Pirates of the Burning Sea currently has v1.6 uploaded to the testbed server. In addition to the usual bug fixes, the devs have announced a bunch of new ship types. Check them out by below.

We feel like weve addressed most of the crucial skill issues with the changes in the recent builds, so weve been looking at addressing high-end ship issues. As always, everything contained here is subject to change. If theres something specific that you feel should change, then try it out on testbed and give targeted feedback!

New Ships
One of the big changes in 1.6 comes in the form of 11 new ships. By now, youve probably already seen the announcements for the Archelon,
Cyclone (Test Ship), Dauntless, Mastercraft Couronne, Mastercraft van Hoorn, Monarch, and Treason. We announced these ships through an experimental process that involved the Boarding Party getting to preview the ships before they became public. Keep your eyes open for an upcoming community devlog that talks about the process in more detail.

Here are the four ships you havent heard about yet:

When people see these ships, its common that the words power creep follow in short order. Thats because of whats changing in 1.6 for level 50 ships overall. Right now, theres enough disparity between a full group of regular 50s and a full group of 50s in the best ships that the fights will often go 6-0, even factoring out the inevitable player skill difference. The power gap between a 50 in the right gear and a new one is too great.

Were reducing that gap in 1.6. While these ships do appear more powerful in general than what youre used to for level 50 ships, they generally arent pushing the absolute achievable strength higher. This means many level 50 ships are getting boosts, while the highest end ships are essentially unchanged. Were doing it this way for a few reasons:

1)I didnt want to nerf the high-end ships.
2)The existence of First Rate SOLs introduces a balance constant due to the number of guns. In our combat system, the options we have for reducing these ships all result in less enjoyable gameplay.
3)It opened up opportunities for places where we could create new ships.

Thats simplifying things a bit, but it provides a good overview. Now, since everyone wants numbers, how about a changelist?

Abaddon's Will: Armor Bonus 10% -> 35%, Structure Bonus 10% -> 20%, Reload Bonus 10% -> 12.5%
Alexander: Broadside DR 10 -> 11
Athena: Acceleration 0.8 -> 1.2, Deceleration 1.68 -> 1.35, Broadside DR 4 -> 6, Topdeck 6lb -> 8lb
Capricieux (Mastercraft): Armor Bonus 25% -> 35%, Structure Bonus 20% -> 35%, Reload Bonus 12% -> 17.5%, 14×8lb -> 16×8lb
Conquistador (Sleek): Armor/Structure Bonus 5% -> 15%, Reload Bonus 10% -> 15%, Visibility 69 -> 63, Capacity 135 -> 145, Speed 16 -> 16.1. Fixed a bug with its wind angles, changing: Close Haul 70% -> 87.5%, Beam Reach 87.5% -> 94%
Curieuse (Trader's): Speed 16 -> 16.5
Cursed Blade: Reload Bonus 10% -> 12.5%, Turn Rate Fast 9.45 -> 9.75, Close Haul 75% -> 80%, Beam Reach 87.5% -> 90%, 10×8lb -> 12×8lb
Defiant: Speed 15.4 -> 15.6
Defiant (Mastercraft): Defense 19 -> 20, Broadside DR 7 -> 8, 10×8lb -> 14×8lb
Defiant (Sleek): Tracking 13 -> 16, Acceleration 1.2 -> 1.3, Defense 20 -> 21
Deliverance: Armor 3520 -> 3740
Deliverance (Heavy): Reload Bonus 5% -> 10%, Broadside DR 10 -> 11, 10×9lb -> 12×9lb, 24×16lb -> 26×16lb
Discovery: Accuracy Bonus 2 -> 4, Reload Bonus 10% -> 17.5%, Tracking 18 -> 21
El Dragon: Defense 42 -> 47
Gallant: Accuracy Bonus 1 -> 5, Tracking 13 -> 23
Hercules: Speed 15.4 -> 15.3 (does not effect Sleek variant)
Intrepid: Armor/Structure Bonus 35% -> 45%, Reload Bonus 20% -> 22.5%, 14×8lb -> 16×8lb
Mignone (Privateer): Armor/Structure Bonus 25% -> 30%, Reload Bonus 10% -> 15%, Tracking 16 -> 17, Added 15% Sail Bonus, Speed 15 -> 15.4
Minerva: Acceleration 0.8 -> 0.95,
Mordaunt: Broadside DR 10 -> 11
Myrmidon: Bow Armor 550 -> 560
Neptune's Disgrace: Armor/Structure Bonus 25% -> 30%, Tracking 18 -> 23, Added 20% Reload Bonus, 34×9lb -> 34×10lb
Oliphant (Heavy): Armor/Structure Bonus 30% -> 40%, Broadside DR 7 -> 9
Oliphant (Mastercraft): Armor/Structure Bonus 15% -> 25%, Reload Bonus 10% -> 15%
San Mateo (Heavy): Armor/Structure Bonus 25% -> 40%, Added 15% Reload Bonus, Broadside DR 12 -> 14, Narrow DR 5 -> 9
San Mateo (Trader's): OS Speed 62 -> 64
Tigre (Heavy): Armor/Structure Bonus 25% -> 35%, Added 7.5% Reload Bonus, Broadside DR 6 -> 8, Narrow DR 3 -> 4, 24×14lb -> 24×16lb
Tigre (Mastercraft): Armor/Structure Bonus 2.5% -> 10%, Reload Bonus 5% -> 10%, 24×16lb -> 26×16lb, 14×9lb -> 16×10lb
Tigre (Sleek): Added 7.5% Reload Bonus, Speed 15.75 -> 15.9
Valiant: 14×6lb -> 14×10lb

Also, there are some ammo changes:
Round Shot: Sail Damage 15-20% -> 12.5-17.5%
Bronze Round: Sail Damage 17-22% -> 15-20%
Stone Shot: Sail Damage 17.5-21.5% -> 17-21%
Explosive Round: Sail Damage 20-25% -> 17.5-21%
Bar Shot: Sail Damage 60-80% -> 57.5-77.5%
Chain Shot: Sail Damage 67.5-95% -> 65-92.5%
Star Shot: Sail Damage 82.5-110% -> 80-107.5%

That covers it for now. Dont forget to try this out on testbed and give specific feedback!

Log into the testbed and see what you think!