By the time we discovered this as an option 2 of my friends from EVE (hardcore OW PvP) had already quit due to being farmed by M&K.
Suggestion: Make XBox Only the default for New Users on Controller
Sure
xbox players that get into playing with pc users typically happens after some experience and making some connections.
It's possible that it could help new players not get so extremely wrecked right away, xbox players do pvp but in my experience in open crew xbox players tend to lean more into adventure and exploring, it may help them find people quicker that they can play with as well.
Welcome them when/if they are ready imo, they don't necessarily need to be thrown in the deep end to learn to swim.
Part of it is voice as well, xbox users often prefer parties and pc users sometimes aren't into that, and also the issues with people not hearing each other in game between pc and xbox, all that fun stuff.
@hiradc said in Suggestion: Make XBox Only the default for New Users on Controller:
@wolfmanbush you've agreed with them but not upvoted the idea, you had one job wolfmanbush 😅
I'm terrible about this
I have increased using it the last few months though, I typically avoid focusing on likes and upvotes so it's not much a part of my habits but I should use it more on this site.
@foambreaker while I think it should point out the option. New players can easily get spawn camped by other controller players.
Also they should remove the xbox requirement and just make it:
Everyone Lobbies
or
Controller LobbiesThe Xbox Seriex X can run this game better than many computers.
It took a lot of time and noise to get the option to opt out of crossplay for console players. It was never very loudly advertised and the option was tucked away in the settings menu.
Great for those who wanted the option and knew about it. But new players will likely never know. There is a message that shows sailing the seas with all players as you enter inworld, but that could just suggest your in a multiplayer server. It should show as you are playing crossplay.
There was always a concern from PC players that if Xbox players automatically started in Xbox only pool, the game would be a ghost town on PC servers as Xbox has the largest pool of players.
So I think Rare automatically started everyone as sailing with everyone as default and not openly advertising a opt out of crossplay option to keep the game healthier on PC.
Personally, I opted out of crossplay the moment it was introduced and have had a much more enjoyable game experience ever since.
Any game I play now, the first thing I check is if I can get away from PC users before I begin to play it, such was the first few years experience of crossplay this game rewarded me with.
@burnbacon said in Suggestion: Make XBox Only the default for New Users on Controller:
Sure. Or…
Spend a little time to get to know all settings on a video game instead of jumping straight in and complaining later.I know most games now days don’t come with a tiny booklet or instructions but still, explore the UI
Agree. Whenever I start a new game I always, without fail, go through all the settings to tweak the game to my preferences even before I get into the playing of the game. Easy!
@needsmokes While I understand the need for it. Do you think it's was xbox vs pc that needed to be split OR should have been controller vs kbm that should have been split.
I feel that when it was xbox one the overall hardware argument was stronger but the series x and s are strong quick systems. Should it be changed? I would never leave my friends behind on pc+kbm but I am one of the odd ones that is pc+controller.
100% think it was correct to split platforms rather than controller/kb&m.
There were a few vocal people asking to be allowed to join the xbox pool on their pcs if they used controllers. But no one on Xbox wanted that. It was just too easy to fool the system to plug back in a kb&m and go back to having those advantages in 1v1 combat.
I'm sure there are still players on the xbox servers using kb&m but it's not something I encounter too often.
I can honestly explain every death my pirate has ever had since I've opted out.
Controller vs Controller on Xbox just works brilliantly. Very rarely are you double gunned from distance. It's much harder to make your shots than never missing using a mouse.
And as for the new xbox consoles. The only differences are the black screen times. I still can suffer black screen moments on the series x with brilliant hard wired broadband. Sometimes you just get Rare'd!!
@needsmokes dude I get rated by blackscreens on a pc substantially stronger than a series x.
But as to the just plugging in a kbm. Halo infinite had it working at launch. I would play in controller lobbies and my kbm wouldn't even work in menus. So I think it's possible to lock out kbm.
I also agree that the people using one of the kbm bypasses for the xbox is going to be slim. heck the chat pad doesn't even work on controller only servers.
