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boomervoncannon

How does gating new content behind the final boss make the game more accessible for smaller companies?

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4 hours ago, iLL said:

it's easy even for smaller companies.

You must have a different definition of 'small company'. Our 'small company' before we gave up, were too small to actually crew more than a single brig, let alone 3, and we were one of the larger companies in our zone (not withstanding the inevitable Chinese zerg presence). The player base has fallen off a cliff since then so...

Edited by RyuujinZERO

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6 hours ago, archaegeo said:

i would be ok with buying it from some big company, but you cant even drive it if you havent killed the kraken

I agree with you and others who said it would be slightly more bearable if you could buy a sub from someone who killed the kraken. That would make it a viable commodity and you could do other activities to afford a sub, if the kraken stays as a 'large group activity'.

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6 hours ago, boomervoncannon said:

Power stones still need to be collected. Presumably higher end ship component bp’s need to be farmed in order to build ships with a good chance to win (speculation. Haven’t done the boss but basing conjecture on other MMO boss requirements). These types of bosses typically aren’t just about having bodies foe the fight, they are about acquiring the things needed to win the fight and in that respect large companies have a huge manpower resource advantage.

I'm part of a small company (there are 2 of us), we were fortunate in being asked to join a raid on the kraken. All we have is a standard brig, but we survived due to everyone working together. Its doable but does need a few ships. I think the raid we were on had something like 15 ships.

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I suspect most of you would find that it's really not a very difficult fight and can be done by just a few properly equipped ships once you have the mechanics down.  When you see large companies send 15-20 ships, it's not because they need that many.  It's because they're trying to get it for as many people as they can.

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7 minutes ago, Mister Gibs said:

I suspect most of you would find that it's really not a very difficult fight and can be done by just a few properly equipped ships once you have the mechanics down.  When you see large companies send 15-20 ships, it's not because they need that many.  It's because they're trying to get it for as many people as they can.

That's the impression I'm getting, which makes this change less onerous than I imagined.

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6 minutes ago, boomervoncannon said:

That's the impression I'm getting, which makes this change less onerous than I imagined.

The bigger chore will be getting the powerstones, and those aren't as hard as most people make them if you do a little bit of scouting ahead of time to find the easiest way in.

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I will say right now that the Kraken itself is not the problem. It is killed multiple times a week with no lost ships on the NA PvE by people in my alliances. You only need 6 schooners and a brig to take it down easily and can be done with even fewer ships. 

The problem is needing 8 power stones to summon the Kraken which, are incredibly difficult to get even with a large group. On a released version of the game, I think that requiring all 9 above water power stones is perfectly acceptable and would be a fun way to have progression in the game. The only reason you need the sub over a diving suit is for the deep sea exploration which is required for the 2nd tier of the progression. With everything at this stage being about testing, we should have easy access to the newest and least balanced parts of the game to give feedback. Just my two cents but I do hope the devs change their minds on this decision for the Early Access period. 

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I am going to make the most of this opportunity.

We have at least three weeks of very high resource gathering, and the knowledge that nothing we do has any lasting affect. It is far more liberating to not have to worry about screwing up and losing your hard work.

I intend to setup a ship full of gear and ballista, go to the power stone islands, find a way to beat the drake and hydra (without cheesing it), get the power stones, and then finally try out my ship plan to solo the kraken.

I plan to have enough weight in cannonballs to sink a galleon from carrying them alone! Enough ballista bolts to make a herd of cyclops look like a porcupine!

If any other sailors are crazy enough to join us*, we have a small base in C7 and we’ll be on a fair bit this weekend.

Captain Del of the Crazytown I to however many it takes!

*Applying sailors must enjoy walking on the beach in the rain with scattered waterspouts, rum drinks, and ending up as the Kraken’s plaything like some girl in a hentai show.

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Endgame itself is not a problem.

The problem is - there is NO MMO instruments in this game. I really hope - there is "not yet". By that I mean - do you know what companies do your closest Golden Age? When? How many players go there? How often it happen? Why wouldn't you join them?

Well... there is just NO WAY to get any answers on those questions. Unless you go to Golden Age grid and wait if there is a group of players appears. And if there is, you ask - may you join? (I most cases her majesty Silence - will be your answer) But... well maybe you wait for ages for group of ppl. Because there is no instrument for players to gather together and go.

As far as I can see - there are tons of tiny/solo companies (most of them like that actually) and ppl would gladly join a fleet for a day. Without any unnecessary actions (like form alliances etc). In most MMOs that's what ppl do (I closed half of the Mythic Raid once in WOW by just playing solo). Right now - it's just impossible here...

p.s. - I was on Kraken with my Brig once. Tentacles are 4 ballistas oneshot. Kraken's phase - 2 Galleys oneshot...  With 2 Galleys and 8 brigs - that will be fast and easy kill. Theoretically : ))

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Actually, the Kraken itself is the only real obstacle to a smaller company unlocking the sub, and even then there are many opportunities and work arounds to get past that hurdle. So I don't see an issue.

