Adjustments to the Skirmish and more

[Charles Vane]

I believe SHM is referring to skirmishes being "daily, common, and steady" income stream for pirates, not at all the main source of income. I agree raids are where fortunes are to be made, not skirmishing.

[Haron]

I believe SHM is referring to skirmishes being "daily, common, and steady" income stream for pirates, not at all the main source of income. I agree raids are where fortunes are to be made, not skirmishing.

I fully agree with this.

[Most Lee Harmless]

I agree with all of the above : skirmish should not be the mainstay of piracy, or any play-style for that matter : I'd also say trading should not be the only part of being a merchant : both ways can only lead to boredom, in my view.
I see a pirate as being an opportunist, a lurker, a scoundrel lying in wait for the unsuspecting straggler, separated from the herd and now vulnerable to an attack : as Redish so rightly says, its the hunt that should matter to the pirate : the stalking, the planning, the sweet moment of the well-timed strike followed by the ruthless exploitation of the position gained. For me the key weapon of the Pirate is PATIENCE, followed closely by WATCHFULNESS : I fear the pirate who has scoped out my online times, logged my fleets, my favored routes and probably has a very good idea of what color socks I am wearing : for such a pirate will pounce on any sign of weakness and strip me bare should I fail to guard myself adequately. Such a pirate is worthy of respect.
If skirmish has a place, its as a side-show : I use them to fill out danger on my hit fleets, to keep within the Rule of Three and thus maximise my income against my loss from any return fire on the lit fleet. But it should not be a way of life in itself, no more than logging on once every week to keep your eternal trade routes running and then banking your profit should be.

[Banger]

I agree with all of the above : skirmish should not be the mainstay of piracy, or any play-style for that matter : I'd also say trading should not be the only part of being a merchant : both ways can only lead to boredom, in my view.
I see a pirate as being an opportunist, a lurker, a scoundrel lying in wait for the unsuspecting straggler, separated from the herd and now vulnerable to an attack : as Redish so rightly says, its the hunt that should matter to the pirate : the stalking, the planning, the sweet moment of the well-timed strike followed by the ruthless exploitation of the position gained. For me the key weapon of the Pirate is PATIENCE, followed closely by WATCHFULNESS : I fear the pirate who has scoped out my online times, logged my fleets, my favored routes and probably has a very good idea of what color socks I am wearing : for such a pirate will pounce on any sign of weakness and strip me bare should I fail to guard myself adequately. Such a pirate is worthy of respect.
If skirmish has a place, its as a side-show : I use them to fill out danger on my hit fleets, to keep within the Rule of Three and thus maximise my income against my loss from any return fire on the lit fleet. But it should not be a way of life in itself, no more than logging on once every week to keep your eternal trade routes running and then banking your profit should be.

BINGO.

[Slindur]

I do not have much of an opinion on this. I think that there could be some benefits in the changes that are suggested.

On the other hand, I do not remember the last time that I skirmished another fleet. I like plundering more and feel that skirmishing is somewhat cheep. There is no defense against skirmishing, and there is little reward. Therefore, I take a view similar to what Danik has said, that skirmishing is not the significant ways of pirates (though I know some employ them successfully and very often and are contrary to this). So overall, I do not see a need to change, though I can see some positives in the suggested changes.

Slindur

[Most Lee Harmless]

There is one aspect of turn-free (or turn-cheap) skirmishing that has not really been addressed : assuming you max your techs and can do 23 skirmishes per day : apart from gaining considerable plunder bonuses you will (currently) also gain 138 danger points on your hit fleets : that would kinda limit any further action on their part until some kindly soul comes along and cleans them down for you.
So, this brings to my mind the question of what will the pirate actually do that is piratical with the turns thus saved? Add even more danger to those fleets with raids? I think that may well be folly and lead to severe losses should the pirate themselves become targeted.
As it is, the pirate can choose to raid to the extent of their daily turns, or skirmish or a mix of both: the same amount of danger is gained leading to the same limitation on further action that day : excess risk from multiple return fire clearing that danger gain.
Leaving ones spare turns to be used for? Well, it seems obvious that they will get used for other activities like port matters, ship-building for the market perhaps, hide-out development and so on not necessarily vital to the pirate lifestyle : turn free skirmish would mean even more spare turns to be used in a like manner : how does this aid the pure pirate, who, like it or not, is a vital element of the game in keeping the rest of the player base on their toes and 'honest' by weeding out the lazy and feckless.
I'd like to see some tweaks which reward the skillful pirate for their skill, not for their mere presence : I dont see turn-cheap skirmishes as doing that, quite the opposite, it will encourage lazy pirates in the same way a pirate-free game will encourage lazy merchants.
So, that would be my position : some benefits that reward skill, art, audacity, cheek, ruthlessness and patience ?

[Charles Vane]

Pirates can't compete in ship building without the techs or national bonuses. Port matters? Pirates struggle to scheme and profit off what we do earn and covering our voodoo expenses, even if we had turns for port actions the cost is not one we would be able to afford while still raiding, no profit there.

I would make more off my turns plundering than building and selling ships.. so to answer your question on danger.. I would rack it up further, that's the trade off for me, more risk. But let the pirates worry about and strategically play out their problems.

[Haron]

I virtually use all my turns on skirmish, plunder and voodoo. And I can assure you, Danik, that this would not change with turn-free skirmish. Danger is not an issue which can not be handled. Most people who do lots of plunder and skirmish are perfectly able to deal with high danger.

There may be issues with turn free skirmish, but I think danger is not one to worry about.