Game is impossible to play as a sloop PVE player.

  • Sigeth3334
    Sailor

    Hello,

    I'm playing the game since something like 3 weeks, and I'm going to stop playing in a sloop.
    Why ? It's just impossible to play, advance in our reputations and things, without being chased by a brigantine or a galleon.
    It's a real problem, since a sloop can't do anything against those 2 ships. And the 2 hours that I've just passed gathering ressources, results in : "sorry but you had a galleon against you lol"

    I know galleon and brigantine are stronger because there are a lot of people in there, but it's just too much. You can't play the game. I won't launch anymore the game as a sloop and it represented a lot of my playtime, but since I gain strictly nothing by playing 2,3 or even 4 hours, it's just wasting my time too much.

    I don't know how to resolve this issue, but it's so disgusting to just want to play chill and be chased 1 hour by a galleon to finally loose everything.
    Maybe a lobby reserved for sloops, something where it's not a lottery of "well I'll maybe be lucky in this lobby"

    Thanks for reading my message, I know the Sea of Thieves is of course dangerous, but since a quest is 1-hour long approximately, and you just loose everything because a ship is stronger than yours, I think it should be fixed. Or at least, that we can find something to be able to play normally as a sloop.

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  • Stundorn
    Castaway
    Insider
    Founder

    Fly under any Radar, dont do stuff that need you to lose attention of your parking vessel for too long.
    Watch the Horizon, dont use emissary flag, dont do things that take long.
    Instead grab loot floating around, do journeys that are easily done or dont do any journeys, but only pick loot that lay around, do captains, megs, skeletonsloops, wrecks...
    Turn in often and let nobody come close.
    Park the way you cannot be seen easily, if chased, sails to Front and Sail into the wind, try to sell by drive by an outpost or Sail into the Red sacrifice it all, board chasers by just jumping off and try to drop their anchor.

    It's a MP Game.

  • CotU42
    Lord
    Insider

    @sigeth3334

    Welcome new sailor.

    The sloop is a mighty vessel and it is viable to take on and even escape from the grasp of larger ships of the mighty Galleon and the slick Brigantine. Being a solo captain is one of the hardest aspects within the game and a true testimony to ones mastery of the seas. It is possible to do anything within the game by yourself with a sloop, but it is highly advisable to seek a crew; even a single pirate to complete your crew on a sloop will make a world of difference.

    You are indicating multiple hours of play before being confronted by enemy pirates. Therefore it is important to note the golden rule upon the waves to never sail with more than you are willing to lose. Sell frequently to ensure little is lost in the cases where you are sunk. Also, tall tales have check-points so fear not you can always continue from that point once you see the pop-up appear by voting for it on the captains table.

    A couple of basic pirating tips I can provide here:

    • Watch the horizon, especially as a solo it is important to frequently pause what you are doing and head to high ground to have a good look around you to spot sails on the horizon. That way you can make informed decisions and act in a way that suits you. There is nothing worse than hearing the roars of cannons while you are on the other side of the island.
    • When parking the ship, try to keep it near to the area where you are busy, face it towards the open waters and most importantly raise your sails and anchor while the coast is clear before you head ashore. This will allow you in times of need to hop aboard your ship and drop sails to quickly start moving.
    • Learn the sailing mechanics, on a sloop if you aren't fully bellow (catching the wind) it is best to face your sails forward - yes we know it makes no logical sense, it just is how it works and you are the quickest against the wind compared to any other ship in this position. Also it helps a lot if you understand the larger ships and where their strengths and weaknesses are. Once you learn how to gain distance and out sail your opponents you can pass by outposts and sell your loot during a chase.
    • Practice makes perfect, the voyages might take you long now though with some experience you will be tapping chests on your first hit and finding them with ease before you know it. Minimizing your time away from your ship is always advisable.

    There are many guides out there and content creators like Phuzzybond are highly recommended to learn. The game has a learning curve and being a solo captain is a challenge for sure.

    Good luck and happy sailing.

  • Galactic Geek
    Seafarer
    Founder

    @sigeth3334 You're just inexperienced is all.

    The sloop is actually the most maneuverable ship on the Sea and is the fastest of the 3 while sailing against the wind (since it has fewer sails to slow it down). It's also the easiest to sail in, as interacting with the wheel, sails, and capstan are all still faster than the other 2 ships, especially if you have a crewmate. Have you been sailing as a duo sloop yet? I highly recommend it - it's 1 of the most dangerous things upon the Sea, fully capable of taking down galleons, if experienced enough.

