Returning player

  • I was a day one player, played hard for oner a year, year off, back for a bit, time off again and now back again. Just for some context.

    Why has this game be dumbed down so much? Every time I return to this game, almost all aspects of this game get made easier. From collecting supplies, to world events. There is no challenge in this game at all, even as a returning player that has to get his eye in again there is no challenge.

    Is it that Rare insist on the “everyone’s included”, or “participation rewards for all” even if you come last?

    It’s ok to make things unforgivingly hard. Not everyone has to be able to do them, people are allowed to be left out.

    Sorry for the rant, it just saddens me.

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  • When you play how do you play? solo? crew? pve? pvp? both?

  • @pabio-escobar said:

    people are allowed to be left out.

    That's not how you grow a community - inclusion is king. Besides, time-limited events and cosmetics already do that to some degree.

    The Sea has been tamed over time, it's true, but it is no less exciting as new mechanics, enemies, tools, and adventures are routinely added. The real challenge comes from encounters with other pirates, or are self-made. For example, sailing solo, or choosing to go about on nothing more than a cannon rowboat.

  • It's because it sells.

    That's the sad truth.

    We need tutorials and explanations for absolutely everything, anything that could be potentially difficult needs to be made easy, because otherwise people might not want to play the game.

    So they make everything an absolute cakewalk, with Sea Forts and Shrines and PP and Daily Deeds handing out free gold to all the inexperienced people and then anyone else is just Forgotten. I mean it's taken what, a few years to get some decent endgame content (which is good content btw).

    But yeah, it's easier, because that's just business

  • @pabio-escobar

    While you view some of these changes as "dumbing the game down" I feel that they are some of the better changes for Rare to have made. A lot of these are addressing problems where people just want to get in and sail, not spend an hour when playing solo looting an island and sailing to a fort to get more supplies, or get in and do a quick sail and sell so they can play when they have the time and not get tied down for hours on one voyage. On the other hand, being able to buy supplies and fast loot has given a spot for the economy to spend some of the horded gold, because there is nothing to spend it on.

    On another note, I have a friend who has a child with a disability, some of these changes have made Sea of Thieves go from an unplayable game to something they share time playing because the changes have made it so the game is playable for him.

  • That's just Rare, they'll cater to xbox kids. They even do it at the expense of other minorities within the game.

    Anyone remember the great double-gun nerfening of 2019???

  • Yep, for sure, wrote a critique about the new forts and the amount of people that defended the difficulty for them was baffling. Literally could sail slowly on a galleon towards a heavily armed fort and not get any critical holes on the ship. The game has been around for more than 2 years and it somehow continues to stay superficial. The OG tales, basic 3 voyages, and so much more in the game is only a portion of what the game is capable of and yet for the most part, the game doesn't try to incorporate new fresh and wild ideas into them. I mean, just look at our tools, we have lanterns, pocket watches, emotes, grog containers, and even guns but almost none of these things are ever used in unique ways to solve puzzles or platforming sections (If they are used, they are done in very limited or basic superficial forms). One of the most recent adventures had one go to a destroyed golden sands, problem is that the only thing to do there is to talk to one npc or collect a compass. And the compass would just take you to a different island, so yeah so much opportunity and possibility wasted.

    Honestly don't know if it's because the devs have lost focus, if they never had it to begin with, or if another reason is present. In my opinion, it feels like the game has started to stagnate, they introduce "new" stuff to the game, but for the most part they either don't feel like fresh ideas, are painfully easy (Beyond easy), or are just rehashed material.

  • @officialaeon621 said in Returning player:

    That's just Rare, they'll cater to xbox kids. They even do it at the expense of other minorities within the game.

    Anyone remember the great double-gun nerfening of 2019???

    And when Eye of Reach skeletons got removed

    And when free Gold in the form of "challenges" became a thing

    And when swords got buffed

  • Why has this game be dumbed down so much? Every time I return to this game, almost all aspects of this game get made easier.

    Yeah it is a real shame there isn’t a very lot of grind or difficult things to keep going forward.

    But so far there aim has to please the newer players than anyone who has been playing and done most of everything.

    Hopefully the next road map is focused on the long term future

  • I hear what some of you are saying about inclusivity. But it’s ok to make at least one or two things that are sooo hard that even the veteran/sweats find them hard.

