Frustrated about forts, and other players. A vent/rant if you will, about the current state of the game and the players.

after the arena and all of the combat changes, the absolute best solution is to polish the PvE aspect of the game so that it is as entertaining to play (and in some cases watch) as PvP. player encounters will always be a part of the game.

well no one have lied to you about the fort being easy.
Keeping your loot is the hard part ;)

But just the other day, a Galleon was park one island away, we kept a man/woman on the ship, they spot the mermaid, an we came back to the ship.
Well it helps out to empty the island for gunpowder so they can not being used on you.
Then we simply sail out, away from the island to sink them, an back to kill skellies.
for another Galleon to turn up.
Thought it was the same, so sink it, Sunk them. but turned out it was somebody else, an they where ally with the other galleon, so we let them come back to the fort to team up with them.

Kept 2 stronghold item, an let the new guys keep/split the rest
The thing I hate most right now is selling stuff, I/we will take everything cause we are Pirates.
So if I can get an ally that only do fort's, it's just awesome.
then i can go kill skelly ships, or megs.

We/you have no controle what other like to do, or find fun.
Personally I agree with you that it's lame to just sit an wait at a fort, outpost, behind chair.
But can see how it will give you some russ when you pull it off.

Much love. GreenCamilion

Getting robbed is never fun, but it's part of the game. You win some, you lose some. I am sorry if your win/loss ratio isn't great so far, but in time you will accumulate experience and get better! Hopefully you don't give up, next time you attempt a fort you will have learned precious lessons:

• Look up the horizon super often, at least between each skeleton wave
• If you don't want to take any chances, keep someone to guard the ship. Switch people from time to time, watch the horizon, jump in the water and look around if you feel someone might be lurking.
• If you are about to open the door, make sure there is no one coming on the horizon, or any mermaids around. If so, leave with the key like you did. Go quest elsewhere for a while (keep key hidden and safe), change your ship cosmetics so you are harder to track by robbers.

When selling the loot at the outpost: Double check for mermaids before going to sell big stuff. Make a round across the outpost for mermaids, and if you are still not sure, use a decoy.

What I used to do when I thought we were being camped, I'd grab the stronghold skull, use the chat command "I have the ---" so in chat it says "I have the stronghold skull", then I'd take a lesser one and go sell. If I get ambushed, we wouldn't lose much, and the campers reveal themselves. One time I knew for sure someone was camping the order of soul tent (people wait there and blunderbuss you as you are about to sell) and came in running with a fizzing gunpowder barrel instead XD made 2 very unhappy campers that night.

In your scenario, unfortunately the person in charge of spotting the mermaids when coming back to the fort didn't do a great job, otherwise it would have been a dead giveaway people were waiting. They can be sleep emoting somewhere, waiting in a tower or in a bush, but the mermaid will always be there. Unless they are sitting in a rowboat somewhere, or was on your ship all along.. but then again, be careful you don't have stowaways. Well, next time your lookout will know! That mistake did cost a fort loot, I bet that person will not forget, and learn from that mistake to be even more attentive to their surroundings.

I hope you never get an Athena chest stolen, now THAT stings (or so I've heard...).

@kitsunelegend69 DO NOT USE THE KEY AT ANY OTHER FORT.

It will open the door and nothing will be in there. Your only two options is to fight them or just leave really. It sucks. I know, but you don't need to do forts at all. Just do your voyages. Forts are pretty lame. People will try and talk them up about how gooooood that loot is but it really isn't all that grand at all. It is literally made as a PvP beacon. That's it.

You will make much more gold and rep if you just do the voyages and do the meg fights. Fight all the megs. Fight all the skeleton ships. They have a chance to drop the fort loot anyway. Take the stress off from doing those boring forts. They are a total snooze and boring.

And if people scoff or say not ugh, the fort loot is superior. Then okay. Let them go stress their gray hairs in early fighting over the small amount of loot there is. Just go voyage it up. I promise you will earn lots of gold really fast.

