Guns Of Icarus Online

Info => Feedback and Suggestions => Topic started by: Captain Phil on February 14, 2014, 05:30:32 pm

Title: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Captain Phil on February 14, 2014, 05:30:32 pm
Been attempting to fly the galleon of late, and every match has ended in disaster. The ship is no longer what it used to be, an imposing ship that requires a lot of tactics and skill to approach and take down. Now, people see a galleon and go, "free kill." The Galleon is big and slow making it an easy target, the weapons are so far down below the balloon that you cannot do much vs. a Hellfish, and you are easily countered by someone going Mobula with the lousy merc/X2 arti build. And, even if the ship builds and map is in your favor, getting all 3 of your crew to shoot the guns the way they need to be shot is near impossible.

So, What are the problems that I see with the galleon.
1: The heavy guns. These are big, bulky, and very hard to keep in full repair. Sure the goldfish has the heavy gun, but the goldfish only needs that one heavy gun since it has the high mobility to compensate for the gun's weakness where the galleon cannot reposition as easily. Spire is kind of the same way where you can easily reposition by simply reversing (fish can do this too) and can have the 2nd engi on the lower deck help keep the gun repaired. The galleon is also heavily reliant on ALL of its guns where the fish only needs the one and the spire can get away with the Pilot taking the top gun for a bit while the ship reverses itself and engis can keep repairs. And for the last part of this section, the guns are hard to shoot on a galleon. On a goldfish or spire it is a lot easier to shoot at a target when you are moving forward or backwards rather than from a galleon's broadside where the guns are moving side to side for the gunner, making it very hard to make precise shots. Sure, you can 'hold still', but that just makes it easier for your guns to be taken out. There is also the factors of; Getting consistent shots, getting those important shots in when armor is down, properly aiming your gun to disable enemy guns trying to take your guns out, and all the while trying to keep the guns repaired and shooting. One person may be able to pull it off, but not all of your crew.

Questions regarding guns: Where are you guys in agreement and disagreement regarding the heavy guns of the galleon also being one of its major banes? As a gunner, do you find it easier to shoot a Fish's gun then a galleon's?


2. Ridiculously slow mobility in all four directions: The galleon is a slow ship but it is ridiculously slow to the point where if you lose the advantage for a moment (all it takes is one hwacha miss, had that happen several times) you lose the battle. Alongside with all 5 of the main guns to keep up, the galleon pilot will have to be burning engines almost constantly to keep up in a close range brawl, thus increasing the difficulty of up keeping the ship. This is not mentioning the galleon's slow response to altitude change. So many times where I have managed to gain the advantage on an enemy ship to have them just quickly rise up and get out of my gun's poor arcs. They can keep shooting me of course. And there are items to help, but you can't bring Claw, moonshine, hydrogen, and chute vent together. you will be missing out on one aspect and you will be punished for it.

Questions on mobility: What items do you bring with what guns as a pilot, and do you find yourself easily out positioned even with your mobility items? As an engineer, how difficult is it to keep all 4 guns functional, shooting, and keep track of the engines all at the same time?

3. The size and location of parts on the galleon: Galleon is the biggest ship with the biggest guns in the game, and all that means is that it is going to make it so much easier to shoot at you and disable you. All of the engines are out in the open and in the back for free pickings, the guns sit there saying, "Please shoot me," and your balloon is massive and far from the protection of your own carronades. Oh, and that hull, a nice big target for a hwacha to come in and ruin your day by breaking all of the hard-to-repair guns and engines.

Positive sides of the ship:
1. The guns: You have the biggest guns in the game and two on each side to match. If you manage to get good shots where and when they need to be, you will devastate other ships in a heartbeat.

2.Hull armor and health: The galleon is the only ship in the game that cannot be one clip killed very easily. But this mostly means that it will only take longer for you to die when you lose the advantage. This can also be taken as the galleon's only decent use is as a meat shield.

Questions on positive aspects: What other bonuses do you think the galleon has, and dose it and the ones I list have many downsides to go along with it?

