Up to this point, Ive talked about a lot of the changes that are happening to existing careers and all the new stuff theyre getting. Now its time for something thats completely new: the Buccaneer pirate career. Existing pirates will become Cutthroats, since the generic pirate is no longer applicable.

Our current career landscape is one that destined for imbalance. The game has changed a lot since pirates were created, and they need to fill a role in the Conquest endgame. A single, solo-emphasized career works great when pirate mechanics arent part of the overall war, but it doesnt lend itself to group PvP. Ive got a soft spot for solo PvP, but that doesnt mean we can ignore the group PvP necessity and the associated balance implications.

Group PvP is all about the sum, which is where pirates start to create problems. Theres a single pirate career versus multiple national careers. There are two critical implications:

1)If the careers are equal, then the side with the options will win. 2)If the single career nation has sufficient options and versatility to compete, then that will lead to dominance.

Buffing pirates and adding to their skill selection would only exacerbate the problem. It means they move deeper into the territory of being an omni-character, especially in a skill tree based on breadth instead of depth. In the long-term, attempting to address this problem without making a significant alteration to the existing setup is a futile effort. Enter the Buccaneer.

Introducing a new career allows us a great deal of flexibility in how we approach the future balance of the game. Yet as much as I talk about balance, thats not the main motivation – this is about fun. We want to introduce a new play style and improve the overall situation of the pirate nation, in a way thats good for pirates and nationals alike. Ive had fun cruising around in my shiny new Buccaneer, trying out all the skills combinations. Im pleased with the practical application of the Buccaneer skill set, and I found there were always plenty of actions I wanted to take in combat. Several of the skills play off each other, and I found countless opportunities to manipulate situations. Theres one piece of feedback that came up repeatedly in our internal test cycle: this is hard, but fun.

Thats because the Buccaneer is an advanced career that focuses on taking advantage of the moment. Its not the career you want to jump into when you havent played the game before. Theyre like the evil twin of a Freetrader that was mentored by a Privateer. Their ability set is toggle-light, as most of their skills are situational abilities that confer a temporary bonus in combat. Where the Cutthroat is analogous to a Blackbeard-style take no prisoners pirate, the Buccaneer has more in common with the mafia – organized crime that attempts to hide behind a legitimate business front. That distinction is visible throughout their skill tree in their wide assortment of subversive abilities. Theyre especially suited to taking down large targets. Theyre an advanced career because they were expressly designed for elder game PvP. That becomes especially apparent in the 30s, as thats where their toolbox reaches critical mass.

What about their skills, you ask? I happen to have a few details on those.

Buccaneers cannot capture ships – thats an ability thats only available to Cutthroats. However, they can use captured ship deeds. Scavenge is given to Buccaneers for free as their version of Claim Prize at level 5.

Heres their skill tree. Its important to note that this will change by the time it hits live. In fact, Im sure something will be changed by the time you start reading this devlog!

Career Chain
 Career Base – 2% running speed, damage resistance, damage. -50% doubloon drops.
 Scavenge – Received for free at level 5.
 Unleash the Hounds – An exceptional demonstration of skilled marksmanship. Use dismantling shot to tear apart your targets rigging, reducing their speed. This demonstration inspires your crew, increasing their performance. -15% target speed, +15% self speed. 40 morale, 90 second duration, 5 minute recharge.
 Dark as Night – Buccaneers are accustomed to working in the cover of night, and theyve learned a wide range of tricks to mask their presence on the open sea.+15% stealth, +5 miles stealth, +50% OS attack range, +3 miles spotting
 Wolf Pack: Prowlers – Group buff. Guide your fellow pirates in for the kill, improving their performance. +1% damage, reload, speed, 2% damage resistance. 50 morale, 5 minute duration, 8 minute reset. Stackable.
 Master of Pursuit – Dismantling shot specialization. Improves sail damage dealt by 10%.
 Heated Shot – A dangerous and damaging attack. Deals additional attack damage. Each hit (max 12) reduces the targets stats: -2% turn rate, acceleration, 1% armor damage, -0.25 DR, 60 morale, 3 minute duration, 10 minute reset.

Command Chain The command skills are group buffs with a 3 minute duration and a 10 minute reset and a 25 morale cost. Commands are split into two types: self and group. Every command skill applies a self and a group component, doubling the effect on the player who uses the skill. They are not on a shared timer, but you can only have self and one group effect active at the same time. That means you can use a command order to increase your maneuverability, then an ally can issue one to increase evasion. Youll have the self component for maneuverability, and the group component for evasion.
 Command: Maneuvers – 7.5% turn rate.
 Command: Evasion – 2 all defense, 2 sail defense.
 Command: Battle – 1% reload, 1% damage, 2 accuracy
 Command: Speed – 3% speed, 15% acceleration
 Will to Survive – Passive. Improves morale recovery rate by 5%.

