Athena's Fortune Commendation Rework

its easier to sink skelly ships than ever. you arent required to sail from one end of the sea to the other to hopefully catch a fleet before it despawns, and you have the benefit of easy skelly sloop sinks.
legendary commendations should be just that. legendary, not just mere 'regular players' (aka casuals). if anything, the number should be raised!

Remember when commendations were reduced what a furore that caused? Ok, we got the 'overachiever' sails, but for those of us who had worked on those, it was a trifle galling. The levels are fine as they are, on average I'll sink maybe 2 or 3 skellies a day, just by sailing around. I get your point about them not being too obtainable for someone that only plays for a couple of hours thrice a week, but that's why it's a goal that'll come in time.

The athena milage racks up far quicker than any of the other factions due to the very nature of the voyages. Personally I got that before the others.

@outlawkingpin18
We need some kind of endgame goal to work towards. Commendations are those grindy long term goals you progress towards over a large amount of time. The good commendations aren't luck based, aren't time limited, and aren't boringly repetitive. They don't lock cosmetics behind them, and they don't require specific cosmetics to earn them. They give you a task that requires skill, knowledge, or both, and asks you to complete it an impressive amount of times.

You sank 1 skeleton ship? Good for you! Welcome to the Sea of Thieves!

You sank 100 skeleton ships? Very nice! You're getting the hang of things! I'm sure a well crewed galleon would enjoy a fight with you!

You sank 500 skeleton ships? Very impressive! You must have honed your ship combat, learned how to maneuver to avoid fire, locked down your aim with the cannons, and figured out the best times to bail, repair, or let it flow! You must really be a "Legend of the Sea of Thieves"!

You sank 1000 skeleton ships? Wow...

When everything else is completed, commendations will be left. You'll be max rep for a long time, but if you're a completionist you'll be drawn back into these factions to earn those grade V titles. I worked towards my 500 skeleton ships over a long time. I learned a lot about ship combat and tactics. I became a better shot and became well acquainted with my trusty onyx bucket. I even battled skeleton ships under circumstances that don't exist anymore. Eye of reach skeletons in the crowsnest would constantly knock me off my ship. Direct cannonball hits on my capstan would drop my anchor. Skeleton sloops didn't exist and so on. Most pirates that wanted that commendation early, wanted it for the legend cannons, but I wanted the title. It was a personal goal that I achieved mainly solo and by the time I finished, I was a dangerous solo slooper. I put the title on and in the last few months I only took it down for about a week while I was a "Raging Firestarter ". Without a handful of longterm commendations with really prestigious sounding titles associated with them, there isn't anything to work towards after a certain point. Nothing to give you at least a side objective while you mess around and wait for the next content drop.

I can understand raising commendations sometimes. "Legend of the Deep" I'm looking at you. Lowering commendations doesn't make sense to me though. I thought that's why we have multiple grades to the commendations. I think sinking 100 skeleton ships gives you legend of the sea of thieves grade III.

A title isn't much, but one like "Legend of the Sea of Thieves" says a lot about the person you see with it because of that 500. It took time, dedication, knowledge, and skill. And sometimes persistence and stubbornness. Even it's allure will fade over time just like "Pirate Legend" did.

@ultimate-powa
The same for the nautical miles I'm sure. Lots of us had finished the athena grind before any commendations were implemented. I was A10 but with literally no progress to the commendations when they dropped. Despite already telling myself that I wouldn't do anymore athena voyages, the commendations gave me a reason to get back into them. I wasn't one of the legends angry that our previous efforts were not counted, because it would upset me if we got new content, even if it is just commendations, and I wouldn't be able to do anything with them since I would have already earned them the moment of their implementation due to past sessions.

It's easy to look at it as a destination and a reward, especially with the legend cannons locked behind it, but commendations like the legend of the sea of thieves are more about the experience and the journey rather than the end goal. I just feel like the main problem with them, at least in my eyes, are the cosmetic items locked behind them. They promote grinding and raise the issue of if the grind is too much, not enough, or just right, all because people want that item. They forget to enjoy themselves while they complete it and just grind mindlessly until they get it. Some enjoy it and could go for more, others feel it's too much and get burned out, but I feel it's completely the fault of the final reward behind it. A lot of people felt those legend cosmetics shouldn't have been locked behind those specific tasks and I have to agree.

This is all just my opinion and I'm not trying to say yours is wrong in any way, but I like that it's 500 sinks. 500 fits well with the title that comes with it. Sinking that many is a legendary act and in a game where progression is simply the players skill increasing as they learn and play, sinking 500 creates a better stronger player. They earn the right to be called a legend of the sea of thieves. Which I've always thought of that title to be more of a literal meaning of legend and not just an extension of the "pirate legend" status. You truly are legendary for doing this, not just a member of a not so exclusive group. A truly legendary title should require a legendary accomplishment and I think this is one of the best in that right.