Final thoughts and conclusion: All of this is my opinion on where the galleon sits in current meta,  and that is right next to the squid. The galleon is far too hard for 4 people to up keep, the guns are a pain to shoot, and the ship can easily be out maneuvered. There are simply too many down sides and variables when it comes to crew members for the galleon to be considered a good pick. This means that the only time you should fly a galleon is with your own clan mates who know how to operate the guns on a galleon, and know what to do on it. To me this is unfair since the galleon is the only ship that requires this much planning to even think about using with 99% success. A pyra you can easily say, "gunner on top right, one engi on lower deck and the other on balloon and left gun." Can't rub a pub crew on a galleon like that, I have tried to run a galleon with pubs all day one time, did not win a single match unless the teams where ridiculously stacked in my favor. (Ally still did most of the damage.) And sometimes even with a good crew, it still ends up as a disaster.

Question Recaps:
1: regarding guns: Where are you guys in agreement and disagreement regarding the heavy guns of the galleon also being one of its major banes? As a gunner, do you find it easier to shoot a Fish's gun then a galleon's?

2: on mobility: What items do you bring with what guns as a pilot, and do you find yourself easily out positioned even with your mobility items? As an engineer, how difficult is it to keep all 4 guns functional, shooting, and keep track of the engines all at the same time?

3:positive aspects: What other bonuses do you think the galleon has, and dose it and the ones I list have many downsides to go along with it?

4:Final question on Galleon: Where do you think the galleon sits in the Meta? Do you consider the galleon a difficult ship to Pilot/Crew? And, do you think the galleon needs some love (squid does too, but later on that one) and if so, what do you think can be changed to help the galleon become easier to use and/or not so easily beaten as it currently is.

And just in general, just give thoughts on what you think about the ship in general.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Captain Phil on February 14, 2014, 06:07:08 pm
So, to answer my own questions.
1: The heavy guns do seem to be one of the largest problems I come across when I am on a galleon. Even though I can disable enemy guns with the hwacha or carronade, it is still a lot easier for the enemy to fix a Gatling gun and start having it take our guns out then it is us to repair ours and take theirs out. When flying  goldfish I am able to move the nose of ship around, up, down, and make the enemy miss a few shots on the gun to help keep it up. I cannot do that while flying the galleon
For shooting, I personally find it much easier to shoot from a goldfish or spire then it is a galleon.

2: I Bring Chute vent/drogue chute depending on their balloon breakers, Claw, and moonshine. Main problem I come across with is people just rising up faster then I do out of my gun arcs and have my gunners yell at me to raise altitude on a half dead balloon. We go up about 1cm a second. And if I bring Hydrogen over Chute vent, the same thing is in reverse when I pop their balloon. As for turning and keeping gun arcs, I can do that perfectly fine with the moonshine/claw combo.

3:Named them up there ^

4: It is only a bit better then the squid in my opinion since to can duel ships and win a lot easier. For crewing I can crew it fine, but that is with year + of practice and knowing of what to do and where to be. Such as paying attention to both sides of the ship and maybe jumping between hwachas on both sides to keep two ships relatively disabled.
For Changes, we cannot directly change the heavy guns since that would effect the two other heavy gun ships. The main problem with the galleon is that it is balanced the way it should be, it just has everything going against it. My best bet would to be to introduce a buff tool that can give strong damage reduction to ship parts so the guns and engines cannot be damaged as much. Also, perhaps putting some guards around the lower engines to make them harder to get a direct hit on with any gun. That should help the lower deck engi keep up on repairs.

Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Thomas on February 14, 2014, 06:26:48 pm
The galleon has always been one of my favorite ships, especially in a close range engagement. However, it has a really hard time right now, especially as players get better at playing.

In the low skill level of play, it's extremely difficult for players to make use of. The gun locations on the sides are really hard to track and lead with for inexperienced players, and guns like the flak and lumberjack are difficult to aim with, especially on a moving ship (and newer players like to keep ships moving).

In the high level of play, it's baby easy to counter. The galleon is just one big target. The heavy guns have large hitboxes as well, and are more or less framed in the hull, making it easy to get them at any range. If you get a balloon popping weapon, the galleon can't really defend itself either. The balloon just extends so far above the ship that it's simple for other ships just to park next to it. Even with a skilled crew it's hard to use effectively in both close and long range. Low maneuverability, easily disabled, massive target.


