Pirates of the Burning Sea: Bonny server

NuclearWinter · 2008-01-26T14:26:42.000Z

Well, I’ve managed to get back in now… But there’s no chat and the society doesn’t seem to exist anymore. So it’s got to be a problem on their end.

Deadbuffalo · 2008-01-26T14:30:38.000Z

Apparently their login server queue is being overloaded… You can ignore the port warnings according to the official forums and it should eventually load the server list.

JM1 · 2008-01-26T14:30:42.000Z

Wait long enough and they might show up. The chat server is constantly being restarted ingame so there’s no chat available. I’m docked for the moment while I do some research on stuff.

Only just docked, mind you - took a mission without really looking at what it was… turns out it’s the same one that killed my previous Xebec. Oh dear. 5 or 6 pirate vessels in a fairly small playing area. Started off well, playing tag and sinking one of the smaller ships but took too long during a boarding action and got hemmed in. They repeatedly hammered my sails and I was left to maneouver like mad trying to get away from them. My new "Cut Shroud (-30% speed) ability helped massively and some good use of terrain saw me live by the skin of my teeth - I went through about 5 different repair kits and was on <10% sails on 3 different occasions. I was very, very happy when I killed the last of the pirates, I can tell you!

Erik_J · 2008-01-26T14:32:29.000Z

Yeah, I love those missions where you’re just able to get out alive, limping along with a mast down and leaks all over your boat.

Erik J.

NuclearWinter · 2008-01-26T14:39:20.000Z

Booted from server again when I tried going to sea, doesn’t seem to be worth trying to play right now. Hope they manage to get things fixed tonight.

Erik_J · 2008-01-26T14:41:55.000Z

the server is alternating between locked and offline, so who knows what is going on.

Erik J.

tomchick · 2008-01-26T15:36:35.000Z

Aww, man, that sucks. I was hoping to get on this evening to see if anyone was interested in forming a roving PvP band.

 -Tom

Skipper · 2008-01-26T15:41:24.000Z

We will. Besides just the growth issues that FLS was experiencing, Bonny in particular was having extra issues. I’m hoping they are doing a full fix for whatever is going on.

Once we’re back on though, I’m all for some PvP.

Jasper_Phillips · 2008-01-26T16:14:01.000Z

Brian_Rucker:

As a pirate you should have a skill available, called Decimate, that gives you an all but automatic grapple success if you’ve a cannon loaded with anti-personnel shot (grape, cannister, etc). My pirate build was all about boarding and that skill was my absolute favorite - one I miss very much now as a Freetrader who’s trying very hard to be a boarding combatant as well.

After that, you can get upgrades (both generic and specialized) that will boost your grapple chances. But the beauty of the Decimate is that you don’t need 'em nearly as much. Just don’t run out of grape (or chain-shot for that matter - they really need to be slowed down before one attempts boarding).

As for getting that chance to grapple - ram them. You’ll get that chance for a second. Can’t use Decimate unless you have bow guns of course…but it’s a shot. You can swivel to one side, switch to Maneuver crew toggle, and then Decimate them. But a fast ship might already be moving off.

Decimate really kicks ass, and it works great in a group tag-team too. It’s by far my single favorite skill.

I find it combines well with a Xebec, especially one stacked with grappling bonuses. I just sail downwind of my target, then pinch in upwind, pressing them to either move closer to me, or run close-hauled (where the Xebec is much faster than anything else). Sometimes I’ll fire chain on the way in, but ideally they’ll run upwind and I can slip in along side them.

I like to use Langridge shot w/ Decimate; it’s really short range, but also does sail damage. One close range blast (with gorgon cannons) is enough to drop their crew, and do some minor (but key) sail damage, then I cut them off, slow below 6 knots, and fire the grappling cannons. This works even against ships with grappling defense skills, although then you have some chance to fail and may have to slug it out in close with round shot for a while, possibly being forced to disengage if one side gets too many holes.

I’ve yet to try this in PvP though, and am not sure how well it’d play out against ships that max out sail speed bonuses (although I’ve done the same), as that initial pinch is crucial. I’m also rather leery of a target that stalls in boarding while his teammates pound me to slivers… My gut suspicion is that with a team who understands your plan it could be decisive – I’m aiming to find out withy My new Sleek Xebec tonight. ;-)

Jasper_Phillips · 2008-01-26T16:16:04.000Z

Also, I can make Medium and Small cannon upgrades, as well as ammo. I plan to put the bulk of it on auction, but will reserve some for the Stand and Deliver discount.

Let me know if you’d like to buy a bunch of cheap ammo, or custom order cannons!

