skill and pirates

[Admiral Nelson]

Moans whilst he is being cast on instead of being what a normal person would do; And attack back.

[Maha]

Likewise, if you steal all the gold from a traders purse plus a few of his ships, he'll be back trading in no time flat.

Both are GOOD things. We should not strive to push players out of the game, after all.

I am not saying pirates are immortal, I am just saying the shear difference in term of power in casting voodoo to hurt one another.

different goals in the game ask for different kind of investments
pirates lack the trading power (ships, warehouses and tech) to beat the traders at their game.
likewise, the traders lack the means to beat the pirates at their game.

this game is all about strategic decisions and long-term planning. without that you may stumble from opportunity to opportunity, but you will not do well in either profession.

i guess that no-one likes to lose gold, ships or being forced to wait defleeted until a crusade is over. yet, that is what this game is; outsmarting the others and getting hurt when you fail.

[Malachi Constant]

Moans whilst he is being cast on instead of being what a normal person would do; And attack back.

Amen.

[Malachi Constant]

Pirates sell a ton of voodoo

Traders buy it.

Traders sell hostile voodoo.

Nations have different idea.

They all feed into one another.

If you remove the alpha from an ecosystem it collapses

[Most Lee Harmless]

It is not expensive to mess up a pirates day, or week, for that matter : likewise, a few cheap cards cast at the right moments can totally ruin a traders day too. Right now, you can buy 2 certain cards for less than a credit each and once cast on a pirate, they either have to waste 10 credits worth of purify to get rid of them, or face an unprofitable day waiting for them to expire. It's not rocket science : if a pirate learns that hitting you means grief, they will tend to go look for some-one else.
The tools are already there, it dont need new cards or legendary voodoo : just read and learn what each existing card does and consider what it would do if cast on your target. Ask what does your target want to do, and what will stop them or make it unprofitable to continue.

[Black sparrow]

1)Hefty Income
I see the whole complaint issue about Pirates as null and void. Pirates will not hit you unless you make a hefty income per day.
If you make a hefty income per day, you need to be at least prepared. If all your objectives are how to make more, ignoring the threat, then yes, you deserve to be destroyed.

Right now, with the credits exchange feature, even if your pocket is empty, any decent merchant can afford to buy the right voodoo for defense. If he does not, it is his fault.

2)You can be destroyed
Yes, you can be destroyed even if you prepare. Anyone and at anytime can be completely destroyed. It only takes the right amount of players and voodoo. As long as you have something to lose you can lose it.

At the other hand, there are a gazillion ways to be destroyed and lose what you got. This is all the difference. The key, is profit as I do not believe that there are anyone just playing to ruins anyone's gameplay. Sure, it has happened to me and I see grief plays before. But how long they lasted? 3 days? 1 month? Dunno for more. Heck, I am playing here for 6 years, I can afford griefing more than the griefer can afford.

So back to what matters; profit. Pirates hit for profit. Do you have this profit for them? Then it is your fault.

Profit can be nullified in a gazillion of ways too. But I can fit it in two big categories: Short term and Long Term. This little pirate has managed to grab your profit and go hide in his den, then laughs at your face? Well, dude, its not the mechanics that is at fault that you cannot go after him but your big fat belly. The big fat belly that you won with your merchant enterprise. Cause even now that the pirate has fed on your nice cakes, you still think of the next day as the day to rebuild your lost ships. BIG MISTAKE. The next day, is the pirate hunting day. Forget about anything else, or learn to be a Zuzik....err... farm I mean.

[Haron]

That's one way. There are others, of course. Are you hit a LOT? Then something clearly needs to be done. Are you got only once a month or maybe not even that? Perhaps being a "farm" is not that bad an option. It will be only a small part of your income, after all.

And you can play a lot of ways to defend yourself. Better defence may mean lower income, so it's a trade off, of course. Which it is for pirates too. Being an "unhittable" pirate gives less income than taking some risks. Unless your targets keep hitting you back.

