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Post by steevodeevo on Apr 28, 2008 22:58:22 GMT
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Post by lemmy on Apr 28, 2008 23:48:31 GMT
cool link!! what I dont understand though is how can a privateer get *Sanctioned Piracy as an inherent ability so they are technically a pirate, and pirates cant work for a nation?
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Post by steevodeevo on Apr 29, 2008 10:23:14 GMT
I am guessing it is sanctioned by oen Nation only - so they can sail in say Brit PvP zones imune in teh outer red circle except to Pirates and Privateers? Just a guess?
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Post by CaptainHeff on May 8, 2008 17:54:47 GMT
Latest on 1.4 build Now this does effect us, we are no longer pirates but cutthroats! does that mean the game should be called cutthroats of the burning sea? v v v if you havent read about the general skill changes, check the start of the first devlog in this series. You can find it here. The general changes to Cutthroat(new pirates) are linked to the new Buccaneer career. You can find information on the Buccaneer here.
A lot of the cutthroat changes were aimed at skill order and acquisition instead of new skills, since they already have so much functionality. The old skullduggery and evasion chains are gone, although some of the skills still exist. Due to the addition of the Buccaneer, Cutthroats now have the same number of skills as other careers. The two careers are intended to work together with complimentary abilities to compete on even terms against national groups. The removed skills were generally tiered skills and redundant skills. Were trying to move all the important Cutthroat functionality into a more condensed list, thereby providing more options with the same skill selection. This is harder to quantify, but important.
For an example, lets say you have a common build of Brutality 5, Disaster 5, Flogging 5, Smuggling 3 and Survival 5. If you compare that same skill set in 1.3 and 1.4, you get these differences:
GAINED SKILLS To The Last Man Slaughter Their Crew Deaths Embrace Work the Crew Stealth Hit and Run
LOST SKILL Vaporing
With that out of the way, were moving on to some of the specific changes. As usual, the details here are subject to change. Here are some new Cutthroat skills:
Slaughter Their Crew Tier 5 Career: An increased damage attack that reduces the targets acceleration, reload rate and damage by 1% per shot that hits. Also reduces speed 0.5% per shot that hits. Max 20 hits. Deals extra damage to crew. This debuff stacks with everything. 40 morale, 40 second duration, 3 minute reset. Entangling Shot Tier 3 Destruction. This replaces foul lines as an attack debuff instead of a short-range click debuff. Reduces target grappling defense by 10, sail resist by 20%. Requires dismantling shot. Work the Crew Tier 5 Flogging. Passive +5% armor and structure. Shred Armor Tier 4 Gunnery. Attack, ignores 60% of target DR.
And here are some of the skill changes:
Sacrifice for Damage: -10 morale To the Last Man: This is now a combined morale and crew recovery. 40 morale, 20% crew. Reset 10 minutes. Drink and the Devil: Reduced tier. Can be stacked with Sacrifice skills. Reduced boost due to lowered tier and stacking. Cripple Enemy: Lasts 3 minutes Flog Gunners: Now provides a mixture of damage and reload instead of just reload. All or Nothing Shot: Raised damage to 33%, dropped reload penalty to 13%. Rake: Now uses an intensity multiplier instead of flat crew damage. Decimate: Doubled duration Fury: Now acts as a passive +10 max morale. Stealth: Now mixes 25% relative stealth and 7.5 miles flat stealth.
These skills are going the way of the dodo: Target Weakness 1, Demoralize, Desperation Fire 1, Maneuver 1, Evade Aggression, Flog Gunners 1, Stealth 1, Before the Wind 1, Defense 1, Maneuver, Give the Slip and Misdirection.