JM1 · 2008-01-26T16:16:23.000Z

After losing my ships I got more aggressive with my attacks in PVE (not solo PVPing yet). Trying to see how high level a boat I can take down on my own. So far, Sleek/Mastercraft Xebecs and those Hermes Packet-Boats aren’t proving too tricky…

Brian_Rucker · 2008-01-26T16:30:34.000Z

Jasper, I’ve been playing around with ammo and like Langridge (one of my favorites for the reason you mention) there are other hybrid ammos that do useful things. Stone’s a pretty good one. It’s got decent range, does fair hull damage, but also shreds crew pretty well and does some sail damage.

It’s good for me when I’m not exactly sure what tactic I’m going to be using, say sailing into a thick scrum with allied vessels. I’ll just toss it out, left and right, liberally until some fool slows down against the wind for a convenient grapple. With some assistance, allied vessels can be useful. Just have to let them lead and work with them on an enemy ship - otherwise they’ll just get in your way.

Edit: And I can’t get on either. Damn it. It’s my Birthday too. At least I got a nice present from South Carolina.

JM1 · 2008-01-26T16:43:34.000Z

Stone gets mentioned a lot on the forums as perfect for “grinding NPCs”. It does do some nice all-round damage, and we all have spare granite from the economy tutorial…

JM1 · 2008-01-26T17:03:42.000Z

Some random useful links:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p9-PDmU05Uv0iqz9eB1olIA
http://www.burningsea.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5431

potbs.wikia.com

PotBS Wiki

PotBS News PotBS CEO Charles Ellis was recently interviewed by Massively's crew about the direction of the game: Pirates of the Burning Sea CEO on the economic revamp and a player-driven world EDITS NEEDED With the latest patch 2.15.37 going live we...

flyinj · 2008-01-26T17:11:36.000Z

ok, I have a noob question. One of my first quests is to gather different types of stone. But, the quest gives no indication of where or how I’m supposed to do this.

Any tips on what it wants me to do?

JM1 · 2008-01-26T17:18:00.000Z

Ah, the shopkeeper quests? Each one wants you to collect a variety of stuff. These will drop from opponents during the game. Cancel the quest for now.

Jasper_Phillips · 2008-01-26T17:39:14.000Z

Brian_Rucker:

Jasper, I’ve been playing around with ammo and like Langridge (one of my favorites for the reason you mention) there are other hybrid ammos that do useful things. Stone’s a pretty good one. It’s got decent range, does fair hull damage, but also shreds crew pretty well and does some sail damage.

It’s good for me when I’m not exactly sure what tactic I’m going to be using, say sailing into a thick scrum with allied vessels. I’ll just toss it out, left and right, liberally until some fool slows down against the wind for a convenient grapple. With some assistance, allied vessels can be useful. Just have to let them lead and work with them on an enemy ship - otherwise they’ll just get in your way.

I like Stone shot too, although for a slightly different reason. It’s got long range (and thus accuracy), does enough crew damage to give a crew advantage should a boarding opportunity arise, and yet still knocks off lots of hull should things not work out. This allows you to drive your opponent a bit with the fear of being boarded, while also giving you the opportunity to switch tactics and just attempt to sink him, or at least make him reticent to give chase.

One of the problems with shooting anti-personal (and to a lesser extent anti-rigging) shot is that if you fail to grapple, your opponent is likely a long way from being sunk, while you’ve likely eaten a couple of full, point blank, round shot broadsides…

Edit: And I can’t get on either. Damn it. It’s my Birthday too. At least I got a nice present from South Carolina.

Happy Birthday, you Spanish Cur!

Jasper_Phillips · 2008-01-26T17:45:59.000Z

flyinj:

ok, I have a noob question. One of my first quests is to gather different types of stone. But, the quest gives no indication of where or how I’m supposed to do this.

Any tips on what it wants me to do?

Watch out, as you have to keep such loot around for quite a while to get full sets, and it all goes away if you lose your ship. The simplest thing to do is keep it in a separate ship or warehouse, then get/complete the quest as you’re able.

Mordrak · 2008-01-26T17:46:09.000Z

If anyone has a buddy key (I’m digital download) I have a WoW guild member (and former EVE player) that’d like to give the game a try. Just PM me if you have one available.

LionelThompson · 2008-01-26T18:41:20.000Z

Jasper:

Watch out, as you have to keep such loot around for quite a while to get full sets, and it all goes away if you lose your ship. The simplest thing to do is keep it in a separate ship or warehouse, then get/complete the quest as you’re able.

Pfft, the best thing to do is never sink!