One-person ship

An argument could be made that you shouldn't be able to reach full potential when playing solo. Being solo on a sloop isn't "unfair," it's a choice. You're choosing to crew a ship by yourself and you're assuming all of the risk that comes along with that...but you're also reaping all of the reward. Find yourself a reliable crewmate, or deal with the added difficulty of playing solo. A single-person boat, as you've described it, would be unfairly overpowered in relation to other vessels. All the autonomy of a solo sloop with added advantages that make you nearly impossible to stop if you're any good.

And just to address a few of your points:

-Reaper's mark is used for a whole host of reasons, not just "I want PvP."
-Each ship has the potential to be faster than the other two (even the Brigantine), depending on how you're taking the wind.
-We don't need more ships on the server. Rare has done an excellent job with this. Just enough ships to feel threatened and to keep your guard up, but not so many that you can't run voyages if you choose.

@rc-boarf I am interested why you are requesting this. By your stats you have been here since the game dropped.
We went through the solo ship discussions. While the duo sloop is preferred, we have had sailors who solo it really well. It is a steep learning curve, but we have had sailors take down the Hungering Deep when it dropped solo before Meg was weakened. We used to stress it was the hard mode.

As fun as it would be to have another ship, I don't really see the need for a smaller ship.

@rc-boarf
The sloop is your solo ship. Making the anchor operate faster is a non-issue because don't use the anchor. Making the sails operate faster is a non-issue because they already drop instantly. The sloop already has speed and turning advantages over the brigantine and galleon so another ship with these advantages is unnecessary.

The only real disadvantage to playing solo is with fighting but that has very little to do with the sloop. If you don't want that disadvantage, then play with more people in your crew. Otherwise, know that you are choosing that disadvantage.

@rc-boarf

Let me just preface this by saying that solo play can definitely be a fun and challenging experience. I think we all really appreciate having the option to sail alone sometimes.

My personal feeling is that they should not do anything else to cater to solo play... Sea of Thieves is a social game. I think most of the fun is had when you're playing in a crew and encountering other full crews as well.

There's nothing really fun about sailing around and encountering a bunch of white sail solo sloops that have no desire to engage in the game's main attraction - social encounters with other crews... They have no loot, and no concept of how the game works. If I try to be friendly, they don't talk to me at all and mostly just run away. Then if I want to engage in a battle, it's so easy to take them down that it's sad. Adding a real single player ship only makes this problem worse.

In my opinion, solo play should put the player at a disadvantage (and it already does). I think players should be encouraged more to play in crews, keeping solo players limited to using the sloop (the ship that's balanced for two players) does a good job of reminding the player that something is missing from their session that they should go and seek out... another player to sail with.

TL;DR - Solo play is cool and should always be an option, but should not be catered for too much. Sea of Thieves is a social game and the devs should do all they can to encourage team play and the social encounters that make this game special.

@RC-Boarf although every idea is worth discussing it I simply agree with the others here. I have played a lot solo on the sloop and do not consider it to be unfair. PvE is not really a problem, as I have killed a couple of megs and krakens solo. The only thing you cannot really do alone is fighting other ships. But I don't see how a one-man ship should fix that problem. Sailing, shooting and repairing all at once is simply not possible in PvP. Moreover, SoT is basically meant to be a coop-game. That's why everything works faster together.
By the way, I also managed to get a reapers chest solo although a brig was chasing me. It just needs some practice.
If sailing alone is not your way of playing the game try the 'open crew' mode and try to get used to playing with randoms (on a sloop, brig or even the gallion).

One last thing: although I disagree with your idea I like the way you presented it. You clearly discussed why you think it would be an improvement of the game.
Would be nice if everybody would discribe and discuss his/her ideas more detailed instead of just quickly posting a new ideas.

Cheers
Mr. B.

Solo slooping isnt too bad.
You just need practise.

Ive killed a few galleon crews solo.
Im also fastest 50 percent of the time.

Regardless, a ship smaller than a sloop is basically a giant rowboat.
You wont be taking down any ships with that so even if you get your solo ship, the problem will still be the same, if anything it will be harder because more players makes it harder not the ship size.

@rc-boarf You absolutely do have another option: you could run with a crewmate. You could also crew the Brig and Galleon by yourself if you like, albeit much more difficultly. In your response to @Little-Squash you actually answered your own question. The solo-ship would be overpowered because you wouldn't have to choose between raising the anchor or repairing, you could do these things simultaneously (or at least it sounds like you're suggesting something of the like). And that's an issue. Teamwork, and the constraints that come along with it, are a balancing factor for the other ships. All of a sudden you can steer, repair, bail, shoot, raise the anchor, and adjust the sails by yourself and (by implication) at the same time. Overpowered.

