Pirates of the Burning Sea->
Submitted
by
Jaeph
Jaeph writes "I am surprised that I have seen nothing about pirates of the burning sea on slashdot. Potbs is going live next week, and right now pre-payers are online levelling to a cap of 21. The url attached is a highly positive review of the game. I myself have only played during pre-boarding, so the following are just first impressions of a low-level player, and from reading up on the game.
My own impressions are quite favorable. This game is a worthy successor to Dark Ages of Camelot. The end game is focussed on PvP, with 3 nations (Britain, France, Spain) duking it out of the Caribbean while pirates (a fourth nation, essentially) claw for what they can get. Players engage in PvE missions to place ports into contention, and ultimately can take ports over if conditions are met and a PvP battle is then won. If any side wins the map, the map is reset, the winner gets prizes, and the losers get something to help them the next time.
Unlike DAoC, the economy is much more fleshed out and plays an integral part in the game. All the best ships are player crafted, and it takes a society (guild) to engage in ship production from bottom to top. You make everything — black powder take saltpeter, sulfur, and common wood, while iron ingots are forged from iron ore and limestone, then the two are combined by a weaponsmith to form different kinds of shot. That's just a taste — you make hulls, sails, beams, spars, provisions (meat, rum, etc) and so on.
All of these resources come from ports. You can work in an enemy port, but the taxes are higher, so who owns what port becomes important. Also, while a port is under contention, you can be attacked by pirates or eventually enemy nations, so you may need to move your operation if you wish to avoid PvP.
The sailing aspect of the game is top-notch. They have had to fudge numbers for the game, but all of the important aspects are there — gaining the wind gauge is important, fore-and-aft ships sail best at 90 degrees to the wind, while square-rigged ships sail best at 135. Players use bar shot to dismast ships, grape shot to damage crew, and round shot to damage the hull, all with cheaper and more expensive versions of each. There is a lot more detail — that's just some pieces for flavor.
The avatar combat is innovative. To your standard health/initiative (initiative is similar to rage in WoW, used to power special attacks) they have added the concept of balance. If you are well balanced you defend and attack better. If you become unbalanced, you are wide open to attack. A good sword fight has a nice feel to it, with lots of moves to setup someone's quick downfall.
The game is not perfect — I full expect to see nerfs and changes, particularly w/avatar combat which feels rough in many areas. Note that Br/Fr/Sp all share the same 3 classes and ships (Pirates have a separate class, but same ships), so nerfs will generally not unbalance the game.
Overall I am enjoying this game a lot. I can't answer high-level questions yet, and I can't tell if the game will turn into a grind later, but for now, as I said, I am enjoying it a lot.
-Jeff"
Link to Original Source
My own impressions are quite favorable. This game is a worthy successor to Dark Ages of Camelot. The end game is focussed on PvP, with 3 nations (Britain, France, Spain) duking it out of the Caribbean while pirates (a fourth nation, essentially) claw for what they can get. Players engage in PvE missions to place ports into contention, and ultimately can take ports over if conditions are met and a PvP battle is then won. If any side wins the map, the map is reset, the winner gets prizes, and the losers get something to help them the next time.
Unlike DAoC, the economy is much more fleshed out and plays an integral part in the game. All the best ships are player crafted, and it takes a society (guild) to engage in ship production from bottom to top. You make everything — black powder take saltpeter, sulfur, and common wood, while iron ingots are forged from iron ore and limestone, then the two are combined by a weaponsmith to form different kinds of shot. That's just a taste — you make hulls, sails, beams, spars, provisions (meat, rum, etc) and so on.
All of these resources come from ports. You can work in an enemy port, but the taxes are higher, so who owns what port becomes important. Also, while a port is under contention, you can be attacked by pirates or eventually enemy nations, so you may need to move your operation if you wish to avoid PvP.
The sailing aspect of the game is top-notch. They have had to fudge numbers for the game, but all of the important aspects are there — gaining the wind gauge is important, fore-and-aft ships sail best at 90 degrees to the wind, while square-rigged ships sail best at 135. Players use bar shot to dismast ships, grape shot to damage crew, and round shot to damage the hull, all with cheaper and more expensive versions of each. There is a lot more detail — that's just some pieces for flavor.
The avatar combat is innovative. To your standard health/initiative (initiative is similar to rage in WoW, used to power special attacks) they have added the concept of balance. If you are well balanced you defend and attack better. If you become unbalanced, you are wide open to attack. A good sword fight has a nice feel to it, with lots of moves to setup someone's quick downfall.
The game is not perfect — I full expect to see nerfs and changes, particularly w/avatar combat which feels rough in many areas. Note that Br/Fr/Sp all share the same 3 classes and ships (Pirates have a separate class, but same ships), so nerfs will generally not unbalance the game.
Overall I am enjoying this game a lot. I can't answer high-level questions yet, and I can't tell if the game will turn into a grind later, but for now, as I said, I am enjoying it a lot.
-Jeff"
Link to Original Source