The Future of POTCO Looks alot Brighter

[Crazypirate]

As a pirate who started playing February 08 I like a lot of my pirate brethren have gotten a little anxious for more content and not just the little things but something for all the level 40s to do and while recent developments may not seem like a lot if you take a step back and look at them all together I believe we are all in for something big soon. Not really put out there too much in the test posts is the fact that the Pearl Quest has been reworked a lot. It has been made a little more difficult to help players level as they go instead of finishing the first story chapter in the mid 20s and having a huge rep gap to 40 and the next chapter, as Maximus so perfectly pointed out in an earlier thread. Also a lot has been done to improve game performance which is important to facilitate more content. Add into this all the new enemies as well as the level 40+ enemies on test and I get the feeling that new weapons and Not increases will be coming soon. As for the next chapter I doubt it will contain the Kraken but I am sure it is coming soon. I think Disney rushed releasing POTCO to get it out there before POTBS and have spent the better part of the last year and a half catching the game up to where it should have been from the start and now that things are where they should be REAL new content will be coming.

[Davy Keelhawk]

aye, the future look WAY more bright than last month, what with all the updates, which means, they HAVE to work on new content because the condements are to plentiful

[Cannonfury]

I think the future of POTCO is bleak... the game to me is boring, I only play cause of friends and I like ranking.. Had it not been a multi player game, I would have quit the day I registered >.>

[Dr. Zeppers]

Originally Posted by Crazypirate

Not really put out there too much in the test posts is the fact that the Pearl Quest has been reworked allot. It has been made a little more difficult to help players level as they go instead of finishing the first story chapter in the mid 20s and having a huge rep gap to 40 and the next chapter, as Maximus so perfectly pointed out in an earlier thread.

For the record, having played since a year ago February (not since this February).

Since I track these quests, each and every step, and document them as I try to keep the wiki up to date I have come to one absolute conclusion:

The black pearl quest, has been tweaked making it EASIER and SHORTER than before. Fewer tasks resulting in FEWER notoriety points, actually making it fall SHORTER of what Maximvs had pointed out earlier, making the "Gap" even larger. I believe this is to SLOW down pirates from getting to level 40. Leveling of weapons is definately not any harder than its ever been.

They made it easier for new players to start and get going, and it doesnt get any harder than it was before... just easier!

Everything has been made easier EXCEPT for one thing... the number different enemy names spread about making most look around a bit more for them.
But everyone keeps track of where theyve seen things, and that is not really anything to slow someone down. In actually, I found that in them doing so, they eliminated the number of alternatives you could use to find these enemies, and put them all in the vacinity of the quest itself (again making it easier). After all, they have a beam of light that points right at it... Go search for this..... its right here! (pointing to it)

Dont know what that means for the future other than it would appear they may be about to finally expand the game... lets hope its fairly soon.

Added: Disney pushing POTCO to release too early, trying to meet or beat POTBS to the public has been the explanation accepted by the community for quite awhile now.

[Captain Grizzly]

Well said Travis. I too believe that the game will get better. The game as already come along way from where it was, maybe not as fast as other games or as fast as some would like it, but it has advanced. I look forward to what lies ahead whatever it may be large or small.

[Crazypirate]

Zep as I said in the quote on test, as Captain Greene posted the other day, you now have to defeat higher lvl enemies during the pearl quest which would either require alot more help or lvling your pirate as you go to be a higher lvl skills wise to do some parts of the pearl quest. As it has been on open it was possible to finish at lvl 24 with most weapon skills lvl 6-8 which would not last very long on a new Tormenta filled with enemies that go up to lvl 50. Wasnt saying the rush to market was a new idea just felt it added to the reasoning of why the had to go back and work on the game as a whole that has delayed the new content.

[Dr. Zeppers]

Absolutely, during my play time finding unused doorways, hidden paths, etc. It was obvious they pulled some of the content to get it published early.

I havent yet noticed any changes in difficulty in questing on my pirate on test. I have noticed the variety of beasties changing in the quest tasks, but havent seen anything getting actually harder. I've been doing this comparing whats there, to whats on the wiki, as we will have to update the wiki in the future. I havent redone the earlier quests, my test pirate is on Giladoga right now, and im sure my experience plays a role, but its just a matter of spending time doing it, the tasks are of no significant challenge, and I have not bothered to "level" weapons at all, ive been breezing through the pearl quest for the most part when I play on test.

Added: I guess everyones experiences are different. And I do remember I did level my grenades some when I first got them, but thats it, my test pirate is lvl 27.
Added: Part of my perception of it being easier, is although they have created a greater mix of enemies, they place them for convenience. An example, I just got my next Gunner (oops im on Gunner, not Giladoga) task from Romany Bev, and she has asked for a number of beasties Dreads, Piratas, and Grenadiers, and all of them in the room a few steps away (lava gorge), and fairly easy to defeat at this point in the game.
Added: I will say, that the higher level beasties, help you level your weapons more 'as' you quest instead of requiring more separate effort.