And heres what the Cutthroat skill tree looks like: Brutality: Sacrifice for Speed – Target Weakness – Sacrifice for Damage – Plague Ship – Sacrifice for Victory Career: Scavenge – Run Them Down – To The Last Man – Drink and the Devil – Slaughter Their Crew Destruction: Vaporing – Cut Shroud – Entangling Shot – Damage Rudder – Cripple Enemy Disaster: Deaths Embrace – Dump Guns – Desperation Fire – Rum Ration – Deter Pursuit Flogging: Cut Lines – Flog Gunners – Wolf Pack: Hunters – Increased Damage – Work the Crew Gunnery: All or Nothing Shot – Rake – Overloaded Shot – Shred Armor – Vital Strike Red Flag: Decimate – Bloodthirst – Tack Upwind – Bosuns Whip – Fury Smuggling: Agile Rigging – Stealth – Before the Wind – Devil Take the Hindmost – Black Market Survival: Jury Rig – Defense – Plug Leaks – Hit and Run – Too Mean to Die
That wraps up the 1.4 skill devlog series! The skills will be changing while theyre on testbed, so be sure to stop by and give them a try.
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Post by Turwhitt on May 9, 2008 8:24:02 GMT
So we'll be able to choose bucaneer or cutthroat? I suppose we'll be given a respec?
Anyone have any opinions about what the differing roles of the two classes will be?
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Post by steevodeevo on May 9, 2008 12:08:00 GMT
Nope, I understand that all pirates becoem Cutthroats and if you want to be a a Buc you re-roll one and work back up from 1 to 50 asgain.
Buccanneer I read is a 'power player' specialist pirate who excells at sinking NO's in SoL's in PB's. Cuttthroats are generic Pirates. skills are as follows:
.4 Skill Changes: The Buccaneer 05.05.08 by Taelorn
Up to this point, Ive talked about a lot of the changes that are happening to existing careers and all the new stuff theyre getting. Now its time for something thats completely new: the Buccaneer pirate career. Existing pirates will become Cutthroats, since the generic pirate is no longer applicable.
Our current career landscape is one that destined for imbalance. The game has changed a lot since pirates were created, and they need to fill a role in the Conquest endgame. A single, solo-emphasized career works great when pirate mechanics arent part of the overall war, but it doesnt lend itself to group PvP. Ive got a soft spot for solo PvP, but that doesnt mean we can ignore the group PvP necessity and the associated balance implications.
Group PvP is all about the sum, which is where pirates start to create problems. Theres a single pirate career versus multiple national careers. There are two critical implications:
1)If the careers are equal, then the side with the options will win. 2)If the single career nation has sufficient options and versatility to compete, then that will lead to dominance.
Buffing pirates and adding to their skill selection would only exacerbate the problem. It means they move deeper into the territory of being an omni-character, especially in a skill tree based on breadth instead of depth. In the long-term, attempting to address this problem without making a significant alteration to the existing setup is a futile effort. Enter the Buccaneer.
Introducing a new career allows us a great deal of flexibility in how we approach the future balance of the game. Yet as much as I talk about balance, thats not the main motivation – this is about fun. We want to introduce a new play style and improve the overall situation of the pirate nation, in a way thats good for pirates and nationals alike. Ive had fun cruising around in my shiny new Buccaneer, trying out all the skills combinations. Im pleased with the practical application of the Buccaneer skill set, and I found there were always plenty of actions I wanted to take in combat. Several of the skills play off each other, and I found countless opportunities to manipulate situations. Theres one piece of feedback that came up repeatedly in our internal test cycle: this is hard, but fun.
Thats because the Buccaneer is an advanced career that focuses on taking advantage of the moment. Its not the career you want to jump into when you havent played the game before. Theyre like the evil twin of a Freetrader that was mentored by a Privateer. Their ability set is toggle-light, as most of their skills are situational abilities that confer a temporary bonus in combat. Where the Cutthroat is analogous to a Blackbeard-style take no prisoners pirate, the Buccaneer has more in common with the mafia – organized crime that attempts to hide behind a legitimate business front. That distinction is visible throughout their skill tree in their wide assortment of subversive abilities. Theyre especially suited to taking down large targets. Theyre an advanced career because they were expressly designed for elder game PvP. That becomes especially apparent in the 30s, as thats where their toolbox reaches critical mass.
What about their skills, you ask? I happen to have a few details on those.
Buccaneers cannot capture ships – thats an ability thats only available to Cutthroats. However, they can use captured ship deeds. Scavenge is given to Buccaneers for free as their version of Claim Prize at level 5.
Heres their skill tree. Its important to note that this will change by the time it hits live. In fact, Im sure something will be changed by the time you start reading this devlog!