If you want, you can PM me and we can sail together sometime with your crew and I can lay down some really big PL voyages. Not Athena, but actual voyages. Rank 50 in GH or OoS or Merchant. I can make you big gold quickly without ever having to go do a fort. I have only ever done about 15 forts? Maybe 20? And I am a PL that has been playing since launch. You don't need to do them.

@shinten-rai
I find them fun to do solo. but Im mostly there for the beacon :P
maybe you find them boring, but for new players that have never done it, It's kinda fun.
Not like in the beginning with only the Stronghold chest an no alliance system to split the loot easy. cause you know, no need.
to do things just do it, or done it, is the fun.
the story that come from succes is the best ones, you just learn from failure or doom to repeat.

When I see a complain thing here on the forum, I take it as a task to prove it can be done solo.
I liked the devils roar when it was all ONE at the event, but again, a lot of complains an it's get neft to a kindergarten.
An yes I did serval Athena in there solo, just to say Iv done it.

@greencamillion1 After you do one, it's all the same. It never changes. Just the fort location and then the forts themselves do not change very much on their lay out even with them being in different zones. So yes, for me it is a boring thing to do. Even back when I was going up the ranks it was boring and stressful at the same time which should never be something that should get mixed. It should be fun and stressful. But the problem here with this person, is he has done the fort. Several times. He just has never been able to get any turn in for it.

And kudos for doing those things solo. They have no bearing here on this topic though. Not really quite sure why you brought those up. Not everyone will have the same skill levels as you or me. Bit unfair to try and measure that up.

Everytime we do Skull Forts we get no pvp action since most of the servers are dead now. I wish I could trade places with the OP.

@shinten-rai It was more of an exsample for a story/challenge
you challenge can be whatever you want ;) take the davy jones challenge, only time you may set foot on land, is when you start out. Most of the time iv done it or seen someone do it, they forget in mix of stuff happing. How long will you last :P

@greencamillion1 That sounds, interesting. How would voyages work? You could only be able to do sea bound activities?

Your story reminds me of the way forts used to be back when the game first started. Nowadays they’re so common and there’s so little competition (and the money isn’t as good as ashen loot)... just isn’t the same.

We once way back got the key (3-man galleon if that explains how long ago) and had to outrun a 4-man galleon for 2 hours... and when we got back to the fort there was a guy camping just like in your story... so we bolt having not opened the fort. Then they started catching up because they had the trap sprung. We were tired and it was by now 1am - so we sailed that thing straight into the Red Sea (well first time we tried hiding it, second time we really had it on board). As frustrating as it was, was a very memorable fort. Now I’m on like #60 and of those the only memorable ones were where some other crew was involved in a mega war. So relish the memories!

@dragnonhd said in Frustrated about forts, and other players. A vent/rant if you will, about the current state of the game and the players.:

Everytime we do Skull Forts we get no pvp action since most of the servers are dead now. I wish I could trade places with the OP.

Honestly, this. Around 75% of the time nowadays, whenever I do a fort with my 2 buddies, we get no opposition at all. Forts are rince and repeat gameplay and frankly not crazy exciting to do, hopefully Molten Sands will shake things up.

It's great that we have more variety in terms of islands and more frequency of it, but I feel like people don't care as much or don't want to lose time. "Oh someone is at that fort? Meh, let's get next one." Some of the most PVP fun I've had was during fighting over forts. I'll always remember a free-for-all of 2 galleons and 3 sloops (me and a buddy in one) with us escaping with the key, resulting in my hiding and disguise changing story from earlier :P.

@kitsunelegend69 said in Frustrated about forts, and other players. A vent/rant if you will, about the current state of the game and the players.:

The whole reason I was even DOING forts is because I want to buy ship cosmetics. I have none at all. Only the default flags, and I barely run those as is. Heck, I barely have any character cosmetics other than a pair of pants, boots, and a belt. I'm other wise pretty average joe.

