I've been playing SoT for about a year now and love the game, but I still have frustration with the PVP aspect of the game and also frustration at trying to complete commendations. First, I understand that this is not "Sea of Friends" as some especially immature sailors will tell you, but sometimes you just want to set sail and have a calm session. Also, don't tell me to go to Safer Seas. We all know it's a terrible way to play. I think it benefits the community when new players aren't scared away because they can't battle or fight at a high level.
- Introduce a Bounty System. If a boat sailing any Emissary faction is sunk by a Reaper (or maybe any other faction), the Captain can issue a bounty from their own coffers for any amount that would pay out to any boat sinking the offending ship. It would make sense that that faction would rightly be angry about losing a shipment and so the faction will match any bounty offer. When a ship has a bounty on it, it will be seen on the map with the amount shown below it.
This allows retribution for the aggrieved player AND puts a target on the aggressor, sending PVP players after them so they can have the PVP battles they so desperately want. If the bounty sinks more hunters, the payout can keep increasing for a larger payout, like a mega-lottery.
There should also be areas where any combat doesn't allow bounties, like around Forts and Camps where it's a given everyone will be fighting for loot. - Some/All outposts should be a safe haven. Not all outposts have defenses, but some place like Port Merrick should have citizens manning all cannons so that if a ship is attacked and seeks haven, the cannons will fire at the attacker. The attacker can keep trying to sink the other ship, but with greater difficulty. There should also be no fighting on the outpost, especially on Sanctuary. If a player is caught fighting, a local constabulary would throw you into the brig for a short amount of time, enough time for someone to steal stuff off your boat.
- Level 5 Hunter's call should show you where a Shrouded Ghost would be on a map, if it happens to be on that server. It's been hidden long enough that it should be easier to find by now, but with specific conditions.
- There should be a bundle buy of all the supps from the Shipwright. This would help speed up starting the game.
- Move Briggsy's Quest to the Mission Table. It just gets in the way during battles.
- For Open Crew, players should have to pick the faction they "prefer" to play with so they can get matched with specific crews. A player wanting to play Reaper is probably not going to want to spend the night fishing.
That is all!
