Suggestion A practical, piratical proposal for a Fully-Functional Ship-of-the-Line release

[Jim Barrelflint]

As any veteran of the original game can tell ye, the Ship of the Line was a monolithic slab of naval power possessed by the Navy and the Black Guard that headed the profitable Treasure Fleets and hunted the most notorious Scoundrels of the Seas. Huge, imposing and DEADLY, they were the greatest enemies a pirate could face.

As many know, they were accidentally released on the Test Server for a day (and a full 200,000 gold) and those who bought them (not me, sadly) were able to keep them. I've noticed several request on these forums to implement them here, but these have met some resistance on the grounds of being too strong. As a result, here be me proposal to add it, properly like.

1.a) Further increase the cost (which will require a hike in the gold cap) OR
1.b) Release it as a reward for a hefty quest chain (see below)

2.) The released SotL was of roughly the same strength as the Warships 'Tally-Ho" and "Battle Royale" leveled 59-61, NOT the level 79-81 titans in the Fleets, which were much stronger. As a un-upgraded War Frigate was of roughly equal strength as a EITC Juggernaut without deck gunners, a Pirate SotL could be feasible if new SotL and Undead enemies were added to the outskirts of the World of roughly equal strength as the "Battle Royale", with AI behavior to relentless engage a Pirate SotL at ranges greater than other vessels.

In general, new more dangerous enemies would be the primary way of adapting to the SotL's might (as well as heavily upgraded War Frigates and War Brigs), so as to provide challenging opposition.

YouTube videos of the Test Server SotL can confirm that, when swarmed by Hunters and Warships, the vessel was just as vulnerable as any other, particularly due to the inability to repair it at sea.

3.) Ship Customization costs scale to the SotL's might (obviously, perhaps 200,00 gold, 4,000 Iron and 2,000 Steel for Copperhead VI, for example)

4.) Unnatural ammo (Thunderbolt and Fury) effectiveness increased against ALL SotLs or a new, more effective ammo to great effect on these beasts in SvS and open-world sailing. A potential explanation to the increased effectiveness of the supernatural rounds being that our faithful Gypsies cursed them in regards to the Navy and EITC's dim view on the supernatural.

5.) Potential reduction in speed. Such a large vessel was, in real life, often quite cumbersome. 5-6 knots (barring the passive "Windcatcher" skill) seems reasonable.

6.) Sailing level 30 requirement. Such a massive vessel would take the best sailors in the Carribean to pilot effectively, and would be a bold, flashy statement of mastery to both a captain's peers and foes! If applied, the quest to unlock this ship would appear in the Pirate's quest log upon reaching Sailing Level 30.

A theoretical example of part of the quest chain to obtain a SotL.

-Visit Jack Sparrow, who tells you about the increasing danger at sea and the greater frequency of enemy SotLs at the heart of the matter. He instructs you to visit Elizabeth Swann to ask her how to..."appropriate" one for yourself.

-Talk to Elizabeth, who directs you to infiltrate Kingshead and, after causing chaos and discord to disguise your true intentions, find and defeat Admiral Simon, the Navy officer in charge of the fort, and steal the blueprints of the vessel from his office desk. Deliver them to your mutual acquaintance Darby Drydock, who gave you your first ship.

-Visit Darby, who tells you that he isn't equipped to built such a massive craft and if you want one, you'll have to bring him the required materials and keep the Navy and EITC busy to prevent them from interfering.

So would begin a long chain of quests resembling those for the ninth and final Black Pearl crew member, John Smith, only longer and harder, as well as the "Weapon Unlock" quests and the pre-El Patron weapons "Weapon Upgrades" quests for the Cutlass, Pistol, Doll, Dagger, and Staff.

Such as
- Recover 150 planks of dark oak from EITC Behemoths or Juggernauts
-Recover 150 rolls of quality canvas from Navy Colossuses or Dreadnoughts
-Recover 100 intact spars from Black Harbingers or Death Omens
- Recover 100 crates of bolts from Navy War Galleons or Frigates
-Recover 100 gold ingots from EITC War Galleons or Frigates (maybe delivered to Will Turner to smelt them?)
- Recover 25 crates of glass window panes from Beckett's Quarry
- Recover 50 steel supporting frames from the new, high leveled Undead ships or patrol SotLs I proposed above
- Recover 38 heavy cannon from the same (this is the total number of deck cannons and broadside cannons a SotL has)
-Recover a rudder from any Ship of the Line

Suggestions subject to change, of course.

