Dark sea criticism

Game Discussion
1

lets be honest, the dark sea is a important update, love it or hate it, it had to happen, but it haves several problems, i dont think i ever went into the dark sea and had fun and i believe my reasons are good

water poisoning

water poisoning

water poisoning has a lot of problems, the feature itself is bad, it’s unfun and it’s pure RNG, now RNG stuff can be fine, maybe even fun, if done correctly

  • the way to counter it is to wash or hide under something, which is annoying bc it can happen anywhere, anytime, it can happen in fight, on a massive island, on a brig, water poisoning doesnt discrimate, and it’s bad

if ur on a big island then u better be close to ur brig or be close to a structure, but if ur not near any, u can break a wall, ignoring the fact that some people just can’t or have to struggle, but then u have the realization that u can’t, the only time terrain destruction is useful and not just an annoying feature that should be removed, it doesnt work, so now you have to rush to ur brig, hopefully making in time, or start preparing every swear word you want to say

  • it’s pure RNG, in some runs, u don’t get it at all and sometimes, ur curse with it, the fact that every time you take unavoidable DMG is annoying, its unfun, suddenly i have to run back to my ship bc of water poisoning when i could do better stuff like looting the island

there is always that one person washing more in-game than they would ever wash irl and then there is their team mates that didnt touch the shower since the start of the run, suddenly taking DMG which req a specific way to counter it isn’t a fun game mechanic, u did nothing wrong and yet u take dmg, imagine fighting something and even if u dodge their attacks, u still take random damage from nothing, its not fun, so why water poisoning is like this

my idea on how to fix it

remove it, straight up remove it, but i have a feeling that even if vetex sees this, that he wont do that unless we sacrifice the most liked forumers to him (sorry bio or randomness), however i have a different fix idea, which is a completle rework, now i assume vetex is aware of how many scraps and re-scraps and overhaul and remakes game designs take, and yes, ik it takes time, but honestly it is worth it to delay game to overhaul and remake different stuff from a game so its more enjoyable? yes

  • Water poisoning dmg nerf
  • now just like in the normal seas, there is rain, more specifically, magic rain, each one will deal a different effect, once ur out of it, the effect will start to end after x amount of minutes (and ofc, washing before its gonna give u a temporal immunity, same as hidding, it will start clearing it out)
ideas

magma, acid, fire = slight DoT, enough that it can kill someone, but very slowey, the current water poisoning dmg is too much and it can kill someone too fast, each one might have different dmg and DoT duration after u get out from the rain

snow, light, sand = slight vision blinding, maybe it haves a chance to stack up but not to the point where u cant see

maybe some other magic gives u specific effects

  • and ofc there is a chance to get it, the moment u go in shouldn’t be the moment u get said effect

this should fix the RNG problem, since now u have a visual indicator and it should fix the absurd dmg, also by fixing the RNG it fixes how annoying it is, the “oh im so fuck” to “im at my brig no biggie” scale is no more

Lighting

this one is short, lighting is another element of RNG to the dark sea, there are some visual indications but they dont last for long, you also cant see it at all if ur inside it, it can happen anywhere, anytime, again it can happen when ur on ship or fighting, my only suggestion would be to make it so the lighting doesnt happen that fast after the visual indicator and tone down the dmg, also make it visible if ur inside it

Waves

Waves

Waves, just like water poisoning are extremely annoying, they can range from taking you and slamming into ur brig or island, to taking u off to god knows where, the only thing they are good at is getting atlanteans of you, that all, they arent challenging and fun, they are just annoying

  • wave imbued with magic are a prime example of this, all they do is damage, just normal wave damage, or DoT damage that undos 3 shipbuilder abilities, they arent a challenge, its all just press G to take less dmg, despite the majority of them having different magic imbued, only the DoT are an issue, its also kinda boring, to also add, they are spammed, everywhere, its not a fun time, ur not rlly doing drift, reacting to them as they appear, u just watch them, press G and maybe try to dodge the DoT ones

  • waves taking you its such a annoying feature, there is no way to escape unless the game lets you or it hits you into something, literally i was caught by a wave that was under water, they also seem to grab you when you already passed them, in my opinion that such an annoying mechanic that it can get some work on

my idea on how to fix it

First give other wave types an effect on the player when they hit the boat, and again, no extreme effect, holding G should also reduce the severity or time of said effect, also reduce the DoT dmg of some waves, imo they are too big, they powercreep other waves

i would also give a button that u can spam to escape, or maybe even better, a minigame, alike the AA one that u have to do when 2 spells clash

i would also make more wave patterns and reduce the normal wave spawn so they arent as spammy, currently we only have one, 2 waves clashing, i would suggest to make more types, and while right now i cant think of any, atleast any good ones, im confident that they can be made

