Why is solo even an option

  • xCLAN MARKSMAN
    Castaway

    I don't want to deal with the idiots on open crew (all people do is be toxic, what's the point) so I'm solo as my friends don't own the game. I spent over three hours on a skelefort of fortune today and didn't even get to finish it, as someone snuck onto the island and 1 shot me (yay weapon balance that doesn't exist) and sunk my ship without making a single noise somehow. I dont care that he came to kill me, (pve only servers please) But what I do care about is the length of time.

    If you allow people to solo you must balance the game accordingly. Its insane to take 3+ hours on a single fort. (yes i used cannons and gunpowder). Why bother doing world events if this is the expectation. I think everyone is at this point now, which is why I have yet to see a single other person do a world event.

    You need to balance these world events for single players, or just take the hint from every other multiplayer and have the exact same number of players on a crew everytime

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  • WolfManbush
    Champion

    A negative and unproductive outlook you have there

    Open crew is a smorgasbord of personalities they all aren't anything they are people from all over that act all sorts of different ways and enjoy playing with a crew. If you look to have a negative opinion about someone without knowing them then you'll always succeed in that. Go into it with an open mind and a chill perspective and it'll be alright enough times to make it worth it.

    As for playing solo just adapt to what makes the most sense for your situation and skillset. Soloing events is for the big dogs of solo play. You can make more gold and faster as a solo by just taking out skelly ships and megs and working the faction of your choice

  • Alymon
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    I regularly play solo and I pick and choose what content I do as a result of the crew I'm with or am not with. If I'm solo, I'm not doing forts. If I want to do forts, I find a crew through the many avenues open to me to do so.

    I'm all for being left alone by other players, but if you play solo, there's risk to it.

    The game is a multiplayer game. Playing it solo doesn't change that it is still a multiplayer game. When you play an MMO like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy, do you complain because they add raid content meant for 24 people and you can't do it by yourself? Each component has a design and isn't intended to be done by all manners of crews.

    edit:
    If you need a crew to play with, I suggest checking the Sea of Thieves discord server or one of the alliance discord servers. There's always people looking to play there and you can usually fill out a ship for any content you want to do.

  • Ghostpaw
    Legend

    @xclan-marksman Don’t do forts (ship clouds), Ashen Lords (the fire tornadoes), or fleets (ship clouds and the talking skellies head) if you are solo and want a greater chance of completing content in relative peace. Flying an emissary flag is also a bad plan. All of these aspects of the game were designed to draw different crews together (in friendship or conflict) on a server. You were never meant to do these things solo. The truth is, solo play and sloops were not actually in the game’s original design. They were added because so many asked for it. Rare agreed to do it while warning us this would be considered playing the game on “Hard Mode” as we made our way on the seas. You can play it solo, but stick to the easier content until you are more skilled at spotting and handling other crews.

  • Nabberwar
    Lord
    Insider

    @xclan-marksman

    Why is solo even an option

    Why expect a solo experience from a game that advertises itself as nothing like that? Ya'lls buyers remorse is just tiresome. This game doesn't advertise itself as this single-player adventure game, stop expecting to succeed when you play the multiplayer game by yourself. Solo if you can handle it, but don't expect the world to reshape itself so that you are guaranteed success.

  • xCLAN MARKSMAN
    Castaway

    @wolfmanbush I got the game 4 days ago. I went with a chill perspective. There is little to no information about stuff actually in the game. Turns out I went to a red skull instead of a green skull and I didn't know the difference.

    But the bigger question is Why is soloing events for the big dogs? That doesn't sound like a balanced experience or intuitive at all. when I log in I either:
    A) do a quest for like 200 gold - woo so much
    or B) go to the huge floating thing in the sky that gives more gold.

    The game pushes you to do world events. You make 0 progress unless you do.

  • xCLAN MARKSMAN
    Castaway

    @alymon I haven't played ff or wow, but those are games from a different genera and play differently. This is an adventure pvp game where Solo is an option, so why are you expected to magically know what you can and can't do solo?

    also lol join a discord. That means the community at large knows there is an issue and it hasn't been fixed.

