How to fix pirates

[Fastidius]

So as we all know Pirates are not a nation they are a classification but due to mechanics not being in place the devs have made them this thing that makes little sense.

 

Now firstly i would like to point out that pirates is a way to create an alternate form of game play,  aimed more at greifing nations than becoming one which i think is a very good thing for diversity.  The problem you have is that you need to make it so that pirates have a role to play but are not specifically the enemy to all nations..

 

 

This is what i suggest...

 

 

 

• Make a series of island have Pirate ports.  thes ports need to be at least 30 minutes sail from each other......they could even be a floating base made up of say 10 damaged 3rd rates roped together, basically anything that can act as a stationary point for them to go to and make it so that they are overly well defended with huge arrays of 48lbsers that cant be captured.  This means they have havens and freeports they can go to which are unable to be attacked by deep sea ships and all other areas are hunting ground.(these mechanics are already available in essence).  They now have a County lines they can run to so they don't get caught.  These can have pirate traders/supply ships.  you can trade with pirates at freeports so basically traders can buy at nations sell at freeports for profit as pirates earn more gold and prey off traders.

 

• Now to make it work you take away all ship building over Frigates but make the ships they build all shallow water capable.   call them pirate versions of the ships and many versions to make the equivalent number of ship types but never actually 3rd or higher.  Ie Pirate Frigate Marauder/ Pirate frigate Jugganaut etc faster and tougher so theycan brawl with 3rds and higher but only like 60% the HP so they are trying to get boarding..  The are uncapturable/1 duro and self scuttle when boardings are won.(you have that mechanic already in place).  When a pirate ship is captured the caper gets a bounty of 1000g x the number of ships the pirate has sunk since last capture. give them a ranking system based on this last sunk vs killed system maybe?  they need better grappling mechanics so they can capture a ship a say 6 knots or less, make this an upgrade path so that they can only do 1-2 on standard,green3-4, blue 5-6,purple 7, Gold top tier ships.
• CREW for pirates are not replenished at sea and they must return to a freeport/haven. 

 

Now that we have made the Pirates have a home and a reason not to be attacked constantly we look at making pirates effective.

 

• Their traders get special upgrades which allow them to be a bit more effective.  Pirate Planking, Pirate swordfighting books,  Pirate Barricades, pirate hammocks amke an upgrade which allows a duro but only 1 per ship that way they are constanly replenishing duro kits for crafters(this is likely to be the price of a ship so they save their upgrades).   These are only applicable to pirate ships  (mechanics already there just adapt the cannon limitation mechanics to upgrade slots and create a class for nation and a class for pirate upgrades).  This gives their traders something to aim for.
• The crew for pirates should have the fighting statistics of marines rather than crew.  This will allow them to punch well above their weight in a capture condition,  Pirates should always be trying to CAPTURE not destroy.
• Pirates capturing ships get bonus resources to make it profitable as well as a gold bonus for each rank the opposition is.  They get the gold value of the ship the capture but they cannot own it.

 

 

The entire concept here is to use mechanics already in place with a bit of tweaking to create an alternate gameplay style that is not nation style.  Small fleets of pirates can take on warships etc but they will always want to get in close and capture.  they are tied to a limited range by having to replenish crews, they are mostly ina hit and run situation because of this.  They have gold and trade incentives.

 

Port battle mechanics can stay the same except they get resources and gold for taking ports.  generally they will hit shallow water ones due to their ship advantages. this means that traders elling at shallow water/freetown ports are taking risk but get reward.   Pirates still play port battle mechanics only difference is they have their own frigates to deal with so its harder to capture a defended port.  undefended ports are ok as they can cap tower fast enough.

Edited March 22, 2016 by Fastidius

[xAzDKr]

Do you mean almost the same thing that is suggested on every single one of these threads? No really...  

Edited March 22, 2016 by xAzDKr

[Lord Roberts]

I'm really surprised pirates have not changed yet, every single day there is a post stating how pirates should not be a nation and yet nothing is ever done about them... 

[Jerome]

My take. Give pirates x amount of ports. Any ports they take revert back to nation after a few days (three?). Any pirate port captured reverts back pirate after same amount of days.

Done.

[Captain Tylor]

I'm really surprised pirates have not changed yet, every single day there is a post stating how pirates should not be a nation and yet nothing is ever done about them... 

and every single one of them is from whiny British babies who can't stand to lose

[Lord Roberts]

and every single one of them is from whiny British babies who can't stand to lose

I have seen all nations complain, even pirates mate.