[Lefty]

I think that players do not understand the 'other' point of view. To most there is only one side to this. Either the pirate or the trader style.
Having tried each side, I say it is very hard to be successful in both at the same time. Do what you enjoy. Pirate and accept the consequences of your choice (retaliation, reputation, rejection, etcetera). Trade and accept the consequences of your choice (plunder, skirmish, voodoo attacks, etcetera).
I think my game play has been enhanced by trying both. I find myself more inclined to be a privateer (opportunist pirate who like to make a gold coin in whatever way I can). If you find yourself hating a certain style of gameplay..I recommend you try it. Learn why it works the way it does, then incorporate its tactics onto your own defensive or offensive play. Don't just try it. Master it and you will be the better trader/pirate in the long run. Remember this is a well thought out game that can require you to be as maho says

this game is all about strategic decisions and long-term planning. without that you may stumble from opportunity to opportunity, but you will not do well in either profession.

[Donald Trump]

I think there should be an automated mechanic that bans someone's PG account for 1 week every time they complain about "merchants having this or pirates having that, it's just not fair that I can't be the best, have the most, be untouched, wah wah.."

Perhaps then those of you who do so may learn to get over it. If not well.. at least the rest of us would get a week off from the same old tiresome squawking.

I very much disagree with this. Even though strategy is part of it; it is a dependent factor based on game mechanics. If you ruin someone's strategy through constant changes in game mechanics. They do have the right to disagree and complain. Nevertheless you are saying that the game should ban people for voicing their word, which to me sounds worse than suggestion ever made.

Every game community complains about game changes. There has been proposals the Admin has put up before that people thought were too OP for either side and rejected. If we just banned voicing, then everyone who disagreed would just be banned. Great idea (not really). Never the less, why even talk about introducing new features in the game, because if you bring up anything against them, you get banned? Better to just put them in so no one even knows until they get a new "Game Update" in their news.

Recent game changes have harshly nerfed ship stealing. This has gotten to the point where now levis and ambushes are a necessary for any raid. These are very expensive voodoo cards. If you look at the levi price, it has doubled ever since the sink price change. May be you, but some can't afford this new "strategy" you talk about. This "new strategy" is just a burden to anyone's pockets. Now it relies more on the mistakes of the target than the strategy of the pirate as I have observed.

[Vane]

I think there should be an automated mechanic that bans someone's PG account for 1 week every time they complain about "merchants having this or pirates having that, it's just not fair that I can't be the best, have the most, be untouched, wah wah.."

Perhaps then those of you who do so may learn to get over it. If not well.. at least the rest of us would get a week off from the same old tiresome squawking.

I very much disagree with this. Even though strategy is part of it; it is a dependent factor based on game mechanics. If you ruin someone's strategy through constant changes in game mechanics. They do have the right to disagree and complain. Nevertheless you are saying that the game should ban people for voicing their word, which to me sounds worse than suggestion ever made.

Recent game changes have harshly nerfed ship stealing. This has gotten to the point where now levis and ambushes are a necessary for any raid. These are very expensive voodoo cards. If you look at the levi price, it has doubled ever since the sink price change. May be you, but some can't afford this new "strategy" you talk about. This "new strategy" is just a burden to anyone's pockets. Now it relies more on the mistakes of the target than the strategy of the pirate as I have observed.

Fact is, this is the direction the game Admins wish to take the game, and i do not entirely disagree with them. Sure I think the turn limit bites but it is what it is. Learn to adapt. Ship stealing has become so common that no one with the coin to do so sails the larger ships. Whats the point of even having them around then?

No, a pirate should rely on basic plunder and skirmishing for daily or routine income (we were even given bonus income from techs and sink chance for crying out loud). Ship stealing is and should always be; expensive, difficult, strategic, and an art form that not everyone can accomplish without trial, error, and a brain to change their tactics when required.

A merchant who knows his stuff, has been around forever, and maintains top of the line defense strategy should not lose all his Ship of the Lines because he sails them and any half wit with a Frigate can pull the same old trick to do so.. If you want to take down the big dogs, come up with something new, absorb the cost, and think outside the box.

The game will always evolve, old things go, new things come. Those of us who adapt quickest always remain at the top. Those who do not adapt at all, complain or quit...



To Add: What I was getting at with my sarcasm, is once something is implemented stop the moaning and learn to use it to your advantage. If you assume i meant stop the discussions about suggestions then no... your mistaken.