Tips for people playing single player that keep getting spawn killed on their ships

@disabledgamerjh These are not solutions though. They are not even treatments to symptoms. People grief because they find it fun. It is not about loot, or PvP, it is about having fun at the expense of others. It is taking enjoyment from actively causing suffering to others. There are terms for these kinds of people who do these things IRL, and they are all bad. Is this kind of behavior really acceptable just because it's a game?

Your tips are good ones for surviving a toxic environment, but survival shouldn't be the goal. The goal is to make the game environment open and fun for everyone. We either need the game to remove all mechanics and systems that make griefing possible (unlikely and would require massive revision) or provide the mechanics and systems for solo/peaceful play, i.e a PvE server and/or passive mode that you enter from the main menu. These mechanics and systems already exist. It wouldn't be a massive revision. You can sail around and kill skellies, dig up treasure, and be a merchant... if you are lucky or play at weird hours. All the devs need to do is isolate the PvE experience for those who want to play that way, so the PvP players will still have a place to honestly fight each other, and no griefing of solo/passive players would be possible.

@wonderlustgypsy "All the devs need to do is isolate the PvE experience for those"

Rare has said they will not separate the playerbases.

Also, if you bought the game, you signed up for exactly this kind of stuff, you didn't buy the PvE version, you bought the game in it's entirely, not just half of it.

If you want to be uninterrupted by players, Play Assassin's Creed: Black Flag... Otherwise suck it up and accept that SoT gives the perfect pirates life experience wether you like it or not. :P

@sweltering-nick while I agree with what you are saying basically. The full pirate experience would entail dying once and then game is over. Period. So while I am OK with dying, but to spawn and have 4 peeps waiting to kill you again, and again, etc. (griefing) is kind of lame. Apparently, I have been pretty lucky up to this point. I played a few hours a few times after release and love the game. The experience is great. I have play galleon with full crew, and the smaller boat with a 2 man crew. But today when I went to play solo... it was nothing but an exercise in frustration. On those occasions I managed to get treasure, or pigs or whatever I was unable to turn in anything. The last time being the 4 to 1 odds. Their ship was impressive, and it was obvious they were camping the outpost. I won't be doing solo again unless Rare does something to mitigate griefing/camping...

@sgtcthulhu "The full pirate experience would entail dying once and then game is over. Period."

It's a fantasy game about the romanticized pirates, not a realistic pirate show or simulator.

"(griefing) is kind of lame."

Griefing is sabotage... The word you're looking for is Harassing and/or camping. Scuttle your ship and you'll respawn somewhere nicer, solving your issue.

"I won't be doing solo again unless Rare does something to mitigate griefing/camping..."

Then don't... This isn't a singleplayer game... Also pirate do camp out and set traps for treasure, man...

I have no issues playing solo, except maybe getting swarmed, which is easily avoidable.

Learn to fight, if you cannot fight, you are playing the game incorrectly... Learn it, learn it WELL... Also, pay attention to locations, positioning, timing etc... All of this is important for a pirate...

SoT is not a game for casuals, it's a game for salty sea dogs...

@sweltering-nick A griefer is a player in a multiplayer video game who deliberately irritates and angers other players within the game, using aspects of the game in unintended ways. Semantics! Really? I think you know what I meant regardless.

As for the rest of your response... well, OK, I found the post while looking for the answer you repeated and will scuttle if necessary, I never said it was single player, and I did fairly well but it was also 4 to 1 so you know.. can't avoid odds forever.

I have killed people at an outpost. Fine. And really, I am OK with that too, but take my s**t and be done with it. Killing me as I respawn. Lame! Just trying to offer some constructive criticism in the hopes that the developers see it. If their plan was to have groups camp outposts as part of the game, then I definitely question that decision and am using this venue to voice my opinion. While your responses to be me and @wonderlustgypsy are let's just say less constructive.

@sweltering-nick even in full PvP games there is an area where you can't get touched as you respawn or a system in place where it's not worth killing you, With also the dev's talking about putting a gold charge or something to be able to respawn, then spawn camping becomes a bigger problem. Maybe as you respawn your immune to player damage (only player damage, not NPC/environment) for 15 to 20 seconds. Raiders have already had enough time while the victim has been with the ferry man to get what they want.
Please note that this immune effect would only happen if the whole crew is dead and you respawn alone, as soon as another crew member respawns (so more than 1 of you a live) then the immune is canceled.

