[Mega Thread] - Player Griefing -Part 2

  • Hello there Pirates, old and new!

    Now that we are in the first week of launch we're relaunching (ha!) our Mega Thread Series, to ensure that we get your most relevant and up to date feedback on your gameplay experiences.

    In an attempt to keep all the popular conversation topics in one place, we have made these Mega Threads.

    This topic is focused around Player Griefing in Sea of Thieves. This is a topic really close to our hearts because we are committed to our mission of creating a new type of multiplayer game, where foes can become friends and player alliances become the stories of legends.

    We implemented the Vote To Brig option as a way to remove uncooperative players we are breaking the crew bond, but also give them an opportunity to earn their way back into the crew. But what we're hearing from you is that not all of you are experiencing the brig this way, often it is used to alienate and divide, or to hold crew slots. For future updates we are working on a system which will give players more control on their crew slots, which should see a reduction in the Brig being used this way.

    Please report all players who are behaving in ways that go against our Pirate Code.

    That being said! We want to hear your feedback and thoughts on this very important topic!

    Here's previous discussions on this topic:

    Thank you!


    Keep to the Code - The Pirate Code
    As a reminder, the Pirate Code is more than just guidelines (though the reference really never gets old), but the rules of the community and game that we expect all members to abide by when participating on the forums. Any member who fails to abide by the code may find themselves put in the brig, or removed from the community.

    Cast your good eye over the Articles here: The Pirate Code

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  • I love you guys but you should’ve had this in the game already...

  • Honestly most issues with griefing just boil down to the respawn system. There's not much else to say about it. It needs to be reworked. I don't know how exactly but that's Rare's job, not mine after all.

    If we're talkin griefing in your own crew then the brig works just fine and the private sessions will solve everything that brig can't.

  • @khaleesibot this can be interesting. Thank you for creating this thread :D

  • add a walking the plank option

  • I've made a pretty long post full of great suggestions if I may say so myself (even though nobody cared to read it), and they included this:

    "We should be able to name our ship, and its name should be clearly displayed to anyone looking at it through their spyglass."

    This would help with the problem, since right now, when you're seeing another ship, you have no way of knowing if that's the same ship you just sunk or a different one.

    And also from that same post:
    "

    • Ships respawning.

    This has been talked about a lot lately, but I'll still put it on top of the list. Ship respawning needs to change, sinking a ship should feel like a definite victory instead of a "you lose, insert coin" gimmick. Ships should respawn much further than they currently do, not only would a victory feel like a victory, it would make people care much more about their vessels.

    This would be easily achieved by making ship respawn really far from their wreck, but in a manner that couldn't be easily exploited. For instance, if you just make them respawn on the other side of the map, all a crew would have to do is scuttle their ship and be back where their previous one sunk."

  • Great to see these things taken into account by Rare @khaleesibot

    I'll kick things off by raising the question of being able to report a griefer in game would be totally useful. Whether on your crew or otherwise.

    I know you guys will have the ability to review game data to establish if reports are genuine and if people are abusing the system they should be subjected to repercussions also.

    I think an interesting way to deal with this could even be a little bit of a "pirate prison" where players end up on a time out for their bad behaviour, similar to the brigg if its a teammate.
    A lot of games punish you by making you have to wait before queueing for a new lobby and maybe this would work in a similar way?

    Just spitballing 😊

  • Adding a kick option would help out for those griefers on a sloop, longer respawn times for each consecutive death would help as well.

  • How about an option to relocate to a new server?

  • We need a dynamic crew system. The current system of having to pick your crew slots before hand is crazy.

    I should be able to add or remove crew slots at will, and be able to change which ship my crew is using at the shipright. If I want a third crew member after being on a duo sloop I need to be able to go to the shipright, store my sloop, then spawn a galleon, allowing me to add two more people to my crew, or just one if that's the route I wanna go. I should also be able to add or remove players that are in the same server without them having to drop out. If this is implemented I think people getting Brigged or joining a crew that doesn't want random will never happen again.

    As for spawn camping, perhaps make it so that all spawns occur on the bottom deck of whatever ship you're on and then do not allow weapons to be drawn on that deck? That way no one can be spawn camped but the ship can still be "taken over"

  • The only griefing I have experienced is when getting a full crew with randoms. Dudes dropping anchor etc. This can be fixed with a player reputation system. If a lot of people rank you low then you are grouped with others like you. Some of the things on these threads aren't griefing just pirates chasing you down and taking your stuff. That's just going to happen sometimes and sometimes you'll be the one doing it so it all evens out.