    Sure the other ships might have speed, bigger crews, and firepower - but that just means you have to think about your approach. And you don't always have to sink them. You can distract them or even bore them into leaving you alone. I hear a gunpowder barrel really helps in the former, as does boarding them. Manueverability will help with the latter. Cursed cannonballs straight up even the odds.

    And not all pirates are aggressive, though most are, so it's a good idea to keep your head on a swivel and be wary at all times - especially when in an alliance.

    Whenever possible, don't drop your anchor, so you can leave in a hurry if need be.

    Also, it's better to turn in your loot more often as a guarantee of payout - I recommend at least each hour just to be on the safe side.

  • Grog Minto
    Master
    Insider

    Solo slooping isn't playing the same game than playing with a crew. Even playing as a duo on a sloop will be drastically different.

    Solo slooping is playing a survival game. You always need to watch everywhere, be quick when on the islands and sell often enough never to get caught with too big of a haul.

    But it's a way of playing that is perfectly viable. I made it to PL as a solo sloop and plenty others did too.

    That being said, it's really more fun to play with friends, so I encourage you to find a nice crew. :D

  • CGallerine
    Commander
    Insider

    You can't play the game. I won't launch anymore the game as a sloop

    Maybe if you refuse to learn from videos how to use sloop better, and then say it's impossible to play as a sloop, might be for the better.

    Solo sloop isn't supported by the devs because they want people to find a crew

    Sloop is the most manouverable ship in the game. Bringing down someones sails and circling them on sloop is one of the strongest tactics in the game, its smaller, it turns better, and is also the fastest ship in the game against wind.

    Learn the game before you hate it.

  • Iceman D18
    Marauder
    Insider

    @sigeth3334

    As others have said, Solo Slooping is effectively 'Hard Mode' in the game. When the game was first released it wasn't even a thing!

    I'd suggest taking the time to learn the game a bit more, check out the likes of PhuzzyBond on YouTube and use the different LFC groups (on here, on discord etc) to find some crew mates who are willing to help you learn!

  • Galactic Geek
    Seafarer
    Founder

    @iceman-d18 Ooh, I do enjoy Phuzzy's how-to videos. 😁

  • Clumsy George
    Champion
    Insider
    Founder

    @sigeth3334

    The real problem is that New Players don't have Friends who play this game and jump in , right away, in a Sloop , all by theirselves... True , that is not a crime but ... i would still try to press to Rare's Heart to put some kind of warning next to this play option.

    When playing Solo Sloop , you simply play the hardest way of Piracy you can get in this game . Simply , you are responsible for everything , going from sailing , fighting , bailing , repairing , sailhandling and so on and on. And that while Brigantina's or Galleons have 3 to 4 people to handle all this.

    But , if you would first try to find a Friend or a Crew that would like to teach you a bit you would start to see the same game into a whole different light ... Yes , i know , you have tried a random crew and they didn't talk , threw yer treasure over board or simply didn't do a thing on board ... Yep , that sort of people excist , in here , as well as in any other multiplayer game.

    But , we all have met others too , that fought like lions and worked like horses , so don't give up...

    Now ,to come back to your story ... You have gathered treasure and resources for two hours and lost it all... What we do is , putting all our resources into a rowingboat together with our treasures ... From the moment we see that we are going to be followed and harrased , we make a tight turn to create distance between us , a few times , then when we have some distance , we drop the rowboat and one of us rows away ,while the other lures the big ship away...

    Later ,when the treasure is cashed in , we pick up the rowboat and sail on with all our resources located in one little crate...

    That's just one way to deal with this as this game has many solutions to your problem...

    Later , when you get some more experience , you will see that a Sloop isn't that "poor" at all... True it has one canon at each side ,but it has also a very small depth , can turn a Galleon as silly as a drunk monkey and is therefore ,in the right hands , a true menace towards the big ship...

    In all honesty , i fear the Sloop more than a Galleon when i'm on one of the bigger ship , purely because it stings like a bee , but is as hard to catch as an eal...

    So , my dear New Blooded Pirate , don't give up , this game growns on you in time and by the encounters you make in enemy and as well as in Friends ... You may feel that this is a time investment with little or no succes but i can intrust you that from the moment you escaped or sunk the pursuer , the True Pirate in you will Roar it's Throat over the Waves of Our Beloved Sea...

  • SkelCurseIRL
    Marauder
    Insider

    The sloop is the most dangerous and I solo brigs and the occasional gall. You just need to practice and learn and stop saying PvE. Just go out and PvP on purpose and lose your butt off until you get better. It's a lot of fun. The game will always have both elements to it.

