Difference between ships

[Captain White]

Hi everyone,

 

So I've been playing Naval Action OW for some time and mostly I like the game, but there are some things that are really annoying and one of them is the reason I'm writing this topic. My topic is based on table made by Inigo Balboa.(Sorry, not able to the copy link for the table, at work we have Internet Explorer. It's located in Guides-> A short guide for novices)

 

Attribute difference between ships. Lets have a look on ships with the same crew amount - NavyBrig&Mercury, Renomee&Surprise, Frigate&Belle Poule.

 

Which one are you going to choose Navy Brig or Mercury? Well I'm sure it's going to be Mercury. So Mercury has advantage in all attributes and has more guns per broadside, while Navy Brig has 2 front guns. I mean why he needs them?

 

2nd group Renomee&Surprise, well balance attempt was made. Renomee has sailing advantage and stern armor is increased, but have a look on fire power. Surprise has 25 batteries (19 per broadside), Renomee - 17 (15 per broadside), and Surprise lower deck caliber - 5-9/5-8, Renomee 6-9/7-8.

 

And the last group, that really upsets me, because I like how Frigate looks. Well they have similar sailing attributes, but BP has higher armor values, well and a little bit more fire power. The other thing Frigate has front guns, but BP has back guns.

 

I mean is it that huge difference front or back guns, that you need to make a separste ship for it? Making modules would be much more efficient and left you with more fitting options. I mean installing front gun module or remove it, and you get some advantages or disadvantages with them.

 

So I would like to hear your option on that matter and maybe explain me why ships like Frigate or Navy Brig exist.

 

Sorry for the long post

Edited August 18, 2015 by Captain White

[Inigo Balboa aka Ronda]

I'm pretty sure those stats will be changed and tuned a lot before the release    Just look at the current stats compared to what it used to be not long ago.

 

Here. 

[Prater]

Yes, the more ships we have, the better, even if there are little differences between them.

 

Frigate vs Bellepoule have different strengths and weaknesses.  I know which I would choose, the Frigate.  Others like the BP.  How the heck can this be annoying?  It is a lot better than what it was in Sea Trials when we just had the Surprise and Trinc as Frigates (and later Cerb).  Now we have the Cerb, Ren, Surprise, BP, Frigate, Trinc and more frigates are being added.  Or for Brigs we just had the Brig (and later Navy Brig).  Now we have Trader Brig, Brig, NavyBrig and Mercury and soon to be more brigs.  The more the better in my opinion.  Let's flush these out so that we don't see the same ships around.  Let's see tons of different Brigs, 6th rates and 5th rates, so the game is colorful instead of single type of ship in each category.  The point isn't that there is a ship that is necessarily better than the others.  The real difference is in the captain, and design and look of the ship makes keeps everything fresher so that when I am in my Surprise I am not playing with 5 other players who also all have Surprises so all our ships look the same.

 

Explain this.  Why in real life did they have these different ships?  There is your answer.

[Magnum]

See where Prater prefers a Frigate, I am more a BP guy - even though it is a bit of a fight to sail it properly IMO.

 

In the world of fighter aircraft - some pilots prefer a P51, while some wanted the P47, and yet others preferred the F4U.

 

Each aircraft had different particulars that gave it slightly (or largely) different flight and fight characteristics from the others.

 

-------

 

A SKILLED pilot in one would almost always best a poor pilot in any of the others (or the German / Japanese equivalent) ----- making pilot skill the biggest variable in the fight.

 

Much like NA

[Captain White]

Well mostly because they were made by different shipyards/masters/countries. Mostly they were made because countries had to compete in their naval craftsmanship, while we compete mostly in skill level.

 

And why do you more ships, when they won't be used most of the time?

 

Damn in IE I can't even quote someone. This one goes to Prater

Edited August 18, 2015 by Captain White

[Prater]

i prefer more ships so that we aren't all sailing around in the same 9 ships like we were in Sea Trials. Here is your task. You are restricted to these ships and can't sail any other set for months and months and months.

Yatch, Lynx, cutter, brig, surprise, Trinc, Coni, Bellona, and Victory.

Now after 3-4 months tell me you don't want more ships to be added.