As a brawling galleon, I generally work around the disabling by just ramming it into the target ship. This makes it harder for them to hit the side guns (since I'm now facing them)  and engines, and usually knocks them off arc. It gives my gunner/engineer time to rebuild a gun and fire once we turn again. It doesn't always work of course. You get a meta-pyra who knows to stay in front and just back away, or use the gatling to destroy your weapons when you turn to brawl and there's not much you can do but sit there and take it.

As a long range ship, you just need to have a crew that can outshoot anyone and hope they can damage/distract the opposing sniping team before they disable your guns.


I'm not sure if there's a way to make the ship better. I don't want to propose a change that requires changing the whole shape of the ship, as it's my favorite design (and it would take a huge effort). Possibly the easiest method would be to make it harder to disable heavy weapons (more health? faster rebuilds? Put more hull hit box around them? Reduce their hitbox size?) I think another player mentioned perhaps altering the balloon health of the different ships, and that might be a great way to go.
((Although that idea was shot down for reasons I'd argue against))

Just like the different hulls, ships have different balloon sizes with different capabilities. The galleon has one of the largest balloons, but it has the same HP like much smaller or more protected balloons like the pyra's. Giving it more health can make the ship as a whole tankier and give them a fighting chance to counter a balloon popper before they sink and slowly grind to death on the map floor, unable to fight back (most other ships can get arcs on someone popping their balloon because of the carronades small downward arc))
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Captain Phil on February 14, 2014, 06:29:52 pm
The galleon is a heavy ship, so why not make it so it can drop like a rock even without the chute vent? Also, even when charging, people still have clear shots at your guns, so possibly having some protective plates on the front to help defend the guns.
Perhaps removing arming time for loch would go a long way for the galleon too. Since it is easy to just sit next to a long range galleon's guns and get away with it since the galleon cannot kite like the fish or spire.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on February 14, 2014, 07:52:18 pm
If Hydro/Chute was buffed a bit more, lot of the complaints would be gone. Yeah I've been in that situation with weak balloon. Under the old hydro, you could pop it and get it to raise despite the HP of the balloon. But now, you can't use it unless it is near 100% HP. If you try to, you just don't get a return on it. Whole problem with that is hydro being linked with the ship weight and giving diminishing returns. I don't mind if it is not as strong due to weight, but the diminishing returns really hurts it.

This is currently a major problem the game has thats been going over the course of a year. We've been constantly dumbing down ships. Making them slower and slower then spending the rest of the time buffing or nerfing ranged weapons because all everyone wants to do is sit back and snipe. No one ever stops and thinks, maybe if the ships weren't so blasted slow the teams wouldn't go around sniping all the time? Back when the ships were faster, there was sniper battles, but you had Galleons leading the charge with them. You didn't have light ships. Small ships had the speed and agility to deal with them. Then the dumbing down came, speed and agility lost, Galleons able to rain terror still so what is a pilot to do, turn to mercs or arts.

The heavy weapons should be an object of fear, I don't argue against that. They should be a deterrent and something pilots should be terrified of facing, but again, its been a game of nerfing the range play to go with nerfed ships. Now Galleons are just not as terrifying anymore unless they've got a good gunner. When that case happens, just sitting back with a sniper boat is the best option. Closing range is just too risky with boats that can't handle well.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Richard LeMoon on February 14, 2014, 08:31:43 pm
Being primarily a brawler Galleon pilot, I honestly feel confident going up against any other ship with a good crew that can instantly follow orders. It is a hard ship to fly, but comes with high rewards. You have to re-train your crews on what (or if) to fix when, and where to move in multiple situations. It is not a ship like most others where you park your crew on a gun/set of components and do well. Each crew member needs to be able to switch strategies from instant to instant, turning certain death into sudden victory (often followed by shouts of "DAMN YOU JEEVES!). On the other hand, one bad crew member will sink the ship.

