My biggest threat since day 1 of sea of thieves has been people boarding me, there's all kinds of techniques they use and whatever else that I simply can't combat. Many times have I been boarded by someone who shoots themselves from their ship and boards mine just to mop the floor with me, spawncamp, and then let my ship sink for the fun of it, and I lose to these people almost 100% of the time. I don't understand how but it seems as though they kill me incredibly fast. I'll slash a guy 3-4 times, and then he just insta kills me with a bullet and jumping to the side to slash me once and he can do that at a moment's notice. How do I combat that? Cause I'm sick of trying to play this game casually and then being boarded by people like this who only play this game to kill and grief. I know how to slash, how to parry, lunge, witch to my gun and shoot, then switch back, I know how to block, how to evade so I have time to eat a banana, but against these types of people, it doesn't matter whatsoever because they can annihilate me. What am I doing wrong here?
How do I combat boarders?
@wraith-04 I'm the worst to give you PvP advices, but I'll do it anyway eheheh.
I think the best way to avoid boarders is to avoid them to board your ship in the first place.
I'm very bad PvP, if I let someone entering my ship and I'm alone it's a certain death for me ahahaha. So I try to stay very aware about mermaid presence, or water noises. Then my blunderbuss is my best friend while I do specially attention to the ladders to avoid them to climb it up.If I let someone board, I want to make sure I have food with me to heal if necessary and, if not a PC bunnyhopper, I try the combo blunderbuss/sword from blind spots.
@wraith-04 ... would like to know, too. I think it is about timing, footwork.
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
His hands can't hit what his eyes can't see.
Now you see me, now you don't.
He thinks he will, but I know he won't.Defend: keep them in front of you, know when to attack and have already a plan which steps to go to come in best positions to do so
Attack: try to flank them, but know when to defend and have already a plan which steps to go to come in best position to do so.But I fail so often, I might be totally wrong. Or untrained.
You just gotta be more aware. 90% of boarders can easily be stopped if you know they're there. You can just shoot/sword them off your ladders at that point. As for cannoning onto your ship, there isn't much you can do to avoid that, but thats a really difficult thing to pull off so it doesn't happen that often.
Are you playing solo sloop? Because if so thats gonna make it 100x more difficult. If you want to play this game casually you gotta get a galleon going.
sir it seems u only meet pr0 captains. The once who can board u by cannon shot are the real epic pirates. These are the once to look out for. All others just defend your ladders.
Ive been sailing since the game released and i havent met a cannon boarder yet. The fact u keep seeing them makes me wonder. Why u meet these pirates so many times and i dont :( i wish i would meet them for practice purposes.
What to do? I dont know but what i did is, i kept on finding the people who beat me. I would take a sloop and fight galleons. Losing battles are the best for gaining experience if u ask me.
Keep on fighting them untill u figure out what works.First props too you for coming here asking for advice rather than starting a crusade to nerf boarding or demand stupid retractable ladders. Its a nice change of pace, but back to business. Their are multiple things you can do to prevent boarders. Ladder guarding is relatively easy, when you know the signs.
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Know your sounds. When a person goes from water to ladder, a unique sound is made when they grab ladder. Since they are grabbing ladder they can't defend themselves while you shoot them off.
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Cannon boarding is another method. Most people will board by firing the cannon into the water ahead then grab the ladder from the water. The key thing to look for, is to hearing a cannon fire, but seeing no cannon-ball. This is an indicator that a player launched.
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Avoid rams, this is self explanatory.
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Know the situations that make for easy boarding. If you are chasing a ship, most likely a board is coming. Its pretty easy to just jump off their ship and float to yours. If you are parked and they have broadsides on you, a board can happen. Being stationary in this game is bad, never engage a boat while parked. Take the fight out to sea. The island itself can be used as a platform to board off of. If you are sailing adjacent to them, they can sword dash into the water and board.
Biggest thing is to just keep players off you ship. They can't dance around and kill you over and over if they can't get to your deck. You also have the advantage while they are in the water. Unless they are running a two gun loadout, they have zero kill potential on a full health target on the ship.
