Sea of Thieves Has A BIG PVP Problem - A Video By AShinyRay

Top memorable suggestions for me:

Raids
Mandatory Emissary Flags

I'm sticking to things discussed in the video, though I have many many opinions on what is wrong with PvP.

First Raids:

Raids make sense for this game, especially if they can make use of the portals to create instanced content / dungeons, thereby allowing for tall tale level quality and more controlled, crafted encounters. I think these could feature both cooperative challenges, and competitive / invadable instances.

I've thought about this before, and my belief is that there should be a series of standard dungeons you can run once you hit pirate legend for a large doubloon cost, which offer much more difficult challenges, cosmetic rewards, or gold. However, there should also be dungeons that force crews to come together organically, with each crew contributing an item to initiate the dungeon. Something like combining a ritual skull and athena chest to create a special dungeon with special rewards. In other games, we called these items "ingredients" and multiple people would be needed to contribute because it was rare that any one person had everything needed.

Additionally, some of these ingredients would become something locked to your character and selectable at a later point (like your quests) with the ability for you to use it in the future to initiate end-game dungeons, either within your own crew or with another crew. Every crewmember might have something of value they can contribute and parlay into better and better rewards.

These more advanced dungeons could theoretically become something crews fight over competitively (i.e. multiple crews compete from the start / ante up to compete in), or that other crews could invade to steal your winnings, assuming they gamble enough treasure to justify their entry into your instance that is. The important thing though is that this is content you can actually truly fail, and lose your investment or even the treasure from dungeons you succeeded in previously and decided to risk. THAT is end game content, with experienced pirates using the looking for group posts to find people with specific items they can contribute, specific skill sets, and knowledge about how to best beat the dungeon. Make the game less about grinding for rewards, and actually creating the right composition of teammates to earn them.

Next, Mandatory Emissary Flags:

I've suggested a system previously that would simply ask player when they queue in if they want to fly an emissary or not, but that the choice to fly or not would be permanent once they are loaded in to that server (i.e they can't fully lower a flag without maybe voting to permanently lower it), and can't raise later. I should clarify that the system should allow ships to switch emissaries at will, but that lowering them completely is not possible once you opted in.

My belief is that a lot of new players don't understand the emissary system, or simply don't care to learn it, and by forcing the choice would educate themselves on the benefits and risks, which I think would increase the number of flags flown. Additionally, by forcing the choice and making it more normal to be flying a flag, it removes the "take that" element from lowering your flag before fighting by making flags just a normal thing and not some giant target on your back.

Making the flags mandatory to level the faction after a certain point is an interesting idea brought up in the video that would certainly help, but I think by forcing it only after level 75 to level 100 would be missing the majority of players still.

Everyone should want more players to be flying emissary flags. For PvP players, the reason is obvious, more targets, and so less reason to server migrate at all. But that also means more decoys for non-reaper emissaries who now are no longer the only emissary and thus immediately targeted by server hopping grade Vs.

Seriously? He's complaining about Rare wanting to entice new players to the game? Instant "I'm not watching this idiot."

Funny that he mentions that portal hopping facilitates the hunting by PvP-ers and empties servers, but doesn't follow through with the obvious making it less desirable to portal hop (max supplies, downgrade Reaper emissary).

There is nothing else to do after getting all commendations but to PvP ?
Really, I think it's a false axiom, used as an excuse to just PvP by people who don't have all the commendations.

Experienced PvP'ers make new players go away - perhaps, but for the most part that's on them.
If they rather have an easy fight than no fight... nothing will help against that except for a change in thinking. If they want more good fights instead, (a) bring something to the table to fight about, (b) be more selective in choosing your opponents. Battle-hardened pirates should be able to at least make a guess about the abilities of a crew before they engage.

@blam320 said in Sea of Thieves Has A BIG PVP Problem - A Video By AShinyRay:

Seriously? He's complaining about Rare wanting to entice new players to the game? Instant "I'm not watching this idiot."

Honestly to be fair, Rare has been doing this for nearly two years now.

In that time we've been malding over chainshot spam, basic double gunning slowly becoming less operable, and the sword becoming impossible to beat no matter how good you are at the game. Meanwhile, we've gotten 3 new world events (Flameheart, Ashen Winds, Fort of Fortune), 4 new types of voyages (Ghost Fleets, Vaults, Lost Shipments, Thieves' Haven Runs), a new set of tall tales with Disney's Captain Jack Sparrow, underwater shrines, new emergent enemies besides skeletons and sharks, the ability to bury treasure, shoot fireworks, sitting in several spots, and god knows what else is coming in Season 6.