[Crazypirate]

Yes at lvl 27 I agree they are not difficult but lvl 27 with 50% of Pearl quest left is much higher rep lvl than finishing the whole thing at 25. And killing those will yield more rep than kill 15 lvl 10+ skells there by little by little adding extra rep along the way. Here is a link to Greene's post http://www.piratesonlineforums.com/f...700#post153700
Thanks for the help Zep in clarifing my point!

[Dr. Zeppers]

My only contradiction was towards the game getting harder.

Well, I dont see anything being "harder" than before at all really.
Its all pretty much easier, they lay it all out for you now... easy stuff the game has NEVER been easier.

And I know for a fact all the earlier quests have been shortened, so you get less rep out of them. First 4 crew member quests are about 1/3 shorter than before, so if one doesnt take that into account, then well.. your not as far along as you are now with the later quests. Not to mention the fact that Disney has outright said, they are improving and making the game easier for lower level/new players not harder.


Theyve shortened the quests, yes quests are for more specific items, but it actually makes it 'easier' than before because they place those specific items in the rooms nearby so you seldom have to go searching for them.

They even have moved an island.. (moved Cuba closer to PR) to make it easier on new/low level players. The idea is to draw in more new players, and not toughen the game at all until later, so they get into the game and subscribe.

I totally agree however that the changes do point toward new updates/content and hopefully story quest, etc.

[MacIronhawk]

Originally Posted by OFxZeppers

And I know for a fact all the earlier quests have been shortened, so you get less rep out of them. First 4 crew member quests are about 1/3 shorter than before, so if one doesnt take that into account, then well.. your not as far along as you are now with the later quests. Not to mention the fact that Disney has outright said, they are improving and making the game easier for lower level/new players (not harder, as a referenced post suggests).

Say it ain't so. Did they really shorten it that much? I liked the length of the Pearl quest, probably because it kept me busy. I guess that explains why my second pirate is already 13% done with the Pearl quest when all I've been doing is leveling up my weapons.

What were they thinking when they did that? The more hand holding the better? The more content they can shorten the better? Either way it was a total waste. I found the Pearl Story Quest was very fun on my first pirate. It was time consuming, which was kept me busy so that I could stand waiting for new content.

Did they even think about how many incoming players would get bored faster because of the shortened quests? For all we know they haven't even started working on the second story quest! They've been too busy going back and 'improving' the game to work on what we really need, new content! The Pearl quest was fine when the game launched. Changing it, in my opinion, was a total waste of time.

I disagree with anyone that says, "It can only get better". Oh, I'm sure it can get a lot worse.

[Dr. Zeppers]

Originally Posted by MacIronhawk

Did they even think about how many incoming players would get bored faster because of the shortened quests? For all we know they haven't even started working on the second story quest! They've been too busy going back and 'improving' the game to work on what we really need, new content! The Pearl quest was fine when the game launched. Changing it, in my opinion, was a total waste of time.

I disagree with anyone that says, "It can only get better". Oh, I'm sure it can get a lot worse.

I do think its getting better, but in smaller steps than we'd like.

I think they are improving the game play, and making it easier for new/low level pirates to help promote them to play the game, to stay involved with it long enough to want to stay around for the long haul. It is also helpful in generating new accounts, and new income I would guess.

If I were a new player today, I would have a much different perception, as there has been alot of minor content changes, I would enjoy it as much as before, but have more to do, and it would take me longer/farther before I got bored with it.

The game didnt get to go through all the development and testing phases that they probably would have preferred before its public release. So they are having to 'fix' alot of the issues as they go. They may also discover new issues, as they try to 'fix' the issues they are already aware of. They are fine tuning the game, so they can move forward. Im trying to be positive about it. Just been waiting a long time.

[Davy Keelhawk]

aye zep, weve been waitin, but big D is cranking out updates, albeit slowly

[Shnoodell]

actually i have been quite impressed....3 sets of release notes in a weeks time. i remember when they had gone a month without even bothering to update there site, I really hate what people start thinking when you claim to know somebody that has direct contact with the disney staff but I have heard (and im not convinced myself if its true but its something for you to think about) that the new pirates game that has been talked about in other threads was taken harshly by disney and disney in an effort to not have any more competition then they needed made a deal to hire on that staff and now the higher ups in the disney staff are actually the staff from the other game. Maybe thats why content is all of a sudden coming? I dont know what to believe but for me this is good enough.

[Dr. Zeppers]

As I go through the quest on test, I would also say they have done a good job at changing the appropriate portions of the game dialogue to fit along with new enemies, more specific targets, etc. It definately improves the storyline, at least dialogue wise. Enhances the game experience, with a great storyline.

[Charles Darkwolf]

For me, I have to say that the flow of the game is better than it was a year ago. That being said, the game is way easier than harder, especially getting credit sinking ships during the quests... it so much easier now. I could remember the Gunner and John Smith quests giving me fits, because I would need to sink 20 or so ships and never getting credit after sinking the first 3 or 4. Which meant I had to be out in the water longer to get my ships.

I like where this game is going... I just wish Disney would update more than they do, and STOP with the stupid and pointless events!