@sharkygamer00 In those games, there aren't large maps with random spawn locations relative to the amount of players per server.

That's why the current system works for SoT.

"gold charge or something to be able to respawn, then spawn camping becomes a bigger problem."

Most likely talking about ship respawn, which is impossible to camp fyi.

If someone is camping your ship... Scuttle the ship so you can respawn the ship in different location.

However, if they implement a cost to respawn ship or respawn on your ship, this camping problem will get way worse...

@sweltering-nick they are looking at putting a charge on the ferryman's ship for character respawn, not for ship respawn, so camping players on their ship would become a problem. The Dev's want to put this charge in so players would think twice before diving head first into combat and doing suicide missions like gun powder barrels for clearing raid forts

"Otherwise suck it up and accept that SoT gives the perfect pirates life experience wether you like it or not."

That statement is fundamentally wrong. Rare posts a message when you first start playing to post experiences/concerns onto forums. They created this fancy forum with the graphic effects to encourage continued participation. This is a community game which by nature will change with that communities input. The game is not a perfect pirate game, because the perfect game has never been made, but SoT has great potential despite all the early nay sayers advocating for no changes on this forum.

Aspects of spawning are broken and need to be fixed.

@sgtcthulhu I agree completely. Rare has requested that players post to these forums wityh questions/concerns. Once you do this, people come out of the wood work to attack you and your play style and proceed to tell you to play another game. These individuals eill advocate for the status quo and that is all. I don't believe this is Rare's intention at all.

Spawning is slightly broken and needs to be looked at further. There are too many voices saying that aspects of spawning is not right. I like coming of with creative ways of dealing with camping, but not cool with enemy ship appearing (spawning) next to you at port or spawning back onto your boat after getting killed.

@sharkygamer00 "they are looking at putting a charge on the ferryman's ship for character respawn, not for ship respawn, so camping players on their ship would become a problem."

Hmm... Scuttle ship can be used to remedy those camping situations in that case... It could potentially NOT be a total disaster of a change. xD

@wonderlustgypsy this is exactly it, why is someone able to ruin my good time. Soon the game will run out of whipping players, and the servers will dry up and become super toxic.

It's sad really I was loving this game until I got hunted for an hour for no treasure, it was just to kill me for fun.

For me, when I play solo, it's all about patience. Who's got the most patience.*

The hardest part is accepting that your voyage has been interrupted and likely wasted as some shifty cove sends your ship to the deep. Remove any thoughts of gold or reputation; it's time to get real.

Then the game begins. From scenes played out in nature for millions of years, you have one goal, to make the predator choose easier prey. It's all about wasting their time as much as they want to waste yours. Troll them by stopping off at islands for no reason*. Tell them you've dumped your treasure on the island and let them search/sink your ship. When you respawn, come back to the island under the pretence of picking up your hidden treasure.

The bottom line is, once the chase begins, the pursuing crew have no idea of your motives. They will presume that you just want to get on with voyages. What they won't expect is for you to start leading them on a wild goose chase. Gaining gold and reputation* is all well and good, but even playing solo, you can play the PvP Pirate, and it can be immensely gratifying when you shake off a persistent pest.

*and gunpowder, it's also about gunpowder.

[edit] regarding a PvE only lobby/server. That would be ok with me, but you should not be able to gain gold or reputation. Currently, whilst you are gaining gold and reputation, there's the risk of other players sinking your ship, killing you and stealing your loot (ie, potential gold and reputation). That's core to the game. Being able to bypass the risk would give people a massive advantage when it comes to gaining gold and reputation.

That leaves the final question. If you can't gain gold and reputation in a PvE only environment, then what else would you do? Under no circumstances should you be able to gain gold and reputation without the risk of other players stealing it.

I think the current setup works for the most part but if you are spawning back into your ship into a 4v1 then no doubt it sucks, while the scuttle the ship option is available, the game should give you with a slightly better chance to survive this.

They should consider a world of warcraft style spawn system where after leaving the ship of the damned you spawn as an invisible ghost and you have a few seconds to take up a new position before you fully spawn in.