  • @psych0-knightro I agree if you have some friends that want to join and you are on a one man sloop it should work. If it's one friend he should be able to join straight to the sloop. If it's two or three you should get prompted that you are about to scuttle your sloop and take a mermaid to a galleon where your friends will join. I should be able to turn on and off matchmaking for my ship as well. So if I have 4 friends and a guy leaves I have the option to sail short handed or matchmake a rando

  • Hey Rare is it possible to maybe send other players farther across the map when they die? so that their is time to get some waves done in the fort, cause forts can take a lot of time with a single group constantly comes back so quickly. I don’t know what forum to post this on I wouldn’t say it’s greifing though.

  • @motherxgoose84 said in [Mega Thread] - Player Griefing -Part 2:

    Hey Rare is it possible to maybe send other players farther across the map when they die? so that their is time to get some waves done in the fort, cause forts can take a lot of time with a single group constantly comes back so quickly. I don’t know what forum to post this on I wouldn’t say it’s greifing though.

    That isn't griefing ;)

  • @khaleesibot If I'm supposed to report players I need a way to see who the players were that I need to report. Trying to remember players' names as they sail off into the distance is not going to cut it. We need a way to see the other players in our session within the game.

  • I would be careful in thinking that fixing ship/player respawn is going to fix the issue. Whatever you do it should also address some of the underlying problems that cause players to be frustrated with respawns. We need more tools so "foes can become friends and player alliances become the stories of legends" as y'all so eloquently put it.

  • Could we please replace the 3 or 4 person crew option (1 or 2 for sloop) with simply private or public? I can't express how many times my friends and I have had to quit a solo run just so we could invite someone to play with us. This would also prevent people from joining a crew with people who are trying to hold the spot for a friend. Thank you!

  • @Deckhands
    @khaleesibot

    Reporting Players through xbox is not possible.

    By the time you remember players handles, their handles do not show up on xbox1 in xbox's "recent players" section, so there is no way to report the players.

    Ex:

    • I played Neverwinter like 4 days ago.
    • Switched to Sea Of Thieves.
    • Have not played any other game since.
    • Xbox1 'recent players' section only shows up to Neverwinter 4 days ago.
    • Even today, still doesnt show Sea Of Thieves 'recent players' in anyway.

    I also think is would be cool to see 1-4pl Sloop Crews, and 4-8pl Galleon crews.

  • First things first, really enjoying the game. I have put a lot of hours in the first week and have enjoyed most of what I have played.
    Just a couple of things that I find somewhat frustrating;

    1. Cant we have something other than NPC skeletons to fight?
    2. More things to do on board the ship please (Sea or pirate themed) like fishing: for fish or inadvertently treasure, walking the plank or knife mini-games to play on long voyages with the crew.
    3. Perhaps more NPCS on ports, the islands are looking a little lifeless. Maybe a few backstreets like monkey island had and other buildings to give each island character. Also some pirate NPC's fighting or partying in the street would be awesome.
    4. More animals; as chickens, pigs and snakes does not seem to be enough, I find the trade missions to be the less exciting of the three.
    5. More random events on islands and the sea which will change/excite the adventures. Creating the unexpected will give players more to talk about.

    I am certain that you have this all in hand, I think you have made a brilliant game. I know its early days, but I guess the players need more. Keep doing what you are doing; and fill this game with more possibilities to create amazing adventures.

    Thank you.

  • When will we get to set up Private only you said we will be able to do this no way to do it

  • The brig issue has been one everyone has consistently been talking about since it first ever launched. It shouldn't off even made it to launch in this form. Same as the majority of the player greifing issues, there has been thread upon thread continously for months now highlighting the problems and issues.

    He brig will always be abused 90% of the time unless it gets a complete re-work or just removed entirely and replaced with another system. Sure you can cut the abuse down but its never going to go or way or be used primarily what you want it to be used for.

    And the player greifing is mainly down to two things: Really slow blackscreen spawn from the ferry of the damned where you are unable to do anything but be shoot constantly, essentially keeping you spawn trapped unless you scuttle.

    And your ship respawning way to close to where it had previously been sunk, it makes Skeleton forts tedius. And one example of it being a psin i had:

    Me and a crew mate was being chased for a good hour, we finally manages tl anchor drop them and get a really nice lead. They scuttled there ship and it litrally put them on the island next to us and they where able to continue there pursuite effectively wiping all our progress to lose them.