This would unlock the SotL for free (gold-wise) addition to your fleet.

 

[Flayzian]

I actually love this idea! As a fully end game goal to strive for it sounds amazing but the requirements have to be insane so that only the top 1% of less can have it to make it really exclusive.

 

[Capitan Eli Davies]

I would also say that if a pirate goes out in a ship of the line he would already be marked as a threat to the Navy and EITC with out firing a single shot. It should be such a threat that Navy ships should go out of their way to attack it and a Navy or EITC ship of the line should spawn with two frigates whose sole goal is to reclaim the ship of the line. These ships I think instead of sinking the ship of the line should be trying to cripple the players ship of the line and bored it. Then the player should have to fight off the navy solders and then get a chance to bored their ship of the line and kill the solders on it. If they fail to fight off the Navy or EITC solders on their ship and aboard the enemy ship of the line, they will lose. Being sunk in your ship of the line or losing your fight with the navy ship of line boarding parties should result in losing the ship permanently. In other words you can’t repair a sunk ship of the line. To get the ship of the line back you should have to go through the quest again from the point where you dropped off the blueprints to Darby Dock.

 

[PirateJasonS]

I would also say that if a pirate goes out in a ship of the line he would already be marked as a threat to the Navy and EITC with out firing a single shot. It should be such a threat that Navy ships should go out of their way to attack it and a Navy or EITC ship of the line should spawn with two frigates whose sole goal is to reclaim the ship of the line. These ships I think instead of sinking the ship of the line should be trying to cripple the players ship of the line and bored it. Then the player should have to fight off the navy solders and then get a chance to bored their ship of the line and kill the solders on it. If they fail to fight off the Navy or EITC solders on their ship and aboard the enemy ship of the line, they will lose. Being sunk in your ship of the line or losing your fight with the navy ship of line boarding parties should result in losing the ship permanently. In other words you can’t repair a sunk ship of the line. To get the ship of the line back you should have to go through the quest again from the point where you dropped off the blueprints to Darby Dock.

A few tweaks I'd like to make to this, as I think this might be just a little harsh:
If that were the case that a player would get bounty right away for having a SOTL, I feel like they should still have to sink a ship or two first. Otherwise it would render the ship pointless, since you spawn and are instantly swarmed by another SOTL and two frigates. that wouldn't be ideal.

Also, if the ship sinks, I think it would make more sense to just require the player to go and collect some materials to repair it with, rather than lose the ship and have to re-earn it. The goal of this idea was to make it insanely difficult to obtain the ship in the first place. So having to obtain a new one after losing the first? That's cruel in my opinion.

I like the way you're thinking on that end, though.

 

[Rouhan]

Love this idea! However I think that the quests need to be much, much harder in order for the ship to keep its charm

 

[Cheese]

Yes, I want to contribute to building my Ship of the Line!

All the way

 

[Capitan Eli Davies]

A few tweaks I'd like to make to this, as I think this might be just a little harsh:
If that were the case that a player would get bounty right away for having a SOTL, I feel like they should still have to sink a ship or two first. Otherwise it would render the ship pointless, since you spawn and are instantly swarmed by another SOTL and two frigates. that wouldn't be ideal.

Also, if the ship sinks, I think it would make more sense to just require the player to go and collect some materials to repair it with, rather than lose the ship and have to re-earn it. The goal of this idea was to make it insanely difficult to obtain the ship in the first place. So having to obtain a new one after losing the first? That's cruel in my opinion.

I like the way you're thinking on that end, though.

Oh yea I agree. I did not mean that the ship would instantly have bounty on it but that it would be considered a pirate ship as soon as it left the bay without attacking any navy ships. Like how when you are in another ship and you shoot your cannon at a navy ship they then consider you to be more than a merchant ship. I agree maybe when you fully sink the ship you should not have to go back and do all the quest again or completely lose the ship. I like your idea of having to use the rare materials you get from fighting navy ships to raise your vessel back from the depths of davy jones locker.