The chat pad works. You just need to bind a shortcut button to the text chat.
But having that chat pad attached to the controller got heavy and awkward in long sessions.
@needsmokes said in Suggestion: Make XBox Only the default for New Users on Controller:
The chat pad works. You just need to bind a shortcut button to the text chat.
But having that chat pad attached to the controller got heavy and awkward in long sessions.
I have a usb keyboard attached to my XsX, which I use to type messages. 🙂
@burnbacon said in Suggestion: Make XBox Only the default for New Users on Controller:
Sure. Or…
Spend a little time to get to know all settings on a video game instead of jumping straight in and complaining later.I know most games now days don’t come with a tiny booklet or instructions but still, explore the UI
Knowing about the setting and knowing how dramatic the difference is are two different things. It really wasn't until we watched Twitch that we saw what we were fighting and how different it is.
I could just as easily have whined for nerfs to M&K but why when this simple solution exists. Many games have cross play and have worked it out to be balanced. For example in one warship game the gun turrets move at a speed based on the ship design, no matter what input device is used. In that game everyone who plays PC is essentially a "Turner" if you recognize the very similar Clicker vs Turner debate.
@captain-coel said in Suggestion: Make XBox Only the default for New Users on Controller:
@needsmokes While I understand the need for it. Do you think it's was xbox vs pc that needed to be split OR should have been controller vs kbm that should have been split.
I feel that when it was xbox one the overall hardware argument was stronger but the series x and s are strong quick systems. Should it be changed? I would never leave my friends behind on pc+kbm but I am one of the odd ones that is pc+controller.
It's M&K vs Controller, it's the input devices that matter, controller can never match the speed and accuracy of point and click. This is why computers didn't evolve to have joysticks.
@foambreaker right, but for SoT it's xbox+controller despite the series X being vastly superior to Xbox ones and many gaming pcs. I feel it should have been controller vs kbm not xbox+controller vs everyone else.
@needsmokes sorry I was using that as an example of disabling keyboard binds that would be hit from the chat pad.
Crossplay should definitely be OFF by default.
A big problem that Sea of Thieves has is player retention. Seperating PC players and preventing them from consistently destroying Xbox players would help solve this.
PC players have undeniable advantages such as:
- minimal loading times
- insane movement abilities
- precision aiming
Not to mention the prevalence of exploits and glitches that you find rampant amongst PC players (sprint cancel, macros, dpi glitching, various hacks and cheats).
I exclusively played on all player servers as I honestly felt that the differences between PC and Xbox players was minimal.
A few weeks into season 8 my win/loss ratio was 8 wins - 40 losses. Consistently and constantly getting destroyed because I was facing PC players with undeniable advantages.
I switched to Xbox only servers. Currently sitting at 62 wins - 65 losses. Crossplay should be OFF for all Xbox players and they can opt in if they want.
The only people who will argue that crossplay shouldn't be OFF by default are PC players looking to have their easy wins against Xbox players.
And to the people posting "I cHeCk alL mY setTiNgs beFoRe I pLaY anY gAme"
It's not about knowing if the setting exists or not, it's about NOT knowing what a disadvantage you face against PC players.
I love this game, easily my favourite game of all time, but I was prepared to uninstall and quit a few weeks into s8 before making the permanent switch to Xbox only servers.
I'm certain I'm not the only player who feels this way.
Even miXel who could arguably be the best player of this game has said he has no idea how Xbox players can even play against PC players, and that he can't compete anywhere near the same level of skill he does when he is on xbox.
It's not about knowledge or skill or preventing boarders or knowing the best bilge technique, the differences in hardware and peripherals create a huge gap and leads to an undeniable advantage, and this creates unfair gameplay when it comes to PvP against cross platforms.
It's ludicrous that crossplay is still ON by default.
@paparug420 minimal loading times are not unique to pc, they are unique to nvme ssds. The same storage solution in a Series X|S. Also I'm not arguing for mixing the control devices, simply letting the idea linger that the new consoles are stronger than many pcs and that the real debate should have been controller vs kbm. not xbox vs pc.