This would combat the spawn point camping and allow you enough time to take up a better position.

The obvious downside would be that if you win a fair 1v1 and are trying to take loot from your victory, they can just spawn in behind you and shoot you in the back.

The fix is super simple, let me play the game without being bullied, or griefed, or hunted, or whatever we want to call it.

This game is like signing up to be a punching bag at the local gym.

I really love the voyages, but the constant getting spawn killed for another humans enjoyment kinda makes me feel like one of the props in West world.

If one players fun requires the harassment of another player, well this is just not cool.

@sweltering-nick said in Tips for people playing single player that keep getting spawn killed on their ships:

@wonderlustgypsy "All the devs need to do is isolate the PvE experience for those"

Rare has said they will not separate the playerbases.

Also, if you bought the game, you signed up for exactly this kind of stuff, you didn't buy the PvE version, you bought the game in it's entirely, not just half of it.

If you want to be uninterrupted by players, Play Assassin's Creed: Black Flag... Otherwise suck it up and accept that SoT gives the perfect pirates life experience wether you like it or not. :P

The devs also said they were making a game that is open and accessible to everyone with no barriers, and that didn't happen. If they can afford to break their word once, they can do it again to fix their broken game.

I bought a game that promised PvE elements, but there are none. All of the supposed PvE elements are actually PvP because you cannot separate out the potential for the hostile actions of other players. If you are constantly on the lookout for other players then you are not playing PvE.

@wonderlustgypsy "The devs also said they were making a game that is open and accessible to everyone with no barriers, and that didn't happen."

In what way?

"I bought a game that promised PvE elements, but there are none."

I guess my skeleton fortress fights, bounties and kraken encounters were mere hallucinations then, good to know. xD

"All of the supposed PvE elements are actually PvP because you cannot separate out the potential for the hostile actions of other players."

So, in your head, because players could attack you at any moment, bounties and skelly forts are PvP content? I'm sorry sir, i believe you've gone full r****d. PvE content is PvE content, regardless of what you personally feel about it... PvE content isn't defined as an escape or break from PvP content you numpty... PvE means Player Versus Environment, which means storms, skellies and krakens etc... PvP means Player Versus Player... A game can have both without losing either, lol.

That's like saying questing in WoW is PvP content because you could be attacked by an enemy player at any moment... That's not how logic works, my man, i assure you. xD

This game isn't pure PvE, it isn't pure PvP either, It's a PvPvE game... Yes it's a thing...

"If you are constantly on the lookout for other players then you are not playing PvE."

This implies that just because you're keeping an eye out for potentially hostile players on the horizon that, somehow, you're not also fighting skeletons... Roflmao where did you put your sense of reason and common sense? xD

@sweltering-nick said in Tips for people playing single player that keep getting spawn killed on their ships:

@wonderlustgypsy "The devs also said they were making a game that is open and accessible to everyone with no barriers, and that didn't happen."

In what way?

"I bought a game that promised PvE elements, but there are none."

I guess my skeleton fortress fights, bounties and kraken encounters were mere hallucinations then, good to know. xD

"All of the supposed PvE elements are actually PvP because you cannot separate out the potential for the hostile actions of other players."

So, in your head, because players could attack you at any moment, bounties and skelly forts are PvP content? I'm sorry sir, i believe you've gone full r****d. PvE content is PvE content, regardless of what you personally feel about it... PvE content isn't defined as an escape or break from PvP content you numpty... PvE means Player Versus Environment, which means storms, skellies and krakens etc... PvP means Player Versus Player... A game can have both without losing either, lol.

That's like saying questing in WoW is PvP content because you could be attacked by an enemy player at any moment... That's not how logic works, my man, i assure you. xD

This game isn't pure PvE, it isn't pure PvP either, It's a PvPvE game... Yes it's a thing...

"If you are constantly on the lookout for other players then you are not playing PvE."

