Witch Doctors gameplay - manageable risk for everyone

[DezNutz]

It only appears that way because people are wearing Shadowood sun glasses.

Not Me, threw mine away cause I could only see out of one side of them.
Maybe my pair was defective.

LOL. Don't know why they didn't get it after the first post.

Spoiler: show

William ONE EYE. Glasses have two lenses, by only having one eye you can only see out the one side.

[Shadowood]

[DezNutz]

Another attempt by Shadowood in manipulating the weak minded.

[Shadowood]

Another attempt by Shadowood in manipulating the weak minded.

Just showing that the famous Capt Jack Rackham wears "Shadowood Sunglasses" All the great pirates do.

Now, about Witch Doctors....

[Vane]

So, if I were a witch doctor, I could name a level one cutter as flagship and cast all I want. Get it plundered lose a few cards wait for a time and name another?

Most WD's have thousands of cards the loss is minor and the ship even less so.

I don't believe this fixes the witch doctor issue at all, and initially this Flagship was designed as a pirate feature, one many have waited for for a very long time.. to see it reduced in an attempt to fix a problem, while offering it to all and increased the pirates risk beyond a flagship to voodoo is quite sad in my opinion.. to say the least.

Pirates would typically name a lighter ship as his flag, then what does a pirate do?.. raise his danger of course, sometimes to crazy levels.. then that "light" ship gets beat over and over as the danger falls, losing voodoo each time.. to further add you "need" a flagship to use voodoo and raid. Simply put, your asking pirates to lose voodoo is masses by playing their style.

I am wholeheartedly, 100% against this proposal...

[Sir Henry Morgan]

The general concept I see is the desire by admin to reduce toxic play - you can't get rid of it, as people play and will find a way.

Now in earlier days, when I started, one could actually lose all your ships - strategies were developed to rebuild, and that took much longer than now.

The term was "burn them to the waterline." In order to profit, you had to have ships. No ships, no income, period.

Not so today - ship markets, card markets and credit markets make income possible without a single ship. Thus, witch doctor gambits work much better.

The solution is to either limit and weaken voodoo, make a little tougher to use voodoo, create ways to put more assets at risk and/or create ways to restrict access to assets.

With the markets now available, it makes sense to make easier ways to get to turns and voodoo cards, or at least restrict access to the many resources (Blacklist is a start, but can still get to warehouses, buried treasure, CRX - very easy to counter)

This means more curses. They can be designed to need more than just turns and restrictions. How about curses that require rituals - we have some already, pirate only, not-for-pirates. We have curses that only work concerning certain ships. We have curses that require additional turns in order to maximize the benefit. Perhaps you need certain supplies on hand in a certain port to make it work, or the curse onlynworks on odd-numbered days (full moon).

As for the flagship, I think the pirate flag ship should be thr pirate's "Flag Ship" - but I believe every player should designate a "flag ship." Pirates have theirs, and if not, get them a "flag ship."

This is a ship from which they run their enterprise in Avonmora. Without it, you can't partake in the markets, you can't access your warehouses, you are just stuck. Certain curses may require you (your flagship) be in a certain port. You can tie things to a flagship.

Make it required! Use the brigantine, the ship that no one sails! Instead of a 1000gc cutter when you have no ships, give them a brigantine - they probably won't buy one for 10 gc....

Bottom line - there are more ways to generate swag than ever before, and much of it difficult or nigh impossible to lose. Increase the way to get at several assets, or at least block access to them, and the toxic play will be much shorter lived.

[Slindur]

If the goal is blocking toxic play with someone just casting and casting voodoo, then a possible solution to that could be that voodoo costs increasing turns after a certain amount are cast in a 12 or 24 hour period of time. For instance, the mechanic could be that after casting 10 voodoo cards, the turn cost per voodoo cards is 1.5x the base turn cost. After casting 20 cards, voodoo costs 2x base turn cost. This would not eliminate toxic game play, but it could reduce it.