    Making everything easy is a bore, and Rare seem to cater more for people that “can’t”, and completely ignores those that “can”

    The point someone made about the forts missing shots is a perfect example of dumbing down. There was a time when just parking at a fort was a task in itself. Now your lucky they hit you once.

    Or bring back the gold skellie with snipers that never missed a shot. 😂

    The above are just two examples of hindered of minor adjustments Rare have made to make everything easy.

    If a particular event is to hard, don’t do it, that’s the way it should be. Other games have difficulty levels. Easy/hard/extreme.

  • @pabio-escobar said in Returning player:

    I hear what some of you are saying about inclusivity. But it’s ok to make at least one or two things that are sooo hard that even the veteran/sweats find them hard.

    Making everything easy is a bore, and Rare seem to cater more for people that “can’t”, and completely ignores those that “can”

    The point someone made about the forts missing shots is a perfect example of dumbing down. There was a time when just parking at a fort was a task in itself. Now your lucky they hit you once.

    Or bring back the gold skellie with snipers that never missed a shot. 😂

    The above are just two examples of hindered of minor adjustments Rare have made to make everything easy.

    If a particular event is to hard, don’t do it, that’s the way it should be. Other games have difficulty levels. Easy/hard/extreme.

    Hard leads to dead content. It's a session based game with shared servers of people of all types. Hard content is dead content.

    This game does much better on long term numbers like skelly ships and megs and krakens.

    In adventure if they brought in unique cosmetics for people that hit the high pve numbers it would actually keep people's interest.

    Legend of the sea of thieves and legendary hunter of the sea of thieves are the best (imo) titles in the game. Not because of how they sound but because of what they represent. Long term dedication to the environment, to the grind.

    More rewards of similar significance (retroactive based) would do well in this game. Significance doesn't necessarily need to be hard it just needs to be grindy and low on cheese. Skelly ships/megs/krakens stuff like that represent significant dedication and aren't cheesed to any significant degree.

  • @red0demon0 I will still defend the seaforts and how easy they are, BUT the cannons should definitly have a better aim...that's just ridiculous how they shoot

  • @pteth you obviously have no clue, what toxicity is...sinking others isn't toxic, it's part of the game

  • @ottyman8687 said in Returning player:

    It's because it sells.

    That's the sad truth.

    We need tutorials and explanations for absolutely everything, anything that could be potentially difficult needs to be made easy, because otherwise people might not want to play the game.

    So they make everything an absolute cakewalk, with Sea Forts and Shrines and PP and Daily Deeds handing out free gold to all the inexperienced people and then anyone else is just Forgotten. I mean it's taken what, a few years to get some decent endgame content (which is good content btw).

    But yeah, it's easier, because that's just business

    But they only give tutorials for the absolute essentials (through the Maiden Voyage and onboarding process), and not much else, because virtually everything else has to be discovered or learned. IMO, that's not hand-holding. Sure, they may have things like sign-posts to direct you, and sound-cues galore, that make things easier, but those are either quality of life essentials, or simply add to the accessibility options without breaking the overall balance to the game.

  • @officialaeon621 said in Returning player:

    That's just Rare, they'll cater to xbox kids. They even do it at the expense of other minorities within the game.

    Anyone remember the great double-gun nerfening of 2019???

    Xbox? Kids? Helping minorities?

    Since when are any of those things a negative? How rude!

    And the double-gun nerf? That was a much-needed QoL balance adjustment.

  • @pteth said in Returning player:

    @pabio-escobar they need to make it easier because the toxic part of the community has made it so that players dont want to waste their time playing the game only to get ganked and have to start again.

    "Ganking" other pirates, as you put it, is not toxic behavior. The pirates who lost just often complain because they got their feelings hurt over lost loot, and want the Sea to change for them, instead of well, learning.

    alot of folks i know just dont have that kind of time to waste.

    Hence why a lot of strides have been made to make things easier and/or faster.

    they REALLy want private servers and pve content.

    Only those who don't understand what SoT is trying to be.

    to be honest, if rare would do this, sales would probably jump substantially because those of us driven out by the toxicity would be able to play in non toxic environments.

    Actually, no - the reality is that PvE pirates would quickly grow bored and stop sailing altogether, while PvP pirates would have no easy prey to hunt and would eventually quit as well.

    the frustration and ridiculousness of it all make the game not worth the effort.

