Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels

Buff the defense. I think that it’ll go a long way in helping the mode down the rode.

As for the “it’s easy to do tall tales” ok….. so in PVP “Git Gud” that’s essentially what pvp players are told when we say that WE annoy us or the tall tales annoyed us. It’s not that they are particularly hard, they were just boring and tedious. HG is load in, buy fruit, dive, fight. I enjoy the mode and I enjoy the pvp. It took some time but getting the curse was by no means HARD. Now I know that some people are struggling and I get that. I used to struggle at platforming in this game and I’m still not super great at all the puzzles. It’s just not my preferred play style, but that doesn’t mean that the game is wrong Or developers are wrong simply because I don’t like an aspect in the game. The mode isn’t dying, I’m still finding consistent and quick matches. It’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea but it’s a great addition to the game.

I truly believe that Rare has some BIG plans for the world ahead, but that pvp will be a big part of it, not mandatory. I think getting players to kinda go after the curses and get more comfortable fighting.

The other benefits are 1 you could be steamrolling people because of all the extra pvp. 2 I think it took stress off of the organic players from people that just wanted to fight. 3 I notice more WE being done/attempted which breathes life back into the servers.

Pirate legend only opened the game up more for me. Once that was done I was good to go. Now it’s just fun to play and not necessarily chase goals. Pvp has made the game exciting and way more fun. You just have to get into the rhythm of it. Building on the pvp will hopefully lead to server battles

@skadiwu PvEvP capture the flag, where you need to have hourglass ON so you can get invaded the whole time sounds PERFECT

Exactly the mix of PvP PvE and pure chaos we signed up for!

Imagine diving and your match has The McGuffin, now they cant run or turn it in and have to fight to keep it, maybe it awards an extra win+killstreak when turned in with HG on

Honestly they could do this with the Chest of Fortune and I wouldnt complain at all. If they didnt want to mess with the FoF, perhaps the new Ghost Fleet WE, if completed with HG on, could drop an item that when turned in to Reaper Hideout or Golden Sands stranger, awarded an extra win + killstreak

@jj-h816 said in Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels:

Pirate legend only opened the game up more for me. Once that was done I was good to go. Now it’s just fun to play and not necessarily chase goals. Pvp has made the game exciting and way more fun. You just have to get into the rhythm of it. Building on the pvp will hopefully lead to server battles

I disagree, I think this has more to do with you having a different opinion and take. Most people, however, don't find enjoyment in it. The mode is repetitive and grindy with and is generally divided from the rest of the game. It's fun for the first few times but once u start reaching close to 100 in either faction, the weight of diminishing returns really starts to hit. It's a chore to complete, and fighting does not become fun. You'll be thankful for a quick sink at most, and completely done with the game for anything that takes longer than 15 minutes. Made worse by players either using cheats or being disrespectful/ trash talking.

@sir-sniffils said in Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels:

@red0demon0 said in Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels:

@jj-h816 said in Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels:

Pirate legend only opened the game up more for me. Once that was done I was good to go. Now it’s just fun to play and not necessarily chase goals. Pvp has made the game exciting and way more fun. You just have to get into the rhythm of it. Building on the pvp will hopefully lead to server battles

I disagree, I think this has more to do with you having a different opinion. For the most part. The mode is repetitive and grindy with limitations on everything. It's fun for the first few times but once u start reaching close to 100 in either faction, the weight of diminishing returns really starts to hit. It's a chore to complete, and fighting does not become fun. You'll be thankful for a quick sink at most, and completely done with the game for anything that takes longer than 15 minutes. Made worse by players either using cheats or being disrespectful/ trash talking.

even just something as simple as making xp per lvl not scale as quickly, alone could be nice- I'd say it starts to feel grindy even just when getting near the 30's

Well I don't disagree with you there lol.

But when I mentioned diminishing returns, I wasn't talking about experience lvls, I was talking about entertainment value, sorry for the misunderstanding. Most people will feel diminished entertainment value from the experience because of the mode's nature to be repetitive for each consecutive paly through. Even if the exp scaling was decreased, it would still be a chore to do. There's just not that much availability or options within the mode itself. Right now, the reason most people do it is for the reward and not because "Wow! This is such a great mode; I love to sink ships over and over again." Once they reach their milestones/ desired cosmetic unlocks, they'll stop playing it. It's just not a good experience.

@sir-sniffils I think what makes it worse for solo players is when you start to get to those grindy levels, is that when the matchmaking starts to work as intended. Either matches start to drag out more due to being matched skill wise with other players or you get caught in a win loss loop, where you start to having trouble getting more then a two win streak going which makes progression that much harder.