This implies that just because you're keeping an eye out for potentially hostile players on the horizon that, somehow, you're not also fighting skeletons... Roflmao where did you put your sense of reason and common sense? xD

I see you've learned your style of discourse from American politicians. Gaslighting, belittling, name calling, using your own beliefs as "evidence" to disprove my statements. You never once, however, use any evidence. You just say a thing I said is wrong because it's wrong. I know it's hard, growing up in an abrahamic culture that values belief over knowledge, but you can get through it. Go to college, get a degree, age (I know it is unfair, but generally you youth are inexperienced of the real world, and have only had experiences that confirm your own beliefs about reality), and then you'll be ready to actually argue on an intellectual level, not that of a child. I'll give you your first lesson on the house: Just because an argument doesn't make sense to you, doesn't mean it is wrong.

@doctor-n****e said in Tips for people playing single player that keep getting spawn killed on their ships:

For me, when I play solo, it's all about patience. Who's got the most patience.*

The hardest part is accepting that your voyage has been interrupted and likely wasted as some shifty cove sends your ship to the deep. Remove any thoughts of gold or reputation; it's time to get real.

Then the game begins. From scenes played out in nature for millions of years, you have one goal, to make the predator choose easier prey. It's all about wasting their time as much as they want to waste yours. Troll them by stopping off at islands for no reason*. Tell them you've dumped your treasure on the island and let them search/sink your ship. When you respawn, come back to the island under the pretence of picking up your hidden treasure.

The bottom line is, once the chase begins, the pursuing crew have no idea of your motives. They will presume that you just want to get on with voyages. What they won't expect is for you to start leading them on a wild goose chase. Gaining gold and reputation* is all well and good, but even playing solo, you can play the PvP Pirate, and it can be immensely gratifying when you shake off a persistent pest.

*and gunpowder, it's also about gunpowder.

[edit] regarding a PvE only lobby/server. That would be ok with me, but you should not be able to gain gold or reputation. Currently, whilst you are gaining gold and reputation, there's the risk of other players sinking your ship, killing you and stealing your loot (ie, potential gold and reputation). That's core to the game. Being able to bypass the risk would give people a massive advantage when it comes to gaining gold and reputation.

That leaves the final question. If you can't gain gold and reputation in a PvE only environment, then what else would you do? Under no circumstances should you be able to gain gold and reputation without the risk of other players stealing it.

There is no advantage if everything is cosmetic! You have 0 authority to define what "the core of the game" is for everyone. Just because it is good for you does not make is objectively good for everyone. It would literally not change the game at all for you. Many folks, like myself, would seldom, if ever, join a PvP server if PvE servers existed. Even if they do, they will have no mechanical advantage over those in the PvP server. Storms are risks, skeleton forts are risks, skellies (OoS quests or otherwise) are risks, the kraken is a risk. There are plenty of risks without PvP.

Ahoy, I admit to not reading all this and as I often sail solo in a sloop I am often hunted and or grieved a bit.

Yea I get mad a lil when I'm busy but don't think ole Capin' Free is by any means an easy kill. That's my tip ... practice be better than your opponent. Be more clever .... believe me most of the "sea of bullies" are not very smart ... savvy.

As for all the whining ... you did get the m**o that this is a game of Pirates yes? ... If you don't like all the player "pirate" killing perhaps you would prefer Assassins creed IV ... then you can play against the computer.

That's my 2 fallen skulls on the matter.

I say come at me, but tread cautiously ... as here ... there be monsters!

To all those mongs telling us to play black flag... please stop.. its not helping... sea of thieves has the immersion that black flag lacked... hence why we want to play it.

I personally think the option for a passive mode or private server should be added for solo players.
If you have loot... and are making your way back to the ship, the last thing you want to see is a crew of 4 people sinking it... taking what you have stored on there and not being able to do anything to defend yourself... theres 4 players communicating and will try to find you again out of boredom.. therefore you literally cannot progress... yes you can play it smart and outwit them... but that takes even more time and you dont gain anything from doing so...
And if, lets say you actually out smart them, and they leave you alone, 5 minutes later theres another ship doing the same thing... when all you want to do is hand in a few chests and gain some rep.
Most solo players want the game for the immersion... me included... and whilst having other pirates on the server is as close to IRL as it can get... and is immersive... its also annoying when you literally cannot progress and you spend hours onnit just trying to dodge someone whos bored and fancys ruining fun for others.
There are many pve challenges in sea of thieves that are exciting enough....and once youve got your haul... its exciting taking it back incase something else tries to stop you. But being bullied by a 4 man the entire time youre playing is something that ruins immersion completely and it stops you enjoying the game... infact it completely stops your forward motion.
If im with another person its understandable to be attacked by other pirates because thats when team work comes in.