    So why are you here then? Why is anybody? It's because Rare is actually doing something right...

    and i love how pvpers that discuss this topic tend to shout about how they have the right to play the way they want to, they paid for the game.

    Funny how PvErs do the same. Alas, it is a shared world experience for both, and that was intentionally by design.

    But mention pve and being a viable choice and they flame you and insult you and talk down to you.

    Actually, most do both, because they're not solely PvP. As for those that talk down to others and that can't manage their emotions (regardless of their PvP/PvE affiliation, those are the truly toxic pirates upon the waves.

    private servers would solve the very problem youre talking about just by offering difficulty settings for you to customize, and you could just leave it open without a password to get plenty of strangers in there attacking you, or you could stay on officials.

    Maybe, but it may take too many a pirate from the Sea, and will likely be far less of an Adventure. After all, if they wanted you to set sail alone, then everything would have been done locally.

    ive quit playing this game with the hope of some day returning IF they ever give us private servers and a load of pve content.

    You simply don't understand - they have never stopped providing PvE content, and private servers, while a possibility, are a big if. Quite frankly, I'd rather just enjoy the thrill of my Adventures upon the waves as I create new experiences for myself and my crew.

  • @galactic-geek I guess the already OP, vortex inducing sword being buffed to the heavens was a QoL change too? Because you never seen a PvP player using those. It wasn't a balance adjustment, it a skill nerf over the cries of PvE players, nothing more, nothing less.

  • @ottyman8687 Never forget, The glory days! Before it became Sea of PvE and the sword/blunder weapon meta :(

  • @schwammlgott said in Returning player:

    @red0demon0 I will still defend the seaforts and how easy they are, BUT the cannons should definitly have a better aim...that's just ridiculous how they shoot

    The problem isn't that the difficulty for them is "easy" it's that it is so easy that it provides no challenge at all. The aiming on them is ridiculous, I don't expect them to all hit you, but when you're in a large vessel, and you have roughly 8 cannons targeting you and none of them hit with some shots literally going miles away from your location, and you happen to be right in the face of the cannon, well the end result is that one feels taken out of the game world, it makes no logical sense unless the phantoms happen to be wounded blind soldiers. The difficulty is beyond easy, it's to the point where you could do the forts blind, or with the least amount of energy required. Ultimately it doesn't matter because they are public events with the possibility of it ranking up in difficulty depending on other players attacking.

    Regardless, the point isn't that the challenge is easy, as more so that there is barely any challenge with AI acting in impossible forms (Such as shooting at you within close proximity and still missing by a long shot)

  • @pteth said in Returning player:

    @pabio-escobar they need to make it easier because the toxic part of the community has made it so that players dont want to waste their time playing the game only to get ganked and have to start again. alot of folks i know just dont have that kind of time to waste. they REALLy want private servers and pve content. to be honest, if rare would do this, sales would probably jump substantially because those of us driven out by the toxicity would be able to play in non toxic environments. the frustration and ridiculousness of it all make the game not worth the effort. and i love how pvpers that discuss this topic tend to shout about how they have the right to play the way they want to, they paid for the game. But mention pve and being a viable choice and they flame you and insult you and talk down to you. private servers would solve the very problem youre talking about just by offering difficulty settings for you to customize, and you could just leave it open without a password to get plenty of strangers in there attacking you, or you could stay on officials. Me? ive quit playing this game with the hope of some day returning IF they ever give us private servers and a load of pve content.

    I disagree, sales would drop because the majority do not want private servers. People will join up with like minded people, so you speaking of "other" players is just you joining a small minority group with the same ideals. It's not toxic, it's the way the game was meant to be played and so far, the devs have made it clear that they are against the idea of dividing the community in such a way as you have expressed. You can scream and shout all you want, but the response for now (and for as long as the game has been out) is loud and it's no. Of course you will be flamed by some, it's like talking to a wall when one consistently demands something that has already been rejected, their is no possibility of "only" private pve, but people still continue to "demand" for it. If you feel personally attacked though, just send out a report, devs and mods are usually very responsive. Anyways this isn't that type of argument, if you want to discuss it further you should pm me.