  • @khaleesibot the most anoying thing that goes togheter with grievers is the respawning system. I had a lot of trouble with the mermaid spawn and respawn of other players. And im not the only one that has trouble with this, maybe you can fix this to

  • Hey how’s it going not expecting any replies just wanted to throw a cool idea out there, maybe we can get the word across to whoever it concerns lol. I’m a big fan of the game but as you may or may not know it’s not too fun playing with just a friend as a sloop duo because the loot farming can seem worthless sometimes considering how easy it is for a galleon full of bullies to come ruin your day. So as a possible future solution or even just an added objective maybe considering making a passive lobby where players can’t harm eachother but as a great balance make the NPCs more difficult(and even add NPC ships to sink and loot) to encourage teamwork and also maybe adding a new mission type where an objective is completed and one receives money for completion as opposed to handing in treasure chests to lower risk of it being stolen. But just maybe these kinds of missions will be more limited to prevent a far too “easy” grind. That way we can complete these objectives while also searching for treasure and skulls and what not. Could be daily objectives like FIND 10 and 20 chests etc kill 20 50 100 skeletons and so on like daily challenges for guaranteed compensation. Maybe it will encourage more grind/farming without losing it all to some Galleon Bullies after spending an hour on the seas you know. Thanks.

  • So I joined three random crews in a row today, each of them brigged me right away. I greet them, and before I can ask them what's going on or what the plan is, they brig me. I ask for an explanation in text chat and voice chat just in case they can't read/hear one or the other in five different languages (sorry, don't speak more), no response, no explanation, nothing.

    Stupid griefers everywhere in this game.

    I decided to counter-grief them by just sitting in my cell, enjoying myself playing music while watching TV and waiting for them to finish voyages and give me "free gold" and reputation (actually, I deserved every single piece of eight and reputation since I had to endure the griefing) until they stopped playing.
    On the last one was stupid enough to stash a powder keg down in shooting range of my cell. I waited for them to turn in all the treasure, then when finally the guy came for the keg to sell it, I blew it up and him and the ship with it. It was glorious. All of a suddenly they could use voice chat and curse me out in perfectly fine English. Told them it serves them right for abusing the brig mechanic to grief players and not even telling them why. More expletives left their mouths, then they left the game.

    Not sure how you could fix the brig mechanic so it can't be abused for griefing. Maybe only being able to vote someone in when she or he does something stupid (event-based) would work, also there should be a time limit on how long you must stay inside before you get auto-released.

  • @khaleesibot This is pretty timely.
    I raised a ticket with @Rare Support, which i have copied below - i have removed the names of the players i complained about - but kept the ticket number; the response that i got from @rare is pretty poor, to be honest - i was hoping to see something a bit more proactive.

    Request #34696
    Hi;
    I was sailing alone on a galleon last night and 2 players joined me crew and immediately sent me to the brig.
    Shortly after, a 3rd player joined, and they communicated with me by microphone. Telling me to leave (that's not the actual word they used) as they wanted my ship as they had a friend who wanted to join; and it was easier to commandeer a ship than start a new one....

    When i refused to leave they skuttled my ship and left the game, leaving me with a "fresh ship" but no cannonballs/bananas or planks.
    The players were :
    xxxxx (who is the player i spoke to)
    xxxxx
    and then
    xxxxx joined too and was part of their crew I assume.

    The (not) helpful response i got from Rare was

    Thank you for contacting Sea of Thieves support.

    The brig is a part of gameplay and can be used by players at any time. In order not to get in brig you could sail alone or with friends that for sure will not vote to put you in the brig.

    The best place to share your feedback and suggestions is the feedback subforum on the main sea of thieves website: https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/category/6/website-forum-feedback

    However, rest assured that I will inform our developers about your suggestions in order for them to discuss your idea. Please also be aware that it is not guaranteed that your suggestion will eventually be implemented in the game, and that we will be unable to provide any additional information in regards to any possible decision being made.

    Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any other kind of feedback, questions or concerns.

    I suggested back in pre beta (and post beta) that a fix to this would be that new player should not be able to send another player to the brig for x (ten?) minutes after joining the game - this would stop this from happening again.

    Thx for listening.
    SF

  • So, my take on the whole griefing issue.

    I really don't understand why everyone gets so butthurt about being killed by enemy ships. If you get killed repeatedly, then you are doing something wrong! The map is massive, with multiple outposts to return to, or different islands to loot. If you are too scared to fight your way to an outpost, go to a different one!