Any buffing of tools, ship, or gun would have to be done very carefully.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Milevan Faent on February 14, 2014, 08:50:43 pm
I'll probably contribute to this conversation fully later, when I'm not so tired, but I'd like to point out (yet again) that they are MEDIUM guns, as the game has no Heavy guns despite the still remaining typo that Muse has not fixed.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: N-Sunderland on February 14, 2014, 09:50:20 pm
I'll probably contribute to this conversation fully later, when I'm not so tired, but I'd like to point out (yet again) that they are MEDIUM guns, as the game has no Heavy guns despite the still remaining typo that Muse has not fixed.

No. They used to be Medium, but they were renamed Heavy. Large weapons used to be in the works, but they were scrapped. They would've all been about this big:

(https://scontent-a-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/310693_131329320300939_922079927_n.jpg)

Enough of that though. Let's not derail this thread too much.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Spud Nick on February 15, 2014, 01:41:11 am
There is only two ways to play the galleon. As a sniper platform dishing out a large amounts of damage from afar, or as an aggressive brawler ramming into your target and swinging around those broadsides. Both of witch require a good captain and a even better crew. A very hard ship for pug matches.

Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Captain Phil on February 15, 2014, 01:41:50 am
So, decided to take the day to spectate galleons, and lo and behold, every game they where the weak link; even if they had a high level crew and their ally was running a troll build. This was especially the case when fire weapons was used against the galleon. Just so many parts to keep chemed on the lower deck and to keep a gun firing.  If you had a fire extinguisher you spent all your time running around and not shooting. Also, the reliability on making those shots was just to great of a need. Every time the hwacha missed, the galleon was doomed to die.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Captain Phil on February 15, 2014, 01:42:47 am
There is only two ways to play the galleon. As a sniper platform dishing out a large amounts of damage from afar, or as an aggressive brawler ramming into your target and swinging around those broadsides. Both od witch require a good captain and a even better crew. A very hard ship for pug matches.



Problem with sniper galleon, good bet someone on the other team will just go mobula and shut you down. Have it happen to me all the time. And good luck getting all 3 guns to shoot accurately afar.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Spud Nick on February 15, 2014, 01:45:48 am
The sniper galleon also requires his teammate to protect him. Something you don't get a lot of in pug matches.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Spud Nick on February 15, 2014, 01:47:07 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqEqxAXW-84

Dam you sniper Mobula!
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Captain Phil on February 15, 2014, 01:54:01 am
As said, way to many things going against the galleon if you try to fly without your own stacked crew that you have practiced with a lot before hand.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Omniraptor on February 15, 2014, 03:29:57 am
In pub matches, I've had good results against pyramidions builds with the old gatling/double hwacha port side. The two hwachas let you output a lot of disabling rockets, which serves to mitigate the hwacha's inconsistent damage ouput. The gatling obviously eats through armor and hwachas finish them off. This build works well against people who think they can outmaneuver a galleon, to which your hwachas reply "outmaneuver using what?" If anyone attempts to facehug you, you can facehug them right back, just more effectively.

As for sniping, the galleon can output more firepower at longer range than anything except a spire. The problem is, lumberjack is hard to shoot while artemis is still pretty easy. With low-skilled gunnery on both sides, the LJ galleon will lose to artemis/merc/whatever spam. With good gunnery, the LJ will literally gain the upper hand over the other long range weapons :)
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Wundsalz on February 15, 2014, 03:40:10 am
Especially a long range Galleon is one of the hardest ships to master for any role. The long range heavy weapons are among, if not THE hardest weapons to shoot. For the maindeck engie it's not easy to find a proper balance between maintanace and contributing towards the damage output. The Pilot has got to master an uncommon set of activities. Flying a galleon really feels entirely different than flying any other ships, as it's not so much about fancy maneuvering, but about more about maintaining arcs while releasing pressure from the maindeck engie by helping out with repairs. Furthermore the captains view is extremely obstructed. If your targets are even slightly below you, also one can't see whats going on behind the galleon if one's on the steering wheel.
One of the major drawbacks of galleons is probably its vulnerability to face hugging enemies. If an enemy manages to slip through your long range side and shoots at you from a blind spot, you usually need the help of your team mate to get out of that situation.
Another drawback is its inability to handle disables properly. Especially with the current meta, which is quite artemis-heavy at the moment this frequently causes problems.

Despite these drawbacks I think the Galleon is well balanced. If the ships runs smoothly it can easily be turned into one of the most devastating killing machines. And if your enemies manage to get through your defense you can still help your team simply by drawing attention and tanking damage with your enormous hull and armor.

Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Deltajugg on February 15, 2014, 03:56:54 am
Quote from: Captain Phil
1: regarding guns: Where are you guys in agreement and disagreement regarding the heavy guns of the galleon also being one of its major banes? As a gunner, do you find it easier to shoot a Fish's gun then a galleon's?
I personally think it's not really about the guns being heavy or not, because I believe the only thing that would happen in case of replacing the gun spots with light guns would be less effective fire power. I definitely agree that their placement is a bane for Galleon, though, as neither you can defend your ship's balloon up high from any popper attacks, nor you can properly aim in a longer distance battles during the time the ship is moving. As already said, Goldfish is much easier to aim with because of it's straightforward flying method, simply charging forward and shooting hwacha, and Galleon, despite having two guns on the side will be less effective most of the time, unless you stop the ship, but then it is even easier to snipe the Galleon down.

Quote from: Captain Phil
2:As an engineer, how difficult is it to keep all 4 guns functional, shooting, and keep track of the engines all at the same time?

It's definitely easier to repair Galleon than Spire, Squid or even Mobula, that's for sure.
If we just say about keeping them fully repaired all the time, there's not really much problem. No matter how you look at it, Galleon is a huuuuuge ship, and it's guns are always deadly, so most of the time there's more focus on taking down guns rather than engines, and the engines can't really be taken down by a random shot on the guns, as they are too far away from eachother, completely separate targets. Because of that, it's rather easy to maintain the lower deck, unless you are attacked from both sides. If there is a problem with repairs, it starts when main guns are completely taken down AND the ship is attacked at the same time during the repairs, repairing heavy guns takes alot of time to bring back, with it's repair time nicely covering with another hwacha shot coming to destroy them again. Taking down the guns completely gives enough time to deal damage to the engines, and then, even with help of the gunner, you can't maintain the repairs with enough efficiency.

Quote from: Captain Phil
3:positive aspects: What other bonuses do you think the galleon has, and dose it and the ones I list have many downsides to go along with it?
As I said, Galleon is huuuuuuge, so engines and guns being far away from eachother might be treated as separate targets, I'll even say that this feature makes lower deck guns and upper deck gun two different target, being unable to disable them both at the same time most of the time. Because of that, and relatively strong hull armor, it's relatively easy to maintain most parts of the ship in good health, despite balloon's vulnerability and quite a bit of a problem with bringing the disabled parts back to work.
I also like the ability to transition from long range to close range mode. The same reason I like junker, having two powerful heavy guns on both sides of the ship gives a little bit more strategy options for the ship, using mercgun+flak/lumberjack, and dealing with carro/hwacha against advancing ships. That, of course, works only against ships that don't have long range guns themselves, but depending on your teammate being able to take the focus on themselves, the long ranged bombardment is viable and devastating tactic.
It's been said already, but high hull durability really is a plus for Galleon. Sure, you might not be really happy about squid/goldfish popping your ballon down, but if they want to keep it down, they can't really do much more than that either. I once had a game where a squid kept popping our balloon down, and we spent 10 or 15 minutes on the ground, trying to go back up all the time, and we were able to maintain the hull long enough so our ally would take down other enemy ship enough times for us to win. I know it's funny, but with ships that are heavily focused on balloon popping, it's quite easy to just stay on the ground and hold this ship at bay, while your teammate does the job for you  :D

Quote from: Captain Phil
4:Final question on Galleon: Where do you think the galleon sits in the Meta? Do you consider the galleon a difficult ship to Pilot/Crew? And, do you think the galleon needs some love (squid does too, but later on that one) and if so, what do you think can be changed to help the galleon become easier to use and/or not so easily beaten as it currently is.