  • Alymon
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @xclan-marksman said in Why is solo even an option:

    @wolfmanbush I got the game 4 days ago. I went with a chill perspective. There is little to no information about stuff actually in the game. Turns out I went to a red skull instead of a green skull and I didn't know the difference.

    But the bigger question is Why is soloing events for the big dogs? That doesn't sound like a balanced experience or intuitive at all. when I log in I either:
    A) do a quest for like 200 gold - woo so much
    or B) go to the huge floating thing in the sky that gives more gold.

    The game pushes you to do world events. You make 0 progress unless you do.

    I think maybe you should read some articles and watch some videos on solo content or things new players can do. I've spent the vast majority of my time solo. There's plenty of ways to make money solo. Is it as fast as with a full crew? No. It never will be. But there's lots of ways to make decent coin by yourself.

    Things that come to mind for me:

    1. Tall Tales have a decent payout at the end. It's generally not proportional to the time, but they are a fun way and can mostly be done solo with little interruption (except for the newest ones).

    2. Treasure Vaults for Gold Hoarders (may not be available until you reach a certain Gold Hoarders level). You don't have to do the vault, just finding and digging up the key pays well.

    3. Shipwrecks often have reasonably decent loot in them to sell for more than 200 gold.

    4. Pretty much any merchant alliance voyages to transport cargo or find a cargo manifest pay well.

    5. Explore. There's treasure in so many random places if you just wander around looking.

    6. Megs/Skele Ships give decent loot, but these are a bit more random.

    Ultimately if your goal is making money, finding an alliance server and spending a few hours there is the way to go. If you're trying to have fun, that's vastly dependent on what you enjoy doing, but if you only play solo, it means picking and choosing the content you take on. Devil's Roar is usually less populated with players and might be an ok place for you.

  • xCLAN MARKSMAN
    Castaway

    @ghostpaw so if i'm reading this right, people were tired of open crew because people were toxic, added in solo sailing to get away from toxic people, then rare didn't rebalance the game for solo sailing? just seems counter intuitive for a new player, join a crew of people who just yell at you, or go solo and not be able to play 3\4 of the game

  • theOrneryBear
    Seafarer
    Insider

    @xclan-marksman They didn't add solo, solo has been in the game since day one. Anyone claiming otherwise is misinformed or being dishonest.

  • Alymon
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @xclan-marksman said in Why is solo even an option:

    @alymon I haven't played ff or wow, but those are games from a different genera and play differently. This is an adventure pvp game where Solo is an option, so why are you expected to magically know what you can and can't do solo?

    also lol join a discord. That means the community at large knows there is an issue and it hasn't been fixed.

    I believe you meant "genre", but that doesn't change the point. Games have a design. Genre is rarely the sole factor in that design. This is more akin to an MMO than just an "adventure pvp" game. No one said you need to magically know what you can and can't do solo. Part of the fun is finding out through experience. If you don't want to find out through experience, you can certainly google "solo options sea of thieves" and likely find plenty of guides out there to support you in your journey.

    Join a discord is just a way to find like-minded individuals who might be more likely to want to do the same content as you since you aren't randomly matched with a crew then. The in game matchmaking for open crew is fine enough if you don't want to use discord, though you always run the risk of a negative experience if the open crew has different goals or playstyle than you in mind. Discord just simplifies it so you can customize your experience better.

    Solo sailing has always existed in the game and has nothing to do with open crew vs toxic players. You are inferring something that doesn't exist. I strongly encourage you to watch some tutorials, read some articles, or maybe check out some streamers. Coming onto the forums and responding negatively to people trying to help you isn't really what the forums are for.

  • xCLAN MARKSMAN
    Castaway

    It was interesting to see everyone's responses. I have decided to refund the game (hopefully im over time because i didn't realize they refuse to balance a game for all the modes available to players).

    I bought this game because it had a solo mode and as adults my friends don't have hours and hours on end at the same time, so I would need to play solo and it looked fun.

    After talking to everyone here it is very apparent that a vast amount of content is "locked" for solo players unless you have tons of experience.

    Thanks for your time but I don't want to spend my limited game time avoiding everything.

  • Alymon
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @xclan-marksman said in Why is solo even an option:

    It was interesting to see everyone's responses. I have decided to refund the game (hopefully im over time because i didn't realize they refuse to balance a game for all the modes available to players).