@dragotech123 said in Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels:

Update: I give up, I simply give up. Lost all my matches, and nothing I did mattered because the same reputation is given. I saved my ship a lot of times but in the end it didn't matter. I am tired. I am convinced it was a really big mistake to put the curses behind PvP only and no other additional method. And my biggest regret has been not being part of Season 1 to get the legendary curse. I want to say profanities about this game mode. It is not worth the time at all.

Self reflection and the want to improve should be the reason you're doing Hourglass PvP in Season 9. This post is exactly what I expected people from this thread to exhibit. Complaining they'll never be good and have a hissyfit over the mode's design instead of their own skills that they could spend time practicing at, like the sweats they can't beat in those same hourglass fights.

My self reflection is: I'm not going to be better. Yes, I'm admitting that I don't want to improve, because my own life activities matter more than some cosmetic where you're slightly transparent, or boney all over. I only play the game when I want to play with people that want to play with me, and I avoid hourglass as best as I can because my ineptitude at PvP has put me at a point of no return. I might not have crew to play with, but I'm not complaining on the forums acting like I'm going to be agreed with or someone is going to take action upon my failures and "right the wrongs that were done to me". I have to be realistic with myself, know my limits, and do what I enjoy for the sake of my mental health within this game.

I can only suggest you try the same, since you still seem hot and bothered to go after this grind but fail to see how much you can improve and keep the goal of the curses in mind.

I went up 36 levels yesterday alone.

@dragotech123

Give up. There's nothing there at the end. Just self-loathing cause you'll havee had to endure something unpleasant.

Just do as I did. Play something else.

Sea of Thieves WAS a good game. It's not any more by 2023 standards. The whole video game industry has moved towards more balanced and less frustrating user experiences.

Just go play a few recent games and you'll laugh when you come back at how much this game lacks modern considerations.

@dragotech123 it seems you have an unhealthy attachment to getting these curses. There is no reason for it.

If you can't have fun playing a video game, play it differently or play something different.

@captain-coel said in Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels:

@dragotech123 it seems you have an unhealthy attachment to getting these curses. There is no reason for it.

If you can't have fun playing a video game, play it differently or play something different.

That's horrible advice, everyone here has a right to state their concerns. No individual should just shut up and play the game differently or play something else. The mode is there to be played, and the curses are there to be unlocked. To say, just ignore it, isn't a viable outcome. There's multiple isssues with the mode, the consequence is that they aren't fun to do by the majority, and lots of people are complaining about it in hopes that something is added to it or is changed. If you don't agree, then cool, that's on you just keep playing it as you normally do. As for everyone else, they should call attention to the matter. Complacency, as what you have supported should never be tolerated by either devs or the community, especially in the case of a game mode and mechanic that is boring and stale. Continued support requires continued production of quality content. not just more quantity.

@red0demon0 said in Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels:

@captain-coel said in Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels:

@dragotech123 it seems you have an unhealthy attachment to getting these curses. There is no reason for it.

If you can't have fun playing a video game, play it differently or play something different.

That's horrible advice, everyone here has a right to state their concerns. No individual should just shut up and play the game differently or play something else. The mode is there to be played, and the curses are there to be unlocked. To say, just ignore it, isn't a viable outcome. There's multiple isssues with the mode, the consequence is that they aren't fun to do by the majority, and lots of people are complaining about it in hopes that something is added to it or is changed. If you don't agree, then cool, that's on you just keep playing it as you normally do. As for everyone else, they should call attention to the matter. Complacency, as what you have supported should never be tolerated by either devs or the community, especially in the case of a game mode and mechanic that is boring and stale. Continued support requires continued production of quality content. not just more quantity.

If you have paid attention to the tone of their posts, its concerning that a pair of cosmetics seems to be causing them real life anxiety.

Hourglass mode is fine as it is. The experience reward is fine. People always enjoy grinding out experience when it's increased on community day or a gold and glory event. The goal of the hourglass is to have fun in a quick to access combat. Fighting for the sake of fighting. I've enjoyed it thoroughly.

But when people get attached to trying to achieve something and can't, that's not the game developers fault. It's a competitive mode where winning is rewarded and losing really isn't. Guess what, that's what competition is. Rare did give lovers some exp, they don't need more, they need to win. So if someone is going to to have an unhealthy attachment, they should step away. Every cosmetic is not for everybody, and shouldn't be for everyone.

The curses are fairly mediocre. The ghost curses both green and yellow light your pirate up like a glowstick and wash out all of your existing cosmetics. The skeleton curse lacks cosmetic variety as there is only a handful of options.