The Reaper's mark can be used as a deterrent to PvP just as it can be used to showcase a desire for it. It's also necessary for some commendations. So no, it's not ALL about PvP encounters.

@rc-boarf said in One-person ship:

@Little-Squash But enemies use the anchor. And once it's down, you lose, since you can't take it up when you're solo on a sloop. Or you can, but you won't repair. Or you can repair, but you won't raise the anchor.

Secondly, it's obviously not about the speed the sails go down, it's about making them go left/right/up a little bit faster than with the sloop. Just like the sloop does it faster than the brig. Just like the brig does it faster than the gallion.

I just explained why another ship is necessary. What's the point of saying "the sloop does it already" ? Doesn't the brig have these advantages over the gallion ? What's the point of the sloop then ? You're missing the point.

Seriously, you guys are just responding "Well it's unfair to play solo, the only way to fix that is not to play solo". I mean, how is that a solution ? The game can be played with 1, 2, 3 or 4 players in a crew, but is adapted only to 2, 3 and 4-people crew.

Turning sails on a sloop is only advantageous if you are making the sails billow when doing so (i.e. if you can actually catch the wind). However, if you are trying to get away from another ship you should be sailing into the wind (sails don't billow). When sailing into the wind, the sloop will go its fastest if the sails are set to default (otherwise known as "set sails to stupid"). No adjusting of sails required. Also, very little advantage is gained by having two people operate the sails on a sloop at the same time. Nobody does that.

If enemies from a larger crew are able to board you and drop your anchor, then yes, you are at a disadvantage. But not because of the anchor. You are at a disadvantage due to the other crew being larger. Being able to raise the anchor a little faster isn't going to help with that.

1 vs. 4 is always going to be unfair in a PvP battle and that's the way it should be. However, the sloop is already designed such that even with only 1 person, it can escape from any other ship and so the balance is in the ability for a solo player to avoid the battle.

The sloop is easily managed by a single person and quite capable in the right hands. If you want an easier single-person vessel I recommend the rowboat.

Even having a smaller boat wouldnt help.
Still need a person to adjust sail, steer, fire cannons.
Other crews will have a person doing this at the same time, alone you are...well, alone. Sloop is easy to manage Solo though.

Solo ship wouldnt help, infact it would make it harder because they know a solo ship is alone and they know that if u are ashore there aint nobody aboard.

@rc-boarf said in One-person ship:

This game definitely needs a one-person ship, smaller than a sloop. Here's why :

• Being solo on a sloop is like being 2 on a gallion. It will obviously be less effective than a full crew on that same ship. But while you can choose to start your 2-people crew on a sloop instead of a gallion, you can't make that choice when you're solo on a sloop. This means you're always on disadvantage when you sail solo.

When I solo, I use a brig (unless I was skeletonship farming), it's faster and more effective. My buddy solos a brig all the time and actively engages in PVP. I think it just depends on your skill level.

@zormis Thats quite interesting.
You also give off the illusion theres possibly 3 people onboard too.

I prefer a sloop over the other ships mainly because I can always escape.

A 3 man brig will always catch a solo brig as they can coordinate the sails faster. A sloop on the other hand can outrun anything against the wind.

Maybe I'm a bit biased here but I learned the game sailing solo. I had a friend who showed me a couple basics but I was pretty much on my own. Solo sloop is a good way to learn the ins and outs but also a good way to appreciate that having a crew is better. A sloop is easy enough to handle solo but much better with two. I will still solo if none of my crew is available as it keeps me a proper paranoid pirate. But I think having a bunch of solo ships flitting around the map would make the game dull.

A solo sloop is easy and can be sailed no problem. A solo or duo galleon is way harder than solo sloop. There are many tactics and tricks to soloing a ship. The biggest disadvantage is hand to hand combat and that’s only because your skill holding you back. You don’t have to be a god to take out a galleon solo. You can out maneuver them. Stay in their blind spot. Keg them kill them while they repair. Making easier for less experienced players isn’t balancing the game. They have already made the game easier in their favor. If you can’t efficiently solo a sloop thats on you and your experience.

Edit: just had an after thought. Every time I duo sloop most of the time it’s only 1 person doing anything anyway because it’s so easy to manage the whole boat than it is to yell commands and hope it gets done when you want it to.

@little-squash I call them dummy sails. Rolls off the tongue better.

All I gotta do is yell dummy sails.

@andyxxpanda1290
Yeah, personally I'm more inclined to call them "square sails" (too much soccer I guess, a square pass is basically a perpendicular pass and the sails are being set perpendicular to the ship).

I'm sure there are many other things people call them...

On the forums, though, I usually bring up the "set sails to stupid" phrase just because I think it is a stupid mechanic that shouldn't be in the game. But it is... And Rare apparently has no intentions on changing it... So I will continue to use it when suitable.