  • EliteReactor148
    Rogue
    Insider

    @sigeth3334 said in Game is impossible to play as a sloop PVE player.:

    Hello,

    I'm playing the game since something like 3 weeks, and I'm going to stop playing in a sloop.
    Why ? It's just impossible to play, advance in our reputations and things, without being chased by a brigantine or a galleon.
    It's a real problem, since a sloop can't do anything against those 2 ships. And the 2 hours that I've just passed gathering ressources, results in : "sorry but you had a galleon against you lol"

    I know galleon and brigantine are stronger because there are a lot of people in there, but it's just too much. You can't play the game. I won't launch anymore the game as a sloop and it represented a lot of my playtime, but since I gain strictly nothing by playing 2,3 or even 4 hours, it's just wasting my time too much.

    I don't know how to resolve this issue, but it's so disgusting to just want to play chill and be chased 1 hour by a galleon to finally loose everything.
    Maybe a lobby reserved for sloops, something where it's not a lottery of "well I'll maybe be lucky in this lobby"

    Thanks for reading my message, I know the Sea of Thieves is of course dangerous, but since a quest is 1-hour long approximately, and you just loose everything because a ship is stronger than yours, I think it should be fixed. Or at least, that we can find something to be able to play normally as a sloop.

    I’ve managed on a sloop on my own and yes I’ve had issues but I’m careful where I sail to avoid combat.

  • Shadow20642
    Marauder
    Insider

    @sigeth3334 said in Game is impossible to play as a sloop PVE player.:

    Hello,

    I'm playing the game since something like 3 weeks, and I'm going to stop playing in a sloop.
    Why ? It's just impossible to play, advance in our reputations and things, without being chased by a brigantine or a galleon.
    It's a real problem, since a sloop can't do anything against those 2 ships. And the 2 hours that I've just passed gathering ressources, results in : "sorry but you had a galleon against you lol"

    I know galleon and brigantine are stronger because there are a lot of people in there, but it's just too much. You can't play the game. I won't launch anymore the game as a sloop and it represented a lot of my playtime, but since I gain strictly nothing by playing 2,3 or even 4 hours, it's just wasting my time too much.

    I don't know how to resolve this issue, but it's so disgusting to just want to play chill and be chased 1 hour by a galleon to finally loose everything.
    Maybe a lobby reserved for sloops, something where it's not a lottery of "well I'll maybe be lucky in this lobby"

    Thanks for reading my message, I know the Sea of Thieves is of course dangerous, but since a quest is 1-hour long approximately, and you just loose everything because a ship is stronger than yours, I think it should be fixed. Or at least, that we can find something to be able to play normally as a sloop.

    Solo slooping is easy.

    Ask for tips or uninstall the game.

  • WolfManbush
    Champion

    Play on the far west side of the map. It's clear, open, bright, beautiful and you have the red sea covering your west side

    As a solo slooper your main disadvantage is less eyes and ears. This leads to people getting tucked on and ambushed more and easier

    but the good news is that you can make plenty from your boat and rarely need to leave it. Skelly ships and megs are both profitable, common, and they drop valuable items. You can keep shipwreck voyages active and just go up and down the far west side picking off megs, skelly, ships, and shipwreck voyages.

    Use a merchant emissary. Easiest to level and all the above drop lots of merchant stuff. Sell gems to the merchant as well

    You want to keep moving and keep on the ship it'll make your life a lot easier. Don't stack a bunch of loot. You are by yourself it takes forever to sell stuff so sell any time after grade 3.

    Sell your most valuable stuff first in case you get ambushed all the good stuff is sold.

    Know your server. When you see people sailing around not keeping close to you they are valuable to you because they are taking server space and not currently attacking you. Don't attack them and don't try to get close to them. A non hostile ship doing their own thing is more valuable to you than any loot they have on their ship. Don't mess with alliances and trying to be friends unless you have no choice.

    If a server goes south waste no time. Time is best served being productive and getting spawn camped or running for 2 hours isn't productive. Make the tough choices early and spend the time on a new server getting more loot.

    Fight attackers rather than run. Gretzky was right you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. You might win. You will gain valuable experience. It's tough losing and it's tough losing loot but it doesn't matter you'll eventually be rich anyway. Once the server has been established as hostile the server is toast anyway so you might as well bet on yourself, take the fight, and whatever happens happens then either turn in your winnings or go to a new server and try again.

