The art of playing this game alone.

[angriff]

While I was part of a long lost crew or guild in the USA PVP server and I was part of a nation that had a good portion of the eastern Antilles and South American coast, that has since gone long time away.  Both the guild has ended their play and the country or nation has lost all but less than a dozen ports.  So the game has become a lone wolf style game for me.  I find interesting things to do since the smuggler flags allow me to still trade.  I hunt bottles and lost ships.  I look for combat in enemy area of action but since there are few players of my nation I act alone and often run into a fight I am not willing to engage.  

 

Fishing is almost an indifferent sport.  It is always on and I catch interestly expensive Manta Rays that make money.  Yet, I dont do anything with the fish as I rarely lose any crew.

 

I wonder if there are others that play in this manner and find it interestingly enjoyable?

[angriff]

So I just learned the small countries are totally inhibited and smashed to the ground in this game for us small group player.   Two or three of us had banded together to attack ports to help expand our beleaguered and embattled nation.  Now you have to have a Chef d'Escadre to buy a flag.  So no more port fun for us lone wolves that at time banded together for fun.      Nice work devs... limit the game to large groups ...  

 

 

 

 

[mikawa]

I'm playing as lone freelancer too.

The main problem is the gold income. I'll try to craft also and this consumes much money, because I can only have 5 production buildings and must buy other materials by contracts. Aside from that it's quite okay and I enjoy my independence ....

[Chijohnaok]

There are many independent players in the game that have a  Chef d'Escadre (presumably a rear admiral) rank which would allow them to purchase a conquest flag.

 

I believe that the reason the devs revised the game to limit conquest flags to  Chef d'Escadre/rear admirals was due to prior abuses of players with low ranks (such as midshipmen) pulling conquest flags and never actually conducting an attack.

These flags were seemingly pulled for the sole purpose of impeding someone else from doing so

[Sven Silberbart]

Correct. The Devs did the right thing with that. There were too much players using their alts to buy flags and block an attack on specific port. This exploit is deadly toxic to the game an becouse of that i say thanks to the devs to restrict the purchase of flags only to high ranks.

[angriff]

Correct. The Devs did the right thing with that. There were too much players using their alts to buy flags and block an attack on specific port. This exploit is deadly toxic to the game an becouse of that i say thanks to the devs to restrict the purchase of flags only to high ranks.

Maybe then ranks should be reset to below these top ranks and make these players who got their ranks during the free giveaway of XP points while they were tweaking it is a problem for newer players who did not have the chance for this early breeze-in. 

 

I have three online regularly we sail with and nobody has rank nor knows of any players with rank that play this country anymore.

 

If they are putting restrictions in play like that they should reset the maps to original and see how it plays out.   After all it is just ALPHA  so RESET 

Edited July 7, 2016 by angriff

[angriff]

I'm playing as lone freelancer too.

The main problem is the gold income. I'll try to craft also and this consumes much money, because I can only have 5 production buildings and must buy other materials by contracts. Aside from that it's quite okay and I enjoy my independence ....

what I have done is smuggler runs in an Indiaman to the ports in areas where players have stopped playing because they want to be near the front lines for attacks.   Maybe it is fair or not but usually those countries that have been pushed to only a few ports respect the smuggler and do not attack their own while returning to home port.   It might not be the same for those countries that have large swaths of territory.   However, there also the majority of players want to be in silly port wars and are not in the vicinity. 

[Jean LaPointe]

Maybe then ranks should be reset to below these top ranks and make these players who got their ranks during the free giveaway of XP points while they were tweaking it is a problem for newer players who did not have the chance for this early breeze-in. 

 

I have three online regularly we sail with and nobody has rank nor knows of any players with rank that play this country anymore.

 

If they are putting restrictions in play like that they should reset the maps to original and see how it plays out.   After all it is just ALPHA  so RESET

I, for one, would be against this action as I have been playing solo since the beginning. The rank I currently have is equal to Flag Captain and has taken 8 months to achieve. Please do not assume everyone at this rank or higher had an opportunity to get "free" xp in port battles as I am one who has not.

Reset the game, the ports , the map. What an individual earns in XP for crafting and Naval rankings are separate and held in your steam account. These should never be touched.

I really enjoy the individual action of this game . The contest of ones ability to turn a profit, to win a 1v1 battle, the common stuff, LOL. I have never been in a Port Battle and have no desire to ever get into one. I love the single action with the smaller ships. And now with the crews costing like they do then the smaller ships are even more desireable to operate than the liners.

[Mrdoomed]

Ive played as a solo pirate since day one. Even my clan ( which is very small) is only pure pirate style players and we usually sail alone ir at most 2 of us raid a coast.

I spend my days sailing a coastline looking for victoms and after finding one i spend the next 3 hours trying to stay ahead of the teleporting players and the revenge attacks.

Its been profitable and mostly fun and definitely made some enemies lol. I wouldn't want to be part of a big group or nation.

[angriff]

on of the hardest parts about being a lone wolf in a country that is all but non-existent is need to rank up in crafting.  Ships are no longer being sold with any rank or value in the Capital since there are few players of this country.   So you slowly build up making your own upgrades and ships as you go.