Career Chain Career Base – 2% running speed, damage resistance, damage. -50% doubloon drops. Scavenge – Received for free at level 5. Unleash the Hounds – An exceptional demonstration of skilled marksmanship. Use dismantling shot to tear apart your targets rigging, reducing their speed. This demonstration inspires your crew, increasing their performance. -15% target speed, +15% self speed. 40 morale, 90 second duration, 5 minute recharge. Dark as Night – Buccaneers are accustomed to working in the cover of night, and theyve learned a wide range of tricks to mask their presence on the open sea.+15% stealth, +5 miles stealth, +50% OS attack range, +3 miles spotting Wolf Pack: Prowlers – Group buff. Guide your fellow pirates in for the kill, improving their performance. +1% damage, reload, speed, 2% damage resistance. 50 morale, 5 minute duration, 8 minute reset. Stackable. Master of Pursuit – Dismantling shot specialization. Improves sail damage dealt by 10%. Heated Shot – A dangerous and damaging attack. Deals additional attack damage. Each hit (max 12) reduces the targets stats: -2% turn rate, acceleration, 1% armor damage, -0.25 DR, 60 morale, 60 second duration, 10 minute reset. The target is immune to additional heated shots for the next 3 minutes.
Command Chain The command skills are group buffs with a 3 minute duration and a 10 minute reset and a 25 morale cost. Commands are split into two types: self and group. Every command skill applies a self and a group component, doubling the effect on the player who uses the skill. They are not on a shared timer, but you can only have self and one group effect active at the same time. That means you can use a command order to increase your maneuverability, then an ally can issue one to increase evasion. Youll have the self component for maneuverability, and the group component for evasion. Command: Maneuvers – 7.5% turn rate. Command: Evasion – 2 all defense, 2 sail defense. Command: Battle – 1% reload, 1% damage, 2 accuracy Command: Speed – 3% speed, 15% acceleration Will to Survive – Passive. Improves morale recovery rate by 5%.
Disabling Chain Disorienting Shot – Attack. Reduces target acceleration by 20%, turn rate by 35%. 30 morale, 1 minute duration, 2 minute reset. Cut Shroud – Attack. Reduces target 14% + 2% per additional hit in the broadside, maximum 34%. 35 morale, 1 minute duration, 2 minute reset. Requires dismantling shot. Shred Sails – Attack. +30% damage. 35 morale, 4 minute reset. Requires dismantling shot. Shred Armor – Attack. Ignores target DR. 30 morale, 5 minute reset. Disrupt Formation – Attack. Reduces target accuracy by 4 + 1% per additional hit in the broadside, maximum 10%. 35 morale, 90 second duration, 2 minute reset.
Gambler Chain Survivor – Click buff. Improves damage resistance by 10%, max range by 5%, accuracy by 2, max speed by 5%, damage by 5%. Duration 5 minutes, reset 10 minutes. Can only be used when your current total armor for all facings is below 82% of the max (50% on one broadside). Maneuver – Toggle. Increase turn rate by 12.5%, 20 morale. Distraction – Click debuff. Harass nearby ships (300y), reducing their effectiveness. Reduces maximum speed, turn rate, acceleration, reload rate and damage by 5% and accuracy by 3. 20 morale, 2 minute duration, 3 minute reset. Scrapper – Once you get close, its hard to shake you. Target an enemy within 250y to boost your speed by 20%, your turn rate by 5%, acceleration by 10% and damage resistance by 3%. 40 morale, 4 minute duration, 8 minute reset. Master Rigger – Passive. +1 max speed.
Prowler Chain Inspiration – Group buff. Improves acceleration, damage resistance by 5%. Has twice as much effect for the Buccaneer as the group members. 60 morale, 4 minute duration, 8 minute reset. Protect – Screen the target ally, increasing defense and damage resistance by 4%. 25 morale, 3 minute duration, 5 minute reset. Whistle Down the Wind – Short speed boost. Increases broad reach speed by 20%, running speed by 25%, 10% acceleration. 45 morale, 25 second duration, 5 minute reset. Deadly Force – Temporarily boosts your offensive capabilities. +40% damage to all attacks in the next 40 seconds. 40 morale, 8 minute reset. Battle Logistics – Passive. Boosts armor integrity by 5%, resistance by 3%, structure by 2%.