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Landing on the ship from a cannon is difficult and not all that common. Most people board by climbing the ladders.
Defending the ladders:
- There is a sound queue when people exit the water. Telling you what side they are on.
- You can stand just by the end and use your sword to knock them back off.
- Watch out for bullets coming from the water line.
- A moving target is harder to board, so have your ship ready to leave, sails up and anchor up. That way you can just drop sails and take off.
Then combat itself, is all about positioning and knowing when you are in mortal danger based on their choice of weapons. Reposition yourself when needed, kite and heal and all that are strategically necessary to keep fighting. When to attack, defend or retreat are all aspects to consider and is based on the situation and enemies you are facing.
First things first, the numbers. Pirates have 100 health and knowing when you are taking someone out or whether you are one hit away from death is important.
- Sword slashes do 20 damage per hit.
- Sword lunge does 50 damage per hit.
- Blunderbuss does 10, might be 15, per pellet and is the only weapon in the game that can one shot you if close enough.
- Flintlock does 50 damage per shot.
- Eye of reach does 70 damage per shot.
- Bananas heal for 35, I believe.
Other than that keep the following in mind:
- Swords and blunderbuss have a knock back effect.
- Swords can block versus sword slashes, 3 blocks will create a knockback effect.
- While blocking you can do a movement step by using jump and the direction you want to go, dodge like move.
- Hipfire with the eye of reach is useless.
- Bananas are your best friend, so carry 5 when in combat and use then whe you have the chance.
- Don't stand still, there is nothing easier than killing someone that isn't moving.
- Pick the weapon that suits the situation and your style. This can differ from your PvE set and is based on the situation.
- Be aware of what your opponent is using and act accordingly.
- Play to your own strengths.
- Pay attention to the surroundings, nothing in the world is worse than being cornered and stuck.
Keep in mind they are making changes to the combat system and the information provided might be outdated soon, so read the patch notes.
In the end PVP combat is something you get better at with practice. Just analyze a fight afterwards, what did I do what did they do and what should I do next time when in that situation to not die. Do this even if you win!
@cotu42 a dit dans How do I combat boarders? :
First things first, the numbers. Pirates have 100 health and knowing when you are taking someone out or whether you are one hit away from death is important.
- Sword slashes do 20 damage per hit.
- Sword lunge does 50 damage per hit.
- Blunderbuss does 10, might be 15, per pellet and is the only weapon in the game that can one shot you if close enough.
- Flintlock does 50 damage per shot.
- Eye of reach does 70 damage per shot.
- Bananas heal for 35, I believe.
Where did you get you numbers please ? I tought the double pistol (Flintlock + Eye of Reach) meta was over.
With what you wrote it should be still active and two shot people ...
Could you be more precise ?@zeuphantom the double-tap is no longer functional not due to damage reduction, but due to a lengthy 'weapon draw' animation for guns. If you sit in one spot long enough, one shot from EoR and another from a Flintlock will kill you. However, it is now impossible to effectively fire one and draw the other in time to get a second shot off. The target has time to react by dodging, attacking, healing, etc.
@vorondil1 a dit dans How do I combat boarders? :
@zeuphantom the double-tap is no longer functional not due to damage reduction, but due to a lengthy 'weapon draw' animation for guns. If you sit in one spot long enough, one shot from EoR and another from a Flintlock will kill you. However, it is now impossible to effectively fire one and draw the other in time to get a second shot off. The target has time to react by dodging, attacking, healing, etc.
Thanks for the quick answer ! So it's still a viable option, you just have to land 2 consecutive shot.
Thank you.@dyfrin Problem is I usually play with one other person at least, and yesterday I was playing with 2 others on a brig, the guy who boarded killed all of us several times over with ease.
