Server Types

ED also has a galaxy sized map and everyone playing at once as opposed to a much smaller map with 24 players max.

The reason it works for ED is because PvP and player interaction is often only a small part of a larger system and loneliness is a very intentional part of the game because of its size.

In Sea of Thieves? PvP is the central tension behind pretty much every interaction. The foundation of the entire game is built upon it. If you take that away, you really don't have much left.

This isn't to say that a PvE mode is a bad thing or would even impossible to implement, just that taking Adventure and stripping it of PvP would be taking a lot away and leaving behind something underwhelming.

I honestly think that if a pure PvE mode released tomorrow, it would look nothing like Adventure.

@itzbrayy

This is true, though I do think that variety is the spice of life here. Just like how Arena is (supposed to be) a fun and easy way to get in some quick PvP action, I could see a proper PvE mode being the same sort of way. A quick, no frills experience where you can just kick back and play a few rounds. New faction to rank up, some cosmetics to net, the odd daily bounty, performance based rewards. If done right, I could see it being a slam dunk.

@rusticwolf01 Who wouldn’t want to collect REWARDS with no RISK? The problem is obviously that this throws risk/reward balance completely out the window.

The only real risk in this game is other crews sinking your ship and taking loot you have collected. The only reward in this game is progression in terms of reputation with companies that allow you to unlock titles and cosmetics.

In terms of game balance, if you are going to take away the risk, you need to balance it with the right reward. No risk, no reward. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

So tell me, since you are completely removing the risk, how much reward do you think there should be?

@rusticwolf01

You cater both to people who want a PvP aspect or solely a PvE one.

Yet... there is more than 2 options:

And, for someone like me, I'd honestly play both open and private.

This is what the game is about, having people interact and play together. For people like you and me... that enjoy PVP but also enjoy PVE. Yet you are here claiming they need to cater to both styles... so are you PVE or are you PVP pick a side? What is your mood today, why make that choice at the menu screen instead of on the seas themselves? The Adventure mode is not supposed to become your hunting ground for after you done with your PVE ground.

The gold, the treasure, the reputation... are all just cosmetics after all and don't impact gameplay. You know what does impact gameplay? The other crew doing a tall tale or hunting me down... one will avoid me and the other will chase after me. How are you going to respond to those sails you see in a distance?

The whole idea behind the Sea of Thieves is a PvEvP shared open world experience. It isn't about the treasure it is about the glory and the story. These are crafted by not knowing the intent of the other players on the seas.

Tall tales have been granted check-points, so no need to rage quit... simply swap servers and continue on your journey.

@rusticwolf01

This is not the first time this has happened. I also play a lot of Elite: Dangerous. In Elite, you have the option of joining Open Play, Private Group, or Solo servers. Everything transfers for your character and if certain events happen, they happen regardless of what server you're on. All you're deciding is the level of human interaction you have.

I don't play Elite Dangerous so I have a couple questions. At the height of ED's popularity, when there were a lot of people playing the game, did the game have the choice for you to go into a different server based on your playstyle? Or did it start out like SOT where for the first 2 years of its popularity, EVERYONE was put into the same servers no matter what?

And second, is Elite Dangerous a game where what you do in a previous session matters? Do things transfer over from session to session, or is it like SOT where every session is a brand new encounter, nothing is saved and you start brand new everytime you launch the game?

If your answer is yes to the first scenarios then you can't compare ED to Sea of Thieves, because the core of the games are completely different. SOT has a core where everyone is on the exact same game level no matter what. You could start playing this game for the first time and you would be on the exact same game level as someone who's played for 2+ years, the only difference is your skill level. And if you said yes to ED being a game where it started out as a game where you could choose which servers to go into, then you can't compare it to SOT either, because ED attracted an audience of people who want separate servers. And SOT attracted an audience of people who want everyone in the same server, so no comparison there.

Now, why I think this should just happen? Well, you have Discord groups that spend hours taking over servers so that all player ships are peaceful towards each other and they are free to pursue Tall Tales, forts, etc without being harassed by other players who may be doing it out of malice or just being pirates (because, let's face it, there's a difference and they both exist). So, if this is going to happen anyways, why not support it.

I could take your same logic and say, Well, you have Discord groups that spend hours making cheats and hacked clients and selling them to all players to allow people to cheat in Sea of Thieves. Since they have these hacks they don't have to worry about being harassed by other players. So if this is going to happen anyways, why not support it?

I'm not comparing cheats to alliance servers, I'm saying that if your reason for why we should help alliance servers become an option in game is because, "People are going to do it anyways, so might as well help them." That way of thinking is faulty.

There are no items in Sea of Thieves that give you a benefit. No bonuses, all cosmetic. It's just the matter of a group wanting to peacefully catch up on their Tall Tales without another ship swooping in and taking the totem they need (I've had this happen, even offered to just give the other crew all the treasure, we just wanted to finish a Tall Tale, but they deemed otherwise). So, if everything is cosmetic and has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on gameplay (I mean, I can just use doubloons to buy my way to max Sea Dog rank and get all the gear if I want to!), then let these open/private/solo servers happen.

