Now, I might get a lot of flack for this, but hear me out:
One of the things that I struggle with the most in sea of thieves, being an intermediate player, is the fact that there is no controlled consistent way to practice PvP. What do I mean by that? While there was Arena mode, and now the Hourglass PvP, what both of these have in common is: 1. it is actual combat, not practice; if you sink, you're done. and 2. you do not choose or control who engages with you, and how.
There are people who practice and perfect their skills by actually engaging in actual combat, but I, and a lot of people like me, learn best when certain techniques are practiced and perfected in a controlled setting. Think, for example, "training mode" in other PvP games. This is a problem that I have been struggling with a lot.
Now, Sea of Thieves has announced Safer Seas; basically private servers. It is meant for one primary purpose: game familiarization and training. However, from what I know, you can only have a maximum of a single crew there. To me, that's a wasted opportunity. While it is great to familiarize oneself with the different aspects of Sea of Thieves, there is no harm from using Safer Seas to familiarize oneself with PvP.
And thus, my suggestion: Allow the host of a safer sea session to invite at least a maximum of ONE other crew.
What does that give us, that other modes and contexts in Sea of Thieves don't give us? Imagine with me: you jump in a Safer Seas session, you invite your friend who YOU selected (not a random player) to a second crew. You are in chat, and decide to meet at Galleon's Grave. You duel and duel and duel, practicing swings, gunning, jumping and dodging, and if either of you die, you get revived. Unlike a random, your friend wouldn't just kill you and steal your loot and disappear, not allowing you to perfect your combat. Later, you decide to take it to naval combat. You practice chain shots, repair times, etc. You tell them "time out, reset" and you both stop shooting, repair, and reset the battle.
This is what I've been looking for in the past years I've been playing Sea of Thieves in. Sea of Thieves combat is very fast paced, with too many things to take into account. Making one variable into a constant ("practice mode" with a friend) is something I think a lot of people sorely need.
FAQ's:
-
Doesn't that beat the point of Safer Seas?
A: No. The problem with High Seas is not the mere EXISTENCE of other crews, its the fact that they are random players, and act as a factor to actively watch out for and engage with, whether you like it or not, whether you are ready for it or not. Allowing the host to personally INVITE a second crew, and the ability to kick them at any point, maintains the safer, more controlled spirit of Safer Seas. -
Why not practice by having combat in High Seas? We've been doing it for years.
A: While it is true that it is not impossible to practice in High Seas, you have to admit, it is a roundabout patchwork way of doing something that other games already provide; a controlled "practice duel arena". You still can't practice consistently, you still cant guarantee that the other crew would participate in your practice without betrayal, and if you lose, your practice is done. It is practice through jumping in the battlefield, rather than....well, practice. No harm comes from implementing this, so why not have the quality of life? It is very reminiscent of the multiple suggestions I made in the past that Rare ended up implementing, such as the ability to purchase storage crates. Others told me "we can do fine without it". Yes, but if there is an opportunity to improve quality of life (in this case, an option for consistent PvP practice), why not strive for better? and Safer Seas are the perfect opportunity for that. -
Safer Seas are a client based server. Surely you don't expect that players will be able to host an entire server with their own device?
A: Yes, Safer Seas are client based. Which is why, since the invitation of a second crew is solely for the purposes of PRACTICE, I have no problem with it being limited to only ONE other crew. ONE additional crew is more than enough to fulfill the purposes of PvP practice. And if even that is too much for some players to host, then the good news is, inviting people is an opt-in feature; you don't have to invite someone if your PC cant handle it, and you can continue to enjoy Safer Seas as intended. But for those of us who can host a single other crew, why not enjoy this extremely valuable feature? -
I am worried that people will abuse this feature, especially when it comes to commendations that require cooperation with other crews, and are meant to facilitate player interaction.
A: This is a solid point. What I would say to that is, if Rare implements this, I suggest that any commendation requiring participation with other crews to be locked in Safer Seas. Players are already practically "locked out of them" as the facts stand, since at the moment, Safer Seas only allow one crew. Why not make it official and ACTUALLY lock these commendations? It is a relatively simple fix that doesn't change what has already been established for Safer Seas in relation to cooperative commendations (in other words: you're ALREADY practically locked out of them in Safer Seas, so make us OFFICIALLY locked out of them)
In conclusion: While I praise Rare for Arena, hourglass combat, and other efforts done in order to enrich and invigorate the PvP aspects of the game, I think that they have been lacking in terms of opportunities to practice combat in a consistent controlled manner. It is not their fault though; it is hard to implement an entirely separate feature for that alone. However, Safer Seas is the perfect opportunity for that. And while it may seem counter intuitive to add a feature that supports PvP in an essentially PvE domain, it is not. My suggestion ADDS a dimension of practice and PvP FAMILIARITY, while respecting and maintaining the spirit of lower intensity, getting familiar with the game, and lowering the intimidation that new players may experience in High Seas Sea of Thieves.
I hope Rare sees this, and for those of you in the community, I would love to hear your thoughts on this (though I suggest you check the FAQ section above first, as I might've already addressed your concerns about this).
