Main game goal (please developers read this)

  • JohnnyBFOX
    Castaway

    Ok , I just arrived at Sea of Thieves (it was a friend's gift to me) and I can be mistaken but I got the feeling the game doesn't have a main goal at all...

    Few hours in and I've became to know that the only reason you go to missions and exploration is to get gold so you can buy skins...

    There's no progression system at all, and although I understand that maybe the developers wanted to make the game fair for newcomers, in my point of view, they are killing the game longevity.

    I'm not here to criticize only... I have some few ideas.

    Progression systems can be implemented as follows:

    • Character Levels 1 to 50 (so you can gain a bit more life or be faster in some activity)
    • Skills (so you can have 1 or 2 special skills to make your pirate unique. One can be unlocked at level 25 other at level 50)
    • Level based areas (so you can get better rewards if you have a higher level or if you try to beat a higher level area at a lower level)
    • Server based on Skill levels 1 to 25, 25 to 50 (so 50 level characters won't dominate low level players and if they get invited to lower level servers they get nerfed down and get less gold than the other server)
    • Gun progression (so you can upgrade/buy better weapons)
    • Ship progression (so you can upgrade to be faster or more resistant to cannon attacks)
    • Clothing progression instead of just skins (so it can give you a bit more life or breath under water or swim quicker)
    • On PVP arenas everything gets nerfed to the same level. (basically the current no progression system)

    Those kinda changes can take a while to do but they will guarantee the lifespan of the game itself.

    I'm an old-timer and as a experienced gamer, I like to play simple games, like truck, hunt or fishing simulators that are basic simple games... But they all have a sense of progression (even if it's just a little one)...

    It was very clear to me, in the very first half hour of playing Sea of Thieves, that if the only reason for me to have all this quests was to get a new skin, I wouldn't commit to playing that much.

    I can be wrong, and if so, the game didn't made clear what is the progression system in it.

    Hope you (developers) can read this constructive criticism as a good thing. I loved the game itself, loved the feeling of being at sea, I see so much potential... Moreover I want to play this game a long time... But I'm not sure if it will happen, if the main goal is to get new skins. (frankly I love already the way my character looks and I don't need new skins).

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  • Galactic Geek
    Seafarer
    Founder

    You're missing the point entirely. It's horizontal progression - the game is balanced between every player because beginners have the same tools that experts have, but not the experience; that's what separates them. The point is not in the gold or the cosmetics, but the journey. It's an open-world sandbox where you can do pretty much whatever you want. Also, the game itself progresses through events and Tall Tales. You get to experience those as you play, and get to grow your experiences and share your stories with others as they happen. So, don't worry! Be more pirate! Aar! ☠

  • William Flint
    Commander
    Insider

    @johnnybfox the goal is to be a pirate. Since levels and unlockable skills would get in the way of a new player joining an existing crew, or allow experienced crews to have an even bigger advantage over new crews, such things are not part of the game.

  • UltmateRagnarok
    Master

    @johnnybfox

    There is no progression because the point of the game is not to focus on the cosmetics, reputation, commendations or currency, but the adventures and memories you have with a crew of your own or another crew you met on the Sea. There is no linear progression, and everyone is equal in power except for their skill. You don't get better guns, or better ships, or any of those kinds of advantages. The things you suggest are the opposite of what the game is meant to be. Focus on the journey, the enjoyment of being on the Sea of Thieves and doing different things (a crew will help immensely, for anything from messing around with far too much grog to getting things done), not the destination of whatever unlock you intend to get. Further, anyone can do anything, there are no level-based locks. If a legendary pirate wants to place down an endgame content voyage from a faction you don't even have access to, and you can help them, then you can, and you get the full rewards for it. You can do whatever you want to on the Sea of Thieves, it's a sandbox, after all.

  • JohnnyBFOX
    Castaway

    @galactic-geek @william-flint Sorry but in life you don't start with the same tools that others that already lived more than you do, in life itself you as a pirate would only go risk your life if it meant that with that came a chance to buy a better weapon or a better/bigger ship or impress your loved one (get her that diamond ring) or buy more beer... In other words we as humans tend to go after objectives, a progression system.... To improve/grow ourselfs... And any game without that, it's risking it's lifespan.

