Tips for solo players ? (PVP server)

[Talono 434]

Please not the standard stuff : „Join a big company“

No, i dont like companies. No, i dont want to farm for a 16 year old boy with no life, who is online 24/7.

At the moment, as not everyone has gems (=grenades=game over) you can claim a piece of land from smaller tribes.

You build a stone base, but :

- if the base is close to the beach it will be destroyed by the battleship victory

- if the base is further inside the island it will be destroyed by a cannon on a carriage

- if the base is on a rock only accessible with climbing hooks it will be destroyed by granades

 

Does anyone have hints for a successful foothold as solo player ?

[Pappy Green 71]

Live in a lawless zone until you're ready. Don't build too big. Just focus on leveling. Don't let the bastards get you down.

[asmodyus 4]

Problem with this game is it not designed at all for solo play it obvious with the way the skill tree is designed and skill point cost especially at low level.  You may be able to play solo at a really high level so you can get all the skills required to outfit and create a decent ship to sail and possibly find a small plot of land.

[archaegeo 192]

Play on unofficial servers, over 3300 to choose from.

Official is not meant for Solo unless you want to take the chances you already listed.

[Talono 434]

1 minute ago, asmodyus said:

Problem with this game is it not designed at all for solo play it obvious with the way the skill tree is designed and skill point cost especially at low level.  You may be able to play solo at a really high level so you can get all the skills required to outfit and create a decent ship to sail and possibly find a small plot of land.

Well, owning ships as a solo player seems not a good idea to me. Easily sunk by just axe bashing one plank or a few offline broadsides from another ship.

 

 

[Migolcow 30]

You were on the right track with the stone building.    Putting a cannon on a carriage and getting it to your island already requires a lot of effort.     And the cannons aren't "great" at taking stone down either, it takes a lot of cannonballs (which are a beast to make and transport themselves).

What you need to do is make it even harder on them, and not worth their time.    Build as far inland as you can, ideally up a bit on a cliff (not too high, just making it hard to hit with a carriage cannon) that you can reach with a retractable rope ladder.    Build a stone base with -2- doors rapid fire as the only entrance, that is incredibly discouraging to someone who breaks down the first door only to see a short hallway to the second door that's harder to aim at and will take even more resources to break into.      Build more doors inside, your resource cabinets (especially gems/coin) should be behind even more locked doors.

Finally,surround your base with behemoth gates.    They also count as stone and are hard to break through.    It'll get to be second nature quickly to open door, open door, close door, close door, then open and close the behemoth gate.

This is not completely impregnable, but breaking it will require a LOT of materials grinding on the enemy's part, and unless you're very wealthy or you've been making them very very angry, is not going to be remotely worth their time.     The big danger is someone using a current exploit/hack/bug (unsure which) which can kill you through walls, nothing you can really do about that.     Other than that though, you don't need all that much, if you want you can also set up a mortar which is ridiculous range especially on a cliff.

edit: Also don't worry about grenades, they do such piddly damage to stone as to be essentially meaningless.   You would literally need hundreds or thousands; test it for yourself.

Edited January 2, 2019 by Migolcow

[Bolognapwny 137]

36 minutes ago, Talono said:

Please not the standard stuff : „Join a big company“

No, i dont like companies. No, i dont want to farm for a 16 year old boy with no life, who is online 24/7.

At the moment, as not everyone has gems (=grenades=game over) you can claim a piece of land from smaller tribes.

You build a stone base, but :

- if the base is close to the beach it will be destroyed by the battleship victory

- if the base is further inside the island it will be destroyed by a cannon on a carriage

- if the base is on a rock only accessible with climbing hooks it will be destroyed by granades

 

Does anyone have hints for a successful foothold as solo player ?

Yeah play on a private server...... One no one is going to give you a claim.  Two you will spend most your points trying to make a stone homestead and have nothing to make anything else.  

You're only option is to fix everything about your attitude "No, i dont want to farm for a 16 year old boy with no life, who is online 24/7."  and try to join a Company... but seeing what you wrote you should probably stick to single player games.

 

[Pappy Green 71]

I play solo on official.

Edited January 2, 2019 by Pappy Green

[Goldfish The Builder 105]

If you refuse to join a medium/large company. The next best thing would be to make an alliance with one, provide them with a rare mat in exchange for protection!

[Talono 434]

Well, thanks for your tips, really helpful. I dont mind spending my time for nothing but building endless stone grids 10 levels high. My fun is : They want to prevent me living on „their“ island but cant achieve that.

[Bolognapwny 137]

19 minutes ago, Pappy Green said:

I play solo on official.

YEAH EU PROBABLY

[Pappy Green 71]

NA

[Talono 434]

Well solo is not working, even if you build on the top of the highest rock far inside the island.

They bring mortars, which have an insane range, always hit exactly the same wall from 7000 km distance.

A stone wall breaks after a few hits and you cant repair.

[Cheesey 3]

You actually can play solo(ish)! Since there a very few limitations in the game, that could protect players who just want to play in peace, all of that has to be done by players themselves. Took us about 60-70 hours of frustration to figure it out. 

There are lots of communities, that have one island to themselves and are always recruiting other people and even whole companies to join them. It depends on the community of course, but you don't have to do slave work all the time if you join. Most of the time, they just need someone to help out from time to time, if there is an attack, or to farm some resources, but the rest of the time you are free to do what you want, unless you do something, that bothers everyone else. 

When we joined one, we got to choose where to set up base and what to do. If you are not a fighter, they are always happy if you help out with the resources, but you don't have to slave all day. We got our own channel on their Discord server and are left alone, most of the time.

[Talono 434]

I disagree, even some smaller companies i attacked during the last days joined the major companies on their island... hehe for certain the price to wipe me out * evil chuckle*.

