Patch 19: Mega Patch with new patrol missions, new hostility, victory marks for small clans, and other changes.Captains
Mega patch with multiple changes will be deployed tomorrow 8th March!
PVP/PVE Patrols PVP was made more affordable and rewarding with the introduction of Patrol missions
More information can be found here:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/311310/discussions/15/1698293068428130219/ Tiered rewards will be added to patrols in the next couple of weeks after this event is tested
New content will be added to admiralty in the next couple of weeks
Conquest Changes: Conquest for everyone Conquest no longer favors only leading nation
Any clan can get access to victory marks, by just controlling one port
Victory marks distribution has changed. Lord protectors will now receive victory marks every week based on their port ownership on conquest round end (weekly). Victory mark distribution is tiered and has diminishing returns. You will get 1 mark extra mark for every 3 ports you control but the max number of marks that can be received is limited by 5.
Example
o 1-3 ports: 1 victory mark
o 4-6 ports: 2 victory marks
o 7-9 ports: 3 victory marks
o 10-12 ports: 4 victory marks
o 13-15 ports: 5 victory marks
o 16-18 ports: 5 victory marks
o etc..
To promote more activity across all time zones, Port battle timer now costs 500,000 per day; old 100k price was ridiculously low and cost of the capture timer will continue to evolve
Hostility missions improvements. NPC defence fleets in hostility missions now adapt to an attacker force. Responding with similar vessels both in rating and in numbers.
o If one player will come to generate hostility on the enemy force he will encounter 1 defender.
o If 10 players come to generate hostility they will encounter 10 npc defender ships.
The problem of the inability for the port owner to provide an adequate defence force is solved by limitation of player ships in the hostility mission. Both defender and attacker can only bring 10 vessels into the hostility mission.
Hostility missions now spawn 30% closer to the port
Reinforcement zones rules of engagement change ability to pull the players to the battle using NPC attack - removed
ability to pull the players into battle using player attack - removed
if battle is created in the reinforcement zone only attacked player or battle group is pulled into battle all others will be able to join using positional reinforcement and can decline to do so.
This will remove the potential for grief and abuse in the reinforcement areas.
Battle groups reworked Battle group will act as a battle group only when there are 6 players or more in the group. The status of the battle group is shown in the group interface and will tell you if your group is a battle group. This is done to remove abuse of battle groups mechanics allowing creation of solo battle groups to avoid screening.
Other changes and improvements Clicking on a ship in the open world will now show the circle around him, that can help understanding who will be pulled into the battle if he is attacked. This will be very helpful in station keeping when traveling in the open world.
Unrated vessels without the chasers now have the control perk too
PVP Upgrade Drop. Player ships will now drop one of the installed upgrades into its hold if boarded or killed.
You cannot enter or exit shallow water ports with deep water ships. Use tow ship function to move the deep water ships out of shallow water areas.
Player names and ship names removed from ENEMY players in the open world identification. You will only know that it is a player and an approximate rank of the vessel/vessels. You will only be able to find out the name of the captain once you engage. Names of your nation's captains are not affected.
Checkbox to only show online clan members added to clan interface
Tow to port now creates a PB entry timer. Timer is the same as the PB timer created after normal battles.
Attack circle is reduced. You will be able (theoretically) to lay fire immediately after attack. This is done to reduce counter tagging.
Minimal speed in the open world is now 4knots, to provide better experience in long journeys.
Ship sinking time is increased by 30% for destroyed ships to make picking up loot easier.
Side force no longer affects speed indication
Epic events no longer spawn very close to shallow waters
Brace command is reassigned to F10 - to remove accidental clicking (40% of new player bug reports were about brace)
Wasa, L Hermione, Santa Cecilia received a slight armor buff
Wasa, Hamburg, Ingermanland, L Hermione, Santa Cecilia received a turn rate buff
Leeway force from square sails, and staysails/jibs slightly increased
NPC ships HP buffed slightly to compensate lack of repairs
Barricades now have the attack penalty and are a pure defensive upgrade
Angle importance on penetration slightly increased (need more testing) to provide more options to control incoming damage into hull
Edinorog accuracy reduced to somewhere between carronades and medium guns. Vertical sector greatly reduced as it would be impossible to use edinorog howitzer firing through ports of the ship.
All other upgrades increasing vertical gun sector drastically nerfed
Rigging specialist perk nerfed as its bonuses were too high.
Acceleration/Deceleration formulas improved based on the wetted area calculations; which in general reduces tacking effectiveness for wider deeper vessels.
Ships created through admiralty notes can occasionally receive crafting bonuses and extra slots.
Tutorial Tutorial button is temporarily removed for the final integration of rewards and final exams.
Leveling and rank progression and crew assignment for ranks will change in the next couple of weeks.
Plans for March/Early April Integration of the open world UI into the game
Finalization of tutorial
Premium ship pack containing 3 ships (2 of which could be acquired in game by other means)