Suggestion: Allow Commendation Resets

  • Deadlock NL
    Master
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    Founder

    Hello everyone,

    I’ve been sailing the seas for quite a while and, like many other long-time players, I’ve completed the majority of the Commendations in Sea of Thieves. While it feels great to have reached those milestones, there’s also a downside: once a Commendation is done, it’s done forever. That means a big source of motivation and those little dopamine hits of progression eventually run out.

    I’d like to suggest a system inspired by Red Dead Online’s Awards. In RDO, when you complete an Award (their equivalent of Commendations), you have the option to reset it. Resetting gives you a small reward (such as Gold) and allows you to start working towards that Award again. Visually, the Award icon changes slightly to show how many times it’s been reset, which adds a sense of prestige and longevity.

    Applying this idea to Sea of Thieves could bring some real benefits:

    Renewed Progression for Veterans: Players who have been around for years can still enjoy the satisfaction of progressing towards something familiar. For example, I could once again go back to clearing Skull Forts to re-earn the Commendations for Stronghold Skulls — content I love, but which currently gives me no sense of progression anymore.

    Variety for Different Playstyles: This wouldn’t just be for combat. A fisherman could reset their commendations for catching Trophy Fish, or a trader could go back to completing deliveries for Merchant commendations, giving all types of pirates fresh goals.

    Extra Incentives: Each reset could reward Doubloons, Gold, Trinkets or even a small amount of Ancient Coins, keeping it meaningful but not game-breaking.

    Prestige & Identity: Reset counts could show on the Commendation badge/icon, so you could proudly display how many times you’ve completed a certain challenge.

    Replayability: Encourages pirates to revisit older content and voyages that might otherwise be ignored once Commendations are done.

    I know the game recently added the option to create a brand-new pirate and start over completely, which is fantastic for players who want a fresh experience. But resetting Commendations would be an alternative for those of us who want to keep playing on our main pirate — keeping our history, cosmetics, and progress — while still having meaningful goals to chase.

    I think this would add a long-term progression system without hurting new players or the balance of rewards. It gives everyone a reason to keep chasing goals, no matter how long they’ve been sailing.

    What do you all think? Would you enjoy being able to reset and re-earn your Commendations?

    Fair winds,
    Deadlock

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  • BurnBacon
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    Extra Incentives: Each reset could reward Doubloons, Gold, Trinkets or even a small amount of Ancient Coins

    Can see this being abused and breaking the economy even more. Unless they pick and choose the hardest commendations to reset only and not the easy ones.

  • Deadlock NL
    Master
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    Founder

    @burnbacon

    Good point. Some awards in the Red Dead Online system can't be reset, either because they're too simple or because it doesn't make sense. The Commendations for using ziplines are a good example of a Commendation that can't be reset in this system. For other Commendations that would be resettable, it's up to the player to decide whether to restart their progression.

    Regarding the rewards, it doesn't have to be a jackpot. Suppose you receive 10,000 Gold for resetting a Commendation that takes weeks to complete, then I don't think that would harm the game's economy.

  • PotatoSord
    Marauder
    Insider

    @deadlock-nl Who would care about that though? 100k gold for weeks of work, you could have made 100x that much gold in the same time just playing the game. If you really want to reset the grind for some reason, buy a pirate profile or make an alt. Resetting commendations is pointless. Genuinely, if you managed to get every single commendation in the game and you want to reset them, what is your life? Touch grass, do literally anything other than play SoT. This is beyond pointless to add. There are so many commendations that take so much work, there is no way you have all of them. And if you wanna reset comms you have done but you don't have all of them done, get good. Play the game, the whole game. Don't just do one thing over and over again because you can't find joy in your life anymore.

  • Deadlock NL
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    @potatosord

    Well, I appreciate your kind response... Are you always so judgmental of someone?

    I don't think you quite understand the concept. One of the reasons this game is fun is because you're always working towards a goal with the Commendations. But after seven years, many Commendations have been earned. I'm mainly talking about Commendations for, for example, delivering -insert loot item- x times, or defeat -insert enemy type- x times.

    How many players still only take the best loot pieces after completing a Fort, for example? One of the most likely reasons is that it doesn't generate enough revenue, both in terms of Gold and Commendations, which no longer count.

    All players have the choice to play the game however they like. Some prefer World Events like Forts, while others play Tall Tales, Hourglass, and so on. What's the problem if these players reset a specific Commendation, giving them some extra reasons to engage with the content they enjoy?

  • PotatoSord
    Marauder
    Insider

    @deadlock-nl If you are working towards a goal and then achieve it, find a new goal instead of trying to do the same thing you already did. I finished a bunch of commendations and because I needed something else to do, I did other stuff, and now I have both PvP curses because I decided to do something else after I had finished what I wanted to do. They never stop tracking these things by the way, just look at your milestones and do the math to see how many times you would have finished it. Most players take as much loot as they can carry, wdym? I have never seen loot left after an event was completed. It's not an extra reason, its the same reason again. The game tracks those stats anyways so you can just count to see if you would have done it again. As well, I mentioned Pirate profiles if you really want it that badly.

  • Deadlock NL
    Master
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    @potatosord

    But what if someone has absolutely no interest in playing Hourglass, for example? That shouldn't be mandatory because there are still Commendations to be earned there.

