Pirate Presitge (Optional Trading Company Reputation Reset + New Game Plus mechanics)

Every now and then I hear a veteran player, who is likely a streamer, consistently vent that once they max out their reputation there's nothing to really do but hunt other pirates and steal their loot instead.

See as a few commendations require certain loot to be stolen. Yeah I would end up doing this myself.

I like to see a new potion. Drink and it Resets "everything" besides your commendations (maybe) Gold and Doubloons. Titles are gone, lvls back to 0 and such. Make it fun, the potion also will say (All exp you earn is half) ^_^

@nex-stargaze

I don't disagree with your post but I have got to the point where I don't care about loot/rep/commendations. I log on to have an adventure and if I have a prosperous session then great, if I don't it's still great if I had fun. I have been sailing a few months more than you but am only maxed out in GH/OOS, got 73 MA today and the others will do their thing in their own sweet time no doubt. We were doing a merchant wreck voyage earlier today and got the captains key and all the clues but had to log off just before we got to the wreck to do other irl stuff. We sunk a few skelly galleys and played cat and mouse with another brig for a while and had a great session so all was good.

It's a bit like watching a good twitch stream of SoT can be like watching a good film, it's all about the adventures. It's not a 'striving towards something' sort of a game.

As someone who loves PVP far more than PVE, I would say this would get me back into voyages & regular quest rather than server hopping for a reaper/emisarries to sink.

@burnbacon You don't need a potion, if you're willing to lose everything you have you can simply delete your pirate and that resets everything.

I definitely want this feature and have wanted it for a long time. I have completed nearly everything including the shrouded ghost (Not the legendary hunter) and so I am left with just sailing around with friends making zero progress.

@wagstr I don't think I ever want to devalue the pure mystification of a genuine adventure. The problem is genuinely memorable ones feel like one in a hundred. Some players can only interact in certain ways because some ways bore the hell out of them, or the player they're communicating with isn't enough of a treat to go on an adventure with.

I've had my share of good adventures, but now when I log on, I either try to let the trouble come to me by raising a GH Emissary on my brittle boat the Ruby Royalty, or I bring the trouble to someone else by just going in cannons blazing, and that's assuming I'm not in a crew wanting to do the exact same thing. Players don't interact enough between one another due to buggy comms on the Xbox version, or completely one-sided motivations.

With Pirate Prestige, I wanted to give an experienced player the fashion and swag they earned from the past with the thrill of potentially getting hunted with all of the experience they've gained from their initial grinds, and then adding a new grind to make them get out onto the seas and get into trouble while delivering chickens or fighting skeletons, then making it more valuable so hunters can stay persistent, and the prestigious pirates can demonstrate their abilities as the pirates they are.

People can sometimes make better memories and moments simply fighting one another, and a good fight in adventure between two good crews is the ideal scenario for combat-oriented pirates. They can make new friends and do even more cooler shenanigans. Loot and the risk of losing it is a story in of itself, and the current state of the seas doesn't give that itch or desire like it used to back before world events became more common and emissaries were introduced.

@burnbacon said in Pirate Presitge (Optional Trading Company Reputation Reset + New Game Plus mechanics):

Titles are gone

Hopefully you mean titles earned through trading company promotion only. I have quite a few time limited titles that can never be earned again as well as some trading company titles I would absolutely not like to earn again (looking at you Cast Iron Merchant, Merchant Forager, and Merchant Shipwright)

@galactic-geek Grinding can be an adventure in its own right, like how delivering 500 cargo crates made me appreciate the simpler aspects of this game as a break from all the action everyone else can offer.

some other rewards locked behind prestige could be clothing and equipment for the new sets in the emissary ledger, or even new company themed emotes to show your dedication (or obsession) with that company.

@galactic-geek said in Pirate Presitge (Optional Trading Company Reputation Reset + New Game Plus mechanics):

If you're grinding, then you're missing the point.

This is a sandbox game, meaning the player can play however they want, right? Why doesn't that include grinding?