Rain

oh my god the rain, its so stupid, i know the dark sea is meant to be hard and in-universe not an enjoyable thing, and it can be like that and fun, but this isn’t it, oh no, it actively harms it, the only time you can actually enjoy a bit more is if the server decides to nuke the rain and not let it to happen, dark sea had this problem of islands not spawning near you, and while this has been fixed, the rain mostly undos that, atleast by some level, the rain isnt some interesting, manageable mechanic, it actively harms the experience by taking away your visibility

so how would i fix it? different rain types, some are easy, not a lot of rain, just a few drops, and it can ram up to the current dark sea rain, however the extreme patches (current dark sea) should be rare and small, maybe medium, while most of the rain while is there, it takes less visability away, i would also allow a deckhand or heck, even player to go on the upper parts of the ship (i forgot the name) which would buff their vision and make rain less rainy so they can announce others about a island

there might be other big problems that i miss, but its so frustrating that the dark sea, a big part of the game, its just like this, its not friendly, not as in, its hard and u need a strategy, as in, get fucked, rng lottery, fuck you way

7 Likes
2

tbh the way id nerf water poisoning is by having a way to tell when it’s going to happen
like, a small bar just above your hotbar or the edges of your screen beginning to tint purple with wet effects while exposed to the rain, slowly draining when underneath something and completely draining when you bathe

3

Waiting to see the “suggestion outside of suggestions” and gunshots right after

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5

revised version:

Let’s be honest, the Dark Sea is an important update; love it or hate it, it had to happen, but it has several problems. I don’t think I ever went into the Dark Sea and had fun, and I believe my reasons are good.

Water Poisoning

Water poisoning has a lot of problems; the feature itself is bad, it’s unfun, and it’s pure RNG. Now, RNG stuff can be fine, maybe even fun, if done correctly.

The way to counter it is to wash or hide under something, which is annoying because it can happen anywhere, anytime. It can happen in a fight, on a massive island, or on a brig; water poisoning doesn’t discriminate, and it’s bad. If you’re on a big island, then you better be close to your brig or near a structure. If you’re not near any, you can break a wall, ignoring the fact that some people just can’t or have to struggle. But then you have the realization that you can’t. The only time terrain destruction is useful and not just an annoying feature that should be removed, it doesn’t work. So now you have to rush to your brig, hopefully making it in time, or start preparing every swear word you want to say.

It’s pure RNG; in some runs, you don’t get it at all, and sometimes, you’re cursed with it. The fact that every time you take unavoidable damage is annoying; it’s unfun. Suddenly I have to run back to my ship because of water poisoning when I could be doing better stuff like looting the island. There is always that one person washing more in-game than they would ever wash IRL, and then there are their teammates who didn’t touch the shower since the start of the run. Suddenly taking damage, which requires a specific way to counter it, isn’t a fun game mechanic. You did nothing wrong, and yet you take damage. Imagine fighting something, and even if you dodge their attacks, you still take random damage from nothing. It’s not fun, so why is water poisoning like this?

My Idea on How to Fix It

Remove it, straight up remove it. But I have a feeling that even if Vetex sees this, he won’t do that unless we sacrifice the most liked forumers to him (sorry Bio or Randomness). However, I have a different fix idea, which is a complete rework. Now I assume Vetex is aware of how many scraps, re-scraps, and overhauls and remakes game designs take. And yes, I know it takes time, but honestly, is it worth it to delay the game to overhaul and remake different stuff from a game so it’s more enjoyable? Yes.

Water Poisoning Damage Nerf

Now, just like in the normal seas, there is rain; more specifically, magic rain. Each one will deal a different effect, and once you’re out of it, the effect will start to end after a certain amount of minutes (and of course, washing before is going to give you temporary immunity, the same as hiding; it will start clearing it out).

Ideas:

  • Magma, acid, fire = slight DoT, enough that it can kill someone, but very slowly. The current water poisoning damage is too much, and it can kill someone too fast. Each one might have different damage and DoT duration after you get out from the rain.
  • Snow, light, sand = slight vision blinding; maybe it has a chance to stack up, but not to the point where you can’t see.

Maybe some other magic gives you specific effects.

And of course, there is a chance to get it; the moment you go in shouldn’t be the moment you get said effect. This should fix the RNG problem, since now you have a visual indicator, and it should fix the absurd damage. Also, by fixing the RNG, it fixes how annoying it is. The “oh I’m so f***ed” to “I’m at my brig; no biggie” scale is no more.

Lightning

This one is short. Lightning is another element of RNG in the Dark Sea. There are some visual indications, but they don’t last long; you also can’t see it at all if you’re inside it. It can happen anywhere, anytime. Again, it can happen when you’re on the ship or fighting. My only suggestion would be to make it so the lightning doesn’t happen that fast after the visual indicator, tone down the damage, and make it visible if you’re inside it.