    What's the problem if a player chooses to reset a specific Commendation? They don't gain any advantage over another player. It's still the same grind. But if that's what you enjoy, isn't that fine? It could be an additional option for interested players.

    I don't think creating a new pirate is the same. Of course, you can experience everything again. But that's not the point of this suggestion. It should be an "endgame feature," giving players who have earned Commendations the option to do so again, so there's an extra reason to actively participate in (old) content they enjoy.

  • D3ADST1CK
    Vanguard
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    Founder

    I don't really see a point to adding this, but then I don't see a point in having different Pirate Profiles or a Distinction system either. For the people that love repeating tasks over and over again I guess this is good?

  • PotatoSord
    Marauder
    Insider

    @deadlock-nl Hourglass is only one part of the game. Bilge rats commendations span a HUGE variety of things. Have you tried to be mischievous? Crouching around on other peoples boats? Have you killed 50 of each meg? Are you PL? Have you visited every Legends of the Sea spot? There are so many things to do.

  • Coopers Rum
    Seafarer
    Insider

    Keep your flagellant ideas to yourself lol. Wanna grind over? Make a new acc.

  • Deadlock NL
    Master
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    Founder

    @coopers-rum

    Lol, like I said before: What's the problem if a player wants to restart a specific grind without having to start everything over again? Hell, if Player X wants to hunt 50 Megalodons again, isn't that their choice?

    Some here are acting as if they're obligated to reset a Commendation in this situation. It could be an option for players who don't want to create a new profile, but still want to experience specific parts as "new".

  • Deadlock NL
    Master
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    Founder

    @potatosord

    It's not so much what I've already done in the game. I used myself as an example in the first post: I enjoy playing Skull Forts. But there's no longer any objective behind it.

    That doesn't change the fact that I've played other parts of the game enough, or not enough. In your example: if I've already killed all the Megalodons (except the Shrouded Ghost, of course...), and I want to hunt them all again with the option of getting the Commendations again, what's the problem?

    It's not about someone having to get ALL the Commendations in the game. It's about creating an extra reason for players to replay content they enjoy.

  • HiradC
    Lord
    Insider

    Milestones have done this somewhat already. You do have to create your own goals somewhat in endgame to keep things fresh.

    I'm not against them being reset but not sure any additional reward should be placed behind them.

  • Coopers Rum
    Seafarer
    Insider

    Its been all about stickerbook really. I see no point in resetting something, even with a reward. It takes years to complete everything at least once.
    Nothing stops you from doing things once they are done again, and +1 to counter in some menu wont make anyone happy. Also game provides with newer and newer commendations to achieve over time.

  • Europa4033
    Captain
    Insider

    @deadlock-nl

    It took me over six months to have other crews turn in generous gifts for me. If you think I'd like to that all over again just for fun or have something to do, you're seriously mistaken. I'll gladly help others achieve this (if another crew comes to me asking me to sell it for them), but as for myself, I shudder when I see those gifts.

  • Deadlock NL
    Master
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    Founder

    @europa4033

    See, that's the wrong line of thinking. The idea is to give players the option and choice of which Commendations (and thus components of the game) they want to re-grind after earning them.

    If you're completely done with Commendation X and never want to do them again, fine. But there's probably a part of the game where you enjoyed the Commendations, earned them, and might want to re-earn them to give you an extra reason to replay the content.

    I'm not talking about Commendations like "use the zipline on Island X." But rather the Commendations that require grinding, like "defeat x Captains".

    It's not mandatory, not everyone will use it, and it's certainly not a "reset everything" concept. Then you do indeed have the option of creating a new pirate.

  • PotatoSord
    Marauder
    Insider

    @deadlock-nl What stops you from just hunting 50 more megalodons? Do you need a little celebratory pop up every 10 megs to make it worth killing them? If you enjoy the game for the game, this is a pointless addition because you can already just keep doing things. Nothing stops you from continuing to hunt megs after you have a commendation.

  • Coopers Rum
    Seafarer
    Insider

    Yeah, why would someone like to re-grind something they already did? Do it if you want so. Megs dont stop spawning once you got the comm.

  • Europa4033
    Captain
    Insider

    @deadlock-nl said in Suggestion: Allow Commendation Resets:

    @europa4033

    See, that's the wrong line of thinking. The idea is to give players the option and choice of which Commendations (and thus components of the game) they want to re-grind after earning them.

    If you're completely done with Commendation X and never want to do them again, fine. But there's probably a part of the game where you enjoyed the Commendations, earned them, and might want to re-earn them to give you an extra reason to replay the content.

    I'm not talking about Commendations like "use the zipline on Island X." But rather the Commendations that require grinding, like "defeat x Captains".

    It's not mandatory, not everyone will use it, and it's certainly not a "reset everything" concept. Then you do indeed have the option of creating a new pirate.

    Why would anyone want to re-grind everything (or whatever) all over again? I mean, I don't mind helping my friends and awesome players on the seas with commendations they're still working for, but for myself, been there-done that. On top of that, there's nothing to earn by grinding it yet again. Pointless.

    To be honest, I'd rather have fun and cause mischief rather than grind something just for the sake of grinding it all over again. Yuck!

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