Another thought, voodoo that is considered to be possibly toxic (a list would have to be created, or maybe just make it for all voodoo cast) could lead to a fleet getting 6 danger points (same as an attack). CJ has said that he wants more battles, and this could be a way to create that. It could be set up that the user chooses which of his/her own fleets will receive the danger or that it could be random across user's fleets. With this, players might be required to have at least one active fleet (which I know if not much of a deterrent) or at least one fleet with a certain amount of gold (after using 1000 turns and no such limit would exist for players who have used less than 1000 turns) (I forgot who suggested something like this earlier) to be able to cast voodoo.

So there are some ideas for reducing "toxic" voodoo and adding some more risk/possible cost for voodoo.

Slindur

[Captain Jack]

Another great idea: Curses requiring more than just the curse and turns. Rituals.
Thank you Sir Henry Morgan.

It is obvious that someone who wants to keep up the current habit would pick a cutter. I don't see it as a bad thing though but as a platform to build on.
I do not believe we will find the solution here with one shot after all (eventually, as we already said, there is no way to completely stop toxic play or perhaps toxic play should exist to some extend). We need to build around the problem and our primary objective it to limit it or as the title suggests, manageable risk for everyone; none should play risk-free. The general idea of what is next, is making ship plunder easier. Or we could come up with newfound Flagship weaknesses. Or any of the ideas that have already been heard here. Future will tell.

In short, I find the Flagship requirement for Voodoo Casting as a step forward. The details around it, are debatable.

My main interest is currently elsewhere (in nation diplomacy) so I won't throw much fuel here this time. I will only mention 2 basic things which are very dependent on each other.
1.Toxic Gameplay is currently a costly enterprise. You need credits or hard earned wealth in order to acquire voodoo cards. This is alone one big obstacle.
2.The worst part of toxic gameplay is the demoralizing effect which is greater to inexperienced players.

By adding metrics and recording of losses, a toxic player suddenly will have to deal with:
1.Publicity
2.Defeat

In the same time, the victim will have to deal with:
1.Publicity
2.Winning

Let's suppose that they both suffer wealth-wise. This situation will greatly help the morale of the victim which is important. Even if we suppose that the victim loses, the publicity he earns from the situation will help him stay and fight.

[Admiral Nelson]

My main interest is currently elsewhere (in nation diplomacy) so I won't throw much fuel here this time. I will only mention 2 basic things which are very dependent on each other.
1.Toxic Gameplay is currently a costly enterprise. You need credits or hard earned wealth in order to acquire voodoo cards. This is alone one big obstacle.
2.The worst part of toxic gameplay is the demoralizing effect which is greater to inexperienced players.

By adding metrics and recording of losses, a toxic player suddenly will have to deal with:
1.Publicity
2.Defeat

In the same time, the victim will have to deal with:
1.Publicity
2.Winning

Let's suppose that they both suffer wealth-wise. This situation will greatly help the morale of the victim which is important. Even if we suppose that the victim loses, the publicity he earns from the situation will help him stay and fight.

I don't understand....

[Dmanwuzhere]

A toxic player is someone who negatively impacts a game in an intentional way. Bad game play and lack of understanding is not being toxic. However bashing anyone in game, leaving when things aren't going your way or intentionally aiding the enemy in any form is toxic.
That's the gamer definition.
However what I am seeing being defined as toxic in this game is people who are uncomfortable with game structure being utilized and reversed to cause them discomfort.
Take the nation related voodoo it has been cast by people I am sure who relate other voodoo being heavily dished out as toxic.
Basically there is a trend to call what gives you discomfort or interrupt your normal game play as toxic.
I call it cause and effect, you irritate someone to the point they don't care about loss then get upset when they ignore your fame or your voodoo chest and hound you to prove a point. That's not toxic imo.
The nation voodoo by your standards then would be nuclear considering the culprit or culprits remain anonymous.
But I argue even that is cause and effect.
At this rate I would not be surprised for a personal space or therapy dog voodoo card being created.
Gaming is normally enjoyed for the chance to overcome or achieve certain things, lets not weaken gaming with all the labeling and attempts to restructure the rules to make that easier.
Last post on this as it gets relatively old very quickly and is a bit disappointing to read some comments.