Waves

Waves, just like water poisoning, are extremely annoying. They can range from taking you and slamming you into your brig or island to taking you off to God knows where. The only thing they are good at is getting Atlanteans off you; that’s all. They aren’t challenging and fun; they are just annoying.

Wave imbued with magic is a prime example of this. All they do is damage, just normal wave damage or DoT damage that undoes three shipbuilder abilities. They aren’t a challenge; it’s all just press G to take less damage. Despite the majority of them having different magic imbued, only the DoT ones are an issue; it’s also kind of boring. To also add, they are spammed everywhere; it’s not a fun time. You’re not really doing drift, reacting to them as they appear; you just watch them, press G, and maybe try to dodge the DoT ones.

Waves taking you is such an annoying feature; there is no way to escape unless the game lets you or it hits you into something. Literally, I was caught by a wave that was underwater. They also seem to grab you when you’ve already passed them. In my opinion, that’s such an annoying mechanic that it could use some work.

My Idea on How to Fix It

First, give other wave types an effect on the player when they hit the boat. Again, no extreme effect; holding G should also reduce the severity or time of said effect. Also, reduce the DoT damage of some waves; in my opinion, they are too big and power creep other waves.

I would also give a button that you can spam to escape, or maybe even better, a mini-game, like the AA one that you have to do when two spells clash.

I would also make more wave patterns and reduce the normal wave spawn so they aren’t as spammy. Currently, we only have one: two waves clashing. I would suggest making more types, and while right now I can’t think of any good ones, I’m confident that they can be made.

Rain

Oh my God, the rain. It’s so stupid. I know the Dark Sea is meant to be hard and in-universe not an enjoyable thing, and it can be like that and fun, but this isn’t it. Oh no, it actively harms it. The only time you can actually enjoy it a bit more is if the server decides to nuke the rain and not let it happen.

The Dark Sea had this problem of islands not spawning near you, and while this has been fixed, the rain mostly undoes that. At least to some level, the rain isn’t some interesting, manageable mechanic; it actively harms the experience by taking away your visibility.

So how would I fix it? Different rain types: some are easy, not a lot of rain, just a few drops, and it can ramp up to the current Dark Sea rain. However, the extreme patches (current Dark Sea) should be rare and small, maybe medium. While most of the rain is there, it takes less visibility away. I would also allow a deckhand, or heck, even a player, to go on the upper parts of the ship (I forgot the name), which would buff their vision and make rain less rainy so they can announce to others about an island.

There might be other big problems that I missed, but it’s so frustrating that the Dark Sea, a big part of the game, is just like this. It’s not friendly; not as in it’s hard and you need a strategy, as in “get fed, RNG lottery, f you” way.

6

I’m surprised you didn’t even bring up the Dark Sealed chest carrying system, it literally changes the process of exploring dark sea islands to 80% walking back and forth just to get them on your ship, and actually takes so long that the meta grind is to just forgo them entirely and only loot Siren rocks.

Really hoping something like this gets added

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3 Likes
7

i actually forgot about this bc that what i do, go for sirens

8

IMO water poisoning should have a bar that slowly fills over time and you can decrease it by bathing or avoiding the rain. But the rest is annoying af yeah

9

Also, can we PLEASE get some tool that allows us to see where our boat is? I’ve spent way too much time searching for my boat in the bigger dark sea islands back when I was searching for a hecate essence

10

You can place a sealed chest that’s been revealed by revealing, but even that doesn’t have infinite distance

11

there is actually a bug that gives it infinite range and duration, but idk how to do it (I mean it permanently reveals the dark sealeds in your boat, not the ones in islands

12

add deckhand ability that picks up all sealed chests off of an island once every single atlan is ded :pleading_face:

13

treasure teleportation for diving spots is silly when you can just drop them and they shoot to the surface next to your boat lol

14

I heard that doesn’t work for abyssal chests because they despawn too fast

15

they should add ummm submarines then :nerd_face: :poggerfish: :nod:

16

magic pollution = a bunch of waves in vetex’s pov. Also vetex should make it so certain parts in the dark sea aren’t covered by the rain so we get cool purple sky visibility and maybe some stars?? it would look sick imo

17

Dark sea is easy, the only problem is my game crashing every single time I try to leave it

1 Like
18

That would, indeed, look sick

19

i mean that my rain suggestion, sure i did not go into atmospheric stuff but that mostly it

20

water poisoning is stupid and doesnt make sense, they need to rename it to magic radiation

plasma has left the chat

just the same thing as when you get into a whirlpool

a big wave accompanied by many smaller ones

actually, waves are also stupid
waves exist because of some external disturbance such as an earthquake or a meteorite
this game has none of that
even then, unless the wave is approaching an island, it should be really small and fast, not slow and big like the ones we are used to
this games’ waves are big and slow, while nowhere near the vicinity of an island!

can we also just mention how at the very least, the seafloor is ~120 meters deep yet the waves act like theyre 5 meters?

the mast?