[Jean Ribault]

While I was part of a long lost crew or guild in the USA PVP server and I was part of a nation that had a good portion of the eastern Antilles and South American coast, that has since gone long time away.  Both the guild has ended their play and the country or nation has lost all but less than a dozen ports.  So the game has become a lone wolf style game for me.  I find interesting things to do since the smuggler flags allow me to still trade.  I hunt bottles and lost ships.  I look for combat in enemy area of action but since there are few players of my nation I act alone and often run into a fight I am not willing to engage.  

 

Fishing is almost an indifferent sport.  It is always on and I catch interestly expensive Manta Rays that make money.  Yet, I dont do anything with the fish as I rarely lose any crew.

 

I wonder if there are others that play in this manner and find it interestingly enjoyable?

 

 

We probably know each other in-game.  Yes I do, play in this manner and find it interestingly enjoyable.

[Mrdoomed]

on of the hardest parts about being a lone wolf in a country that is all but non-existent is need to rank up in crafting. Ships are no longer being sold with any rank or value in the Capital since there are few players of this country. So you slowly build up making your own upgrades and ships as you go.

I buy and sell at freeports. Crafted up to 48 so far

[Mrdoomed]

on of the hardest parts about being a lone wolf in a country that is all but non-existent is need to rank up in crafting. Ships are no longer being sold with any rank or value in the Capital since there are few players of this country. So you slowly build up making your own upgrades and ships as you go.

I buy and sell at freeports. Crafted up to 48 so far

[Jean LaPointe]

on of the hardest parts about being a lone wolf in a country that is all but non-existent is need to rank up in crafting.  Ships are no longer being sold with any rank or value in the Capital since there are few players of this country.   So you slowly build up making your own upgrades and ships as you go.

As said above, go to the free ports to shop. I can find a better selection at these locations.

[Jean LaPointe]

Ive played as a solo pirate since day one. Even my clan ( which is very small) is only pure pirate style players and we usually sail alone ir at most 2 of us raid a coast.

I spend my days sailing a coastline looking for victoms and after finding one i spend the next 3 hours trying to stay ahead of the teleporting players and the revenge attacks.

Its been profitable and mostly fun and definitely made some enemies lol. I wouldn't want to be part of a big group or nation.

LOL, as often as we disagree on a few subjects, we both play in the same manner. It is good to see you are experiencing the game as I and a good number of others are!

[Mrdoomed]

LOL, as often as we disagree on a few subjects, we both play in the same manner. It is good to see you are experiencing the game as I and a good number of others are!

Lol. We have some disagreements but i agree with you alot too. ( i just dont want you to know it)

Playing our way is definitely fun and always a challenge but even the smallest gains feel good.

[angriff]

As said above, go to the free ports to shop. I can find a better selection at these locations.

 

Then you are not playing my server... the freeports are even more desolate.

[Mrdoomed]

Then you are not playing my server... the freeports are even more desolate.

Im on your server and only use freeports.

[Elric]

I am a new player - and will likely be an occasional player during the summer months.  Because of being new, and not playing predictably, I am playing PvE at this time.  I don't mind playing solo - at least for now.  That may change as I get more experienced and want the challenge of defeating players rather than robots.   The game is certainly not a simple one - so it will take a good amount of time to try and master...

[angriff]

I am a new player - and will likely be an occasional player during the summer months.  Because of being new, and not playing predictably, I am playing PvE at this time.  I don't mind playing solo - at least for now.  That may change as I get more experienced and want the challenge of defeating players rather than robots.   The game is certainly not a simple one - so it will take a good amount of time to try and master...

you should move to the PVE PVP US server.  You will find the game much more interesting.  Not only do you have the bots as on the PVE but you get the occasional crossing of paths with real players of unknown intent.  The thrill of plotting your course back to safe harbor to avoid such an encounter when your hold has valuable cargo on board will make the game intensely interesting.

Edited July 8, 2016 by angriff

[Mrdoomed]

you should move to the PVE US server. You will find the game much more interesting. Not only do you have the bots as on the PVE but you get the occasional crossing of paths with real players of unknown intent. The thrill of plotting your course back to safe harbor to avoid such an encounter when your hold has valuable cargo on board will make the game intensely interesting.

If its a pve server what thrill is there from seeing another player ?

[angriff]

If its a pve server what thrill is there from seeing another player ?

OOps should be PVP .. I editted now  Thanks

Edited July 8, 2016 by angriff

[angriff]

The one single most patch that has made this game viable for the single player has been the Smuggler flag.  This allows you to enter ports that might otherwise be closed to you for trading.  Maybe not getting the cheapest price with a building but certainly viable in return on investment for a large cargo hold ship like Le Gros Ventre or Indiaman.  Yet, the lower rank player will find the Trader Snow sufficiently fast to make profitable trade runs.

 

 

 

[Jean Ribault]

The one single most patch that has made this game viable for the single player has been the Smuggler flag.  This allows you to enter ports that might otherwise be closed to you for trading. 

...

 

Yep, I agree.  It has been huge for annihilated nations and for solo players.  And that change was an unannounced surprise too. 

Edited July 8, 2016 by Jean Ribault

[Mrdoomed]

OOps should be PVP .. I editted now Thanks

Ah ok. Yes pvp is always exiting. Just last night i snatched defeat from the jaws of victory on pvp2. I attacked a larger ship but thought i could win and was doing a really good job, the enemy captain just kept bull rushing me while i shreaded him.......then i got cocky and turned to broadside him. Ooops he hit me and caused 18 leaks !! I sank before i could even save my crew or officer.

That will never happen vs ai.