    Secondly, I also have something to say about people 'camping' outposts to nick loot as you bring it in. This is a legitimate tactic - Rare has made this clear from the outset. I really don't think it is that bad of a feature. Considering the game revolves around the voyages, this adds more depth to them in that you have to stay vigilant right up until you sell them. People whine that after an hour long voyage all their loot got nicked- so what!? If you wanna go do that to someone else, you can do it. You are all on the same boat.

    Finally, I wanna talk about the types of pirates you meet in game, and how their behaviour towards you could be seen as griefing of some variety. Whilst I don't think there should be any changes to PvP to make it occur less frequent, I really do think that it is a shame that every pirate I seem to meet wants to send me to Davy Jones' Locker. I remember the Alpha Days, when you could meet pirates and have a merry time with them, instead of the hostility I see nowadays. Maybe it's just that with the big influx of players that haven't been with the game from the start, more people don't understand that being nice is a legit way to play :) Maybe Rare could incentivize this a bit more?

  • @queensdream1209 I have this same issue with mermaid camping and/or ship respawn camping. Had a pirate jump on my boat and kill me repeatedly, instead of sinking my ship. Yes, I can scuttle or leave game. But my problem with this is that Rare shouldn't force us to leave the game world to combat this issue.

    I have no problem with a pirate game promoting being a pirate. I've stole a chicken coop/chest/skull off a boat that was at dock. I've even shot a pirate in the back of the head while he was looking at a merchant then played his warm body a pirate shanty. But when I chose to jump on his ship and grief repeatedly, that crosses the line.

  • All I gotta say is fix the ship respawn after battles at the Skeleton fort it always either becomes a stalemate no one gaining anything or it turns to a trollfest where one ship is trying to beat the raid and the other ship keeps coming back and again gaining nothing. All this just hinders gameplay and people's time

  • @khaleesibot There needs to be a way to kick a player (walk the plank) from the crew, to deal with griefers and unwanted teammates.

    As for griefing by other crews (I.e. Repeated attacks) just make it so that each ship respawns with no supplies. It should be up to the player to restock the ship instead of being handed a vanilla stocked ship to get instantly back into combat. This will hinder a lot of the issues for most of us who bother to fully stock our ship before a fort raid only to run out of resources because the same crew sailed back 20 times with no penalty.

  • Please, do something with spawn killers.

    Yes, spawn killers. When you're boarding enemy ship and lose, you can either respawn on your ship - being instantly killed by enemy team again and again - or scuttle your ship - but only if your mates will vote/not leave the game. I don't see any good way out from this situation.

    Ps. And I think you can still join this game (as a new, random player) so...

  • @khaleesibot Where is the content..... I’ve been looking forward to this game since It was announced and even got off work early to play as soon as it came online..... I should have just stayed at work. My friends and I were board in less then 4 hours when we realized “that it”.We are looking for a refund now. What a letdown.

  • I destroyed my favourite mug, and a plate, and cut my arm couple minutes ago from anger. I was on some gold hoarders quest, sailing alone, dropped the anchor, near the Devils Ridge, and got a phone call. As I was answering it, some guys jumped on my ship, caught off guard and killed me once, then stolen my chest. I said to them that when they have a chest, they can leave me alone, as I only wanted to finish my quest on this island. Got killed three times trying to talk to them, then they sunk my ship - they have not said a word the whole time. I now know how the Skyrim town guards felt like, when they tried to reason with me, while I was on a killing spree. And also now I have to sail for ~10 minutes to try again, hopefully not be smashed until I'm able to complete same type of quest I was doing since the release. Amount of salt in me at the moment is greater that in the whole Sea of Thieves (and autism).

  • @cave-waverider said in [Mega Thread] - Player Griefing -Part 2:

    On the last one was stupid enough to stash a powder keg down in shooting range of my cell. I waited for them to turn in all the treasure, then when finally the guy came for the keg to sell it, I blew it up and him and the ship with it. It was glorious. All of a suddenly they could use voice chat and curse me out in perfectly fine English. Told them it serves them right for abusing the brig mechanic to grief players and not even telling them why. More expletives left their mouths, then they left the game.>

    That would have been gaming gold if you had that on video.

  • @khaleesibot Doesn't have anything to do with griefing but maybe include a better way to view your character. Both during character creation and during play. You should be able to change the poses, zoom in/out and rotate the model.

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