    Put in the effort then believe in yourself. Nothing is fair but you battle through it anyway. Take the pain. Calm down. Dust off. Re-engage

  • RockAce26
    Marauder

    Turn in often, if you start getting chased sail against the wind, if you have another person on your crew try boarding, go in-between rocks where it's harder for less maneuverable ships to go.

  • Chronodusk
    Commander
    Insider

    @sigeth3334

    Even though Sea of Thieves welcomes a wide variety of play styles, there is definitely an emphasis on experiencing the game with a crew. Team play and unpredictable shared world experiences is the core of the game. Solo play is not the recommended experience for beginners, and they cannot divide the player base by adding sloop only lobbies.

    It's probably best you chalk this up to inexperience and try to get better before asking for something to change.

  • OPER8TOR DON
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    My friend and I who duo sloop have felt the same early on in our seas journey. Solo is hard, even the pros say its challenging. Find yourself a good shipmate and trust me, watch some phuzzy bond or mixle and stay positive, engage in pvp as much as u can so u can fight for u wright to sail. We can now take on sloop briggs and galls with just two of us. Sometimes we sink, most of the time we triumph and man it's the best feeling!

  • Monke6851
    Seafarer

    Mate even when I encounter other ships which is a rare occasion in itself, a lot of my encountere have been friendly players. One time a guy even gave me a storage crate of the damned. Not all players in this game are toxic pvp idiots (cough reapers bones cough)

  • Galactic Geek
    Seafarer
    Founder

    @alphawolf123905 said in Game is impossible to play as a sloop PVE player.:

    Not all players in this game are toxic pvp idiots (cough reapers bones cough).

    To be fair, not all Reapers are toxic PvP idiots - for example, many pirate crews just use it for the bonuses or as an attempt to ward other crews away. Just the other day, I used it, along with all of the Mercenary cosmetics, to draw up attention and business and sell my services to the highest bidder to the other crews on the server, which was surprisingly fun as I turned on former employers in favor of their higher-paying foes.

    "Sorry - it's not personal; it's just business."

  • MrMalfor
    Master
    Insider

    "be chased 1 hour by a galleon"

    -The question is not "why the galleon chase me 1 hour"
    The question is "why you running from a galleon 1 hour"

    Joke.

    Yeah its hard at beginning.
    But if you practice enough and WANT to be a solo slooper, you can get the skill to see a brigantine as breakfast.
    Galleon is beatable too.

    Its hard at the beginning, but rewarding the more you practice.

    From a solo slooper since 2 years.

  • MrMalfor
    Master
    Insider

    @iceman-d18 sagte in Game is impossible to play as a sloop PVE player.:

    @sigeth3334

    As others have said, Solo Slooping is effectively 'Hard Mode' in the game. When the game was first released it wasn't even a thing!

    I'd suggest taking the time to learn the game a bit more, check out the likes of PhuzzyBond on YouTube and use the different LFC groups (on here, on discord etc) to find some crew mates who are willing to help you learn!

    "When the game was first released it wasn't even a thing!"
    A lot of people say that the sloop wasnt in the game at the start. But thats not right. In videos from 2017 you can see sloop videos.

  • WolfManbush
    Champion

    People say it's hard mode and all that and for a while that's true but really after some experience I've always found it to be easier under certain and common conditions

    Unless you're part of a well coordinated and skilled regular crew (most people aren't) solo slooping is often easier imo

    why?

    you live and die by your own decisions.

    You don't have people messing with the wheel after you set it how you wanted it. the sails are how you want them. people aren't messing with anchors, people aren't taking/wasting food you need and special balls. They aren't on the cannons when you're a better use on them at an exact moment. You aren't having to think about all these other people making all these other decisions or no decisions at all and giving directions/making decisions on performance that is out of your control. In combat if you have experience you're usually much better off solo than with an inexperienced or low skill crew imo.

    Having a crew can help greatly when they have a role and they do that role well but that's not something you're likely to be a part of anyway if you're not actively pursuing a crew on a forum or discord or something or just get very very very lucky in an open crew.

    There are pros and cons of course but overall solo sloop often is the more efficient way to go for a lot of situations that people are commonly in.

  • Sigeth3334
    Sailor

    Well, thanks everyone for your advices
    I have to say that I wrote this post by being a lot frustrated after many hours wasted by solo-slooping
    Anyway, I'll try to watch those Phuzzybond videos, and try to sell more often
    Again, thanks for being welcoming, and I'll see you on the Sea of Thieves, and I hope you won't sink me !

