Should Pirate or Trader Nerfed, Improved? Lets discuss

JustToTalk · October 2017

I am not actually a forum fan, I never posted anything in ogp forum before, but I create this id to express my opinions, views and concerns. I wish I have done the same in ogp before, I was a bit regret but it seems a bit too late now. So this is just my 2 cents, hope it helps. Lets discuss.

The current heat discussion that is going on both party: The Pirate and the Trader

Pirates say that they have been nerfed and have no fun. Traders says that they have been pirated and have no fun. So, who is correct who is wrong? Imo, none of them are correct or totally wrong, because their opinions are mostly bias each to their own side, you can't see no truth here.

Before that, let me briefly explained the history of the pirates and traders in uwo.

The pirates/traders in the old version/patch of uwo:

1. They can plunder a trader's personal inventory items

2. They can plunder the ship cargo

3. They can keep hitting on a same trader over and over again, because the time is only like 10 mins interval.

4.The traders in the old days, have more than 2x the profit as compared for now.

So this is the current version after so many years:

1. Now pirate can only hit a particular trader once per 24 hour.

2. With "Improved Hold" as a ship skill, a trader can protect his cargo.

3. Pirate can no long plunder any inventory items from the trader.

4. Traders now earn half than less profit

So, why the old version of pirates has been changed?

1. With the time interval of 10 mins, a pirate can keep hitting a same trader over and over again, on the sea, because there is no nearby ports for them to escape into.

2. Because Pirate can plunder both ship cargo and inventory items, this will result a trader player has severe losses, after been pirated non stop to an abuse.

3. This, only apply a big "if", if, there is only "one pirate" attack the trader. The result will be unimaginable greater, when there is 5 pirates in a fleet, or multiple fleets of a 5 pirates.

So this is what the pirate players are reasoning:

1. Pirates are the group of players who pay the most in the game. So they want more. They feel the traders now is over protected, and it is meaningless to play pirate anymore.

2. They want to be able to plunder the traders inventory item again, because the current rewards are not worth to plunder.

The reasons of traders:

1. Even if it is an inventory item, it can takes months to obtain them. And to lose it in one pirate attack, is totally unacceptable.

2. Trader also pay for the game, probably not as much as a pirate, but they still pay. Pirate pay for stronger battle ship, Trader pay for higher cargo and speed ship. And they have no intention to pay, and end up just to get abused in game.

My point of view, what I see the truth is:

1. Pirates claiming, I pay so much, so I can be a pirate and plunder someone, I want to enjoy more.

This point is not true.

- Usually a trader wants more cargo and speed, they have no intention to fight back, which even if they do, one trader can't fight with a group of pirate camping outside the port. There is no point to do so.

- Trader's ship is a merchant ship, a Pirate ship is a battle ship. Merchant ships are always weaker than a battle ship.

So, a trader's ship is very fragile. This mentioned, even if you pay less as a pirate, you still can sink a trader ship because they are really fragile, and high cargo ship are usually slow. So this can result a trader who pay more in the game, gets owned by a pirate who pay less. So this point is not true.

2. How pirates hunt the traders? Camping outside a city, a port. That's is almost the only way a pirate can hunt down a trader. As long as a pirate camp firmly outside a port, there is almost no way for a trader to sail away.

3. Is it true the pirate has been nerfed too much until they claim it is meaningless to plunder anymore now?
Yes, this is true.

Because what pirates can get from a plunder, the rewards are not attractive at all.

So, this is the history, reasons, and truth and false in uwo, what's the suggested solutions?

Before I suggest, I would like to explain my logic in the first place.

In my point of view, a pirate's plunder should be strengthened a bit, but at the same time, the traders should be given a chance to escape. My suggestion is primary based on this logic.

1. You can consider to set the sea region, more often to "lawless", when a sea region is lawless, pirates priority over rides the traders. This is how I see the flow of the games are.

However, this has to be further away from a city, not in the same sea region, where there is a popular city where traders always go and back, in it.

- Why outside away from a city? The last thing I want to see, is a group of pirates keep camping outside a city. They want to plunder something more valuable, but they don't want to pay any effort at all to make that plunder happens. All they did is just camp outside a city. They don't even bother to chase, and to hunt.

As long it is a sea region that does not have any cities in it, far away from a port, personally I don't mind it is permanently lawless. That if a trader get caught away far from the port, then they really deserved to be plundered, and the pirates really do deserved a plunder, that's what I think.

By this, a trader has his chance to escape, while the pirates has his chance to hunt. This is the win-win situation.

2. You can consider to decrease the time interval of 24h per pirate, to 20 minutes effect as of a blue flag, total immune from any pirate attack.

- A trader, can run a few rounds of trips a day. There is no need to protect them 24h from one particular pirate, just protect them from multiple pirates pirating them together, because the last thing we don't want to see is a group of 5-20 pirates keep on attacking one particular trader, and that is an abuse, which is the main reason why Koei changed it in the first place. There is no need for 24h, 20-30 minutes is enough for a trader.

3. Offer pirates more speed bonus when they sail in lawless zone. This enables them to catch up the merchant ship easier. However, there is a possibility this bonus can be abused.

I think there are actually better solutions than this, but that would require to involve modification in coding, I don't think it is possible for implementation since it depends on Koei, but I will still bring up them briefly, in case if it can be possibly implemented without coding, just with settings.

1. Trader may lose money not depending on the cash on hand, but can be taken from their Bank when been plundered. How much money lost is depending what kind of cargo they are carrying, nanban or spice, and the quantity of them.

2. Trader may have an item to request for a battle assistant, which if there is a pirate camping outside the port, once this item is applied the particular pirate will engaged in a battle. Instead of blue flag that protects trader for 24h, this item can only protect them once for a few minutes.

3. A ship skill that will allow a pirate auto engage any ships that comes in its range, once activated. This allow a pirate to declare a battle with a trader ship without needing to click on the trader for it. So if it is a pirate that sail within its range, the battle will be declared too.

4. Allow the sea mines or traps been put on the sea by pirates, without needing to going into a battle. However this can only be done in a sea zone far away from a city. These sea mines or traps, can only work on pvp, not against npc.

5. This is actually the point where I see that draw uwo back quite a lot. If the design is been designed in such a way, it would be a lot easier from the start.

A pirate sailing on sea can directly fire cannons on any sailor without needing to click on the player and enter a battle first. The same the sailor can fire cannons on any pirates vice versa. Normal players who is are not a pirate should be prohibited from doing so.

Clicking a target and declare a battle on sea is actually needed only against npc imo.

6. Pirates attack through force, adventure defend through land battle skills, a merchant should defend or revenge with money.

There could be an item where a trader put in an amount of money, which this item only work on the name of the pirate who has pirated the particular trader, the function of this item should be, restrict the pirate from retreating from a battle until it is finished. Further consideration can be put that once the item is activated, both the pirate and the activator will go into a battle directly, when they are both located at the same sea zone.

The last interesting part of this item is, this item can be sold to anyone who wants it, particular to anyone who has a grudge with the pirate.

I believe designing of gameplay should be as such. There is a way to hit and there is a way to retal. That makes a circle and endless fun. Balance is the key, bias never comes out something good and they never last long.

Well I think that's all, hope it helps and bring more constructive ideas to the gameplay.