[Inigo Balboa aka Ronda]

Keep in mind that the prices will be different.  Right now it's easy to buy and repair any ship you want, but how it will be after the game release?  "I can buy Navy Brig now or I have to trade for, say, 2 more days to buy Merc" (and more noticeable price difference as you progress), that type of deal.

[Henry d'Esterre Darby]

Bear in mind that Admin has stated that these ships may not all be easily or readily available at all times.  Sometimes, all you might be able to get a hold of is a Frigate, the Belle Poule may be hard to find.  

[Captain White]

Prate, have you played Pirates of the Burning Sea? If not - I would say there were a lot of ships for top level, but there was a meta for port battles, 6v6 groups, ganks - well ganks had biggest variable, but in the end for successful fight you should go for the best choice by attributes. High skill could be a game changer in a 1v1 or small groups, not PBs or big groups.

Edited August 18, 2015 by Captain White

[Prater]

Prate, have you played Pirates of the Burning Sea? If not - I would say there were a lot of ships for top level, but there was a meta for port battles,

6v6 groups, ganks - well ganks had biggest variable, but in the end for successful fight you should go for the best choice by attributes. High skill could be a game changer in a 1v1 or small groups, not PBs or big groups.

 

 

This is where Naval Action is different than Potbs.  You can't just mash numbers and hope to win.  You yourself have to aim your guns and out fight your opponent.

[Captain White]

Well, one more thing - I'm not against the amount of available ships, I'm against that ships with same requirements to sail - crew amount (level in other games) are not competetive enough between each other. Like we can increase Frigates speed or turn rate, or both, because it has less planking (armor).

 

And Prater, now I'm sailing Frigate and kinda like it, never sailed a BP, but why would you choose Frigate over BP? Just curious

Edited August 18, 2015 by Captain White

[Magnum]

Well, one more thing - I'm not against the amount of available ships, I'm against that ships with same requirements to sail - crew amount (level in other games) are not competetive enough between each other. Like we can increase Frigates speed or turn rate, or both, because it has less planking (armor).

 

And Prater, now I'm sailing Frigate and kinda like it, never sailed a BP, but why would you choose Frigate over BP? Just curious

 

It will certainly help if/when the Dev's put the fighting stats up with the for sale ad for ships, so you can compare them.

 

I think the BP can carry heavier guns, I also believe it is slightly faster in a strait downwind race - but it turns like a slug when fighting an upwind opponent, and it is slow to accelerate and decelerate from sail changes.

[Prater]

They carry the same type of guns and the BP has slightly more armor but the bow chasers are why I prefer it over the BP.  I sailed the BP and liked it but had to switch back to the Frigate for the sole reason of it lacking bow chasers.

[Guest raat]

Each ship has different characteristics.  I thought I would love the Renomee because it's fast and it has more tumblehome which not only looks sexy, but actually causes more ricochet of cannon.  However, it is a pig sailing upwind.  The Surprise is a lot slower downwind, but is more nimble and sails upwind like a champ.

 

These are the types of differences all those ships you listed have from one another.  Not just what cannons it carries or it's side armor amount.  Can we please not start the balance whinge yet?

 

Having a lot of ship options is a good thing, even if you perceive a ship to be inferior to another.  The thing is while it might not be right for your application, it probably is for another and their style of play.  And having options for differing styles of play isn't just good, it's essential for the success of the game.

[Young]

After reading through this thread. I think a lot of the people responding are bang on. OP try not to look at the ships through the lens of a tier base tech tree and you will be more the happy for it.  

[maturin]

It's the XP-progression system that's guilty here. When each rank gives you a set number of crew members, there's simply never any reason to use the likes of a Cerberus. Not without giving it fake buffs it shouldn't have.

[akd]

Prate, have you played Pirates of the Burning Sea? If not - I would say there were a lot of ships for top level, but there was a meta for port battles, 6v6 groups, ganks - well ganks had biggest variable, but in the end for successful fight you should go for the best choice by attributes. High skill could be a game changer in a 1v1 or small groups, not PBs or big groups.

PotBS was not player skill-focused. It was an MMORPG with ship avatars. If you lose a battle against a Belle Poule in a Frigate and say it's because of the BP's marginal stat difference, you are deluding yourself.