  • JohnnyBFOX
    Castaway

    @ultmateragnarok If you read my entire post you'll notice I didn't suggested any locks at all...

    And for the other arguments you kindly gave, I'd answer the same way I did to the other people... Life itself has goals, without them, you get depressed... And you live/enjoy your journey trying to get there... I loved the feel of being at sea, the game in that aspect is awesome... But without goals, no pirate would had risked his life, and no men would had lived!

  • Galactic Geek
    Seafarer
    Founder

    @johnnybfox In the SoT, you make your own goals - it's not chosen for you.

  • JohnnyBFOX
    Castaway

    @galactic-geek there is no goals for me to make one mine... That's my point...

    Can I make my goal to have a bigger ship? No, Can I make my goal to improve my weapon dmg? No

    If I was a pirate in the 1500's could I had made my goal to have a bigger ship? Yes... Could I had made my goal to improve my pirate skills? Yes... Could I had made my goal to buy a better sword or gun? Yes

    The game will get bored at some level (all games do) but without a progression and objectives for me to aim for that lifespan will be shorter...

    And I get the feeling it's not only me who thinks like that.

  • Galactic Geek
    Seafarer
    Founder

    @johnnybfox
    Is your goal to:

    1. Get rich?
    2. Explore?
    3. Hunt down other pirates?
    4. Create long-lasting alliances?
    5. Become a monster hunter?
    6. Defeat evil?
    7. Enjoy a story?
    8. Roleplay?
    9. Relax upon the waves?
    10. Become the ultimate fisherman?
    11. Complete every commendation?
    12. Show off your stylish pirate?
    13. Make new friends?
    14. Any combination of the above?

    There are plenty of goals (certainly more than are listed here) to choose from. Pick one (or some)!

  • D4m0R3d
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    @johnnybfox sounds like freedom

  • Ofury23
    Master
    Insider
    Founder

    @johnnybfox It's not only you, I agree and have wished that they would implement something like that since I started playing in Alpha. Unfortunately, it seems that the developers have no plan or intention of making any kind of progression system. Everything that they're released thus far is all about these "connections" that supposedly we're supposed to have as.. ya know... pirates. Who totally were the most loving and affectionate peoples that have existed.

  • JohnnyBFOX
    Castaway

    @galactic-geek Why you want to get rich if there's nothing to buy buddy and money is not important? Why fishing if you don't starve to death or you don't have anything in mind to buy with the money you get from it? Why forming Alliances if money/survival isn't important? All stories in the world are based on some natural and human thrive.... Besides there's no roleplay here just a poor sail navigator simulator... The game isn't natural like life is.... there's no goals here, you say that are, but with every goal in life comes a reward, here all there is are SKINS...

    Anyway, that's my opinion and I hope the Devs can look this post with nice eyes.

  • Ofury23
    Master
    Insider
    Founder

    @galactic-geek

    Get rich? .... Why? I can't use my money for anything.
    Explore? .... I get next to nothing for that... so.... why?
    Hunt down other pirates? Yes.. this is about all I do.
    Create long-lasting alliances? Not really, alliances disappear when you log off... no clans or guilds or anything.
    Become a monster hunter? ... uh..
    Defeat evil? .. Um. Ok.
    Enjoy a story? ... What story? The questline is far from edge of my seat gameplay.
    Roleplay? Fair point.. not for most.
    Relax upon the waves? Uh... ok? I live on a beach, no simulated waves needed here.
    Become the ultimate fisherman? ... Just no.
    Complete every commendation? Fair Point. Pretty much all there is to do.
    Show off your stylish pirate? That I earned far too quickly by doing small annoying back and forth tasks?
    Make new friends? Nah, mine are annoying enough as it is.
    Any combination of the above?

    Imagine trying to make this list for almost any other game... you'd be here all day.

  • Nawvillus
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @ofury23

    Make new friends? Nah, mine are annoying enough as it is.

    Why do I feel personally attacked lol

  • JohnnyBFOX
    Castaway

    @d4m0r3d Freedom is having some goal to choose from with a reward in mind, in life you're free to choose your path, and you have to grind to get there, and that's whats awesome about life... You feel so good when you accomplish some goal. In this game the only reward for any thing you might want to do in it are SKINS.

