PotBS has had a host of former players (and some new players) login over the past few weeks since it went F2P. Given that the game has been rejected by 19 out of every 20 players who tried it (the developers' own statistics), it will be interesting to see whether the continuing flaws in the game mechanics and the absence of population balance are outweighed by cute sailing ships. ["Flaws in the game mechanics" means that the developers themselves don't seem to know how the game should work. Official explanations of how the game works seem to be adjusted months after the fact to explain bugs in the system, rather than be used as guidelines to FIX the bugs.]
Most players who tried the game and left cited the one-dimensional nature of the gameplay. If you are a PvP aficionado, then you MAY enjoy the game for a while. But if you're not, if you're one of those players whose focus is on econ or RPG or missions (quests), then you're likely to not enjoy the second-class status your "carebear" style of play will be treated to. First, your main function is to act as a target for the PvP players. Your secondary function is to grind through missions and econ so as to make goods that can be "captured" by PvP players when they sink your ship. "Captured" in this sense is literal -- when your ship is ganked by 6 far superior ships, you will lose your ship and all its cargo to the gankers. Just like in EVE. You then get to start over on an alternate ship, and continue grinding and doing your econ so that the PvP players don't have to do that (PvP players consider anything other than sinking ships to be a waste of their time). The PvP players also cannot understand why you wouldn't consider acting as their target and wealth source to be fun -- after all, if you didn't, then you would be doing nothing but PvP like they do. Right?
The move from a monthly subscription game to an F2P game is a last-ditch effort by FLS (the developers) to make the game viable. In its 3-year existence, the game shrank from 11 servers at launch to 4 within 6 months. It then shrank to the current 2 servers more than a year ago. There are two ways to help contribute to the financial future of the game, IF you like what you see during your unlimited trial period. First, spend $15 and get a one-month subscription -- that will permanently entitle your account to all the "premium" account features (6 characters, five ships per character, 10 econ slots, etc) instead of the limited number of trial account features (2 characters, 2 ships per character, 2 econ slots per account). Second, you can spend money in the Treasure Aisle (TA) buying various "fluff" items (clothing and pets), ships, supplies, and account features (you can buy characters, ships slots, and econ slots one at a time -- but seriously, if you're going to do that, just subscribe, it'll be cheaper). NONE of the non-fluff game items in the TA is worth the price -- you can get them all (or better equivalents) in the game for a lot less.
ZAM Dives Into the F2P Pirates of the Burning Sea
Now that this pirate MMO is free-to-play, we decided to take another look at the game. Follow along to see if you should start a career on the high seas!
The third large element of the game is the auction house and economy. With ships being sunk like there's no tomorrow, the best way to acquire better vessels, stronger guns and more effective sails is by purchasing them from other players. The economy of the game is entirely player-run, and Freetraders dominate this sector with several abilities attuned directly to making a profit. Successful traders will also need to carefully plot what resource types they will harvest, as only up to 10 economy building slots can be used and every port has a different mix of resources.
All of the above are available to players with free accounts. The other play options are Premium and the Captain's Club, which requires a monthly fee. Chipping in some money will get a player extra perks. If he or she has been a subscriber in the past, a player is automatically given Premium status, allowing more character slots, dockyard slots, economy slots and ship storage slots. Captain's Club members receive all of these perks as well as a 10% bonus to experience, loot chance and faction bonuses, plus free access to premium mission content and a discount at the in-game store. The two missions available only to subscribers or through the in-game store are a series of three daily missions in a new rank 50 area called "Besieged Tortuga" and a series of treasure hunts. Each costs 450 Burning Sea Points. These points are sold in stacks of 300, and you can purchase two stacks, or 600 points, for $5.
Overall, Pirates of the Burning Sea is worth checking out if you want a change from the standard MMO. The naval combat is a fun challenge, and the economy has enough depth that a financially-minded player could live out their fantasy of becoming a tycoon. None of the core game mechanics are missing when compared to the perks of the Captain's Club; only a bit more content and a fair amount of ease (the extra ship storage and economy slots would be incredibly useful). While the graphics are a bit dated, the storyline is fairly interesting and the roleplaying potential is endless.
It was certainly a good move for Flying Lab to move from a subscription plan to F2P, if for no other reason than the previously offered 14-day free trial was simply not enough time to really get into the game. I plan to continue playing long after this article is published, so I'll see you on the high seas of the Antigua server!
Tags: Editorial, PiratesoftheBurningSea