I made a post on this several months back... (not allowed to link back to that thread, apparently)
Introduction
I've mentioned in a couple of topics on the Red Sea loot change how balance is really the sticking point for many. In theory, I have no objections to the change should that imbalance be attended to.
The imbalance being relative ship speeds.
Background
Currently, we don't have any actual hard data on the relative ship speeds beyond a very old test (some time in the first 2 years of the game). The video has since disappeared from YouTube, it seems, so I can't link to that original source. If anyone can find it, please post below.
For a long time it was treated as fact, though a test by Flotsam last year or so suggested things had changed since that old video. Bare in mind that the old video used software to find the speeds, so there's no reason to question the results were accurate at the time.
Flotsam's tests included a number of trials to arrive at the conclusion that the brigantine is simply faster than a sloop in all scenarios.
Indeed, the Sea of Thieves Wiki shows the relative speeds as such:
That chart uses Flotsam's video as its source and states:
A common misconception is that the Sloop is faster than the Brigantine upwind. This is in fact not true, as upwind the Brigantine is the fastest, followed by the Sloop and then the Galleon.
However, we still don't have updated figures on the speeds, so for this post I am going to refer to the old data (shivers in Inscryption).
This shouldn't matter too much as it won't really change the suggestion of this post:
Increase the sloop speed by 10%
Numbers
Old ship speeds comparison (Source: Unknown/possibly deleted/outdated):
As you can see from the original numbers, the sloop loses out to the brig and galleon in almost every scenario. The one scenario where it would gain ground is directly into the wind with its sails flat. Assuming the brig used the same strategy, the sloop would gain 0.05m/s. That means, if both ships sailed perfectly, it would only get ahead by 3 meters every minute.
Again, that is the only scenario, according to the old data, where the sloop gets ahead (Flotsam's tests are even more dire).
Of course, in actuality, the wind direction shifts often and the brig only needs a few moments of a close reach to make up distance.
So, I suggest that the sloop's speed be buffed by 10%. This would put the numbers like this:
With these adjusted numbers, the sloop would still lose out in any tailwind or crosswind scenario but would be able to gain ground in a headwind. It would also be penalised less for sail positioning and/or a slow reaction to wind changes.
Obviously, sloop v sloop is still going to come down to skill but those encounters are typically 1v1, 2v1, or 2v2, so the imbalances are less common and less detrimental.
In addition, increasing the sloop speed would benefit the game by cutting down time spent sailing for duos and solos. I would see this as a big QOL improvement.
TL:DR - Yes, the sloop needs a speed buff in certain scenarios. No, it wouldn't break balance.