I should have probably said this in the original post, but think of this thread as a forum of additive suggestions! What I've laid down for Pirate Prestige is only a mere start to the possibilities that could be done within the game's grounds. Feel free to make your own suggestions in this thread to add to the idea! I'm interested to see what kind of ideas you all can come up with to make this Prestige system and New Game Plus mechanics even more expansive than ever!

That way, this suggestion can be a greater way to induce some brainstorming amongst the team at Rare, to see what could work, and what couldn't. The goal is to make this the PL update, or at least an extra additive mechanic to keep the game fresh and give us a new pirate status for veteran players.

@nex-stargaze Prestige pirates get access to decorate their own personal island out in the shroud?

@galactic-geek said in Pirate Presitge (Optional Trading Company Reputation Reset + New Game Plus mechanics):

@augspacussh said in Pirate Presitge (Optional Trading Company Reputation Reset + New Game Plus mechanics):

@galactic-geek said in Pirate Presitge (Optional Trading Company Reputation Reset + New Game Plus mechanics):

If you're grinding, then you're missing the point.

This is a sandbox game, meaning the player can play however they want, right? Why doesn't that include grinding?

Grinding can be its own reward, certainly, but it's often short-lived, leaving the pirate wanting more, as is the case here. Take your time and enjoy the experience. It doesn't need to be all work and no play. In fact, the only thing you should probably grind are the limited time events and seasons. As for everything else? Don't worry about it! The rest will all come in time.

While I agree with your sentiment, and I agree that grinding leads to a quicker burnout, the fact remains that a player who plays a sandbox in any way they like isn't missing the point, since the point is 'Here's a game system, some physical boundaries, and a toolset. Do what ye will!'

Instead of missing the point, I would say they are missing potential enjoyment, and even that is subjective.

@galactic-geek said in Pirate Presitge (Optional Trading Company Reputation Reset + New Game Plus mechanics):

The boundaries aren't all just physical.

Quite true! Those boundaries are created by the strengths and weaknesses of the game system + the toolset

So... you don't like that the grind has ended and want to prestige to gain a bonus to fly through it even faster? Now you prestige, smashed through the grind in 3 or 6 months and hit max level again.... yet now you earn more gold quicker and will get richer quicker so you will own everything even quicker to have nothing to grind for at all. Just because you are unsatisfied with your numbers no longer going up?

I rather have zero numbers go up and actual challenging voyages than just a boost in more reputation earned, gold earned and other aspects that actually reduce the time it takes to max out again...

Levelling up was never the real goal. I really enjoy being free of it. And just focusing on the thrill of the sinks, steals and adventures.

Having said that, I really do like the idea of a prestigious emissary flag that marks you on the map.

There’s some really cool thoughts in your post.

Basically stacking yourself with curses that make the game harder is a really interesting idea.

Some of us actually enjoy inviting conflict. And the reaper flag often does the opposite. What we don’t really have yet is a flag that says - we have good loot. Other than reapers chests and fort keys.

There’s definitely potential here. Good job.

@cotu42 The goal here is that veteran players need a good reason to PvE again and make progress in something to give the loot they haul, value. Newer players are often told to shrug off losing any amount of loot to a pirate, the pirates they lose their loot to don't care enough about it, unless it's fort loot or the Chest of Legends.

What happened to the tales of fighting tooth and nail just to deliver a bunch of chicken to their destination? Why is the loot we obtain on voyages very uninteresting? Why would I, a max level Gold Hoarder, have a reason to dig anything else up outside of self imposed challenges?

My post game shouldn't just be doing world events and stealing them from others to get a thrill out of the game, it's what I feel muddies the point of doing such things, to the point it has zero interest value unless it's stolen.

Pirate Prestige adds an extra buffer of options to post game so the idea of progression never truly ends. What's stopping someone from being prestiged and progressing through Merchant Alliance via steals only? I, nor Rare, believe we should make a random alt account to do such a thing, but we also shouldn't be completely resetting our pirate to do so either.

It's more to do, with more incentive and valuable options to have that thrilling pirate's life, long after you've peaked it the first time (before prestiging).