    I bought this game because it had a solo mode and as adults my friends don't have hours and hours on end at the same time, so I would need to play solo and it looked fun.

    After talking to everyone here it is very apparent that a vast amount of content is "locked" for solo players unless you have tons of experience.

    Thanks for your time but I don't want to spend my limited game time avoiding everything.

    It's unfortunate you feel that way. There's certainly plenty of content for solo players, and as I said before, I play solo most times. I've had a blast with the game, even solo.

  • BurnBacon
    Vanguard
    Insider

    Solo player here and I disagree with everything.

    It’s balanced as it is. Solo is hard mode as many will claim it. You make it so.

    Always look for group instead of open crew.

  • alexbrown0107
    Seafarer
    Insider

    @xclan-marksman Game has a learning curve. Certain world events will bring a lot of attention to you. I recommend running an open crew sloop until you get more comfortable.

    I used to solo sloop exclusively and it is a great way to experience the game. Recently I've started to open crew sloop and brig and the majority of the time it's a very fun, positive, experience.

    The game is also extremely balanced. Ships are intended to be used with the full crew number (sloop2, brig3, gally4). Using any of these ships with an underfilled crew will put you at a disadvantage, and you need to consider that when doing a FoF, which is inevitably going to bring more attention to you than just about anything else in the game.

  • CotU42
    Lord
    Insider

    @xclan-marksman

    No content is locked, I have done them solo. Yet what you seek is an easy mode... that however is not what solo is. World events do not scale down, as they are community events that are meant to function as areas where we interact. They are the "end"-game that the game offers, with world bosses to take down.

    If you want an easier time in a multiplayer game... you crew up and create bonds with other people that play the game. There are open crews, I have met quite a few of the pirates I sail with through them, but you can also use LFG or any of the discord servers. There are options available to those that seek companions.

  • Ghostpaw
    Legend

    @xclan-marksman said in Why is solo even an option:

    @ghostpaw so if i'm reading this right, people were tired of open crew because people were toxic, added in solo sailing to get away from toxic people, then rare didn't rebalance the game for solo sailing? just seems counter intuitive for a new player, join a crew of people who just yell at you, or go solo and not be able to play 3\4 of the game

    Wow! You read that into what I wrote? Amazing! I had no idea I said anything of the sort. Sorry I mislead you. That is not what happened at all. I think you may be twisting my words to fit your own bias. I have sailed a lot of miles in this game, and half of it was solo. You can complete all of the content in this game solo. But some of it will take more skill to pull off than a typical player has in their first few weeks of playing. I can’t say it any clearer than that. If most of your interactions with other players ends up toxic, you might want to reflect on what the common factor is in all of those interpersonal exchanges.

  • alexbrown0107
    Seafarer
    Insider

    @cotu42 Just to add to this, as you said Forts are community events. They are not supposed to be easy singleplayer quests. Clearly by design they are meant to bring a server together, and potential battles for the fort loot. I've never done a fort, especially a FoF, without anticipating confrontation.

  • Alymon
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @alexbrown0107 said in Why is solo even an option:

    @cotu42 Just to add to this, as you said Forts are community events. They are not supposed to be easy singleplayer quests. Clearly by design they are meant to bring a server together, and potential battles for the fort loot. I've never done a fort, especially a FoF, without anticipating confrontation.

    Yeah, same. As solo, it's doable, but always expect confrontation even on a regular fort. I've done it a few times, but I find it's not worth the effort and there are better ways to spend time in the game if I am solo.

    Basically anything with a giant cloud or effect visible across the entire server is going to be meant to create interactions between players and not generally mean to be for solo players (though could be in the right server).

  • Vaca Hombre
    Champion
    Boatswain
    Founder

    @xclan-marksman said in Why is solo even an option:

    After talking to everyone here it is very apparent that a vast amount of content is "locked" for solo players unless you have tons of experience.

    'Vast' may be overstating it a touch. The world events are the big paydays of the seas, and as such, they require the biggest time and risk. If it doesn't seem balanced for solo play... well, that's because it really isn't.

    Don't get me wrong, it's doable. There are many highly skilled soloers who can do it regularly. But the truth is that SoT IS focused around crews and solo players will always be at a disadvantage.

