Boarding actions are both a tactical option and nice way to mix up the combat, preventing matches from becoming a total long range slugfest, as a damaged but prepared ship can win a boarding action and advantage their team. For this reason, grapples are often paired with grapeshot in order to maximise the chances of a successful boarding. Respawn times are ramped up to over a minute, and if an entire crew is killed, that side’s ship will immediately sink. At such close range, you can bring your melee and hand weapons to bear, which mixes things up a bit.
Additionally, neither ship can sink from its holes, or be holed during the action. When the boarding action is underway, both ships are immobilised whilst one or more grapples are in place, and the ships are pulled towards each other. Grapples cause a boarding action to take place, which is a key part of the game. Grapeshot causes no holes but acts like a shotgun blast that can take out multiple enemies at once. At closer ranges, you can make use of grapples and grapeshot. Bar and chain shot also exist to damage masts and sails, but they are unfortunately rarely used. Scoring a hit with these causes a fire on the target vessel, which can cause massive issues for the crew if left unchecked. Heated shot can be created by placing canonballs on a heat grate for three minutes, after which they will turn to heated shot. Your bread and butter is the standard cannonball, which causes a hole on impact and can kill enemy crew. You will be spending a lot of time slinging cannonballs at enemy ships, and thankfully the game gives you some variety here. Having your team manage the operation of the ship in this manner also makes Blackwake a rather unique experience. The beauty of this system is that each task is simple enough as to not alienate less experienced players, but having a well organised crew can make all the difference in a fight. None of these actions are complicated, and any player can undertake any task on the ship, which avoids people being relegated to certain positions. Sails can also be damaged, so a player would have to jump onto the rigging and climb it in order to repair the damage. Holes cause the water level in the ship to rise, so one or more players will need to pump out the water at the bilge pump(s) to enable the canons to continue firing and to stop the ship sinking. Damage from enemy canon fire causes holes to appear where the shots impact the ship, which have to be repaired individually. Reloading your gun as you catch cannonballs fly towards your ship in your peripheral vision and smash into the hull is a tense experience. Loading a cannon requires picking up a gunpowder charge and loading it, selecting the type of shot and loading it, ramming the cannon, pushing it out, equipping the taper and firing it, which then resets the process. In a similar manner to Sea of Thieves, each player controls a single character in first person, and every action on the ship has to be carried out by the player in the correct part of whatever ship they may be on.
The most defining feature of Blackwake is it’s ship management. However, Blackwake has a lot going for it, and can be considered a hidden, if slightly cloudy, gem. Being a game made by a tiny dev team that relies heavily on word of mouth rather than a big marketing budget, it’s the kind of title that often slips under the radar.
#Games like blackwake full#
After a few years in Early Access, the multiplayer pirate combat title Blackwake gets an official full release.
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