@nex-stargaze Just look at yourself 13 months/4 is 3 months and a week, while being experienced and not even considering the additional value of the treasure, no cast aways, no emissary system, etc slowing you down at the start.

You don't have to lecture me an Athena 10 year 1 pirate legend that hit is before all these additions of flinging Athena levels at you before you are a legend, other means than Athena voyages consisting of a single chest, etc. about what it means to be hitting end game.

You state you want veterans to have more reason to PvE... I as a veteran that loves PvE content is telling you, what you suggest is a minuscule amount of motivation before they simply turn to hunting others again with more targets! Anyone that goes for prestige after the first wave will deal with veterans hunting them down for PvP if they even start it at all and not simply go hunt from the get go! Isn't that your initial complaint to begin with? They are not out to do PVE and all you do is add more incentives to not do the PvE, but to hunt Pirates!

Want to motivate veterans to do PvE, give them PvE content that is a challenge, exciting, fresh, new and all that jazz! Reset their levels even if you want that with a prestige and make sure their grind upwards takes time... make it more difficult to steal and provide actual motivators to do PvE gameplay!

Simply adding numbers doesn't motivate most veterans to PvE... they will get it by PvP, as the PvE is just not engaging enough on its own! I love to do PvE, I have grinded most of my Athena 10 and legend status as a solo. I have done world events solo, this was a long time my main enjoyment! Yet what I usually seek out now are new additions like the tales and back to PvP! I am exactly the type of pirate you want to motivate... and I am telling you the numbers is not enough! This would motivate me to PvP more!

Weren't they going to up the cap to 100 for the main companies at some point in the future? It's entirely possible imagined that, but I thought it was a phase of overhauling the rep system and the companies, along with adding the new voyage types to incentivise engagement with the new cap.
I also thought (Again, while I probably imagined all this) that is why we have yet to see a 'Legendary Gold Hoarder', 'Legendary Merchant', and 'Legend of the Order' titles, because they were to be the level 100 titles.

@sirfandango We already have those titles, they're pirate legend commendation titles. 500 chests, 500 skulls, 500 cargo (merchant trader) and 500 animals (merchant of fauna)

@baronbrr I honestly didn't know that, I'm about 450 with most of them. Today I learned a thing.

Though it sucks that does mean there isn't going to be level 100 Legendary Gold hoarder, and so on. Feel like Rare put themselves in a corner with that one.

@sirfandango It doesn't mean they won't raise the level cap to 100, just means the top tier title won't be 'legendary'. We could still see 100 for the main trading companies in the future

@sirfandango Or the level 100 titles could be Lord of X since one individual company can't make you a legend, unless your athena's fortune.

I think prestiging is a good idea I think that it could even lead to skill based matchmaking where your put in to more skilful servers if you have a higher level of prestige

@galactic-geek I don't grind, but I have 3 commendations left. What do I do?

I personally want a way to prestige my commendations back to Grade I, while keeping the reward and a number in the corner for how many times I've completed it. I don't care if there is a reward, I just want my progress beyond my progression limits to continue to... progress? I believe I'd have Legendary Sea Dog III by now, or Hunter of the Ruby Splashtail XIV

@baronbrr hmmm, can't be Champion either since the Champion of Souls, Pendragon's Title, was time limited. Hmmmm...

@d3adst1ck The challenge for my suggestion was trying to cater specifically to veteran SoT players. These players have been the most dedicated and have been through all of the game's highs and lows. I wanted to give them a system that essentially gives no major benefit in comparison to an average player, but cosmetically tells players that "this is in fact a veteran player, and you will be in for a tough fight!"By default a lot of the features seem unnecessary, that's why my suggestion offers no enticing rewards. That way, only people who are interested may take on the challenge, but it is no requirement to beat the game.

I would like prestige if I could prestige just one faction at a time. I could prestige Hunter's Call and OoS but stay top or current level for other factions. No prestige until Pirate Legend tho. Also no level/xp/gold bonus for prestige.

I said prestige a lot and I hate it.