It is definitely one of the most difficult, if not even THE most difficult ship to pilot, and despite being relatively easy to maintain most of the time, if something's disabled, it's really troublesome, not to mention that you either become an easy target for other ships or you're unable to shoot properly, so that's that as well. I definitely agree that galleon could use some buffing, what comes to mind at the spot is increasing balloon's health, but, having asked this on yesterday's stream, Eric said they don't plan to touch their health on skirmish "to maintain the balance", even though I say that this is exactly the reason why something about balloon's health on particular ships should be changed. It definitely wouldn't hurt if galleon's heavy guns were a little bit harder to disable, but not to the point of buffing heavy guns overall, like suggested by Thomas, cause that would also buff other Heavy Gun reliant ships, and some of them don't need any more buffing. I would suggest covering them with the hull more or MAYBE (a man can dream) providing the ship with a mechanic that could hide and uncover guns by pulling the lever (something like cannon windows in standard ships). Also, to give people some way of protecting their ship's balloon, it would be nice to have one or two additional light gun slots on the upper deck. Those are my thoughts about it right on the spot, I'll try to think of something more later.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Milevan Faent on February 15, 2014, 05:09:06 am
I'll probably contribute to this conversation fully later, when I'm not so tired, but I'd like to point out (yet again) that they are MEDIUM guns, as the game has no Heavy guns despite the still remaining typo that Muse has not fixed.

No. They used to be Medium, but they were renamed Heavy. Large weapons used to be in the works, but they were scrapped. They would've all been about this big:

[imageremoved]

Enough of that though. Let's not derail this thread too much.

Metafive explained the Heavy/Medium weapon thing to me as if it was still a thing though... regardless, they are still typoed. All the guns have typos in fact, as even Light weapons are Light/Small, rather than a consistent type. Anyway.

After having looked over what everyone else is saying, I realized I don't actually have enough experience in the Galleon to really contribute to this conversation as much as I'd like. I haven't had many good experiences in it though. For what should be one of the hardest ship's to take down, I rarely felt like my crew contributed effectively to the match.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Spud Nick on February 15, 2014, 05:10:40 am
With a Galleon it's more about the crew than the pilot.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: RearAdmiralZill on February 15, 2014, 08:51:14 am
Still reading through the thread but I do want to get this out there:

Galleon is perhaps the only boat that really requires support from their ally to be at 100%. It's practically a battleship, and as such needs the support vs the more nimble targets. It was so "great" back when ships were faster (and broken) because it didnt need that support near as much as it does now.

With a Galleon it's more about the crew than the pilot.

And that's wrong. A pilot gives you arcs, gives you momentum direction for your gunners downstairs, and maintains an advantageous position on the map for their boat and team. The entire crew is always important.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: redria on February 15, 2014, 09:00:05 am
With a Galleon it's more about the crew than the pilot.
And that's wrong. A pilot gives you arcs, gives you momentum direction for your gunners downstairs, and maintains an advantageous position on the map for their boat and team. The entire crew is always important.
Pilot is always the most important part of a crew. The best crew in the world is helpless if their pilot can't give them gun arcs.
Galleons maybe require a crew to be better at shooting and understanding ammo types than on other ships, but you need your pilot to put you in position to use those tools.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: RearAdmiralZill on February 15, 2014, 09:15:31 am
Quote
1: regarding guns: Where are you guys in agreement and disagreement regarding the heavy guns of the galleon also being one of its major banes? As a gunner, do you find it easier to shoot a Fish's gun then a galleon's?

2: on mobility: What items do you bring with what guns as a pilot, and do you find yourself easily out positioned even with your mobility items? As an engineer, how difficult is it to keep all 4 guns functional, shooting, and keep track of the engines all at the same time?

3:positive aspects: What other bonuses do you think the galleon has, and dose it and the ones I list have many downsides to go along with it?

4:Final question on Galleon: Where do you think the galleon sits in the Meta? Do you consider the galleon a difficult ship to Pilot/Crew? And, do you think the galleon needs some love (squid does too, but later on that one) and if so, what do you think can be changed to help the galleon become easier to use and/or not so easily beaten as it currently is.

1. A gift and a curse I imagine. Nothing can pump out damage comparable to a galleon with all guns going. It can kill a ship under 3 seconds (an extreme yes, but happens). Ill elaborate more on my mindset with the guns going down. As a gunner, if the galleon is properly flown, the guns are easier to shoot. That said, its just a natural answer to say yes, they are harder to shoot, thanks to the horizontal movement. There is a reason no forward-gun-mounted ship has two heavies though.

