Attacking is now way too overpowered to the point you have to say what is the point in defences any more. No matter what style base you try or tactics, when you get attacked troops just walk a base in even past gps it should be a challenge to 3 star a base and feel greatly rewarding not just breeze through like defences / walls are not even there. It's just starting to become boring just seeing 100% after 100% with no skill really applied. I understand that some people are very good at attacking in this game but come on.... I even 3 starred an almost maxed ph13 base the other day with effort needed. Can we also maybe actually have a limit to wds and priests, its more like bubble wrap when you see attacks the amount maybe limit each to 2 of each. We limit aeros and gastly gunners so why not the actual things that stop troops dying. People will probably disagree but can we limit the amount of wds and priestesses, attacks look more like bubble wrap these days, defences stand no chance. Anyway rant over
I must agree on that @Hawkbeard . When a player comes with 4 wd’s and 5 priestesses.... oooho. I have seen some attacks like this . But sometimes not even those huge numbers on wd’s and priestesses helps to 3 star a island 3 wd’s and maybe 3 priestesses max
I agree. I'd vote for a limit of two in tavern and 1 in guild ship for each. But what happens with the exploration pirates, I always use 4 WD's on my exploration sails. I know a solution!!! New tavern for exploration crew only without the limits
I find it hard to believe that WD/Pri get so much better with larger numbers... but am unable to find enough rich grog targets to make it viable to try - for me the cost is self limiting. Last two PH upgrades have come with significant increases in defensive damage output, but it hasn't really shaken up attacking strategies. A 3rd GP would make things pretty frighteningly interesting... but then you've got to buff WDs so they can walk through the rain of fire for a bit at least, or changeup the way that you can thump through walls. The AI is almost limiting how much you can actually buff defence, but then too many old devices hampers the AI development, so we're left with the same old patterns. Honestly, I can't hit a maxed out well designed base and don't generally try. But then I also blame my skill/screen size/impatience.
Agree 100%! I only use 2 wd or 2 priestess max. If I use more than that it seems it’s wasted and they end up getting smoked along the way, so only 1-2 was actually useful. I would love to have a second tavern for exploration. It’s a huge pain to break shield just because you want to send your ship out and don’t wanna throw your battle crew overboard.....Or losing them by accidentally hitting the ship button when it’s back at the dock. I’m sure there’s at least room to squeeze one more building on the island or just have a button in the tavern to switch between battle/exploration recruiting.
Funny I was thinking the opposite that defenses have gotten too strong. There is no way I can three star a maxed PH13 base with the crew I've been using. And to those that send troops straight into the GP fire zone and make it past, I have no idea how that's possible because every time I try that its a blood bath.
Well, we probably ought to share the secrets on how to 3 star PH13 bases easily... to help with developing a plan
This is what we call 'balance'! \o/ In all seriousness, even at the top levels of Pirate Halls, there's a very broad range of skills. If you look at the battles for Pirate Halls 12 & 13 and remove farmers from the equation, the win/loss ratio is about 56/44 (if you include farmers, it's 40/60, heh heh). Overall at the top level, out of the winners just under half get 3* victories, the rest are fairly evenly split between 1* and 2*. The Priestess is the second least-used Pirate, with only the poor Buccaneer being sent into fewer battles. Many people really struggle to use her effectively, usually because they don't get their tankier units to draw fire away - in these cases, she often dies before she gets within Nighty Night range of the weapons.
Wow, these are really interesting stats! Thanks for sharing @Lynsey [Midoki]. I find it odd that the priestess is the second least-used Pirate. This must be due to the lower level PHs never using her. I feel like all the top players bring at least 2 for a big fight and 1 on the guild ship. I also have to agree with @850arrr on the defenses, they seem to be quite strong. I feel like most maxed or nearly maxed bases need quite the expensive crew to take out for a 3* win, 3+ WDs, 2+ priestess, couple HGs perhaps. Some players take even more which just seems insane, their cost must be near or over a million grog for a full tavern. But I suppose if you’re willing to spend that much and have it in excess then you should be able to 3* anyone. Cheers! -Oak
Nope! Those stats are only for Pirate Halls 11-13! If you factor in all of the Pirate Halls, the Priestess is last by some margin, due to the lower levels using Buccaneers. You're right in that there's a difference in crew composition at the higher ranks. People that are higher ranked tend to make more use of 'premium' Pirates such as Priestesses, Heavy Gunners, Aeronauts and Witch Doctors. Among the people who use Priestesses in the top Pirate Hall levels, the average number deployed per battle (including guild ship troops) is around 2. Average number of Witch Doctors in the top Pirate Hall levels is 1.5.
I know when een log into the game we hoger tips and trick. But those are the same for years. Posssibly add losse of tips there for younger PH islands. Tips like the Priestess: Use a priestess to have the island go to sleep and destroy defences... SkyRaiders/AirNuts: Use Sky/Air for sniping out defences like GP's or mortars... Kathy players will read them and start using these under appreciated troops more. Or tips like: Join more active guilds to benefit from active perks and rumble rewards
I’d like to know how the stats are being worked. When you say the priestess is the second least used is that purely on the number deployed in battle then that number doesn’t surprise me. If every type used per battlecounted as 1 though, I think the priestess usage would jump significantly. I think there is no need to change anything about the attacking/defensive balance at the moment. If folks can afford to recruit multiple WD’s, good luck to them. I find reliably 3 starring PH13 impossible. If the design suits my attacking style I 3 star about 60%. If it doesn’t match my attacking style and I’m dumb enough to still have a go, I’m lucky to get 1 star.
In terms of overall usage, we look at the number of battles they're deployed in, rather than the number of individual troops deployed, because, as you've said, gunners and bombers will always come out on top compared to units with larger hire time/grog/tavern slot cost (such as Heavy Gunners), or units that are literally number capped (Aeronauts, Witch Doctors, Sky Raiders).
@Lynsey [Midoki] you might want to check your priestess stats again, every attack has at least two priests but now getting attacked more frequently with 3-5 priestess in one go. Even had someone use 6 priestess .
I would say the stats shift drastically as you move up the ranks. I don’t use them at all at my level. What I do find frustrating and some of my guild mates are running into worse at level 10, is getting matched up against mostly 11-13 level islands when I’m only a 9. I appreciate the challenge, but it gets hard to put up good numbers in a rumble or plunder event when you can’t get three star wins. Luckily there are enough that have upgraded their hall too quickly and have ridiculously poor defenses. But definitely as you move up you have to reassess what pirates to use and/or finding islands that don’t match up well to your attack strategies.
