Pirates of the Burning Sea: An Officer & a Gentleman

PotBS devs have posted the second in an ongoing six-part series of articles discussing changes to be implemented in patch v1.4. Focusing on naval officers this time around, here's what will be forthcoming:

Welcome to the second of six devlogs about the 1.4 skill revamp. If you havent already seen the first devlog, you may want to read about some of the general changes here. Keep in mind that the details contained here are subject to change based on feedback and ongoing internal testing, and the final result will almost certainly differ from this devlog.

Removing all of the tiered skills has major ramifications for Navy because they have so many in 1.3. All of these skills are going the way of the dodo: Requisition Berth, Defender 1, Desperate Shot 1, For God & Country 1, Perfect Discipline, Fortress 1, Thundering Broadside 1, Speed Increase 1, Reload Discipline 1 and Military Intelligence 1.

That means Naval Officers are getting numerous new skills. Expect to see changes / renames / etc. before these go live. Once this update hits, there arent any other major changes planned for skills. Upcoming changes will be adjustments based on how these changes play. Here are some of the new skills, and again, the details are subject to change:

Rapid Shot - Tier 2 Career: This replaces Requisition Berth and moves Final Defense to tier 3. An attack skill that increases the rate at which your guns reload for your next attack (~50%). 3 minute reset timer.
Last Resort Maneuverability - Tier 1 Desperation: This is a trade-off toggle that allows you to spend a small amount of structure to gain a large amount of turning and acceleration, for when you need a situational boost. ~20% turn and acceleration, ~0.2% self structure damage second.
Scatter Shot - Tier 3 Desperation: This attack does almost no damage, but it provides a large bonus to your resistance and defense. It also provides a smaller bonus to speed. The amount of the bonus depends on how many shots in your broadside hit the target. -90% attack damage, 4% resist, 2% defense, 1% speed on success. 1% resist, 0.5% speed, 0.5 defense per additional shot that hits, max 4+14 hits.
Last Resort Speed - Tier 4 Desperation: It provides a large speed boost, but it has a prohibitive amount of morale reduction. It also reduces your morale recovery rate. +10% speed, +5% closehaul/beam reach/broad reach speed, 75 morale block, -50% morale regeneration
Dominate - Tier 4 Dominance: An attack skill that has a high short-range damage boost and a target tracking boost. +40% short range damage, +10 target tracking
Defensive Ship - Tier 5 Dominance: Passively increases armor integrity and DR. +1 DR, +10% armor
Escort - Tier 2 Escort: Allows you to escort a ship thats larger than you, improving their resistance (5%), speed (4%) and DR (1). It also improves your own speed (5%). 4 minute duration, 8 minute reset
Pirate Hunter Tier 4 Escort: A toggle that improves speed (10%) when sailing small, medium or large ships.
Damage Discipline - Tier 3 Gunnery: A toggle to increase damage. Cheaper than Reload Discipline, but provides a lower percentage bonus. +15% damage, ~30 morale.

Aside from the new skills, some existing skills are getting adjusted or changing the way they work, including the following changes:

Break Morale: Increased attack damage to 20%
Rally the Crew: Cheaper morale cost (~30)
Desperate Shot: Easier use requirement. Can be used if one broadside facing is down to 50% (overall armor <82%).
Last Stand: No use requirement.
Warning Shot: This skill now an attack that applies a self buff that increases the damage of your next attack based on the number of shots that hit. ~+2% damage per shot that hits, cap ~20 hits.
Military Communications: Now available at tier 1
Strategic Position: This is now a click buff that applies a self buff that increases the maximum range and accuracy of your next attack. +10% range, acc.

Heres what the Navy skill tree looks like:
Career: Guardian (renamed Escort) / Rapid Shot / Final Defense / Break Morale / Ultima Ratio Regum
Defense: Defender: Resist / Emergency Repairs / Rally the Crew / Military Grade Construction / Invincible
Desperation: Last Resort: Maneuverability / Desperate Shot / Scatter Shot / Last Resort: Speed / Last Stand
Disabling: Disable Rigging / Disable Rudder / Rake / Show of Force / Crippling Broadside
Discipline: Decimate / Warning Shot / Focused Fire / Boarding Discipline / For God And Country
Dominance: Fortress / Thundering Broadside / Flagship / Dominate / Defensive Ship
Escort: Acceleration Increase / Escort / Speed Increase / Pirate Hunter / Convoy
Gunnery: Precision Fire / Reload Discipline / Damage Discipline Gunnery Drills / Vital Strike
Prestige: Military Communications / Military Intelligence / Battle Doctrine: Offense / Battle Doctrine: Defense / Strategic Position

Thats not a comprehensive change list, but it covers most of the Navy update. These skills are aimed at emphasizing the Navys defensive advantage, while giving them some potential escape and speed options for small scale PvP.

Stay tuned for the next devlog in this series: The Privateer.

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