 

[Jim Barrelflint]

Wow, mates! For my first post, I'm surprised (and grateful, by the powers!) that this thread got so much attention in less that 24 hours! And like how you like my idea of going through a demanding quest-chain. I definitely approve the feedback. To give responses:

To Eli- I definitely like the idea of a tougher response to our piracies, and the idea of being held in place and boarded reminds me of the Black Pearl battle! To keep it a somewhat fair fight, I would recommend that any enemies were balanced to the pirate crew, if any, like any other flagship.

To PirateJason: I like your suggestion that repairing a sunken Ship of the Line would require materials of some kind like building one would! Perhaps a timer as well, after collecting the materials, a 30-60 minute cooldown until it is available again.

To Rouhan: I actually initially thought greater numbers of materials would be prudent, but I wasn't sure what exactly would be the reasonable limit.

To all responders: Thanks for the praise and feedback. Glad to have ye on board. Hopefully the developers will take note. It would be fantastic to leave such a mark upon the new game. I think all of us had the desire to sail one of these monsters at some point and I'm really jealous of the few that did, to be honest.

 

[Alvis]

This idea is completely insane. Over a weeks grinding of the Caribbean's best ships being sunk, just to have a chance at being named a legendary threat on the sea. Sounds like a pirate's dream.
I really like the nostalgia touch, having Darby build it.
The only conflict I can see with this is that the true reward is the notoriety and fame for having a world class ship, instead of the ship itself. Because, as you said, the SotL is vulnerable to high class warships. If the price to obtain it is that hefty already, I'd suggest bulking up the armor on the thing, and making it fast. After all, they DID have steam engines.
But overall, I love your idea

 

[PirateJasonS]

Oh yea I agree. I did not mean that the ship would instantly have bounty on it but that it would be considered a pirate ship as soon as it left the bay without attacking any navy ships. Like how when you are in another ship and you shoot your cannon at a navy ship they then consider you to be more than a merchant ship. I agree maybe when you fully sink the ship you should not have to go back and do all the quest again or completely lose the ship. I like your idea of having to use the rare materials you get from fighting navy ships to raise your vessel back from the depths of davy jones locker.

I was never around in the time of bounty, ship customization, etc. so I just wanted to clarify. Glad we're on the same page. (Basic access was too restrictive and I eventually had to move on to something else.. silly me)

To PirateJason: I like your suggestion that repairing a sunken Ship of the Line would require materials of some kind like building one would! Perhaps a timer as well, after collecting the materials, a 30-60 minute cooldown until it is available again.

Not a bad thought Btw, you're not the first person to do it, but why does nobody put the 'S' on the end of my name when they type it?

This idea is completely insane.

I totally thought you hated the idea when I saw this, until I read further into your post lol

 

[Alvis]

That was the point it lol. But hey, insanity is the reason we have TLOPO, isn't it? (insert Kappa here)

 

[ElizaCreststeel]

While I understand the challenge of being able to build your own First Rate warship, I personally think no player pirate should have a Ship of the Line. Part of the struggle with playing Pirates after a point was to find a challenge.

Once you had a fully customized warship, legendary weapons etc. most of the game's enemies stopped offering much resistance.

And I've been aboard a couple of them, having known a pirate or two lucky enough to snag one. It's was a wonderful rare oddity but at some point, no matter how hard it became - they would become all too common in the future.

I'm not sure how you could balance them.

 

[Capitan Eli Davies]

Maybe it could be a thing where their can only be so many player owned line ships. Like the game will set a limit on to how many players out of the whole can have one. So like maybe 5 to 10 percent of the pirates in the game can have one. So lets say their are 5,000 active and registered players. Out of that 5,000 players only 250 to 500 players could have a ship of the line. The game would then keep a tally that people could observe of how many pirate owned ships of the line there are and how many more could be built and created. Then the players who have the ships of the line would have to be extra careful with their ships of the line because if they sink their ship they lose it forever and have to go buy or build a new one. This means that if you have a ship of the line and you sink in it another player who already has all the stuff ready to get their own ship of the line could get their ship of the line because you sank in your own ship.

I think the whole dynamic of losing the ship forever once it has been sunk would discourage people from pursuing to get a ship of the line. Because of the cost and time it would take to get the ship for some it would be unreasonable to try and even get one because if you get sunk once because you crew on bored your ship is stupid and does not repair or shoots at ships when you are extremely damaged, you lose the ship forever. They would then have to go buy a new one and the cost to get one compared to the amount of wealth gained while they had the ship may not be worth the effort to get a new one. The game should also alert the world when a ship of the line goes down because then players who have the means to get a ship of the line could go try and do so before someone else beats them to it.

