Passive allocations

[Edward Edgemenace]

Some weapons, it is easy to max out passives. Others, it becomes a painful choice.

All have eleven skills, except sailing which also has LEADERSHIP. The three sections are combo/combat, special skills and passive skills. The combo/combat skills are always the top line skills. The special skills are always in the middle circle. The passive skills are always on the bottom row.

Cannons: 1 - 7 - 3
Sailing: 0 - 8 - 4
Cutlass: 5 - 4 - 2
Pistol: 2 - 6 - 3
Doll: 1 - 8 - 2
Dagger: 4 - 5 - 2
Grenades: 2 - 5 - 4
Staff: 1 - 6 - 4

Am I the only one that finds the weapons with four passives, to be nightmarish allocations?

[Stormhawk]

No you are not Edward. I have the hardest time trying to figure out what to max and what not to in passives on grenades because they are all so useful, but I dont want to miss out on any of the combat or special skills. Same goes for staff and sailing. Sailing is a bit easier though because I dont care much for windcatcher and tacking.

[Edward Edgemenace]

I never found tacking to be useful. As far as I know, it never actually did anything. Measuring the speed of a stationary boat turning a complete circle was equal to my basic level two pirate turning his ship in a complete circle.

Windcatcher, on the other hand, used to work amazingly fantastic. But they broke it completely this summer.

[Stormhawk]

Ya i heard about windcatcher working good then suddenley not. I had never put but 1 skill point in it even before summer started.

[League]

Tacking covers moving distance. Do you know how hard it is in real life, btw, to turn a boat the size of a Light Sloop in POTCO without going forward? Imagine a far bigger one. Windcatcher does seem slower though, something I'll note in my weapon changes thread. Regardless, work it like this:

Do I use grenades? If no, then a point in the increase area effect of greanades probably ain't so necessary, although the points can be helpful until you're fully leveled (though they can also be a pain). In which case you're down to 3 options: The faster health recovery rate, the lower stun durations, the Cannon/Grenade resistance. That last one isn't so viable, as it isn't too viable of a possibility to be hit with them. That stun resistance ability though is lovely: 5 points, regardless of your thought process. That health recovery item can be useful: it is worthy of spare points or dedicated points, namely if you don't plan on using Grenades.

Do I use the Staff? Doesn't matter, as the passives all help Staff and Doll use. The damage passive is a given then, as it helps the Doll the most, which has less need of voodoo and more of power. The casting speed passive is rather important too. The true split here is either, neither, or both of less voodoo used or voodoo cost reduction. I find that a really hard choice... I feel you here.

Now, the Sails are easy to dictate: most people here who've been around don't like Treasure Sense. But, with word of Re-allocation on the horizon, it could probably be easy to use Treasure sense for Treasure only, followed by a profitable profit, with a reversion back to an original build for SvS purposes. Upon being rich or good at card games, you don't need this skill. That again makes this process easier by bringing the choices down to 3. Now, personally, I like Windcatcher, and am so-so on the the other two: I either choose one or the other for my build, usually.

[Starlight08]

Well I'm pretty sure Tacking is meant for while you're ship is moving, not stationary. I love my maxed tacking, the other day my WarFrig got trapped between a Warlord & a Harbinger and miraculously I survived with hardly any damage thanks to tacking which allowed me to spin the ship fast enough to dodge all that crazy firebrand / thunder / fury canons.

[Edward Edgemenace]

Originally Posted by Starlight08

Well I'm pretty sure Tacking is meant for while you're ship is moving, not stationary. I love my maxed tacking, the other day my WarFrig got trapped between a Warlord & a Harbinger and miraculously I survived with hardly any damage thanks to tacking which allowed me to spin the ship fast enough to dodge all that crazy firebrand / thunder / fury canons.

I'm able to make similar escapes with tacking I think at rank 1. I chalk such maneuvers up to kind/forgiving AI of the NPC ships. But anyhow, in such situations, "come about" is more effective (also rank 1, IIRC.)

Tacking rank 1 says "improve turning radius by 3%." Um, that seems absolutely pathetic. If I have a vehicle that can make a U-turn in 100 yards, it now would take 97 yards? Am I reading that wrong?

Someone mentioned turning stationary. Yes, in a boat, that is essentially impossible. But in this game, it is permitted everywhere. So for comparison, I tried to use an isolated test. If you press up arrow and right arrow at the same time, one or the other won't start. If you try tacking while already underway, you might or might not be affected by "ships can go faster when sailing in a straight line."

I'm not convinced that tacking does anything at all; if it does, it is beneath my mesurement's accuracy.

[League]

You are reading wrong. The turning point turns 3% faster. Hence it'd be 103%, not 100, and not 97. Consider it like Parry: one point truly doesn't do much.

Now, this is why the percentage points increase as regards to an increase: say there was no point cap: you'd only have to spend 17 points to get the turning radius down to half. If it was a deduction, with essentially 34, there'd be no radius. Hence, the need for a increase.

With an increase, every point added on would, in effect, add more than the last, but be less than the last as regards to a change. It'd take 34 just to cut the rate down to half; 68 down to a third, etc.

[Chris]

Yes some are impossible to place such as sailing for me but others like pistol are easy!

[Captain Seaford]

Yeah, pistol is really easy.