2. Spyglass, claw, drogue. If the enemy lacks balloon harass, then swap drogue with kero/moon for mobility and dodging. Range is a galleon's best friend. If you lose it, no tool will make you out-manuever anything. This is why you require that ally support, as well as unorthodox piloting to gain back the advantage I talked about earlier. For engies, engines should always be on their mind. Turners are far more important than the main, and thats ok because the bottom deck engie only has guns to repair. As for the guns, you dont need them all up. You need the ones you need shooting up. Back in the arty-meta, id prioritize one heavy gun to be up at all times. If I got two, that was a bonus. A galleon is a meat shield as you said. It soaks damage that your allies get to ignore. It body blocks. It is the wall of your team.

3. Ill probably repeat myself and others here. The health is a valuable asset. The ranges it can be effective at with many guns. The fact it has that many guns. The weight also plays a big role in its ability to push any ship around, use it to gain arcs and advantage. Downsides play off those. It's slow (not the slowest though in a straight line). Turning is slow, altitude change is slower. This ship doesnt like to move much, and with its plus sides, it doesn't have to as much.

4. I think it sits fine, but suffers from its borderline requirement of support from allies. That's not the boat's fault though, and shouldn't be changed because of it. Yes, it's difficult, for reasons I'm sure you know by now. It does not need any "love" (and nor does a squid). How can it get better? Players need to realize that the teamwork of this game is not only ship-wide, but team-wide.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Spud Nick on February 15, 2014, 10:03:18 am
Most captains play as a engineer rather than a pilot because they know that repair tools are more important than pilot tools. You don't really need to fly the galleon witch is why I say the crew is more important. Yes you need to have arcs for your gunners and move to cover when guns are disabled but very little piloting is required.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: RearAdmiralZill on February 15, 2014, 10:07:12 am
You're not doing yourself any favors piloting with an engie. You should be piloting more than repairing. A pilot with a spanner can easily access the hull and balloon of a galleon.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: N-Sunderland on February 15, 2014, 11:18:30 am
You're not doing yourself any favors piloting with an engie. You should be piloting more than repairing. A pilot with a spanner can easily access the hull and balloon of a galleon.

Both going pilot and going engi have their benefits. Engi captaining allows you to bring a buff hammer on the top deck (main engi goes mallet/spanner/buff), which is a huge help.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: RearAdmiralZill on February 15, 2014, 12:26:21 pm
Lets not make this another gunner thread < 3
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: N-Sunderland on February 15, 2014, 01:00:25 pm
Lets not make this another gunner thread < 3

Hey, I'm the one saying they're both viable here :P

I agree though. The engi-captain discussion is straying a bit too far from the point of the thread.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Captain Smollett on February 15, 2014, 01:22:52 pm
Someome made a suggestion earlier of decreasing the rebuild time for heavy guns.

Currently you have both the galleon and goldfish on the lower part of the pecking order very much due to gun disables and the subsequent long rebuilds.

I think this is definitely a mechanic worth looking into. Heavy weapons can be crippled in a way light weapons cannot. Ships give up a lot in order to have heavy gun slots, currently the heavy weapon ships are struggling since this advantage is so easily being denied.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: macmacnick on February 15, 2014, 01:27:16 pm
Someome made a suggestion earlier of decreasing the rebuild time for heavy guns.

Currently you have both the galleon and goldfish on the lower part of the pecking order very much due to gun disables and the subsequent long rebuilds.

I think this is definitely a mechanic worth looking into. Heavy weapons can be crippled in a way light weapons cannot. Ships give up a lot in order to have heavy gun slots, currently the heavy weapon ships are struggling since this advantage is so easily being denied.
Agreed, it's a pain when you're about to unload just to get disabled, and then having to rebuild it, and by the time it is finished, the enemy is way out of arcs. The rise of the artemis's popularity really made the galleon an easier target to kill, due to the huge hitbox of the guns and the ease of disabling them from afar using that gun, thus making the galleon an easier target overall.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Captain Phil on February 15, 2014, 03:32:47 pm
Still reading through the thread but I do want to get this out there:

Galleon is perhaps the only boat that really requires support from their ally to be at 100%. It's practically a battleship, and as such needs the support vs the more nimble targets. It was so "great" back when ships were faster (and broken) because it didnt need that support near as much as it does now.