That or a ship of the line could be a gift for winning some sort of competition. That way only a few would have it. I also agree with your saying that the enemies stopped becoming threat. I think the oceans need to be expanded and maybe some new islands added in the future where the enemies get much harder.

I think it would be interesting if the game island and seas actually matched up with the real life map of the Caribbean area. Kind of like in pirates of the burning sea. Players would still start at port royal and by Tortuga but as they get farther out in the caribbean from the starting spot enemies would get much harder. But rebuilding the whole map and moving islands and renaming and recreating new islands could be very difficult.

 

[PrisonHull]

While I understand the challenge of being able to build your own First Rate warship, I personally think no player pirate should have a Ship of the Line. Part of the struggle with playing Pirates after a point was to find a challenge.

Once you had a fully customized warship, legendary weapons etc. most of the game's enemies stopped offering much resistance.

And I've been aboard a couple of them, having known a pirate or two lucky enough to snag one. It's was a wonderful rare oddity but at some point, no matter how hard it became - they would become all too common in the future.

I'm not sure how you could balance them.

I think that players should be able to acquire the normal ship of the line, but there should be a larger, more powerful version that the NPCS have. Think of the current one as a third rate, and the larger version as a first rate. That way you can sail the class of ship while still being challenged.

 

[TitanUp]

I actually love this idea! As a fully end game goal to strive for it sounds amazing but the requirements have to be insane so that only the top 1% of less can have it to make it really exclusive.

This. It sounds awesome, but if it's something so important and powerful it should be seriously hard to get. I don't have any ideas for you. It'd be cool if it was considered a guild ship and only higher ranked members could spawn it.

 

[Captain Jack Truesilver]

Maybe it could be a thing where their can only be so many player owned line ships. Like the game will set a limit on to how many players out of the whole can have one. So like maybe 5 to 10 percent of the pirates in the game can have one. So lets say their are 5,000 active and registered players. Out of that 5,000 players only 250 to 500 players could have a ship of the line. The game would then keep a tally that people could observe of how many pirate owned ships of the line there are and how many more could be built and created. Then the players who have the ships of the line would have to be extra careful with their ships of the line because if they sink their ship they lose it forever and have to go buy or build a new one. This means that if you have a ship of the line and you sink in it another player who already has all the stuff ready to get their own ship of the line could get their ship of the line because you sank in your own ship.

I think the whole dynamic of losing the ship forever once it has been sunk would discourage people from pursuing to get a ship of the line. Because of the cost and time it would take to get the ship for some it would be unreasonable to try and even get one because if you get sunk once because you crew on bored your ship is stupid and does not repair or shoots at ships when you are extremely damaged, you lose the ship forever. They would then have to go buy a new one and the cost to get one compared to the amount of wealth gained while they had the ship may not be worth the effort to get a new one. The game should also alert the world when a ship of the line goes down because then players who have the means to get a ship of the line could go try and do so before someone else beats them to it.

That or a ship of the line could be a gift for winning some sort of competition. That way only a few would have it. I also agree with your saying that the enemies stopped becoming threat. I think the oceans need to be expanded and maybe some new islands added in the future where the enemies get much harder.

I think it would be interesting if the game island and seas actually matched up with the real life map of the Caribbean area. Kind of like in pirates of the burning sea. Players would still start at port royal and by Tortuga but as they get farther out in the caribbean from the starting spot enemies would get much harder. But rebuilding the whole map and moving islands and renaming and recreating new islands could be very difficult.

I actually mapped out the POTCO map to match it up with the real Caribbean map. I could PM you the results if you're interested.

 

[Grace O'Malley of ETC]

I have been fortunate enough to be aboard a SOTL in test and it was just enormous. If they do get the green light, which, like EC has said might make the SOTL into a common ship, I think obtaining such a ship should be a dynamic interplay of both quest, material procurement and some RNG. For example, perhaps finding an extremely rare ship piece.

I would prefer instead further customisations to ships and higher tiers to build the ultimate warship made just for your pirate.

 

[Devin Rodrigues]

I love this idea! THe quest sounds great idea as well however i feel that the price should be lowered in the case that one must go through the quest to receive the vessel or is the member automatically rewarded the SOTL in turn for completing the quest?

-Devin