  • SurveyorPete
    Legend
    Insider

    Think about Sea of Thieves as a toy - like Lego maybe - rather than a game, or perhaps a party with friends. The goal is to have fun.

    That’s it! That’s why I play.

  • JohnnyBFOX
    Castaway

    @ofury23 there u go... Thank you Ofury.... I'm not the olny one here!!!!!

  • Nawvillus
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @surveyorpete To be fair, that could be said about any game, it's designed to be fun. But most games nowadays give you a "chore list" so to speak that keep people coming back and hooked on the game, why should I reserve my time to play this game over other games that give me reasons to play?

    Examples:
    Call of Duty: battle pass that gives you weapons
    Red Dead Redemption: Upgrades to your equipment for leveling up roles
    Any MMORPG

    People need reasons to play games in today's market and if your game doesn't give me a reason to return outside of fun (which most games are) then why should I play THIS game?

  • JohnnyBFOX
    Castaway

    @surveyorpete I became to understand that... And it's a good time killer for that... But it will soon be left aside... unfortunately

    @NaviLlicious Indeed sir!

    And I only started this post coz I see so much potential... RARE and MICROSOFT have a rough gem in hands... There aren't other pirate games out there... They can still HOOK us UP.... but.... If they don't see this, this game will be left aside like a lego toy when a better one, one that resembles our nature in life comes around.

  • UltmateRagnarok
    Master

    @johnnybfox

    Sea of Thieves is a sandbox game, there are many things to do on the waves but nothing truly required. This style of game isn't for everyone, some people (like yourself, it seems) need something more substantial in terms of instructions. Here, you're intended to mess around, or make your own instructions based on what you want to do. There doesn't exactly need to be an end-goal most of the time, other than commendations you won't find that many. The Tall Tales can be interesting (they're not meant to be 'edge of your seat gameplay', they're meant to be interesting puzzles, stories and traps), you can try to level everything up if you want, but none of it is really required. Again, it's a sandbox, you choose the tasks. If you want some sort of thing you have to do, the monthly time-limited commendations and cosmetics may be what you're looking for. There is also some (really not enough, but there's some) partially hidden end-game content for leveling up 3 factions to 50.

  • JohnnyBFOX
    Castaway

    @ultmateragnarok Not instructions... I'm an old-timer... I don't like everything chopped and handed to me... The reason is not lack of instructions but lack of reasons to keep playing. Why you keep living? To achieve your goals in life... Family, Love, money, wisdom, everything requires effort (you can say GRIND if you want)... But the rewards must worth it and in life they DO.... Unfortunately, skins don't.

    EDITED PART @UltmateRagnarok Ok now I see a goal... Leveling up those three factions to access an end game something... But still, they might be just cosmetics... And as I said before... I love my look already.

  • Nawvillus
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @ultmateragnarok What end game content? You hit pirate legend and unlock a new hideout to pick up voyages that make you do the same things you have been doing the entire game? The cosmetics locked in there (which the clothing doesn't require you to be a PL to buy)? The whole game is either grind gold/doubloons for cosmetics or pvp which is fine don't get me wrong, but when that's the only thing to do then why play this game over other games that try to keep you playing every week/month/season?

    When the game first came out I grinded to hit pirate legend with the promise of the game just starting there and the ability to work towards building a unique ship only to be met by more of the same grind for not even good looking cosmetics, we are a year into the game and still nothing new for PL's to do, I know people just starting out not even wanting to try to hit PL because there's no point.

    If this game wants to be competitive with other games in the live service market it needs to try to get people to come back outside of doubloon cosmetics and rehash voyages. At this point I only hop on the game if friends are on to pvp, I'm sitting on over 2 million gold and over 2k doubloons with nothing worth spending them on.

  • Galactic Geek
    Seafarer
    Founder

    Here is what you're asking for:

    Sorry to tell you this...
    ...but it's absolutely awful! 🤮

    Not that you'll listen since your mind is so made up. 🙄

  • JohnnyBFOX
    Castaway

    @galactic-geek I'm an old-timer Galactic... I am always open to change my mind... Thank you, I'll check it out

  • Nawvillus
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @galactic-geek Real shame because the trailer looks great just the game was poorly executed

  • Ofury23
    Master
    Insider
    Founder

    @navillicious Common theme for pirate games sadly.

  • JohnnyBFOX
    Castaway

    @ofury23 @NaviLlicious We think alike guys....

