Just wondering which Buccaneers are everyone’s favourites? Which ones do you always get? Which ones do you never get? Do you have any other ideas you think would be better? What combos do you like?
Thanks!
I really like the dippers, as “gold = versatile”, they also “always” work the same. In special situations the fisher is also neat, 2 of a special resource is better than the gold a diver gives you. But that would require to have a very specific layout.
For battling I try to stack bossers: since the bonus stacks (shouldn’t, but whatever) having 4+ fleets all with bossers means you can just ignore offensive upgrades. Once the game matures I think I will also use the more tactical upgrades, (pointer, scoper, sneaker and spyer).
But right now I don’t find them worth the slot, making the direct combat upgrade more expensive. They’d be better if we didn’t have all generic ships in a map where combat happens by just mashing more ships on the opponent.
Grappler would be good if we could put ships on “auto defense”, where they directly “grab” a ship if it moves within shooting range, even without fighting. - And where what ship “forces” the other to fire at it. (So you can actually protect your towns by having high defense ships).
Blocker also seems silly in this format, “hey let’s give myself a negative impact -other buccaneers become more expensive- just to give someone else also a drawback”. That leaves everyone else laughing. And the drawback isn’t big enough for the leading player to truly worry about it. (Should be a 1 tile radius that can’t be farmed or something).
Yes, I think you’re right about the Grappler and Blocker. We have some alternate ideas, but I’m keen to hear what people think first.
I’m also wondering what people think about the Spyer - is it different enough from the Scoper? Would it be more useful to see something other than enemy ships in a larger range? Maybe the rare resources?
I have never got the Blocker, I think the Grappler has some uses, but not really as strong as some of the other Buccaneers.
I am a big fan of the bouncer
The AI tends to stack ships - so “bouncers” are effictivelly useless vs the AI. However I guess against real players the bouncer becomes much more useful.
Spyer and scoper occupy the same spot: and I think you won’t ever really find a true use for “both”: either the spyer has an edge, or the scoper. - Since in combat situations it simply is more useful to spent the money on “damage” buccaneers, or even the slaver, you don’t want your “army” to get spyers or scopers.
That leaves only a few ships meant for exploration that are useful for the spyer. Currently I would only use the spyer, simply cause it can help me find better spots to land. If scoper found rare resources I would only use the scoper. I’d never use both.
Also: it’s kind of a shame that the buccaneers are “lost” when you found a city, makes me really reluctant to actually get those.
Buccaneers aren’t lost when you found a city, they stay in the city until you build a ship from that city.
I tend to only use the offensive buccaneers, mainly the Bosser and Bouncer although I have just experienced some slightly weird actions using the bouncer in a game with Jay that might make me think twice before using it again.
At the beginning of the game I do use the Pointer and Balooner to spread out as quickly as possible.
Yes, as Greyham said, they now wait in the town for the next ship to be built. We added just recently.
Thanks for the ideas and feedback, please keep them coming if you have more!
Here are some ideas I’ve been thinking about:
Split Scoper / Spyer so they don’t overlap.
Scoper = see resources for 4 Hexes.
Spyer = see enemies for 4 Hexes.
New Buccaneer (replace Blocker):
Dredger = capture defeated ships.
Grappler: stop attacked target from upgrading (and maybe moving too) - more decisive battles.
Another couple of ideas for new Buccaneers:
Chipper: chip 2 Armour off target on attack
Shielder: shield friends in same hex from attack
(or Hider: hide behind other ships in same hex)
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My favourite is without any doubt the Bouncer! It permits you to attack targets far from you without take any damage.
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The Pointer and the Ballooner are a must have. They permit you to quick your game so much.
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Since now I’ve never get the Fisher, because it’s to expensive to get a Bucaneer only for 2 goods. I prefer the Grabber. I never get the Blocker neither, I prefer to take the enemy settlement instead.
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My favourite Combo is Bouncer + Sieger + Sneaker. I’ve tried that a couple of times and I’ve always get a big advantage.
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I would put the Innkeeper (or the Healer) instead of the Spyer. He could heal the friendly ships within 1 hexe equal to his Armour.