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Old 06-17-2013, 08:13 AM
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CarribeanThunder CarribeanThunder is offline
Fleet Crusher
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Uncharted Waters
Posts: 1,121
My Mood: Balanced
CarribeanThunder is a pirate wannabe
Things I Question About This Game

Topic One:
Galleons VS Brigs

Once upon a time, the only three ships we could choose from were Sloops, Galleons and Frigates. Sloops were about speed and maneuverability, Frigates were about power, and Galleons were about cargo and endurance. All three were nice. 'Course, they all had their downsides.
Sloops, while being fast, sacrificed hull strength, cannon and cargo space.
Galleons, carrying all that cargo and broadside strength, were slow as a result. And they were a bulky, easy to hit target.
Frigates were pretty much in between.

Then came the Brig, the fourth ship class we could purchase. It pretty much combined all three prior ship classes, having the Sloop's speed, the Galleon's broadsides and one more pair of deck cannons than it, and the Frigate's hull power and cargo space. It's also about the same size as a War Frigate.

So with the Brig in existence, why would you ever want to buy a Galleon? The Brig has a better number in nearly all statistics than the Galleon except for the cargo. So really, unless you for some reason just really need two more cargo slots, you don't need to buy a War Galleon instead of a War Brig.
(Throughout this, I'll use the War versions as a main example, as I have more experience with them than the Medium versions.)

But that's just my opinion. I hope it doesn't sound insensitive, I'm sure there are people out there who love the War Galleon more than the War Brig. Of course, the War Brig is more expensive than the War Galleon, so you'll have to hold out for longer. But in the end, it is worth it.

Still though, if that's not enough, what about ship upgrades? Copperhead, for example. The War Galleon is slow enough, but give it Copperhead and it's more like a slug. Sure, 12 broadside cannons per side gives you a nice chance to fire a few Explosives. Except that the War Brig is faster and has more health, so it'll benefit more, as even though Copperhead lowers its speed, it'll still be faster than a War Galleon with Copperhead, for the same chance of Explosives being fired and with more health to keep it going.

Storm Chaser and Skull & Bones make a pair of good examples. The same applies as with Copperhead, but neither ruin your speed. In fact, while Skull & Bones doesn't alter your Speed much, Storm Chaser simply adds on to your speed. Skull & Bones gives you more health to survive. And both give you really good broadside bonuses - Storm Chaser giving Thunderbolt and Skull & Bones granting Fury. In both cases, I'm pretty sure no stats go down. So why put that on a lesser ship when you can put it on a greater ship to get a higher benefit out of it? I'm pretty sure the stat boosts are multipliers rather than additives.

Honestly, I know people have their preferences. But I wouldn't even buy a War Galleon, because the Brig is definitely a better choice. But if you really, really want one, unless you really want explosives and don't mind having an insanely slow giant bullseye, don't put Copperhead on it. Go with Storm Chaser. Please.

For added evidence, here are the stats for both the War Galleon and War Brig:
War Galleon:
Armor: 10,800
Sails: 10,000
Cannons: 10
Broadsides: 24
Cargo: 18
Crew: 10
Cost: 40,000 gold
Resale Value : 20,000 gold

War Brig:
Armor: 12,000
Sails: 11,000
Cannons: 12
Broadsides: 24
Cargo: 16 <--- The only statistic that the War Galleon has over the War Brig.
Crew: 12 <
Cost: 80,000 gold
Resale Value: 40,000 gold <--- Heh, it even sells for more.

Edit: I think perhaps there's some confusion. I'm not actually saying they should remove the Galleon completely. That is not at all my intention. If anything, more variety is a good thing. And yes, Galleons do look as close to a real life ship as any of the ship classes in POTCO do (other than the Ship of the Line, if a bit smaller than a normal one would be).
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Topic Two:
Defense Skills
Feint and Hex Ward

Feint and Hex Ward are nice skills, right? When they're ready to be used, they'll block a Melee attack or a Voodoo attack. That's less damage for you to take, so why might I be questioning this worthiness?

Well, considering the length of the animation when Feint or Hex Ward is used, in the time the animation goes on, I could be doing damage to the enemy, killing it sooner. So even though I just blocked a hit, I can't return damage. So why even bother use Feint in the first place? Sure, it may deflect a killing shot if you are that low on health, but if the enemy is also low on health, you're better off switching to another weapon and killing it before Feint activates, otherwise you'll go down anyway.

Although considering the game's lag, it may work in your favor anyway.

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Topic Three:
Life Drain... "Immunity"?

Now, I know what you're thinking. But I don't see it having any visible effect. What does it do? How does it work? How do I activate it?
I've used several weapons with Life Drain Immunity. I'm not sure what it does. Does it stop Life Drain from being used at all on you? Does it stop the enemy from getting health from the attack?

Does it even work?

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Topic Four:
Land Enemy AI

Now, honestly, I find this game to be too easy as far as combat on land. Sure, there are ways to make it challenging. But it feels like enemies have no strategy. El Patron maybe spawns his little helpers every now and then. But that's as intelligent as it gets. Every other enemy is a hack and slash. Honestly, if I were an AI developer, I would make EITC Mercenaries save their Bladestorms for either an insta-kill on a low enough level player that gets too close (not to sound harsh or anything, but you get the idea), or save it for when a player fighting them is low on health. Or, when the Mercenary himself is low on health, he could start using harder hitting attacks as a last ditch effort.

Although maybe this little topic isn't as great an argument. But really, there's not much to say about the AI for landlubbers. It's simple, from what I can see. Or maybe it's some sort of limitation Disney has. I don't know, I'm not an expert with these things.

Although one thing I could see needing work is enemies being broken (invincible and unresponsive to attacks) and them falling through the ground.

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Topic Five:
Flaming Skull and Pestilence
The Torch Goes Out?

Now, this has been a problem for me for an eternity. I remember always leveling my Staff in the old days, loving Flaming Skull, even though it ate Voodoo very quickly. The burn it left was nice. Same thing with Pestilence. Combining the two was very handy for some bigger enemies when leveling the Staff.

However, one day, I had noticed something peculiar. Why wasn't that Urchinfist being burned when I used Pestilence? Flaming Skull left a burn, so why not Pestilence?
Maybe closing the game and coming back would help.
Nope.

And further on in time, Flaming Skull's burn effect disappeared as well. And to this day, neither of them leave their intended effects.
And interestingly enough, my secondary pirate doesn't suffer from the same dilemma. At least not yet, because he isn't as high a level.

I've even asked people about it, but I've never been told that they've had, have or know someone who has had the issue or is currently suffering from the issue. I know I make it sound like a disease in this context, but it may as well be. Pestilence and Flaming Skull's Acid and Burn effects should not be missing in action.

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Perhaps that is all I will talk about for now. Maybe I'll add on to this some other time, but right now this is really all I can think of. If you see through to my points, that is fine. If not, that is also fine.

I do not mean to make this post sound like an entire rant or anything bad. Just showing my thoughts on some of the things in this game. I hope no one takes offense.

Last edited by CarribeanThunder; 06-18-2013 at 12:47 PM..