PORT BATTLES ARE FARCICAL

[Belamy]

Firstly, since the change away from the flag for port battles they have become an absolute farce and are in the realm of science fiction. This is due to the ability of opposing forces being able at anytime to log off in front of the Port designated for the battle then logging on with co-ordination on team speak, knowing full well that with the time available to them before they can be tagged into battle they will make it to the cross swords and enter the battle without any problem what so ever.

What part of this is reality or even partial reality?

What use is a screening fleet? They cannot do anything except watch the ships appear in front of the port and enter the port battle under a timer that allows them to be invincible. What a joke and for this reason the game will lose players. Sailing the flag to a port to commence a port battle was more realistic, more fun and had some forms of strategy and tactics to achieve the goal. Currently, especially for a screening ship, it is boring, time consuming and a complete waste of time, you might as well throw the dice to decide the winner of the port battle.

Secondly, the ability to bomb a port with war supplies to immediately trigger a port battle goes against the reason for having hostilities in a region, to escalate towards a port battle with the ability for the opposing side to de-escalate. Let us all just go out and place bombs everywhere and have 10 port battles scheduled for the same time all over the map. You are already pushing the realms of science fiction, why not continue, if the death of the game is what you are looking for.

The player number are already declining at a steady rate, so how do you expect new players to come into a game that already shows signs of deterioration.

Before the patch this game was great and I would recommend it to others, but now I fail to see the attraction and would not recommend this game. Do not forget we are the customers, but I think that has long been forgotten.

[Fletch]

I agree with what your saying, but the defenders might well do the same if they did not have the magical ability to teleport to the port being defended.

I would like to see the ability to teleport to a contested port removed, as an attacker how can you screen a port battle when the defender can port in and simply undock and join?

Under the current system both the port defenders and attackers use methods to avoid interdiction before joining. The result is you cant stop either.

So yes I also agree the flag was a better system, people might hate me for saying it but there was some strategic importance of ports that were within an hours sail of more important ports. If you wanted to cross the map you needed a stop off point.

 

[Guest]

While it's sad that logging out in front of the cutlasses is used at all, I fear that it is a reaction to how screening is equally farcical.

Wave after wave of gray-quality ships that tag, surrender/die and emerge from the port to sail out and do it all over again ad infinitum. I didn't know that the carribean was filled with immortal japanese kamikaze pilots.

[Sir William Hargood]

I agree that the current scenario is nothing short of a fiasco...and requires a complete rework...perhaps there is some solution in the original concept...

 

[Palpatine]

If you remove the ability to log-off in from of the port for the attackers then it will immidiatly boost the defenders because defenders (even from the allied factions) can easily create an outpost in the contested port and teleport ships (and themselves) there  and enter the port battle without any risk while the attackers need very good coordination and even luck to break through the screeners with their main fleet (cause entering a pb with half main fleet and half noob zerg its a complete loss cause the defenders always have their best forces on def). In this way the attackers need MUCH MORE forces cause the defenders can tag the attackers even with lesser forces and keep them in battle with Area Control perk just to win cause of timer of pb even loosing all their screening ships (which are always so cheap and mostly bought in the shop). Thats why if you dont let the defeners to log off it will lead to a soon victory for zerg-factions like brits that always have more people in every pb. So the log-off is now the only way to organize a fair fight. And the pb should be a fair fight where the strongest 25 members win.

And speaking about war supply bomb - its a very expensive weapon that also need coordination and nearly 20 mln for craft materials - thats not cheap.

Edited November 25, 2016 by Palpatine

[Wesreidau]

Protip.

The defender will always have the advantage. Stop trying to make it balanced between attack and defense.

[Archaos]

On 11/25/2016 at 11:34 PM, Palpatine said:

If you remove the ability to log-off in from of the port for the attackers then it will immidiatly boost the defenders because defenders (even from the allied factions) can easily create an outpost in the contested port and teleport ships (and themselves) there  and enter the port battle without any risk while the attackers need very good coordination and even luck to break through the screeners with their main fleet (cause entering a pb with half main fleet and half noob zerg its a complete loss cause the defenders always have their best forces on def). In this way the attackers need MUCH MORE forces cause the defenders can tag the attackers even with lesser forces and keep them in battle with Area Control perk just to win cause of timer of pb even loosing all their screening ships (which are always so cheap and mostly bought in the shop). Thats why if you dont let the defeners to log off it will lead to a soon victory for zerg-factions like brits that always have more people in every pb. So the log-off is now the only way to organize a fair fight. And the pb should be a fair fight where the strongest 25 members win.

And speaking about war supply bomb - its a very expensive weapon that also need coordination and nearly 20 mln for craft materials - thats not cheap.

War supplies are not that hard to make, yes it does take some time to gather materials and they come at a cost but I personally without any assistance have been ably to craft over 80 in about 10 days and I could make more if I had the labour hours. Any nation or group of people who put their mind to it can easily craft war supplies. It is also currently very easy to make money in game if you spend some time investigating prices.

[Belamy]

The defender always had the advantage as they were able to enter port, re-supply, re-arm, repair their ships and obtain more crew, where the attackers had to make do with what they had and what extra supplies, ammunition, crew and repair equipment they could carry which would also restrict their fighting ability. They would try to lighten their ships by setting up a temporary repair base as close as they could to the area of action.

Many defenders still have to sail to the port designated for the PB as they may not have an outpost there and I am sure you would not give up an outpost that is producing materials and that you have other ships docked and spend at least 15,000 just to  relocate to the port for a PB, you would just sail there. So therefore both sides would still have to sail to the port and by allowing log off in front of the port it is moving the game into the realm of science fiction and taking away the PVP and tactics required by both sides to defend and attack the port in question. 

[Belamy]

Well it has appeared that the other factions are not into PVP in a region to escalate hostilities, they do not want to allow the occupying nation to have any chance of de-escalating the hostilities in the region, just take the easy way out and just bomb Regional Capitals to create an instantaneous Port Battle all at the same time knowing full well that they can log off in front of the port and be invincible from attack by the defending nation. Maybe they are concerned that in the next patch they will be unable to log off and log on in front of the port that is why there is now seven port battles scheduled for the same time on the 30th. This is truly science fiction at its best, my enthusiasm to continue with this game is also dying just as quick as the game is. I will say again that the flag was the better option, as it at least it gave some form of realism and required some tactics and strategy to try and achieve the result sort after. 

After the full wipe are we going to have port battles in basic cutters?   Players will just give up if they are to lose everything and start all over again. I know I would be, with a 90% chance of not coming back. 

[Sir William Hargood]

I suggest that the Developers idea in this regard has backfired. They intended that the raising of hostilities to initiate Port Battles would require a national effort. Well simply put the port bombing has screwed that idea entirely and coupled with logging off in front of the port to guarantee risk free entry has made screening fleets redundant.

In short we are far worse off than before with the Port Battle Flag concept...at least then we had screening fleets and other tactics involved. Now is just game break stuffed up.

Edited November 30, 2016 by Sir William Hargood