Skeleton Snipers

We had discussion about this a couple of months ago

https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/topic/64585/skelleton-accuracy-is-fine-here-s-what-isn-t?page=1

Major points here:

• skelletons aren't the problem, it's how you don't have tool that allow for counterplay that is the problem
• if things could be added to disarm/cripple ranged skelletons it could make fighting them require strategy rather than spam and pray
• skelleton behaviour could be improved

Highlight from @WilliamHerschel

A major failure of this community is to think about things in terms of buffs/nerfs and the issue of added content. Instead we need to be talking about refining/tweaking the existing content to create a more enjoyable sandbox.

Having more dynamic AI through branching behaviors will certainly help things feel more organic and less cheap. The biggest issue with the AI (especially as it pertains to ranged combat) is how obvious the behavior cycles are. Each skeleton shot is essentially on a timer once the human player is within range, and the only way to disrupt it is to attack first. To make matters worse, the Skeletons are completely unaware of both their environmental surroundings and their Skeleton comrades, so they're essentially like glorified Pac Man ghosts, which is to say that they simply endlessly pursue/track the player until they are defeated.

If skeletons were given more branching behaviors and contextual awareness the skeletons would essentially have more things to do, thus making them feel significantly more alive. Ideally, we'd even reach a point where perhaps certain skeleton types would have different "temperaments" or combat focuses. Instead, essentially all skeletons have been given the same set of behaviors, and their only distinguishing features is their weapon and weakness. This results in the whole combat experience feeling like a tedious rock paper scissors match, and filler for the much more enjoyable PvE combat.