Solo you cant play with mortars in game, insane range, rate of fire like a gatling,  100% target hit without deviation, stone wall down in a few shots. They even hit you on the highest rock.

Edited January 3, 2019 by Talono

[bluelance 22]

Solo play is viable, but if your going around hitting people then it isnt because all your doing is poking a hornets nest whilst your in a small room. Obviously they will retaliate, mortars are bugged allowing a person to shoot multiple times using only one ball.

I play solo (was about to play with friends but the game isnt working) i have a small base on a lawless land which has enough planks etc to build myself another sloop/schooner if mines sinks which is has because i havnt been on to repair it.... my base is compact enough that its just ignored, AI crew are insanely useful, and heck traxing with other players makes the rest easier and also adds the risk of being shot.

Also like Cheesey there are tonnes of islands that welcome players, in the end they get a cut of what you gather and having someone else on the island helps if the island get attacked. Believe me when someome comes to hit an island they aint gonna be picky everyone on the island is a target. 

[DataPhreak 0]

if they're bringing mortars to your base, you've already screwed up.

You've got to play more stealthily. If they find one of your bases, that sucks. If they find ALL of  your bases, you  suck. Build 2x2 bases. You can put a smithy, box, and bed inside. Then build multiple 1x with just a box and bed around those bases. Put basic tools in those. Stick to hide,  bows, and fire arrows. Build cheap, disposable sloops with flamethrowers for naval combat. 1 flamer with 1 crew and a med handling sail on a sloop is all you need. You can shovel up enough gold for that crewman. You can make 1 pass by their docks and torch their boats, then be over the horizon before they raise anchor.

[Noobsta 3]

Solo play would be fine if they sorted out the safe ports.

If you ship would only die if you did not fix it and not from trolls overloading it  then you call that home

[Manaos 13]

I suppose to unofficial would be better.

Is an MMO after all (masive multiplayer online) not a MSO. (Masive Singleplayer) LOL

The game already helps a Lot solo/small gangs. Lets wait to see how it evolves...

17 minutes ago, Noobsta said:

Solo play would be fine if they sorted out the safe ports.

If you ship would only die if you did not fix it and not from trolls overloading it  then you call that home

In freeports, the decay rate is way higher. Freeports are just for new players to spaw.

[killahsin 18]

the best tip i can offer you is this game was designed to piss you off. They intentionally put things in it to make your life a living hell solo or duo. Not to make the game hard but to literally piss you off.

[Percieval 1,067]

3 minutes ago, killahsin said:

the best tip i can offer you is this game was designed to piss you off. They intentionally put things in it to make your life a living hell solo or duo. Not to make the game hard but to literally piss you off.

Good tip? 

 

As far the whole solo/duo aspect goes: The game is designed for large groups, so it’s automatically a living hell for solos or duos (on official). 

[killahsin 18]

exactly but the game theory limiters have nothing to do with harder for solo duo and small squads and everything to do with artificial mechanics based on annoying the user into complying with the ruleset or rage quitting in advance. They create an atmosphere that attracts users, then break them down before companies can aquire them because the systems that should be in place for them to be acquired do not exist. Please save your trolling for people that have not worked in the game theory field. The theory this game uses is just amateur level comply or die without the proper systems to guide the player into compliance. Even on massive company levels the game employs annoying mechanics meant to crush you if you do not comply. It's piss poor game design hidden under the guise of the survival genre and amazingly so sits within a very appealing and successful meta game that exists outside of it that keeps people coming back.

Edited January 3, 2019 by killahsin

[Percieval 1,067]

2 minutes ago, killahsin said:

exactly but the game theory limiters have nothing to do with harder for solo duo and small squads and everything to do with artificial mechanics based on annoying the user into complying with the ruleset or rage quitting in advance. They create an atmosphere that attracts users, then break them down before companies can aquire them because the systems that should be in place for them to be acquired do not exist. Please save your trolling for people that have not worked in the game theory field. The theory this game uses is just amateur level comply or die without the proper systems to guide the player into compliance. Even on massive company levels the game employs annoying mechanics meant to crush you if you do not comply. 

I’ll pretend that I understood something you typed. But that’s everyone’s own opinion. I can only speak for me and my friends and that is that we’re having an absolute blast.

[Talono 434]

The suggestion with many stealthy bases does not work, the island owning company gets a message if you claim their land or, if they are stupid noobs, at least see the red circle on the map in their territory when they log in.

Then a mortar hunt & destroy squad immediatelly starts, believe me. They wont stop till they found the intruders and wipe them. Multiple flags around the main base with 1x1 huts and NPC inside wont help.. the mortar killed first the huts and then the main base, there is absolutely nothing that can be done to prevent that.

So this game is impossible to play solo as Wildcard does not allow defence (same as in ARK).

PVP designs that work for solo players/small groups include a safe PVE area to settle and live plus a PVP area, where all the good stuff can be grabbed... at a risk of course.

Examples are : Eve Online, Empyrion, Pirates of the Burning Sea

Conan Exiles is ok as well, there are no safe PVE areas, but solo players can build in a way, that really huge efforts, tons of ressources and planning is neccessary to wipe fortified bases.

In Atlas every 12 year old boys with a few hive bees can wipe solo players and small squads, no matter where they build and what they build.

Edited January 3, 2019 by Talono

[Migolcow 30]

Keep in mind Mortars and their ammo especially are crazy expensive.    Each mortar shot requires blasting powder, which requires Gems to create (Atlas logic) along with other mats. 

If you can make them use 3 mortar shots per wall you're winning the resource war by a lot.    Are you surrounding it with behemoth gates too?    They're even harder to get through and relatively cheap.