And I understand that they're just cosmetics, but I'm tired of running around in the same old stuff all the time, looking like some fresh newbie. Almost every single ship I see, appears to be decked out in a new hull, with crazy sails, flags, cannons, ect. Meanwhile, I'm still putting around in the same old dinky pile of driftwood.

I don't know for how long you have been playing, but every event gives players opportunity to get cosmetics via achievement and doubloons, that are always pretty easy to do you should look into that. Don't forget the mercenary ship liveries from this event, you have until the end of the month I think? There are also coloured sails that are rather cheap to buy at every outpost. In time you will have enough gold to buy crazier stuff, hang in there.

I just really REALLY hate it though, when people just roll up on your and instantly start shooting without any communication at all. They dont try to deal, or bargain, or offer alliances. They just open fire the second they're able to, and go full bore until someone loses. Thats not fun, and its honestly demoralizing to me.

Some people have been burned too many times with alliance requests to take chances sometimes. People saying they are friendly, they just want to ally, and then blow up a keg while one of them is chatting you up. Lets ally for skeleton ships or meg! Then turns guns on you when all is done.

I won't shoot on everything that moves, but I am not interested in alliances either, good luck on the seas and leave me be. If people chase me and try to coerce me into an alliance, oh well...

I've had a few experiences with crews who rolled up on me, and instead of opening fire, they pulled out their instruments and started playing. Heck, I once had a 4 man crew do that with me and a friend! It was awesome! But that was weeks and weeks ago since I last saw that... most encounters these days, end up being extremely hostile... and its not fun...

Sea of Thieves is an open world sandbox type of place where all kinds of things can happen, not everyone is bad, definitely not everyone is good. In the end though, if you don't want to be caught off-guard, unfortunately you have to consider everyone wants you dead, and be prepared accordingly.

@xxmaxprimexx They must have changed that then when I was on my 3 or 4 month break of SoT.

I remember that you could only use the key at the specific fort you got it at. Even if you used it at another skull fort cloud or not it would open and be empty.

Hey, sorry to see you aren't enjoying forts, may I offer my polite advice?

1. Firstly, take a night off from grinding forts and BE THE ONE stealing forts from people. Don't accept that you will continue to get smoked by PL's and if your crew is lacking skill, try to switch it up and change who you are playing with. It is way more satisfying to steal fort loot, Athena's etc, and once you do it a few times you likely won't want to grind forts anymore when you sink your first ship with three forts worth of stuff on it!

2. Someone needs to be on lookout at all times. When someone dies they are banished to the crow's nest. Previous crow's nest guy gets on the fort to begin the new cycle. If it's a tall fort use the structure to look all around you. You should have plenty of time to see sneaky sneaks coming from far away. This should allow you plenty of time to take up defensive position and get kegs and cannons ready.

3. If you find yourself with the key and are being chased, discreetly jump off the boat with it and hide it on an island, lead your enemy into the middle of nowhere and scuttle. Have them chase you to the red sea, just distract them. When you sink they'll go looking for the key and you'll already be on your way back to where you hid the thing.

At some point you need to stop tolerating getting your butt kicked and be the kicker of the butt yourself. If you are playing open crew, there's the first and biggest mistake. Find some people who can hold it down in PvP and ask them to show you what they've learned.

It also doesn't help to think PL's are going to leave you alone because of your apparently new ship. Many high level players disguise as noobs for this reason. If they made the decision to attack you after waiting for you to finish a fort they aren't going to abort mission beacuse you look new. PL's are consistently trash talked by new players for "picking on them" , name-shamed for getting killed by low level players, etc... This doesn't make PLs want to be nice to new players. We have no advantage over you, and in a non fort/fleet encounter I always leave obsviously new players alone because most of us don't want that starter loot anyways. Fort loot, however, is the best in the game and taking it makes it like Christmas morning.