 

Instead of insulting people come up with an argument to why pirates should or not not be changed.

Edited March 22, 2016 by Lord Roberts

[ove bababoke]

I'm really surprised pirates have not changed yet, every single day there is a post stating how pirates should not be a nation and yet nothing is ever done about them...

Poor little brits afraid to loose all their ports?)

[Lord Roberts]

Poor little brits afraid to loose all their ports?)

sigh.... not once have i said I was afraid.. please don't contribute without an actual reason mate..

[Toothless Jack]

{    }

Except for 

• CREW for pirates are not replenished at sea and they must return to a freeport/haven.  

  I would be happy to see all this. +3

[Wilson09]

My take. Give pirates x amount of ports. Any ports they take revert back to nation after a few days (three?). Any pirate port captured reverts back pirate after same amount of days.

Done.

Awful suggestion. No one would play Pirates, if all others could expand and Pirates are restricted that way....most armchair-generals play

this game as they dream of world domination...Pirates should be scattered all over the map, but need to be able to expand as well...but

more on a basis of pirate clans/factions and not as a whole nation...

[Lord Roberts]

Awful suggestion. No one would play Pirates, if all others could expand and Pirates are restricted that way....most armchair-generals play

this game as they dream of world domination...Pirates should be scattered all over the map, but need to be able to expand as well...but

more on a basis of pirate clans/factions and not as a whole nation...

Pirates should only be able to use free ports and if they want world domination go join a nation, pirating should be hard, not easy. This game is listed as a simulator not an arcade game.

[Toothless Jack]

Pirates should only be able to use free ports and if they want world domination go join a nation, pirating should be hard, not easy. This game is listed as a simulator not an arcade game.

So you have nations and you have pirates in free ports.

All big nations don't feel any limits and i can tell you now pirates would be camped forever in those free towns.

Unless you will give us gentleman's word and pirates will be able to leave and come to these ports without being pulled into battle every time.

[Lord Roberts]

So you have nations and you have pirates in free ports.

All big nations don't feel any limits and i can tell you now pirates would be camped forever in those free towns.

Unless you will give us gentleman's word and pirates will be able to leave and come to these ports without being pulled into battle every time.

people get camped now as it is, spain is camped both on PVP 1 and 2 and Pirates were camped in Mort town on PVP 2 for a time.

[Toothless Jack]

people get camped now as it is, spain is camped both on PVP 1 and 2 and Pirates were camped in Mort town on PVP 2 for a time.

Let me put this other way.. You think its OK to make pirates sail just small ships, not to have any national ports and be perma camped in free ports. You think this way NA will get more players

Don't get me wrong i am even now using mostly free ports as my base but as fastidius said pirates must have safe house/heaven to level up young captains or simply ' respawn ' .

If this is too much for pirates to give in return in that case id stick with system we have now. I am pirating and doing it with great fun. Never sailed bigger ship than trincomalee and probably never will.

Gank, sink, run , chase, plunder is my current style of the game and if you think pirates should be closed and controlled as some sort of dogs you are mistaken. 

[Lord Roberts]

Let me put this other way.. You think its OK to make pirates sail just small ships, not to have any national ports and be perma camped in free ports. You think this way NA will get more players

Don't get me wrong i am even now using mostly free ports as my base but as fastidius said pirates must have safe house/heaven to level up young captains or simply ' respawn ' .

If this is too much for pirates to give in return in that case id stick with system we have now. I am pirating and doing it with great fun. Never sailed bigger ship than trincomalee and probably never will.

Gank, sink, run , chase, plunder is my current style of the game and if you think pirates should be closed and controlled as some sort of dogs you are mistaken. 

No i don't think pirates should stay in small ships but the only way to get bigger ships should be to cap them, hell I wanted to go pirate originally because of those ideas we all had before open world but sadly pirate is just another nation.

 

I don't believe in camping and if pirates only had free ports they wouldn't and couldn't be camped at all of them, there are too many.

[AKPyrate]

Let me put this other way.. You think its OK to make pirates sail just small ships, not to have any national ports and be perma camped in free ports. You think this way NA will get more players

Don't get me wrong i am even now using mostly free ports as my base but as fastidius said pirates must have safe house/heaven to level up young captains or simply ' respawn ' .

If this is too much for pirates to give in return in that case id stick with system we have now. I am pirating and doing it with great fun. Never sailed bigger ship than trincomalee and probably never will.

Gank, sink, run , chase, plunder is my current style of the game and if you think pirates should be closed and controlled as some sort of dogs you are mistaken. 

