Going from bad to worse. Decisions like this show they have absolutely no clue how to handle the game, they are scrambling. It's a stupid idea just like the death tax was. And that's all they come up with. Somebody has to stop this mess, they are just making a bigger mess from a big mess.
Chase a sloop? Well, too bad, there's four people on board and they will just jump overboard and try to board you until they succeed. While remaining full control of their ship.
You want to fight a sloop? Well, they now have one guarding each ladder, one on the wheel and one firing the cannon. Have fun.
Fact: A 4 player sloop will be fully armed and fully maneuverable by just three, plus a fourth to repair any damage. A galleon with four doesn't see where it's going. It's harder to turn. And you still only have a maximum of three cannons vs. 2 on a sloop, even if you accept your lack of control. And then there's nobody repairing it. Or getting cannonballs, because they are below deck. And nobody is guarding your ladders at that time, because you are busy. Unlike on the sloop, where you can fire a cannon and watch the ladder at the same time.
How do you come up with these ideas? Sure, go ahead, destroy your game completely. First the game falls victim to griefers, now Rare is trolling the ones that actually play the game by allowing griefers to become unstoppable. I'm out.