Switching ships and immediately combat ready in battle

[Crankey]

Should we be able to run a captured ship immediately on going aboard as if we had just left harbour ?  I would suggest that there is a large countdown for the ship we transfer into before it reaches normal efficiency. Possibly 15 or more minutes battle time.

 

My experience and reasoning.

 

I was in battle with a notorious Pirate recently him in his Pirate Frigate and myself and fellow captain in frigates (Captured 1 dura's of questionable quality but reasonably setup).

 

The Pirate played well and quickly rage board and beat my fellow captain during boarding and then remained parked alongside his prize continueing his firing duel with me.

 

I applaud his success but have to question the mechanics open to all players in the following way.

 

After boarding my fellow captain and beating his crew, he remained in his own ship until i had pounded it into submission, he then transferred to the frigate he had beaten on boarding and became immediately combat ready in an almost pristine Frigate. Surely there should be some penalty not least of leaving a skeleton crew behind on his first ship, and allocating further crew to the task of guarding the captured crewmen on the second.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Henrik]

I can see how something like that could be "problematic" at best!

[Henry d'Esterre Darby]

There is another problem here.  That he was able to sit still with sails down and remain an effective firing platform.

 

A number of us have been advocating for massive penalties to accuracy for ships that are carrying no sail.  You should be encouraged to be at least at battle sails at all times, and use your yards if you want to try to hold an approximate position.

 

Past that, I'd agree that usage of the boarding mechanic is quite flawed.

[maturin]

A prize ship would be encumbered by all the prisoners packed into the hold. How would you get your powder monkeys to the magazines and shotlockers without a huge traffic jam? Plus there would be no room for your own wounded.

[Prater]

Well, the pirate won't be named but everyone knows who it is.  I won't applaud his success.  He can't sail and doesn't know how to sail except to game the system.  And he knows how to join people's battles and steal their prizes.  Well done.  Good thing that so far one of my fore-and-aft ships have taken his pirate frigate and my Surprise took another.  The only reason why he is able to beat so many people is because his pirate Frigate has 350 crew and boarding modules.  He doesn't actually know how to fight boarding actions though.  It is only his modules and crew count or other people's lack of understanding of boarding that kills them.

[jodgi]

From what you all explain this guy must be so easy to beat, yet you want to change several mechanics?

[Prater]

No he isn't exactly easy to beat.  Especially when you have to kill him twice because he games the system.

[jodgi]

Ok

[maturin]

Never fought or even seen him. Death to cheesy exploiters.

[Crankey]

I think we have 4 issues here.

 

1) as my OP explains, you can take over another ship and become combat ready immediately

 

2) A ship with bare masts should roll quite dramatically unless the sea state is dead calm. making gunnery awkward.

 

3) Damaging the hull no longer causes a one on one opponent serious concern.

 

4) Almost impossible to damage and KO a mast unless through collision damage.

 

So looking at the current trend, boarding is really the only way to 'work the system' at this time. You will be boarded before you sink the opposition and you will never take enough sails / masts down to prevent it. Without additional help.