    But that's just the nature of the game. And this is coming from a solely solo slooper. I've gone it alone since I started playing during the alpha. Yes, I've mostly avoided the forts and fleets unless it's a time when I know few players will be on. And even then I usually just start them for fun; fully expecting to be interrupted.

    Unfortunately, I can't really give you any pro tips since I'm a pretty casual player who prefers to run or scuttle my way out of confrontations. I will say that playing solo in SoT takes a certain mindset. If you're looking to prioritize quick profits, then you're probably going to have a rough time. But if you can kinda just enjoy the act of playing regardless of how much you make, there's a lot there for a solo pirate to enjoy.

  • Alymon
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    What's up fellow solo slooper alpha player who is pretty casual! It won't let me tag you because it says the first part of your name is not allowed..... odd.

  • Vaca Hombre
    Champion
    Boatswain
    Founder

    @alymon

    Yeah, it's been like ever since the first big forum overhaul. Inconvenient, but... eh, whaddya gonna do.

    alt text

  • WolfManbush
    Champion

    @xclan-marksman said in Why is solo even an option:

    It was interesting to see everyone's responses. I have decided to refund the game (hopefully im over time because i didn't realize they refuse to balance a game for all the modes available to players).

    I bought this game because it had a solo mode and as adults my friends don't have hours and hours on end at the same time, so I would need to play solo and it looked fun.

    After talking to everyone here it is very apparent that a vast amount of content is "locked" for solo players unless you have tons of experience.

    Thanks for your time but I don't want to spend my limited game time avoiding everything.

    In order to succeed as a solo you have to view this fantastical world of pure piratical imagination like Willy Wonka

    Entering this place with the mindset of Veruca will only leave you with salt

  • Schwammlgott
    Champion

    @theornerybear sagte in Why is solo even an option:

    @xclan-marksman They didn't add solo, solo has been in the game since day one. Anyone claiming otherwise is misinformed or being dishonest.

    This is just partly true...there was no option for open and closed crews at the beginning...so when you started a sloop on your own, you either got into someones existing crew or you got another crewmate by the time...don't remember when they added private crew to the game, but I guess 1-2 months after launch

  • Schwammlgott
    Champion

    @xclan-marksman sagte in Why is solo even an option:

    It was interesting to see everyone's responses. I have decided to refund the game (hopefully im over time because i didn't realize they refuse to balance a game for all the modes available to players).

    I bought this game because it had a solo mode and as adults my friends don't have hours and hours on end at the same time, so I would need to play solo and it looked fun.

    After talking to everyone here it is very apparent that a vast amount of content is "locked" for solo players unless you have tons of experience.

    Thanks for your time but I don't want to spend my limited game time avoiding everything.

    The game is actually pretty balanced imo...just need to know, what to do...solo is hard mode too...

  • Alymon
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @schwammlgott said in Why is solo even an option:

    @theornerybear sagte in Why is solo even an option:

    @xclan-marksman They didn't add solo, solo has been in the game since day one. Anyone claiming otherwise is misinformed or being dishonest.

    This is just partly true...there was no option for open and closed crews at the beginning...so when you started a sloop on your own, you either got into someones existing crew or you got another crewmate by the time...don't remember when they added private crew to the game, but I guess 1-2 months after launch

    Are you sure? It may not have been part of the Alpha, but I don't remember being forced to join an open crew as of the initial launch. (it's been a while so it's certainly possible I'm wrong on this)

  • Ghostpaw
    Legend

    @alymon said in Why is solo even an option:

    Are you sure? It may not have been part of the Alpha, but I don't remember being forced to join an open crew as of the initial launch. (it's been a while so it's certainly possible I'm wrong on this)

    It’s true. Sloops and solo play were not part of the original plan. Both were added before the game was released based on player feedback.

  • Alymon
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @ghostpaw said in Why is solo even an option:

    @alymon said in Why is solo even an option:

    Are you sure? It may not have been part of the Alpha, but I don't remember being forced to join an open crew as of the initial launch. (it's been a while so it's certainly possible I'm wrong on this)

    It’s true. Sloops and solo play were not part of the original plan. Both were added before the game was released based on player feedback.

    Yeah I remember the original design being for Galleons only basically, I just didn't remember an issue with open/closed crew other than during alpha.