    The thing is I loved the game... I wish to be hyped up about playing my new game... But instead I'm playing something else coz my friends are offline and there's no point for me to log in.

  • UltmateRagnarok
    Master

    @johnnybfox
    The point of the game is the path, not the goal. 'The glory, not the gold', 'the journey, not the destination', 'the adventure, not the reward', there are many forms of this said in the game (some directly). If you want an end-goal, make it the commendations, or becoming a legend (it's a title, if you're confused about the term), but don't focus solely on the grind unless that's how you like to play games. There's as much time as you need to complete most goals, so you can take it slowly if you want to. The endgame is more or less a changed version to the rest of it, but the game is changing all the time from the suggestions here, the ideas within Rare and the community's changes to itself as a whole. As for loving your look already, maybe you'll find something else that you like better. I've personally stuck to the same look the whole game, and taken to decorating my ship instead when it comes to cosmetics. There are many more things coming, with the game planned to last another 8 and a half years with constant updates, so chances are you'll find quite a few new things if you stick around, or if you come back from time to time.

    @NaviLlicious
    The game was released a year early, and the legendary status wasn't even implemented at the time. It's been somewhat neglected for now in favor of finishing the rest of the game, but it has several large plans for major updates to it. Be patient.

    @Galactic-Geek
    Disappointing that Atlas never lived up to its potential, though the modding community from ARK will likely somewhat fix it eventually too.

  • JohnnyBFOX
    Castaway

    There is Skull and Bones coming up, but I've wanted a more relaxed game, cartoony like... That's why I thought Sea of Thieves would fill it for me... Unfortunately Skins are not enough to get me hooked. Hope the Devs could fix this though

  • Nawvillus
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @ultmateragnarok What do you mean you could hit pirate legend day 1? Neglected is an understatement but do tell what is this game supposed to look like in a finished state? They are spending time making these updates that just rehash voyages and give us cosmetics that don't really add to the game itself and every once in a while they add things like fire bombs and a new TT. So stuff that keep you interested for maybe a week every month while other games actually add things that keep you playing for a month or more.

    The game is supposed to last another 8 years? I remember when people thought Destiny 1 was supposed to last 10 before they abandoned it to make a second game

  • Ofury23
    Master
    Insider
    Founder

    @ultmateragnarok 8 years of updates to a console game? I remember when I heard that about Destiny.

  • JohnnyBFOX
    Castaway

    I've sent a message to one of RARE employees active on the Forum... Hope they can give their input on this... I wish I could be Hyped up... it's such a beautiful atmosphere, such a nice world... Skull and Bones is another pirate game that is coming but I'd stick around if that were more then just skins to unlock...

  • UltmateRagnarok
    Master

    @navillicious

    The team that makes mercenary voyages and time-limited cosmetics is not part of the main development team. They're in place specifically to keep players coming back, because your not supposed to rush the grind. Again, it's the journey that matters, and you rushed through it, so of course you've found yourself disappointed at the end. As for its finished state, legends were supposed to have a lot of things. Captaincy was the big thing, but again, as the game was released a year early due to pressure from Microsoft, they had to finish the game before working on those kinds of things. As for both you and @Ofury23 , Sea of Thieves is not Destiny, and Rare is not Bungie. Sea of Thieves 2 is not a thing that will likely happen, or at least not soon, Rare is doing far better with their community than most companies nowadays.

  • Nawvillus
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    More like I was disappointed that I spent a large amount of hours playing the game with expectations based off promises but were not met with said expectations so yeah, I'm a little burned at the lack of things to do at PL and their continued negligence of PL's. Mind you that this was long before they made the game really easy to level.

    If the timed events are only meant to bring you back and not there to help you level to PL faster then how come they do just that? Each event has provided reputation towards the faction it's based on and the letters of recommendation (while nerfed) still provide an easier avenue to get to PL which again, there's no point.

    I would genuinely like to know where this "came out a year early because microsoft" thing is coming from, would be a nice read. There wont be a SoT 2 you're right, but this game wont be getting updates for another 8 years either.

  • IcyMethodMan
    Master
    Insider

    To me this just sounds like you can't enjoy a game without having an advantage over your foes. Instead of having skill to defeat a foe you'd like to overpower them.

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