@orbit-storm said in Tall Tales — the story of the greatest ruse on the sea of thieves.:
@sandaledpond889 There's no need to be condescending. I appreciate the design of the series but if we're keeping it real, most of it is copy/pasted from one mission to the next, with a handful of name and location adjustments. There are some unique bits but even the Shores of Gold is just a retread of previous voyages.
Shores of Gold brought a huge new island to the world, reachable only with a special artifact to break through the Devil's Shroud, featuring unique puzzles, a gauntlet of interesting and unique traps, and an epic battle at the end. How is that "just a retread of previous voyages?" It's literally nothing like previous voyages. The puzzle vaults are consistent throughout the Tall Tales (which was intentional), but aside from that...I thought Shores of Gold was a very different kind of experience while still maintaining the flavor of the story arc.
Some of the Tall Tales before Shores of Gold were very unique, even if they reused some elements (like the puzzle vaults). And they all had their own rich stories, steeped in lore. The entire point of the Tall Tales was the stories.
I "get" that Rare wanted us, the players, to view these tales as some sort of masterpiece and be thankful for having the opportunity to do them but I paid for a game built on the premise of progression and was duped into a monumental time-sink.
There's a lot wrong with the above statement. First of all, I've never gotten the impression that Rare expected everyone to think Tall Tales was a "masterpiece" to be praised and worshipped by the unworthy masses. That said, I think it's a fantastic addition, implemented rather brilliantly given the mechanical limitations of the game. I never expected anything like Tall Tales to come to Sea of Thieves. You say the mechanics were "poor" but considering the nature of the game, I can't imagine how they might have done better. I'm sure they'd love to hear your suggestions, however, if you have some ideas for improvement.
Secondly, on what planet did Sea of Thieves ever suggest a "premise of progression?" This game has never promised progression of any kind aside from cosmetic. There literally is no mechanical progression in Sea of Thieves. I'm befuddled by your suggestion that you were "duped" into any part of this game. Did you not understand the premise of the game from the beginning? If you were referring to cosmetic "progression", then Tall Tales provided a lot of unique cosmetics along the way. Every tale had cosmetics of some kind for finishing, and even more if you grinded through them five times. I mean, really...what were you expecting? The game has always been more about the adventure than the reward. If anything, that is the "premise" of the game. Or to put it in the words of the Pirate Lord, "It's not about the gold, it's about the glory." That's fundamental to the game and always has been. There was no deception on the part of Rare here.
A handful of largely-bland cosmetics and 10k gold really undervalues the feat of completion given the poor mechanics of much of it.
I thought a 10k skull was a nice bonus at the end of an epic adventure. You're mistaking that as the "reward" for completion. It was never expected to be taken as the reward. The reward was completing the story. Everything else was icing.