Don't be bullied my man, just work on these skills with a closed crew. Use LFG, the facebook page... any way you can to get some more PvP skill and in no time you will be maniacally laughing over your pile of stolen Athenas chests.

Sound like you just need to up your game and strategies.

Always have a crew member on board as lookout whilst you do a fort . Be mindful of the ships ladders, you can cut off a stray in one shot immediately causing them to be one crew member down temporarily, this is a great opening to turn the tables by putting holes in their ship, forcing them to go defensive, send someone to board at this moment while their guard is down.

Do not kill the skeletons in the canon towers, they will automatically open fire on any ship that approaches the fort, potentially causing them damage and alerting you to their presence before it's too late.

Always stock up plenty beforehand, outposts, inactive forts and floating barrels are not to be missed. If you have long journey, you can have one crew member fire themselves to any islands you pass, every little bit helps and can be the difference between keeping or loosing your loot. Rowboats are also your friend for this, they can hold immense amounts of supplies and save you time.

If you think you are going to loose , get inventive, for example why hide the key on your ship? It's the first place a enemy crew is going to go. They will have a much harder time if you find a good concealed hiding spot for it on the fort, by doing this you potentially cause confusion and buy yourself time for a second Life if they can't find it.

Some of you guys are spending way too much time in the crow’s nest honestly. Waste of time when time is at a premium. Two solutions (we do both)

1. All you really need to do is have someone look around from near the high point in the fort after each wave. That assumes you’re getting through waves at a decent clip of course, but even two-man sloop that gives you time. And more firepower on land means faster waves.

2. Let the skeleton tower cannoneers live! For crying out loud, dock where they can’t shoot you even if it is a little in inconvenient. The towers’ fire gives you a free 3 minute warning every time. Unless a guy rows up or something (which we’ve done but rarely happens to be honest - you’ll see the ship that dropped them off most often and this be on the lookout for shenanigans!

Well "High leveld" pirates usually have commendations to do so they need to turn in the four stronghold items for those.
And yea it's not that fun that you can get sunk even if you're not an aggressive players but theres MANY aggressive players out there who just wanna be unfriendly but yea that's how it is.

@ghostpaw Interestingly, whenever I roll up to steal a fort I simply say: You can join an alliance with us and give us the loot OR we kill you and take it all. We make good on that second promise nearly 100% of the time. When it is all said and done, they lose out. I am constantly amazed by the extremely low acceptance rate of that peace offering. Galleon of pirate legends versus sloop? Sloop thinks they got this, lol.

That aside, I think that skull forts are an exercise in weighing your options.
My collective recommendations are:

• Grab explosive barrels, swim them out and leave them as mines ahead of the enemy ship.
• Just always have supplies in general, it's ALWAYS worth the extra effort.
• Try having everyone wait below deck for enemies to board and reverse ambush them.
• Never drop anchor, be ready to zip around and pummel them when they pass.
• Don't become frazzled by being surprised, make calm calls and recover what you can.
• Be paranoid and ask yourself: What is the sneakiest thing I could do in this situation? Then assume they did it.
• Communicate constantly with your team and assume the worst will occur.
• If you don't have 1-2 people constantly keeping eyes in all directions, its your fault.
• Learn to spot mermaids in your sleep.
• Try having your ship at a considerable distance away and drop people off.
• Park such that all skele cannons are still live and you don't have to kill any, they protect you.
• Don't be afraid to run and come back 10 minutes later, they're just going to do more waves for you.
• Remember you have a loudspeaker! If you see a ship start trying to communicate early. Use the word alliance A LOT.
• If you store explosive barrels up top, you better not let an enemy get up there. Be ready to snipe your crows nest.

Sea of Thieves is a strategy game wrapped in a pretty first person adventure package, you need to think many steps ahead. It is the best part of the game in my opinion.

Good luck out there, keep practicing, don't get discouraged.