@nabberwar I fully agree, answer if I'm on the helm, most times I can guard the ladders quite well. The problem is once the boarders actually get on. Because if I'm playing with friends usually I'm not the one on the helm so I always notice the sound of someone swimming first but when I tell them to watch the ladders they're too slow and we get boarded. They're not horrible at the game but they're always slow when it comes to that so I'm used to getting boarded quite a bit, which is why I want to learn how to fight them off should they make it on.
@wraith-04 absolutely! Two things:
- You get better by watching people who are good at it. Pay attention to techniques used by those who are most effective at killing you. Watch a few streams and see what they're doing (the streamers I've seen aren't usually masters, but they're significantly better than most of the players you'll encounter).
- You get better by practice. Take a day and just accept you'll get no loot. Throw up that Reaper and go looking for PVP. Try boarding an enemy ship instead of letting yourself get boarded. Let your ship sink and see how long you can stay alive on their ship.
Those are probably the two best ways to learn. My usual strategy, personally, is to try to get a hit with a hip-fired flintlock, then finish off with a three-strike cutlass combo (total of 110 damage). If you're working ship to ship, get used to using kegs and/or dropping the enemy's anchor (especially useful if you're being chased)
Edit because I'm forgetful: if you've been boarded and they're just dashing around killing you all, put at least one of your crew members guarding the banana barrel. If you can keep them from getting new bananas, then you'll eventually beat them by attrition. Alternate version: guard the ammo crate.
Hope something in that general rant ends up being helpful :)
@zeuphantom you can with skill 2 shot people, the ability to instant swap weapons was removed. This allows you time to move and avoid being killed, which previously was impossible.
They removed the ability to instant kill someone, not to wield two guns. This has made more people use the sword on top of the bluffs the sword got.
For numbers, read the patch notes mainly and learn from experience, paying attention to the health bar and figuring it out.
@wraith-04 said in How do I combat boarders?:
@dyfrin Problem is I usually play with one other person at least, and yesterday I was playing with 2 others on a brig, the guy who boarded killed all of us several times over with ease.
When with more people, work together and the fight becomes way more difficult for your enemy. The worst thing as a boarder is fighting multiple enemies at once and is why organized crews are more effective than any single pirate on their own.
The worst thing you can do against me when I board is give me one on one battles unless you believe that you can beat me one on one. Giving me these battles, usually allows me to heal between the encounters making the field even each time. You give up your advantage in the fight.
As a boarder the goal is to disrupt and take control. For that they need to be as time consuming as possible and wait for reinforcements to arrive. All with one life on that ship. The easiest way is to drop anchor and dispose of all the pirates.
Fight all at once, win or loss your team will be able to come in again full force. Organizing the party returning to the ship from the ferry can be very useful. Keep in mind most likely returning having to fight two foes and your ship taking on water.
Do keep your positions in mind, as the sword does have a cone and is able to hit multiple targets. In those cases grab a gun and give fire support.
Edit: imagine if you were in their shoes. What is more intimidating and more difficult. Fighting back to back for sure is more difficult while dodging bullets or flanked with a sword by others. Pressure does make people make more mistakes or panic even.
@wraith-04 It all depends on what weapons you use, since the double gun meta is over I use a sword and blunderbuss for PvP (sometimes ill use the EoR if I am shooting people on a ship, land or water). As for your friends...well they need a kick in the rear if you catch my meaning. This is not a casual game and every move you make in PvP matters being too slow will be the death of you, your crew and your ship; though it depends on what you have on the ship no loot then its not a big deal. I have not encounter many cannon boarders and i use to roll with a crew who could shoot themselves and others on other ships. Just keep an ear out on the cannon sounds, when players launch it has more of a whistling sound, to me anyway. As for ladders what everyone else has said; just guard them, though i saw one guy say if they get on your ladder they make a noise and its not always the case if the boarders and the ladder is partly under water they will not make a sound. Its also good to note that if you fear you are going to get boarded to either raise anchor and sail away or do not drop anchor, even if they get aboard do not let them drop. it just invites more to get on the ship. Also, and this is just how me and my current crew plays, if you see a ship prepare for some PvP. If they attack you are already ready and if they do not no harm no foul. so stock up on ammo, bananas, planks and cannons, the captain or ship driver too just in case. Its a little bit more work but if you and your crew is prepared for PvP you stand a much better chance than just wait and see if the other ship will attack
i know this was a bit long but i hope most of this makes sense and i hope it helps you and others needing help with this.Lower your game music so you can hear boarders easier.