Disabling Chain
 Disorienting Shot – Attack. Reduces target acceleration by 20%, turn rate by 35%. 30 morale, 1 minute duration, 2 minute reset.
 Cut Shroud – Attack. Reduces target 14% + 2% per additional hit in the broadside, maximum 34%. 35 morale, 1 minute duration, 2 minute reset. Requires dismantling shot.
 Shred Sails – Attack. +30% damage. 35 morale, 4 minute reset. Requires dismantling shot.
 Shred Armor – Attack. Ignores target DR. 30 morale, 5 minute reset.
 Disrupt Formation – Attack. Reduces target accuracy by 4 + 1% per additional hit in the broadside, maximum 10%. 35 morale, 90 second duration, 2 minute reset.

Gambler Chain
 Survivor – Click buff. Improves damage resistance by 10%, max range by 5%, accuracy by 2, max speed by 5%, damage by 5%. Duration 5 minutes, reset 10 minutes. Can only be used when your current total armor for all facings is below 82% of the max (50% on one broadside).
 Maneuver – Toggle. Increase turn rate by 12.5%, 20 morale.
 Distraction – Click debuff. Harass nearby ships (300y), reducing their effectiveness. Reduces maximum speed, turn rate, acceleration, reload rate and damage by 5% and accuracy by 3. 20 morale, 2 minute duration, 3 minute reset.
 Scrapper – Once you get close, its hard to shake you. Target an enemy within 250y to boost your speed by 20%, your turn rate by 5%, acceleration by 10% and damage resistance by 3%. 40 morale, 4 minute duration, 8 minute reset.
 Master Rigger – Passive. +1 max speed.

Prowler Chain
 Inspiration – Group buff. Improves acceleration, damage resistance by 5%. Has twice as much effect for the Buccaneer as the group members. 60 morale, 4 minute duration, 8 minute reset.
 Protect – Screen the target ally, increasing defense and damage resistance by 4%. 25 morale, 3 minute duration, 5 minute reset.
 Whistle Down the Wind – Short speed boost. Increases broad reach speed by 20%, running speed by 25%, 10% acceleration. 45 morale, 25 second duration, 5 minute reset.
 Deadly Force – Temporarily boosts your offensive capabilities. +40% damage to all attacks in the next 40 seconds. 40 morale, 8 minute reset.
 Battle Logistics – Passive. Boosts armor integrity by 5%, resistance by 3%, structure by 2%.

Skirmish Chain
 First Blow – An opportunistic first volley at the start of combat. +15 accuracy, +35% damage, 35 morale. 90 second reset. Cannot be used if you have more than 5% overall armor damage.
 Weapons Handling – Passive. The Buccaneers sustained offense boost. 5% reload, 5% damage.
 Sweep the Decks – Attack. +20% damage, and bonus damage to crew. Max range 350y, 35 morale, 3 minute reset. Requires round shot.
 Shatter Armor - Attack. +45% damage on the attack. -20% reload and 3 accuracy for 15 seconds. 50 morale, 8 minute reset.
 Jugular – Attack debuff. Can only be used against ships that are bigger than you. More effective based on the number of hits that land in the broadside. Reduces target acceleration by 15% + 1.5%, damage reduction by 20% + 2%, reload rate by 7.5% +0.75%. Max 15 hit bonuses.

Smuggling Chain
 Tack Upwind – Toggle. 7% upwind/luffing/close-haul speed. 20 morale.
 Smuggled Cargo – Passive. 60% reduction in surrendered loot.
 Crime Network – Grants access to the Crime Network global channel for organization and trading. Every pirate can hear this channel.
 Hidden Treasure – 12% chance for bonus loot.
 Criminal Underground – 65% foreign tax rate reduction.

Survival Chain
 Rebuild – Repairs 25% armor. 30 second duration, 50 morale, 5 minute reset.
 Defense – Toggle. +3 defense, +6% damage resistance. 20 morale.
 Rebuild Rig – Repairs 30% sails. 30 second duration, 30 morale, 5 minute reset.
 Repair Under Fire – Repairs 15% armor and structure over 8 minutes. 40 morale, 20 minute reset.
 Survival Instincts – +20 defense for 40 seconds, resets in 10 minutes. 60 morale.

Tough Crew Chain
 Bosuns Starter – Increases target allys speed by 10% for 30 seconds. 20 morale, 3 minute reset.
 Fighting Spirit – Recovers 30% crew over 5 seconds. 50 morale, 5 minute reset.
 Endurance – Increases morale recovery by 50% for 2 minutes (60 morale gained). 12 minute reset.
 Exploit Weakness – Increases the crew damage dealt by your attacks.
 Bloody Minds – Passive skill. A tougher, but smaller crew. -20% max crew, +50% crew resist, +1 defense.

There are bound to be a few speed bumps with a new career. Were going to be closely monitoring the Buccaneer in both the test and live environments, trailing along and fixing any issues that appear. That wraps up the Buccaneer for now, stop by the forums if you have any questions. Theres one more devlog left in this series: The Cutthroat.

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