With a Galleon it's more about the crew than the pilot.

And that's wrong. A pilot gives you arcs, gives you momentum direction for your gunners downstairs, and maintains an advantageous position on the map for their boat and team. The entire crew is always important.

Doesn't matter if I give them gun arcs if they cannot get enough consistent hits in to kill an enemy before they get in close. The crew is as important as the Pilot for this ship. And yes, galleon is heavily reliant on its teammates, but sometimes you have to fend for yourself in some situations.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: redria on February 15, 2014, 03:38:19 pm
And yes, galleon is heavily reliant on its teammates, but sometimes you have to fend for yourself in some situations.
In the same respect, your ally should be heavily dependent on you. Sometimes a galleon just needs to ignore whatever is attacking it and focus its fire on whatever target their ally is attacking. Galleons can take enough damage to be able to safely ignore heavy focus and deal out double team damage on one opponent so their ally can return to help. However, in order for this to work, your ally has to fight at an appropriate altitude for you to provide assistance, and you need to have weapons that can provide assistance. This is why hades-lumberjack-heavy flak is a solid left side combo. Even if your balloon has been taken out, you can provide solid support to your ally and get a quick kill so your ally can help you sooner.

The Waddling is currently running double galleons, and I will be the first to admit that it is terrifying to face. They consistently place themselves in positions where focusing, and even getting in the blind spot of, one galleon leaves you completely vulnerable to absurdly fast death from the other. It took me a long time to start learning the power of heavy flak (oh, close to 1000 games...) but when it works, it works beautifully.

But yes, you need a crew who can handle it.

Similarly, you shouldn't take a squid with a newbie crew. There are some decisions that just don't make too much sense. It unfortunately limits what you can do in pub matches, but you can only expect so much out of pub matches.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Captain Phil on February 15, 2014, 09:12:42 pm
No idea what you guys are doing to win matches with the galleon, even with the best shooters in the game, teamwork, and good positioning the useless ship cannot do anything.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Captain Smollett on February 15, 2014, 09:31:15 pm
The Galleon is extremely viable at high level play. The paddling used it for 8 months successfully and competitive teams still win with it to this day.

That being said it requires 8 good players to make it work. Both ships need to be full of capable and talented players, but when that happens, it's still a beast.

New players trying to learn the heavy weapons with a non supoerting ally however make it a floating casket.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on February 16, 2014, 02:46:49 am
That was before Art spam, during a time before flames were semi fixed, and before heavy weapons received more nerfs like excessive jitter/etc.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Wundsalz on February 16, 2014, 04:02:21 am
Someome made a suggestion earlier of decreasing the rebuild time for heavy guns.

Currently you have both the galleon and goldfish on the lower part of the pecking order very much due to gun disables and the subsequent long rebuilds.

I think this is definitely a mechanic worth looking into. Heavy weapons can be crippled in a way light weapons cannot. Ships give up a lot in order to have heavy gun slots, currently the heavy weapon ships are struggling since this advantage is so easily being denied.

I agree with this.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: Captain Phil on February 16, 2014, 04:07:49 am
Threw up an idea in another thread about adding a defensive buff tool, theoretically an item like it would make it easier to keep parts up in a galleon, helping remedy one of the big issues for the ship.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: The Sky Wolf on February 16, 2014, 11:29:39 pm
All hwacha galleon with burst rounds is OP if it gets the first hit in a close range map. It's hilarious to use.
Title: Re: My thoughts on the Current Galleon and where it sits
Post by: GeoRmr on February 17, 2014, 10:41:16 pm
I entirely disagree. Galleon is my most flown ship in pub matches and I've been having great success with it. I run asymmetric lj flak artemis, hwacha carronade , flare. Even inexperienced crews have lead me to victory after some rudimentary verbal instructions before the match starts, how to cross reference the lumberjack sight with the map etc. (I don't have a microphone)
All I do is park it in the right place and turn it slightly, It's merely a question of how thoroughly you explain what to do to your crew (and ally).

If you don't use the big guns they're not gonna shoot the big guns and they're not gonna get better at shooting the big guns.