I say this as a pc player who uses controller. I spent my first 2k hours on Xbox though and then built a pc. I play other games on kbm, but sot just feels right on my elite series 2 controller.
@captain-coel said in Suggestion: Make XBox Only the default for New Users on Controller:
@paparug420 minimal loading times are not unique to pc, they are unique to nvme ssds. The same storage solution in a Series X|S. Also I'm not arguing for mixing the control devices, simply letting the idea linger that the new consoles are stronger than many pcs and that the real debate should have been controller vs kbm. not xbox vs pc.
That is the debate, as in the title, you were just off topic :)
@foambreaker But to your OP, even if it wasnt mixed, players like me exist and can easily spawncamp people from controller and xbox
Cross-play is on by default because that's Xbox's current marketing strategy - letting everyone play with anyone no matter the platform, and SoT out of all games tries really hard to pretend being social and inclusive. Adding the option to turn it off is already large sacrifice even without it being default.
@paparug420 said in Suggestion: Make XBox Only the default for New Users on Controller:
The only people who will argue that crossplay shouldn't be OFF by default are PC players looking to have their easy wins against Xbox players.
The only people who will argue that crossplay shouldn't be ON by default are sweaty Xbox players looking to have their easy wins against casual Xbox players.
Mixed player pool is the main reason casual PvE players on PC, who spend too much money in Emporium, play the game at all. Rare doesn't want to lose this group.
@arch-ideall "Adding the option to turn it off is already large sacrifice even without it being default."
I don't get this, sacrifice for who? The PC players who are farming controllers?
@foambreaker it should never have been xbox vs pc. The argument is controller vs kbm. The servers should be controller only or all input devices.
@captain-coel said in Suggestion: Make XBox Only the default for New Users on Controller:
@foambreaker it should never have been xbox vs pc. The argument is controller vs kbm. The servers should be controller only or all input devices.
Like in the title of this thread.
@captain-coel said in Suggestion: Make XBox Only the default for New Users on Controller:
@foambreaker I'm saying pc + controller should be allowed on the same servers as xbox + controller
That makes sense, except couldn't people just connect a controller but then play using the mouse? It would seem that they would have to code "ignore mouse input" to make that work which might be prohibitive?
@foambreaker said in Suggestion: Make XBox Only the default for New Users on Controller:
@captain-coel said in Suggestion: Make XBox Only the default for New Users on Controller:
@foambreaker I'm saying pc + controller should be allowed on the same servers as xbox + controller
That makes sense, except couldn't people just connect a controller but then play using the mouse? It would seem that they would have to code "ignore mouse input" to make that work which might be prohibitive?
They already have to do that for consoles using mouse & keyboard.
Have to strongly disagree.
I wanted to opt out of crossplay to avoid being paired with cheats on PC.
Turned out to be a huge success and changed my gaming experience ever since.The sheer scale of things I witness on YouTube but never on Xbox servers only further back up my beliefs that forced crossplay was such a bad idea.
Glad it's all in the past.
@needsmokes cheating is so minimal. in my 1000s of hours I've seen it less than a half a dozen times. It's such a sad excuse.
You want some tough truth? It's not just PC players that are wrecking newcomers to SOT. It's high game-hour controller players, too.
PvP in SOT has a very high learning curve. Sure, some of the "point and shoot" stuff translates from FPS games, but that's only the peak of the playerbase that has mastered everything else to the point where being on MnK truly gives you the higher ceiling.
Playing on Xbox+Controller only servers only provides the illusion that things are "fair". The reality is that unless you've got a lot of hours in PvP on SOT, you're not competing with players that have a lot of hours of PvP on SOT.
All that being said, I do believe they should either...
A). Make that matchmaking option more prolific to Xbox players
...or B). Eliminate it completely.I think if they introduced even a mild controller aim-assist, option B is the better route because it would consolidate the playerbase and simultaneously give the illusion of "leveling" the playing field despite a true skill-gap regardless of input method.
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