@little-squash I’m not sure they intended on the mechanic or even if they could easily change it. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with what you call it I was just saying what I call it. A lot of noobs roll around and don’t touch sails at all. You see a lot of them with square sails when they could be moved into the wind. Not knowing what they are doing sails just didn’t click for some reason. So I call them dummy sails.

@rc-boarf I think we are talking past one another.
While you want a balanced ship for solo players, my point for solo sloop is that being solo is a skill rather than the ship being balanced for one player. By our choices nothing is balanced as we stock our ships differently and play differently.

We have had others post that they solo a brig as it provides more speed, so they can get across the map faster. Other crews don't have full galleon crews. If someone wants to solo, they will find there is a lot to learn.

We play however we like. I like to play open crews without a mic and force the chat wheel. Without communication, how do we teach new players? It's a set back, but it makes it more interesting for me. I don't ask for everyone to be denied mics in order to balance communication amongst the crews. It's just something I do for fun sometimes.

Don't assume that all pvp went to arena. I don't really get on Arena. It was supposed to be the quicker gameplay but it isn't. It takes too long to load. I log into open crew to help whoever needs it and when my game time is up I can just log off as I don't need rep or loot.

Hope this clarified some. If you like solo slooping, keep it up. You'll find the sloop is almost unsinkable even solo. You have to always be working, but that's what makes it so much fun. Happy sailing!

how about a rowboat lol

@athena-fortune5 said in One-person ship:

how about a rowboat lol

Ah.... too many seats :)

edit: One's a boat.... one's a Ship.
Sloop... plenty size as a 1-2 player imho.

@a-cry1ng-orphan what about a different version of a sloop? May still serve a crew of two but instead of the broadside canons it could have a single chase canon.

I personally enjoy playing the game solo, although I do have a regular partner I play with too, but when I'm not playing with him I'll often boot the game up for a few hours and solo-sloop around and have fun.

I honestly do just fine solo on a sloop. I have no problems sailing at all because everything is right around you. The wheel, the sail, the anchor. It's all right there, making it super easy.

The only problem you have when playing solo on a sloop is combat. If another 2 person sloop comes up to you, not to mention a brig or galleon with 3-4 people, and they start firing cannons at you, that's the only time that difficulty starts going up a bit. If they get in a good position and just unload a round of 10 cannonballs on your ship (or more if it's a brig or galleon), you can quickly go down. It can get way too hectic trying to steer and adjust sails and maneuver correctly around them (or away from them) while your ship is quickly filling with water and you also need to be downstairs both bailing water and repairing holes. That's really the only time when playing solo can come back to bite you.

But, the answer to that is to always look out around you, always watch the horizon, and keep your head on a constant swivel while you're sailing. Even if you're on an island and need to go in a cave, if you look from the top of the island in a full 360 around the map and don't see any ships on the horizon or anywhere, you are fine to run in the cave, quick do what you need to do, and get out and run back to your ship. If a ship did start appearing while you were in the cave, the most it will be is still on the horizon when you return to your ship so you've still got plenty of time to get out of there if you want to. The only way that a ship could come up and start firing on your ship while you're in a cave is either if you didn't look around before going in, or you did see a ship relatively close by and went in anyway, or you went in and spent 25 minutes standing in the cave.

You've just got to be more aware of your surroundings and be quick when you're on an island if you're playing solo in a sloop. If you do want to spend a bit of time on an island (like if you've got a Gold Hoarders mission and you have 7 chests to dig up and have to take each one back by yourself, plus you want to search barrels because you're low on supplies etc), then just keep looking around. Every few minutes, go to the top of the island quick where you have a clear 360 view, and look all around for ships on the horizon. As long as you keep looking out, you're fine.

And if you know how to sail and go around tight places like groups of rocks or islands quickly, you can always outrun a brig or galleon. Going against the wind with the sails squarely against the wind makes you faster than any other ship going against the wind and you will outrun them.

The other issue with having a smaller one-person boat is that if anyone does spot you, it makes you an instant target. This 100% tells the other ship that this is one person, playing by themselves. Easy target. At least in a sloop, you have the advantage of nobody really knowing if it's one person or two. 😊

@rc-boarf

Sailing a sloop solo optimally is pretty easy to be honest. My duo buddy complains more about the fact that when we sail together that he is bored, because I just move to quick and that he isn't even required to do anything while sailing. Now a days he can fish I guess. Funny fact, he tends to man the ship in combat, solo, while I am out and about ... swimming 😋

Sailing a sloop solo is pretty much fully optimized. The major advantage of a duo is the fact that one person can leave at any given moment or that one player can just be on the cannon while the other holds the angle.

The issues that you have with solo play, seems more of an issue with the fact that you are alone and can just do one thing. A smaller ship would not do much for a solo player in my opinion.