If you are on pc and you lower your graphics settings you can see people beneath water easier.
Master the sails , so they have a harder time shooting themselves ahead of you to board you, if you see a galleon chasing you and it turns to its side , its to shoot people over so adjust accordingly.Most inexperienced players practice the prometheus way of running in a straight line and do not avoid following ships, go up wind , go around rocks, loose line of sight and change direction using anchor turns, you will get better, learn tricky routes to shakje your followers , there's plenty of places a sloop can go but a galleon/brig cant. Boarders are avoidable if you have experience dealing with them. I suggest you start baiting ships to follow you so you get more practice. Also you can counter board them to shake them off, whenever you are going upwind , instead of pointlessly shooting at them with sniper rifle you should be trying to jump from the front of your oar go underwater and try to catch their ladder and anchoring them, then jump right off grab mermaid and adjust course. Storms and Fog are great for this.
Simple answer is you are playing agaisnt pc players who simply have better specs aimbots and macros, its like fighting a giant as an ant. Best to try and avoid combat as much as possible untill crossplay gets made optional. Think it about it rare wouldnt of made such a bold change to the game if the problem wasnt out of hand. Take this from a Pl athena 10 xbox player
@coralyew4453664
This game is about more than just turn speed and ability to aim. In the end skill, strategy and teamwork are determining factors in combat more than your input device.
The platform bashing is not relevant to the conversation. This is not a topic on when the best players in the world meet, it is about basic skills and player abilities and how to improve. This is regardless on what platform you play on. It isn't like all PC players are given god like abilities just because they use a mouse and keyboard.
First one has to improve enough that you can get to the point that differences in turn speed actually starts to matter and even then there are xBox gods out there that still wipe the floor with most PC gamers. I have teamed up with one, what that pirate can do in combat is amazing.
The opt-out ability isn't going to change all that much for most. Especially for people that are learning the game or just not great at fighting.
Since you are in a belief PC players are giants and you are an ant... you might need to start focusing more on your own play, than those of others to improve and actually get at the level you are sure those that beat you don't just use a higher sensitivity level and have more skill. You would be surprised what your fellow controllers users can manage. Don't underestimate a xbox gamer, they are better than you give them credit for and this is coming from a PC player. My xbox crew members are just as fierce of a pirate as I am.
Rare has caved, because they want to add a competitive mode and at high end level every little difference matters. There is a difference, but claim that Player skill is irrelevant is really selling your xbox comrades short. We have bad and amazing players on both platforms.
@coralyew4453664 said in How do I combat boarders?:
Simple answer is you are playing agaisnt pc players who simply have better specs aimbots and macros, its like fighting a giant as an ant. Best to try and avoid combat as much as possible untill crossplay gets made optional. Think it about it rare wouldnt of made such a bold change to the game if the problem wasnt out of hand. Take this from a Pl athena 10 xbox player
You have no way of knowing they were PC players. Aimbots are not common in SoT and the players using these cheats will be caught and banned. The ability to use a macro for instant double shots has been taken away. We Xbox users do have a disadvantage on turn speed and accuracy, but it is not worth avoiding fights. Take this from a Pl 10 Xbox player as well (like many of the people here).
@wraith-04 Poor boiling water and or oil on boarders climbing ladders. Oh sorry, that is what was done in real life.
Back to game reality, the bottom line is protect the ladders. When there head reaches the top, spam the sword attack or blunderbuss, as the blunderbuss has knock back. If the border comes from above (i.e., rammed or from a cannon), try to get close and force them into a choke point and use sword blocks, jump and attack. Also a blunderbuss to the face isn't a bad move either.
There is a lot of advice here already so I'll keep mine simple.