New players are fed a feast and a half and all the PvP-bound players have is the ability to force server merges by utilizing 2 new tall tales that make you use a portal. PvP is disgustingly unbalanced in its fun factor for veteran/experienced/PvP-bound players and it's hard to deny that.

being stuck on one emissary the entire time? no makes no sense…this issue is two fold. the combat is just not fun. period. secondily the majority of players are pve oriented and run sloops…sloop players are not going to go after brigs or galleons because of the huge disadvantage. thus what you see is sloop vs sloop, brig vs anyone or galleon vs anyone. i personally even if you made combat more fun and playable…its not going to be enough.. when sloops make up the majority of the player base and are solo…you just wont see that much fighting…unless there was a way to make sloops have a better chance against bigger boats…you wint see much change. yes i know there are a few people that are elite pirates that can takedown any ship…but that is not your basic player. there is no get better when the ship you mostly run on is at such a disadvantage…and yes people can use lfg, discord, etc but most choose not to and thats ok. the other issue i see if people continually say just scuttle/switch servers, etc. not 1 person wants to do that. that is not enjoyable at the least. you have to make the combat more fun…more enjoyable…and give something to sloops that let them have a chance

@nex-stargaze said in Sea of Thieves Has A BIG PVP Problem - A Video By AShinyRay:

@blam320 said in Sea of Thieves Has A BIG PVP Problem - A Video By AShinyRay:

Seriously? He's complaining about Rare wanting to entice new players to the game? Instant "I'm not watching this idiot."

Honestly to be fair, Rare has been doing this for nearly two years now.

In that time we've been malding over chainshot spam, basic double gunning slowly becoming less operable, and the sword becoming impossible to beat no matter how good you are at the game. Meanwhile, we've gotten 3 new world events (Flameheart, Ashen Winds, Fort of Fortune), 4 new types of voyages (Ghost Fleets, Vaults, Lost Shipments, Thieves' Haven Runs), a new set of tall tales with Disney's Captain Jack Sparrow, underwater shrines, new emergent enemies besides skeletons and sharks, the ability to bury treasure, shoot fireworks, sitting in several spots, and god knows what else is coming in Season 6.

New players are fed a feast and a half and all the PvP-bound players have is the ability to force server merges by utilizing 2 new tall tales that make you use a portal. PvP is disgustingly unbalanced in its fun factor for veteran/experienced/PvP-bound players and it's hard to deny that.

It's super easy to deny, and you've given me plenty of ammunition.

Sword isn't unbeatable in PvP; if you choose to use two guns, and can't land a Blunderbuss shot to drive away a sword user, grab some Blunderbombs. If you lose to a sword user who literally just ran at you, I don't think the problem is with the weapon.

Chainshot works both ways in PvP, same with Cursed Cannonballs before it; it can either help an attacker score a kill or help a defender escape.

The new World Events draw PvP, as do some of the new voyages, especially Vaults and Thieves Haven runs. I've been attacked several times while attempting Flameheart (not as ignored as some believe) while Forts of Fortune are massively rewarding to those who complete them, same with the Fort of the Damned. Thieves Haven runs are predictable, so anyone who wants to ambush Legends on it is free to do so, while Vaults are super satisfying to steal from people who aren't paying attention.

The new Tall Tales, Sunken Kingdom shrines, emergent enemies, burying treasure, fireworks, and sitting are all open to veterans as well; it's not like New Players exclusively benefit from them.

You're literally complaining about nothing. What's especially sad is Rare crafted an entire PvP-centric gamemode for people like yourself to play whenever you want a guaranteed fight, and yet not only was it never used but you complained about it anyways. Cry. Me. A. River.

i always thought arena was where pvp centric people went…then i was told that wasnt what arena was for…so if arena wasnt meant for pvp then what was it made for? ive never played it myself but i did hear alot of complaints about it…but at the end of the day i dont think enough people played it

@madfrito99 said in Sea of Thieves Has A BIG PVP Problem - A Video By AShinyRay:

i always thought arena was where pvp centric people went…then i was told that wasnt what arena was for…so if arena wasnt meant for pvp then what was it made for? ive never played it myself but i did hear alot of complaints about it…but at the end of the day i dont think enough people played it

Stop believing that. Arena is a game mode, only faster. There is no right, or wrong, place for PvP in SoT.

@blam320 said in Sea of Thieves Has A BIG PVP Problem - A Video By AShinyRay:

It's super easy to deny, and you've given me plenty of ammunition.