 

They shouldn't be playing as a nation.  They are pirates, and historically were not usually very successful.  Maybe hamper their ability to expand, but allow specific players to possibly earn reputation (good and bad), and when they have enough good will with a nation, buy a pardon for a fairly large amount of money.  They shouldn't be controlled too closely, but they should also not be realistically able to obtain the kind of dominance that they have achieved so far.  As an outlaw and 'enemy of humanity', they should have an extremely hard time maintaining anything even as big as a frigate, let alone a ship of the line.  Doubling the cost of repairs, decreasing the buying price of their stolen goods would be a good start.

[ove bababoke]

sigh.... not once have i said I was afraid.. please don't contribute without an actual reason mate..

Dude, the most whining nation is british one. For 2 weeks or something your territory squeezing and squeezing. Coincedence? I don't think so.

[mirror452]

I don't get why there are so many pirates who don't want a change. You want to play like a nation? Well, there are plenty of nations to choose from. Let us have pirates that actually act like pirates, and let the RvR be done by nations.

Pirates were always supposed to be a hardcore nation. Atm they are not. In fact they are probably the easiest nation around.

[Lord Roberts]

Dude, the most whining nation is british one. For 2 weeks or something your territory squeezing and squeezing. Coincedence? I don't think so.

You sound like a pirate are you a pirate? would make sense to be honest, pirates hate change and people wanting change makes you pirates angry cause you have it easy right now and don't want that to change.

Edited March 22, 2016 by Lord Roberts

[Porpoise]

I like to see the Brits supporting ideas to change the pyrat faction. Any connection to the map situation on PVP1? LOL

 

Seriously. I think that pyrate faction needs to be changed and be more competitive/hardocore to play than any other nation. Basicaly, they should be more like small gang-solo OW roamers making out their living from PVP and chasing traders. Pyrats should havet strong PVP focus, much stronger than any other nation and also much better loot drops (materials, upgrades, goods)

 

I think operation from freeports is possible as long as there are NPCs buying stuff.  I would also like to see possibility to acquire the letter of marque from your original nation which which will allow you to use ports of this nation and trade there.

Of course something like reputation is needed. When you kill the faction ships - you lose reputation towards that faction. When you fight along with nation, the reputation towards it will rise and when it reeches certain level, the letter of marque will be offered. With low reputation you will be also kill on sight for the NPCs belonging to that faction. 

 

Ability to raid ports is also needed. This should be the way where pirates get most of their supplies. Maybe an ability to  turn a port into neutral one could work too. 

If you want to reduce ability of pirates to craft, then you have to give them some advantages from capturing players ships. For example when a pirate captures players ship, then the ship will come with increased durability etc.. 

 

There are many suggestions, but I think we will see nothing like this. 

Edited March 22, 2016 by Porpoise

[SirLeggit]

You sound like a pirate are you a pirate? would make sense to be honest, pirates hate change and people wanting change makes you pirates angry cause you have it easy right now and don't want that to change.

funny I just seen you on pvp1 as a pirate Mr. Roberts.

[Hugoka]

why do all the non pirate players want to change pirates ??? maybe you should concentrate on figuring out your own nation

[Fastidius]

Do you mean almost the same thing that is suggested on every single one of these threads? No really...  

 

yes but maybe the fact that the mechanics are already there and spelt out again in somewhat clearish english the devs might actually read it and actually do  something about it or  say they will do something about it.  The more we can guide them the more chance they will get it right or at least not horribly wrong.   Also i don't read everything

and every single one of them is from whiny British babies who can't stand to lose

you sir are detrimental to the game development.  please refrain from breathing for a few minutes....

[Fastidius]

Poor little brits afraid to loose all their ports?)

 

Clearly you have no understanding of the current meta.    Because we had all the ports when the patch for production buildings came through we could build our own production facilities and set up shop.  Crafting hours are what we need the most.   the port ownershipis an EGO thing at the moment and if somethingis too far to be bothered defending we don't bother.   Once you get close enough we will care more.

 

[Fastidius]

 

Except for 

• CREW for pirates are not replenished at sea and they must return to a freeport/haven.  

  I would be happy to see all this. +3

 

my concept here was that pirates would be somewhat tied to their bases more than nations.  by doing this they would not be everywhere but more in areas laying in ambush of trade fleets etc.    if they dont have this then they can fight everywhere.....

 

not sure if my suggestion here is actually effected or even beneficial but that was my thinking