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Don't let me board. If I board your odds aren't great, but Its easy to keep me off by watching ladders.
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If my gun is out keep moving. try to make me miss and keep me from getting more ammo.
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If my sword is out, block till you see an opening and swing.
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@wraith-04 said in How do I combat boarders?:
My biggest threat since day 1 of sea of thieves has been people boarding me, there's all kinds of techniques they use and whatever else that I simply can't combat. Many times have I been boarded by someone who shoots themselves from their ship and boards mine just to mop the floor with me, spawncamp, and then let my ship sink for the fun of it, and I lose to these people almost 100% of the time. I don't understand how but it seems as though they kill me incredibly fast. I'll slash a guy 3-4 times, and then he just insta kills me with a bullet and jumping to the side to slash me once and he can do that at a moment's notice. How do I combat that? Cause I'm sick of trying to play this game casually and then being boarded by people like this who only play this game to kill and grief. I know how to slash, how to parry, lunge, witch to my gun and shoot, then switch back, I know how to block, how to evade so I have time to eat a banana, but against these types of people, it doesn't matter whatsoever because they can annihilate me. What am I doing wrong here?
I'm right there with ya, my biggest complaint with the game too. I really feel like there is two speeds: Humans vs. Pirates from the Matrix.
I deal with this problem in a pretty simple way: I sail with "Good Legends" (compared to pending "Trash Legends", like myself)
example:
"Oh cripes! We've got boarders, oh man i got hit!! Ok, I'm chasing him below deck, i ate a banana! ok, I missed my blunderbuss, oh i missed again. Oh he blocked my sword swings, I'm dead..... on ferry Oh man.... we're gonna lose all our treasure...... :'( "
crewmate voice over com:
"Dont worry, I killed that guy. Then boarded their ship and killed them all three more times, after kegging them. They're trash. I got bored after repairing the entire ship while everyone was on the ferry, so I killed this Skelly galleon, the loot is in the rowboat, and I'm just finishing up soloing this riddle I swam to 3 islands away."
@khompewtur talent and most importantly practice makes you a matrix pirate as you state.
Sea of Thieves follows a basic principle of gaming: easy enough to do, requires practice to master. This is in how easy we do PvE, hit that x, find that clue, kill those skeletons and such. It also applies to PvP.
Learn and adapt based on the fights you have. Try out new tactics, teamwork and other choices. Learn from wins and from losses, become a better pirate. Find a combat style that suits you and perfect it.
You will always meet a pirate that bested you, just work and become one that sometimes also bested them, anyone can achieve that or become an unstoppable force if you are talented enough.
The differences between pirates is their experience, wit and talent. Just keep trying to become better and enjoy the moments. Practice makes perfect.
Wouldn't it though end all debate on the issue?
When we finally get the platform option and the Xbox players are facing other Xbox players and they still lose they'll be like "Ok, it's not the platform, I just suck at the game."
..if they start to win they'll be like "Aha! I wasn't so bad at this game after all!"
.if PC players start to lose when faced against other PC players, they might be like "ugh.. I'm not as good as I thought".
@khompewtur they are adding an opt out option. It is going to be an option.
Though even then they need to learn as there enough xbox players out there being amazing pirates. This is a thread for those people that struggle regardless of the platform they play on.
He is asking for help with learning the game and become a better pirate.
@cotu42 said in How do I combat boarders?:
@khompewtur they are adding an opt out option. It is going to be an option.
Though even then they need to learn as there enough xbox players out there being amazing pirates. This is a thread for those people that struggle regardless of the platform they play on.
But that's the interesting part.. players may find that once they are matched against their own platform, the hierarchy may change.
As an Xbox player, I'm totally stoked about having a fighting chance against other Xbox. May even attempt to learn PvP tactics if results are promising. If I still am a frequently dying pirate when Xbox segregated then... hey there's still the shovel!
@khompewtur you might win more often, but learning to adapt and improve might get you to the top of the ladder.
Becoming better is never a bad thing to try and achieve. Not sure what platform you play on has to do with improving your own performances.