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1 minute ago, CyanicEmber said:

Actually, the Kraken itself is the only real obstacle to a smaller company unlocking the sub, and even then there are many opportunities and work arounds to get past that hurdle. So I don't see an issue.

It’s not about it being impossible to defeat the kraken. It’s about present day testing. We’re the testers of this game, they’re gonna implement something that can only be tested in a few weeks. If I was a developer I’d rather have them test the shit out of something before I make it an kraken defeat thing. It’s better to prevent something stuff. 

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Yeah good idea, just give you everything BEFORE you kill the Kraken, because you know, thats what makes you so special.

WTF are you thinking? I understand you want to play the game but what is your problem with entitlement, and the I should get everything because I am solo.

This is what happens when they give out participation trophies.

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People seem not to understand OP’s post. 

Edited by Percieval
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22 minutes ago, Percieval said:

People seem not to understand OP’s post. 

Partly it's my fault because I have yet to do the Kraken but based on prior MMO experience expected it to be more of a challenge than apparently it is. ILL and other posters seem to be clear that doing the Kraken is really not all that difficult even for small companies. The greater difficulty apparently lies in gathering the stones but even that is not insurmountable.  If true this means it's not really such a big problem for smaller companies, but the issue of gating new content during Early Access remains. Especially after a wipe it is reasonable to expect it would take time for any but the largest of companies to rebuild to a point to do the kraken, time during which your brand new content won't get tested.

By anyone.

*headdesk*

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Kraken isn’t hard, it’s just buggy as hell. They even decreased it’s health or damage by 60%, can’t remember which. So I can already see the threads coming ‘You wanted us to do the kraken for that damn sub even though its buggy as hell how could you do this. Why do you devs think this was a good idea!!?!’

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They've done this kind of thing with Ark too, Added a whole Tek Tier, all locked behind end game raiding. 

I never understood why any game would lock content behind bosses. The best gear, sure! Making end game content easier to build or use, Sure! But restricting it from most of the player base? Why? What good is it to make content for such a small amount of people.

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I agree that gating the sub seems counterintuitive, but then again, I also feel the public early test server should be permanent 10x and allow for starting with most levels open, free res and items to test with. Then move the second test to the main servers with a bit more time needed to progress.

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I don't mind sub being locked behind end game boss, or the time it will take to get the powerstones. And for part time players ie, people with jobs and families, that' can take a fair bit of time just in sailing. My problem, and many others is it has become more time consuming because they chose to deliver that content as part of a server wipe. 

What seems odd to me was the focus of end game content, in a game that really is lacking any content other then end game. Didn't they mention missions/quests as part of that original patch back in early February? So, they decide to do a server wipe and give us more end game when this would have been a perfect opportunity to introduce early or mid game content.

Once again it gives the appearance of a PVP focus game and PVE advertisement is merely a marketing ploy to keep the PVP machine rolling. Take for instance the almost footnote mention of PVE claim changes and how much thought went into that

Edited by Huck Finnley

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2 hours ago, Percieval said:

It’s not about it being impossible to defeat the kraken. It’s about present day testing. We’re the testers of this game, they’re gonna implement something that can only be tested in a few weeks. If I was a developer I’d rather have them test the shit out of something before I make it an kraken defeat thing. It’s better to prevent something stuff. 

That does makes sense, but on the other hand, you could argue that gating content gives players incentive to work through all of the PvE challenges and test // provide feedback on them as well.

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5 hours ago, CyanicEmber said:

That does makes sense, but on the other hand, you could argue that gating content gives players incentive to work through all of the PvE challenges and test // provide feedback on them as well.

But those have already been tested. If you’re talking about the powerstones. People are gonna do those anyway. 

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You got the thread title wrong. The kraken is no longer the final boss 🙂

Apparently you get the sub, then there is another boss you get to fight after the kraken.

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I agree with op.

This needs to be tested by a lot of people.

If people are finally to the point they get the sub and it turns out it is really bugged, then wait for the storm on the forum.

Let us test the sub and make it clear it will be unlocked by defeating the kraken in the future.(because there will be another wipe in the future i'm guessing)

We are the testers. Let us test.

Personally i am going to test on our private server by just spawning the thing in, but i assume you reach a lot more people on official servers to test it.

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I have to agree.

Having level progression basically tied to powerstones and bosses is bad enough and should also be toned right down.

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