    @officialaeon621 The "glory" days of Sea of Thieves were barren, would rather have what we have now than go back to just doing the basic voyages over and over again till an active Skelly fort appeared, only to then rinse and repeat.

  • @officialaeon621 said in Returning player:

    @galactic-geek I guess the already OP, vortex inducing sword being buffed to the heavens was a QoL change too? Because you never seen a PvP player using those. It wasn't a balance adjustment, it a skill nerf over the cries of PvE players, nothing more, nothing less.

    Skill? Using an exploit is not skill.

    As for the sword, it is easy to use, sure (so-called spam), but it's also easily counterable (block and move). In any case, the sword was simultaneously buffed and nerfed - for example, it gained an overall speed boost, but lost its ability to continue combos off of hitting the environment, or cancel out of its charge attack.

    Ironically, there are nuances to the sword that 99% of pirates don't even know about, much less put into actual practice. In other words, almost every pirate upon the Sea under-utilizes the sword.

  • @galactic-geek Pretty sure my 25 years of FPS games and honing my mechanical aim was what killed them, and not an "exploit" (that console users could do themselves).

    The sword has never been anything close to what can be considered a nerf. It was already OP, then they took it from 5 hits to 4 to kill someone, kept the vortex, then gave it a speed boost? The sword doesn't require any level of skill, it's just W key and swing. Adding insult to injury, it doesn't hinder a player with the requirements of reloading and limited ammunition. As for counterable, you cant "block and move" with a blunder, EoR or Flintlock...

    Lets just agree to disagree.

    P.s. The sword can actually have it's charge cancelled by interacting with something (i.e. Harpoon, cannon etc.).

  • @officialaeon621 said in [Returning player]

    The sword has never been anything close to what can be considered a nerf. It was already OP, then they took it from 5 hits to 4 to kill someone, kept the vortex, then gave it a speed boost? The sword doesn't require any level of skill, it's just W key and swing. Adding

    In my opinion, it varies.

    If you board a galleon as a double gunner, everyone on board runs at you and infinitely traps you in a swordnado with infinite reach. It is broken

    But on an island...oh my. Sword is useless. With guns you can just sprint and do parkour across rocks and then snipe your pursuers.

    Basically, sword-lords and double-gunners are the main strategies, and the complaints from the opposing one come from (I assume) using them in the 'wrong' scenario

  • @red0demon0 you say the majority dont? how do you come up with this conclusion? what i see when i sail is most people stay away from each other…and im sure you see the same…so if thats the case then the majority doesnt like or want to pvp…which thus proves you wrong

  • @officialaeon621 said in Returning player:

    @galactic-geek Pretty sure my 25 years of FPS games and honing my mechanical aim was what killed them, and not an "exploit" (that console users could do themselves).

    The sword has never been anything close to what can be considered a nerf. It was already OP, then they took it from 5 hits to 4 to kill someone, kept the vortex, then gave it a speed boost? The sword doesn't require any level of skill, it's just W key and swing. Adding insult to injury, it doesn't hinder a player with the requirements of reloading and limited ammunition. As for counterable, you cant "block and move" with a blunder, EoR or Flintlock...

    Lets just agree to disagree.

    P.s. The sword can actually have it's charge cancelled by interacting with something (i.e. Harpoon, cannon etc.).

    Only 25 years? That's child's play! I got nearly 40 years as a gamer, so 😛.

    The 4 hits was necessary as a balance - at 5, you could hit 1st, then get shot point blank, and they would still be able to reload and kill you with a 2nd shot before you even got close to 5 (and that was WITHOUT the double gun exploit). This meant that the melee weapon lost in melee to a ranged weapon - and that makes ZERO sense!

    As for the vortex, there has always been a counter to that - the sword dodge! It immediately gets you out of the vortex. If you're double-gunning, well, then you failed to keep your distance or got caught using the wrong loadout at the wrong time. The speed boost didn't make sword-users faster than gun-users either; it simply kept them from slowing down if they missed.

    P.S. You didn't need interactables for the charge cancel prior to said fixes. In fact, most pirates didn't even know about the interactable charge cancel, simply because they didn't need it! As for the interactable charge cancel, I have yet to see it as OP, since, despite being faster, you still have to suffer through the animation of grabbing, and then releasing, said interactables - which can still get you killed; it's just less likely.

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