  • Ninja Naranja
    Champion
    Insider

    Out of all the things to do solo, why would you pick the Fort of Fortune? I wouldn’t even attempt that with two pirates.

  • theOrneryBear
    Seafarer
    Insider

    @schwammlgott @ghostpaw @alymon

    You could 100% closed crew at launch. you were definitely not forced into playing with others. you could pick 1 player sloop. it was just a month or two in, they just called it open/closed and you picked the ship.

    I never played with anyone but my friend 2 or 3 times at launch and otherwise played for the first month solo. Never once played with another player on my crew besides my friend those couple times when I wasn't soloing.

    If you look at patch notes from when they added open/closed and look up articles from launch, you can find this info. I'm just not able to right now, sorry.

  • Ghostpaw
    Legend

    @theornerybear Earlier you accuse us of possibly lying or not knowing what we are talking about. Many of us are talking about pre-release. Sloops were also available at launch. What’s your point? I think you missed the point we are making. Someone asked why solo is even an option since the world is not very forgiving towards solo players. We are saying solo play was added based on player requests (pre-release) and Rare went forward with it while making it clear we are choosing hard mode by going it alone in a game that was not designed to accommodate it. They even had a loading screen tip that plainly stated this position. I wish they would put that screen back. It is doable but in some ways it is riskier and more difficult than splitting up tasks among crew members on a galleon.

  • theOrneryBear
    Seafarer
    Insider

    @ghostpaw I think you're being overly defensive, I did not call you a liar. People were not being clear that they were discussing pre release or launch. I've clearly stated at launch solo sloop was indeed a thing. OFTEN, people on this forum love to push the idea that at launch you could not solo sloop, which is not true. In my opinion, anything that happened pre launch, is still part of the development phase, and the devs saying "oh people don't want this, we should design the game to have it" negates the fact that in development they weren't planning and tested not having solo sloops.

  • IKobi Blade
    Seafarer

    We begged for solo, cause in open crew the players are either toxic or useless, only 1% are actually enjoyable voyages.

    If you lack the skill to play solo, go play in open crew instead, removing the solo feature won't help anyone.

  • Ghostpaw
    Legend

    @theornerybear said in Why is solo even an option:

    @ghostpaw I think you're being overly defensive, I did not call you a liar.

    Oh, well then I must have misunderstood you when you said this…

    @theornerybear said in Why is solo even an option:

    @xclan-marksman They didn't add solo, solo has been in the game since day one. Anyone claiming otherwise is misinformed or being dishonest.

    Seemed pretty clear. It was also after I said, “The truth is, solo play and sloops were not actually in the game’s original design. They were added because so many asked for it.”

    @theornerybear said in Why is solo even an option:

    People were not being clear that they were discussing pre release or launch. I've clearly stated at launch solo sloop was indeed a thing. OFTEN, people on this forum love to push the idea that at launch you could not solo sloop, which is not true.

    I must have missed that. Each time I have seen that said it is clear they are talking about pre-launch. Are you sure you are not just making assumptions about when they mean?

    @theornerybear said in Why is solo even an option:

    In my opinion, anything that happened pre launch, is still part of the development phase, and the devs saying "oh people don't want this, we should design the game to have it" negates the fact that in development they weren't planning and tested not having solo sloops.

    So someone asking why solo is an option and us explaining partial motivations during planning and testing is not relevant? That’s like someone asking why a home was designed a certain way and you saying any answers prior to its completion are irrelevant.

    Person 1: Why are there multiple windows rather than one along this wall?
    Person 2: Well, the wall is load-bearing so it was going to be too difficult/expensive to put in a support for the entire length.
    You: No. These have been this way since the day it was built. Anyone who says otherwise is lying or is misinformed. Only answers from the day of completion are relevant! The engineering and architectural phase does not count.

    Do I have that right?

  • theOrneryBear
    Seafarer
    Insider

    @ghostpaw you sure are hell bent on finding strawmen aren't you. My statement was not directed at you.

    Also, I was not speaking to development not being relevant, but someone making simple statements that solo slooping wasn't an option at launch, which people often do, is not truthful. This is all my point was, and you're clearly trying to make a big deal over something I was never arguing, please let it go.

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