But if you arrive at an island by yourself... amidst a storm (meaning you cant see other ships) find your treasure... the storm clears and you look over the edge of a cliff to see your ship getting pummeled by a 4 man... it leaves you completely defenseless and unable to take your treasure back.
For those days when your friends arent online and you jus want to hunt for some treasure and explore... i legit think the option for a private solo server should be allowed... maybe have the rewards for chests and rep be halved by doing so. Either that or a passive mode...
This game is fun to play but if youre not in a team working together it stops being fun full stop :/

Never let your treasure build up to the extent your not willing to lose it all.

                                           Biter Wylie

I don't understand why all these people bought a game that's main attraction was PvP. It was also primarily aimed at people working together/teamwork (which is great!), so it's going to be a bit of a struggle if you try it alone (they don't prevent you doing this though, which is great).

You have many mechanics at your fingertips to avoid griefers, just because you don't "deem it as a solution" is not anyone elses problem but your own. Getting spawnkilled? Scuttle and go about your day (if you are unable to defend your ship, it's already gone). Getting repeatedly chased by the same people? Lose them/out manoeuvre them or if you really are not enjoying it to the point you are breaking things in your house (lol), change server (I personally think this is rarely needed).

Whilst I agree that the respawn distances for boats, and respawn areas inside ships could use a little tweaking - that doesn't stop you from enjoying the game.

Personally, I'm glad the developers are keeping it the way they are and not catering to the minority who are used to no risk PvE.

@memphypoo said in Tips for people playing single player that keep getting spawn killed on their ships:

I don't understand why all these people bought a game that's main attraction was PvP. It was also primarily aimed at people working together/teamwork (which is great!), so it's going to be a bit of a struggle if you try it alone (they don't prevent you doing this though, which is great).

You have many mechanics at your fingertips to avoid griefers, just because you don't "deem it as a solution" is not anyone elses problem but your own. Getting spawnkilled? Scuttle and go about your day (if you are unable to defend your ship, it's already gone). Getting repeatedly chased by the same people? Lose them/out manoeuvre them or if you really are not enjoying it to the point you are breaking things in your house (lol), change server (I personally think this is rarely needed).

Whilst I agree that the respawn distances for boats, and respawn areas inside ships could use a little tweaking - that doesn't stop you from enjoying the game.

Personally, I'm glad the developers are keeping it the way they are and not catering to the minority who are used to no risk PvE.

The game's main attraction is not only PvP. Just because it is that for you, does not mean it is for others.

A solution to a problem, any problem, is an objective event/idea. It either solves the problem or it does not. To put it in math terms: 2+2=4. 2+2 does not = 5. One is a solution, one is not, there is no subjectivity here.

Your comment about the minority is a fallacy that does not take into account the spiral of silence therum of communication. In any issue, on any platform, the most vocal opinion (in this specific case, PvE server = bad) is usually the vocal minority. However, because it seems so prevalent, people mistake it for the popular opinion, and those who hold opposing beliefs slowly fall silent, making the minority opinion seem the majority opinion. In actuality, the silent majority of players want a PvE server (or something equivalent).

Finally, a question. What is the purpose of your refuting? Why argue against something that would not affect you at all? People are unhappy and instead of trying to understand, instead of showing empathy and working towards equitable solutions you outright refuse to acknowledge the discourse of others.
1.) This attitude, and actions that come from it are f*****t (not in the political party/personal philosophy sense, but in the literal definition of the word i.e domineering and unwilling to acknowledge opposing opinions). I am in no way insinuating that you are a bad person. Nor am I saying you are A f*****t, but that your actions/behaviors presented here are f*****t. I assume the good of everyone and want to point out this behavior so that a truly good person would recognise the error and work on self improvement.
2.) There is no reason to oppose a PvE option unless you are actually one of the people who enjoy hunting folk that are weak prey. If you truly enjoy meaningful and challenging combat, you would welcome the increased statistical chance of encountering talented players on your server that would come from the less talented folk being on a PvE server.

I’m at a loss. Why isn’t there a PVE area and a PVP area that surrounds it like in EVE Online?