Skirmish Chain First Blow – An opportunistic first volley at the start of combat. +15 accuracy, +35% damage, 35 morale. 90 second reset. Cannot be used if you have more than 5% overall armor damage. Weapons Handling – Passive. The Buccaneers sustained offense boost. 5% reload, 5% damage. Sweep the Decks – Attack. +20% damage, and bonus damage to crew. Max range 350y, 35 morale, 3 minute reset. Requires round shot. Shatter Armor - Attack. +45% damage on the attack. -20% reload and 3 accuracy for 15 seconds. 50 morale, 8 minute reset. Jugular – Attack debuff. Can only be used against ships that are bigger than you. More effective based on the number of hits that land in the broadside. Reduces target acceleration by 15% + 1.5%, damage reduction by 20% + 2%, reload rate by 7.5% +0.75%. Max 15 hit bonuses.
Smuggling Chain Tack Upwind – Toggle. 7% upwind/luffing/close-haul speed. 20 morale. Smuggled Cargo – Passive. 60% reduction in surrendered loot. Crime Network – Grants access to the Crime Network global channel for organization and trading. Every pirate can hear this channel. Hidden Treasure – 12% chance for bonus loot. Criminal Underground – 65% foreign tax rate reduction.
Survival Chain Rebuild – Repairs 25% armor. 30 second duration, 50 morale, 5 minute reset. Defense – Toggle. +3 defense, +6% damage resistance. 20 morale. Rebuild Rig – Repairs 30% sails. 30 second duration, 30 morale, 5 minute reset. Repair Under Fire – Repairs 15% armor and structure over 8 minutes. 40 morale, 20 minute reset. Survival Instincts – +20 defense for 40 seconds, resets in 10 minutes. 60 morale.
Tough Crew Chain Bosuns Starter – Increases target allys speed by 10% for 30 seconds. 20 morale, 3 minute reset. Fighting Spirit – Recovers 30% crew over 5 seconds. 50 morale, 5 minute reset. Endurance – Increases morale recovery by 50% for 2 minutes (60 morale gained). 12 minute reset. Exploit Weakness – Increases the crew damage dealt by your attacks. Bloody Minds – Passive skill. A tougher, but smaller crew. -20% max crew, +50% crew resist, +1 defense.
There are bound to be a few speed bumps with a new career. Were going to be closely monitoring the Buccaneer in both the test and live environments, trailing along and fixing any issues that appear. That wraps up the Buccaneer for now, stop by the forums if you have any questions. Theres one more devlog left in this series: The Cutthroat.
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Post by Turwhitt on May 9, 2008 12:37:05 GMT
So Bucaneers will be more suited to endgame?
That's a slap in the face for high level pirates. OK so the powergamers with no life will grind a buccanneer in a few days, but what about the rest of us, who have taken a couple of months to reach 50? We have to start all over again to be vilable for end-game content?
That's scandalous, and i expect there will be a big protest on the forums.
I mean, pirate end-game was a real problem, and they had always promised to sort that out in 1.4. Now it turns out that rather than helping out existing pirates they are just making another pirate career and expecting us to grind it all again? That is not right. I'm disappointed, almost angry.
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Post by steevodeevo on May 9, 2008 12:57:52 GMT
Apparently the two roles are complimentary. The Bucc (who can't steal ships and has -50% dub drop) is tougher, faster and has buffs that can disable prey, so he can chase dfown, hold and harry whilst the Rats catch up and kill. So in combo I think they make a fleet approachj that is potent.
I think you are right that the 'l33t' will grind a Buc and any new players may choose it, hence there will be scramble for a l33t, Bucc in PvP groups in each battlegroup LFP - rather like the perrenial Tank in other such games
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Post by CaptainHeff on May 30, 2008 16:44:20 GMT
Well 1.4 is up n running Any of you starting again as a Buccaneer???
We need a couple in TLC
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Post by steevodeevo on Jun 14, 2008 8:10:47 GMT
I have a lvl 23 Bucc off and running. It talkes no time doing missions to get any character to 20 - 2 or three focussed mission sessions does it. I also find teh bucc swift and tough so eases through sea missions nicely. As for AvCom hmmm.....
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