Sword isn't unbeatable in PvP; if you choose to use two guns, and can't land a Blunderbuss shot to drive away a sword user, grab some Blunderbombs. If you lose to a sword user who literally just ran at you, I don't think the problem is with the weapon.

Chainshot works both ways in PvP, same with Cursed Cannonballs before it; it can either help an attacker score a kill or help a defender escape.

The new World Events draw PvP, as do some of the new voyages, especially Vaults and Thieves Haven runs. I've been attacked several times while attempting Flameheart (not as ignored as some believe) while Forts of Fortune are massively rewarding to those who complete them, same with the Fort of the Damned. Thieves Haven runs are predictable, so anyone who wants to ambush Legends on it is free to do so, while Vaults are super satisfying to steal from people who aren't paying attention.

The new Tall Tales, Sunken Kingdom shrines, emergent enemies, burying treasure, fireworks, and sitting are all open to veterans as well; it's not like New Players exclusively benefit from them.

You're literally complaining about nothing. What's especially sad is Rare crafted an entire PvP-centric gamemode for people like yourself to play whenever you want a guaranteed fight, and yet not only was it never used but you complained about it anyways. Cry. Me. A. River.

Sword is problematic in PvP not primarily because of weapon choice, but because of hit registration, it's uncommon to see but even sword strikes and sword lunges don't register correctly, especially in sword 1v1s, being a free win to the infamous "M1/RT spammer".

It's rare/uncommon to see a player use chainshots defensively. Most of the time, if a crew is great at connecting chainshots, they follow up with boards, blunderbombs shot from cannons, cursed cannonballs that may also disable other parts of the ship, and well, attempting to sink the ship if it's completely immobilized. It's barely used as a tool for escaping a player threat.

While the world events and voyages draw PvP, most talented, knowledgeable players know better than to immediately rumble in since that means they have to complete the event themselves/prevent the crew from completing the voyage (especially in their sights), which most PvP players don't want to have happen.

The new features are open to veterans, but admittedly their longevity is very short lived because experienced players don't get predated upon as easily as newer players, or as often sometimes.

Using Arena mode as an argument point is the weakest argument point against the average PvP player's mindset that just plain doesn't work. Adventure has the content, it is all the new stuff Rare is focusing on, while Arena proceeds to deteriorate with each update as they patch minor bugs that come with a new content update.

I absolutely love PvP, but I think a lot of PvPers don't want to admit what's wrong with PvP. They don't want to admit that it just isn't fun steamrolling 90%+ of your opponents and having them sunk in under 5 minutes. The battles are super short. Minimal strategy. No sweaty palms test of your crew's collective skill. It's just the same thing over and over and over. How fast and efficiently can you execute the same METAs and have your opponent wondering how it's possible they got annihilated so fast.

If every PvPer sat down and thought about the GOOD fights, it's the ones where neither crew has got any chainshots and you're both vying for best position and trying to place your cannonballs and hit specific spots. Helm, cannoneers, lower deck, guard ladders, shoot some firebombs, get them frazzled, go for a well timed board...finish that story how you want.

Want to make PvP fun? Make naval battles more competitive, more strategic. How do you do that? Make chainshots far less common. Make them a PvE reward similar to Wraithballs.

Again, most PvPers don't want to admit that because it would actually make PvP harder. It would make hoppers have to work for their next kill a little more. I'd argue you'd see a lot more crews that are normally PvP averse give it a go if they didn't have to worry about an endless rain of chainshot spamming.

@sweetsandman and let the base Factions accept only Reaper Flags with the Emissary bonus granted, as this will eliminate a lot of the "bringing nothing to the table" issue as well. Flags are worth a lot, and it is mostly high Tier Reapers who will hop and thus often not bring anything to the party. If you have a reasonable shot of getting a potential 9500 - 10500 Gold in Loot plus Rep with your active Faction for winning the fight would go a long way (even if they had hopped and had no other Loot available but that Grade 5 Flag).

@limbicfanatic It may have been a post of mine. I've never created a thread outlining my idea, but I've gone into detail in several threads on the topic. Perhaps it's time I put my proposal into a thread of its own.

Anyways, I'd be ok with some RNG on chainshots on the sea. The same RNG you see on pineapples. Low. Very low. Other than that, I'd want them to be a reward for all world events including treasuries and all emergent threats on the sea including megs, krakens, and skeleton ships.

I don't want the rewards to be crazy amounts of chainshots. I'd want them to be small amounts like Wraithballs. This way the only way a crew would have a crazy amount of chainshots is if they've been on for a long time and are producing the bulk of the loot on the server.