  • COMBATxKITTY
    Commander
    Insider

    @sigeth3334 said in Game is impossible to play as a sloop PVE player.:

    Well, thanks everyone for your advices
    I have to say that I wrote this post by being a lot frustrated after many hours wasted by solo-slooping
    Anyway, I'll try to watch those Phuzzybond videos, and try to sell more often
    Again, thanks for being welcoming, and I'll see you on the Sea of Thieves, and I hope you won't sink me !

    If you like I wrote up alot of tips for solo sloopers as I use to be one myself. I can PM it to you if you would like. Just let me know.

    You can be a very successful solo slooper once you get the hang of it.

  • CptnPotBeard
    Legend
    Insider

    You just need more experience is all. Like others have said maybe take a few sessions to just go out and try to attack other ships and don't worry about getting gold that day. The only skill in this game is really just experience over hours played. You learn little things about certain places to stand while bucketing or how much water you can let in before bailing so as to maintain combat pressure. When to patch versus when to keep bailing. Try to just have fun and experiment. This game is about the glory of daring exploits and things going horribly wrong. All the gold does is let you look a little shinier but doesnt change the gameplay. So focus on playing and learning so that way you can sink galleons one day as well. I've solo slooped majority of my playtime since day one. Got to pirate legend mostly through sinking other ships and stealing treasure. It is definitely much harder then playing with a crew but it can be done. Also a good duo sloop crew will beat a good gally crew any day. So just go out and practice and have fun. You'll get the gold eventually. Think of it less as a grind or race and just enjoy the experience.

  • BurnBacon
    Vanguard
    Insider

    I know galleon and brigantine are stronger because there are a lot of people in there, but it's just too much.

    This alone is incorrect. More people doesn’t make for strength. Solo sloop can out match a galleon with prep work and understanding.

  • WarOnPants2664
    Master
    Insider

    @burnbacon Oh dear. I've been gone for over a year and y'all are still making the same disingenuous arguments :/

  • Sigeth3334
    Sailor

    @combatxkitty I would love those tips !

  • COMBATxKITTY
    Commander
    Insider

    @sigeth3334 said in Game is impossible to play as a sloop PVE player.:

    @combatxkitty I would love those tips !

    I PM'd them to you.

  • Galactic Geek
    Seafarer
    Founder

    @combatxkitty If you don't mind, I'd like to see those tips as well - to see if there's anything I might be missing or neglecting.

  • Iceman D18
    Marauder
    Insider

    @mrmalfor

    No one has said the sloop wasn't in the game....The sloop has always been there, but when the game first released you couldn't sail it Solo, you had to have a crew (be it Closed crew with a friend or Open Crew with a Random).

  • KlutchxKay
    Legend
    Insider

    @sigeth3334 hit me up on xbox if you need a crewmate! 😏

  • IllBushido305
    Legend
    Insider

    @stundorn said in Game is impossible to play as a sloop PVE player.:

    Fly under any Radar, dont do stuff that need you to lose attention of your parking vessel for too long.
    Watch the Horizon, dont use emissary flag, dont do things that take long.
    Instead grab loot floating around, do journeys that are easily done or dont do any journeys, but only pick loot that lay around, do captains, megs, skeletonsloops, wrecks...
    Turn in often and let nobody come close.
    Park the way you cannot be seen easily, if chased, sails to Front and Sail into the wind, try to sell by drive by an outpost or Sail into the Red sacrifice it all, board chasers by just jumping off and try to drop their anchor.

    It's a MP Game.

    Why would you suggest they Red Sea sink their loot if they get contested? You realize that this is a big issue already don’t you?

  • Stundorn
    Castaway
    Insider
    Founder

    I quote you from the other thread.

    Why should it work like you want?
    Let everyone play like he want to,
    Tools Not Rules.

    I roleplay and i sail all loot in the shroud.
    Got it ?

  • GUNNER646
    Commander
    Insider

    Take your time to learn the small things in game to help you and give an advantage in battle.
    Also try and change the mindset of PvE player. The game is designed to be pvpve. The game is best played when you accept and incorporate everything into each play session

  • theOrneryBear
    Seafarer
    Insider

    @iceman-d18 said in Game is impossible to play as a sloop PVE player.:

    @mrmalfor

    No one has said the sloop wasn't in the game....The sloop has always been there, but when the game first released you couldn't sail it Solo, you had to have a crew (be it Closed crew with a friend or Open Crew with a Random).

    What on earth are you talking about? I solo slooped day 1 of release. You still clicked on closed crew like you do now and didn't invite anyone. Same then as it is now.

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