The Defias Blog

ven·det·ta \ven-?de-t?\ n.
1 : blood feud
2 : an often prolonged series of retaliatory, vengeful, or hostile acts or exchange of such acts

The Pirate Hunter

Somewhere off the Florida Keys, December 1720
Aboard the Xebec Jackal

“Sails on the horizon!” came the spotter’s call. Captain Stephen MacKenna brushed a lock of stray hair from before his eyes as he took the spyglass from Quartermaster Dugan. By the shape of her sails, the captain made her out to be some manner of packet-boat and by her speed, he surmised that she was probably heavily modified; perhaps a ‘Hermes’ Sleek or an ‘Expedition’ Privateer Packet-boat - wouldn’t that be nice! Her ensign was that of a French Naval Officer and she sported the arms of a society called the Legio Auxilia, an unknown factor recently arrived in the area.
Read more…

As the title says, really. I’ve spent the bulk of my time this week job hunting without success; in a desperation bid I even went sniffing around at the local fast-food joints hoping to at least find something to tide me over. At one place, I was told they had too many people already and that nearly everyone was being cut to 2 days/week - that’s not even 20 hours!

My leisure time has been spent levelling a couple of nationals on Pirates of the Burning Sea’s Blackbeard server, mainly just to get a sense of that side of the game. My main character remains Stephen MacKenna, though - yarr!

I’m considering the 5-day EVE-Online Free Trial offer CCP e-mailed me the other day, sort of a ‘winback’ effort I guess. It talked about all the changes that came with Quantum Rise and offered me 5 free days with my existing account. I planned to resub for a few months after the new year (probably in February or March), but I might at least use the 5 days… haven’t decided yet.

In another impressively candid forum post reminiscent of early CCP Dev forum activity, Flying Lab Software CEO Russell “Rusty” Williams described how the FLS development team behind Pirates of the Burning Sea set their priorities.

In recent weeks, ever since the AvCom overhaul was announced, there has been a flood of joyous praise for this change which is seen by many as a giant leap in the right direction but there has also been a tremendous backlash from PotBS players who believe Flying Lab Software’s development budget dollars would be better spent on other features such as the in-game economy, the much-anticipated (by some :P) Skirmish system or oft-teased about Port Governance just to name a few. Every time a change is announced that doesn’t have to do with one of the problems (both real and perceived) that players tend to consider “more important,” the rabble-rousers come out on the official forums in force.
Read more…

It had been a busy weekend. I often head out from Matthew Town on my own, sailing something light and fast like a ‘Fallen’ Refit Snow or a ‘Mediator’ Mastercraft Cutter. Occasionally I’ll go out alone in something larger like the ‘Algiers’ Refit Polacre or ‘Arcadia’ Mastercraft Xebec, but to be perfectly honest I’m not as comfortable sailing unsupported in larger, slower ships yet. Even though my days often begin alone, it’s common for me to join up with all manner of random pirates on a moment-by-moment basis.

Generally how it goes is I’ll spy an enemy ship on the open sea and start to give chase, then another pirate who had also seen and begun chasing my target will see me and invite me to group so that we might share in the reward for taking the enemy vessel. That’s how I met Cannonball Apollo and how he subsequently joined the Nine Winds.
Read more…

I started the night in Matthew Town, talking to the Harbor Master about my recently acquired ‘Arcadia’ Mastercraft Xebec. We were comparing the qualities of the Huge xebec with those of the smaller ‘Algiers’ Refit Polacre I’d been sailing for the last week or so. Sailing alone through the red, my inexperience cost me time and time again as I was forced repeatedly to disengage and retreat from fights that, based on everything I’ve seen and read so far, I should have been able to win. The only good point had been that most times I was able to break off from the fight and escape with my ship and its fittings intact. Other times, though… not so much.

But I belong to the Nine Winds. A pirate society that is populated with experienced, knowledgeable captains, quite a few of whom are well-known and respected PvPers on the Antigua server. One of our leaders, Captain Charissa de Mornay, is so feared that after having fallen asleep at the keyboard in the middle of a PvP zone, her ‘Mediator’ Mastercraft Cutter sat for nearly three hours unmolested by enemies who know just how dangerous she can be and likely assumed that she was playing possum.
Read more…