There are plenty of fun games out there. There is plenty of fun in Sea of Thieves. People should play games for fun. If they aren't having fun in the hourglass mode, they should play adventure or a different game.

It's not complacency, I just like hourglass the way it is. I think losing should reward nothing.

@lordqulex a dit dans Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels :

That's not to say there aren't RPGs or story driven games out there that are fantastic, there are. But any game that has "infinite replayability," i.e. no story/plot that warrants a single playthrough, has a season pass and is nothing save repetitive grind.

Go find the grind you love matey.

Roger that.

Of course it's not comparable at all with solo or story driven game, or just games that have an "end", that wasn't really the point I was trying to make.

At least the "infinitely replayable" games are, at least, FUN. Overwatch was fun to play for example (before OW2 and season passes and all, precisely. I avoid battle passes like the plague. I did purchase one for SoT because I loved this game and because it was providing the means to buy the next one, meaning it wasn't a "seasonal" stuff but rather a self-conducing investment that could on top support Rare). Binding of Isaac is a hell lot of fun. These games don't rely on battle passes. They're FUN. So we play them.

Is SoT fun ? Hell yes ! But casually. The 1st vault is fun, the 25th is not, because there can't be the same randomness that fast-paced multiplayer (OW) or 1000s of items (Isaac) would provide. The 200th fish is not fun. The 175th win in HG is not fun.

Playing SoT end-game is just not fun. The most fun the game could provide seasoned players is interaction and communication, but not only isn't it rewarded, it's mainly discouraged since it hinders one's progress toward their 997th whatever, so people get frustrated and mad instead of enjoying seeing another player on the horizon....

And so much stuff.... the magic is gone.... They choe a design philosophy they can't follow cause it contradicts 2020's players' instincts....

Anyway, I didn't mean to rant so much again...

What I really meant by "modern games" when I was posting this was more along the lines of : they don't require you to Alt+F4 to get out of a stuck server interaction (I honestly can't believe I still see people complaining about that "counting coins" issue). As a web dev and hobbbyist game-maker concerned with modern UX/UI considerations, this in particular tilts me so much)

@lordqulex said in Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels:

@captain-coel said in Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels:

But when people get attached to trying to achieve something and can't, that's not the game developers fault.

Because game developers haven't lost lawsuits regarding the addictive nature of loot boxes and equated them to gambling? Game developers know exactly what they're doing, tapping into human psychology to make sure players spend as much time as possible in game hoping that in doing so convincing them to buy the premium cosmetics. Look around man.

In game cosmetics from in game play is very very different from loot boxes. Get a grip. Its laughable how you think this is a developer issue. The curses were easy to obtain. They are not hard. Plain and simple. They were never hard. they have always been a measurement of time. They can be obtained faster or slower based off of player skill. If you are below average its going to take logner, if you are above average it will be shorter. If people get attached to earning a cosmetic, thats not the developers fault here. Its an issue with the player.

Every cosmetic is not for everybody, and shouldn't be for everyone.

Accessibility has been a big focus to many QoL updates recently. The above statement is patently false. Rare is very focused on accessibility and spends a lot of time in developer interviews and podcasts talking about how important it is.

Cosmetics and accessibility are not the same thing, this is a troll right? Its ludicrous to equate the two. One is simply the appearance of your character. The other is ability to play and participate. Pull your head out of the sand and "look around". Having the Wailing Barnacle ship set is not the same as having an extra sound when turning the wheel. Having the Bone Crusher Ship set is not the same as adding colorblind filters. Dont confused accessibility with your desire for cosmetics. One is important and the other isnt at all.

@lordqulex said in Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels:

@captain-coel

The game can be different but the effect can be the same. The situations are different but the psychology is the same. Highly desirable content locked behind mediocre game play equal unhealthy habits in the player base. There is no effective difference if there is a 0.1% chance of finding something in a loot box and something taking 1000 hours to grind out. There is something players want behind a large time wall, and they will do unhealthy things to get it.

Cosmetics and accessibility are the same thing, e.g. Tall Tale checkpoints. The Tall Tales and their cosmetics were not accessible to the portion of the player base that could not commit to long voyages. Rare made it easier and shorter via checkpoints so more players could access the content and its rewards. Q.E.D.

No no they are not and you are very wrong. Cosmetics and accessibility are not the same thing and its insulting for you to even think so. Its disgusting to try and pretend this is an accessibility issue, and you outght to re-evaluate your outlook. Please just stop trying to mix the two. They are not the same, and you are wrong. Period. There is no room for discussion.

