise etc to do so as these traders are 5/4 rates).

It would also mean that new players could go hunting enemy player ships earlier and experience more of the game other than the early grind and even be of help for screening/scouting port battle pvp in deep waters (allot of port battles are deep water). As they know they wont get clubbed to death by bigger ships (unless they wanted to start that fight of course,(again don't forget BR still exists)) and they would get a fight against ships their own size as the enemy has to bring smaller ships to counter theirs in the open world.

It's not about making it safer for players sailing the lower rates, it's about making it more fun and accessible for them and adding some variety to the game and not just sailing one or two types of ship because they are the best at that role. No-one goes hunting in almost anything but the surprise, with removing the 6/7 rates from it's sights as a hunter you make a choice. Do I take a small ship to catch the small ships? or do i take a bigger ship to catch the big ships?

Small ships become more useful across the map and not just for shallow water areas.

Small traders at least have a real chance to escape from attackers or put up a fight.

Plus the added bonus of this is that it will help people with gaining the ship knowledge XP. As you have a reason other than unlocking slots to unlock slots on higher class ships to play the smaller ships more.

So what do you think?

 

 

[CaptVonGunn]

I will say it is far from the worst idea i have heard... But i would bsse it on. Rank not ship size. This is because if it is ship size then suddenly All the Traders Brings just became safer.  

So say once you can use 5th rates you cant hunt solo players that can only use 6th or less. 

 

It is really to bad there isn't another large shallow water area like the Bahamas in the southern part of the map. You csn get dome interesting fights there