@lordqulex said in Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels:

@captain-coel said in Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels:

@lordqulex said in Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels:

@captain-coel

The game can be different but the effect can be the same. The situations are different but the psychology is the same. Highly desirable content locked behind mediocre game play equal unhealthy habits in the player base. There is no effective difference if there is a 0.1% chance of finding something in a loot box and something taking 1000 hours to grind out. There is something players want behind a large time wall, and they will do unhealthy things to get it.

Cosmetics and accessibility are the same thing, e.g. Tall Tale checkpoints. The Tall Tales and their cosmetics were not accessible to the portion of the player base that could not commit to long voyages. Rare made it easier and shorter via checkpoints so more players could access the content and its rewards. Q.E.D.

No no they are not and you are very wrong. Cosmetics and accessibility are not the same thing and its insulting for you to even think so. Its disgusting to try and pretend this is an accessibility issue, and you outght to re-evaluate your outlook. Please just stop trying to mix the two. They are not the same, and you are wrong. Period. There is no room for discussion.

Yes they are not and you are very wrong. Cosmetics and accessibility are not the same thing and its insulting for you to even think so. Its disgusting to try and pretend this is not an accessibility issue, and you ought to re-evaluate your outlook. Please just stop trying to mix separate the two. They are not the same, and you are wrong. Period. You are the one eliminating room for discussion.

You can cross things out all you want. Doesnt change the fact they are different. Keep your head in the sand and your lack of understanding there with it. People should be able to play the game, people do not need to have the ability to get every cosmetic.

@lordqulex said in Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels:

@captain-coel said in Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels:

@lordqulex said in Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels:

@captain-coel said in Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels:

@lordqulex said in Make it EASIER to GET BASE CURSE or MORE WAYS to get ALLEGIANCE levels:

@captain-coel

The game can be different but the effect can be the same. The situations are different but the psychology is the same. Highly desirable content locked behind mediocre game play equal unhealthy habits in the player base. There is no effective difference if there is a 0.1% chance of finding something in a loot box and something taking 1000 hours to grind out. There is something players want behind a large time wall, and they will do unhealthy things to get it.

Cosmetics and accessibility are the same thing, e.g. Tall Tale checkpoints. The Tall Tales and their cosmetics were not accessible to the portion of the player base that could not commit to long voyages. Rare made it easier and shorter via checkpoints so more players could access the content and its rewards. Q.E.D.

No no they are not and you are very wrong. Cosmetics and accessibility are not the same thing and its insulting for you to even think so. Its disgusting to try and pretend this is an accessibility issue, and you outght to re-evaluate your outlook. Please just stop trying to mix the two. They are not the same, and you are wrong. Period. There is no room for discussion.

Yes they are not and you are very wrong. Cosmetics and accessibility are not the same thing and its insulting for you to even think so. Its disgusting to try and pretend this is not an accessibility issue, and you ought to re-evaluate your outlook. Please just stop trying to mix separate the two. They are not the same, and you are wrong. Period. You are the one eliminating room for discussion.

You can cross things out all you want. Doesnt change the fact they are different. Keep your head in the sand and your lack of understanding there with it. People should be able to play the game, people do not need to have the ability to get every cosmetic.

You unlock cosmetics by playing the game! If there are cosmetics that a pirate cannot unlock that means there is a part of the game they can't play. That is the definition of accessibility!

No its not. Accessibility is the abilty to play the game. Its about removing roadblocks to have access to the game. Things like sound/sight/feel. Its the ramp for a wheelchair, its the large print menu, the brail on the elevator buttons. Everyone has equal access to the cosmetics. It requires the same conditions to unlock. You clearly dont understand the difference and are worth ignoring.

@magus104
If i start playing world of warcraft i do not expect to get the rewards for pvp doing pve. Saying someone should go play a purely pvp game just because they enjoy the only pvp update in years, is the equivalent of saying people who enjoy pve should go play a pve only game. Sea of thieves is a mix of both and people need to start accepting that. More than 90 % of the cosmetics are locked behind pve. Wanting the extra 10% that is locked behind pvp without actually putting the work is objectively wrong. The same way i can't get the gold curse because i do not like tall tales, people who do not like pvp can't get the other curses. The only thing i agree is that HG needs to be more rewarding both in terms of XP and in terms of cosmetics. Having no rewards prior to 100 and no rewards after 200 does not really make sense given how difficult it is to gain those levels. Also they need to fix hit reg,food reg,blackscreens and implement an anti cheat as well as a working SBMM if this mode is to be kept alive. However the legendary curse should have been a reward for regular athena's stuff and not a level 105 reward for PvP.