Tall Tales have a checkpoint system now, so if you do sink to someone then you can just restart the tall tale where you left off. And people can still sink you for your tall tale loot, you can sell tall tale items to the Reaper's Hideout for money, so they still have incentive to steal your tall tale.

You cater both to people who want a PvP aspect or solely a PvE one. And, for someone like me, I'd honestly play both open and private.

A lot of people who advocate for a PvE only server have this reason somewhere in their post, "It doesn't affect those who want to PvP, it only helps those who wants a PvE adventure." This is not true because there are 2 different types of PvPers.

PVPER #1: People who enjoy ship vs ship combat. Cannons, boarding, sinking, chasing, harpoons, anchor turns, and boarding PvP. These people mostly play arena because they like the SvS aspect of the game.

PVPER #2: This is the category that most PvPers fall into. They enjoy stealing loot and PvPing other people. Since you can't really steal loot in arena, these people play adventure. I'd say around 99% of PvPers who play adventure, do so because they have the ability to steal loot.

The reason why adding a PvE only mode affect PvPers is because you are effectively removing the loot from adventure mode. Let's say you want to stack the FOTD 10 times, that will take you around 8 hours to do if you're quick. Would you rather go into a server where:

(1) You could be tucked on
(2) You could have your loot be stolen
(3) You waste 8 hours of work because a pirate boarded your ship
(4) You're always under constant threat that you could die

OR, would you rather be in a server where you are safe from all of those problems, and don't have to worry about some pirate stealing your loot?

90% of players will take the second option, because there is no reason to put yourself in a situation where bad things could happen when you could alternatively be completely safe from other players. I'm not saying, "90% of players wants PvE only servers," I'm saying that if they were added, 90% of players would play them. Just like if they added an invincibility potion, EVERYONE would use it, does that mean that it should be added or that people want it? No, but since it's in the game people are going to use it.

And since you are removing the loot providers (PvErs) then you will also lose the PvPers as well, because there is no more loot on the adventure servers. Not to even mention the developers and how they want their game to be.

Developers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_yrN70591Q&feature=youtu.be&t=3578

Developers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_yrN70591Q&feature=youtu.be&t=3681

As the developers said, the path to pirate legend involves the threat that you could be fought by other players. That's why they aren't going to add a PvE only server, as they believe and the majority of players believe that the path to pirate legend includes the fear of being fought by another pirate and losing your loot. There is no reason to pander to the couple thousand people who want PVE only servers, when you have hundreds of thousands of players who have bought and actively play the game because of the PVP factor. It doesn't make sense to change the game for a few, when the vast majority don't want that. Since most people fall into the category of PvPvEers, that would mean that if you remove the PvP aspect of the game, most of the playerbase would leave.

But, there are also days that I want to go on Athena voyages and have feel the rush of dodging and fighting my way through other crews to either succeed and cash out or feel that bittersweet loss.

From this sentence here I can see that you're not just another crybaby who plays SOT and even though they knew that there was PvP, still complain about PvP. So I'm hoping that because you aren't on the extreme side of things that you can read and understand what I'm saying and see the other side of things.

At the end of the day whether you want to add PvE servers or not, the developers themselves have said multiple times that they don't want to separate players into different servers. They want this game to be one where players of all groups, PvPers, PvErs, and RPers can all be in the same server together. The only thing that can change the developers vision for the game is if the community comes together and says that they want something different. That isn't happening, and they still have a very strong community in favor of PvPvE, so there's no point in trying to do something that could backfire into something very deadly.

The only way that SOT will add a PvE only server, is if a majority of the community says that they want PVE only servers, until that happens, a PVE only server will never be added. When you are the owner of a video game, you have to do what the majority of people want or you risk killing your game, and right now the majority of people do not want PvE only servers, so they aren't going to add them.

This game was MADE and is a game for PvPvErs, not for PvErs or people who just want to do missions and voyages without any threat whatsoever, the sooner that people can accept that this game was BUILT for PvPvE, then sooner they will be able to have fun in the game.

@awyrlas while I agree that the sheer size of Elite helps keep interactions low, I've had several instances where I've been a lone miner and had to fend off wings of players. And, the thing with Elite is (I think) it's all one big server. There's no limit on the number of commanders in open play, therefore no instance jumping. And, Rare has already released the ability for console players to turn off the ability to play with PC players, therefore 'stunting' the game in the eyes of all the cutthroats out there. So, why can't buccaneers like myself turn off PvP in a private instance? Like I said, I can sit in a Discord that regularly takes over instances and just pop alliance flags and simply run Tall Tales all day if I wanted to, just have to sit for a few hours to get things set up. It's already happening, so Rare should capitalize.

@kaijoi I'm not saying that I don't have fun in PvP. There are just days that I'd like to just immerse myself in lore. So, that's where communication and compromise come into play. If the devs want to keep a PvPvE style when it comes to loot and reputation, so be it. But, honestly, something like a story mode wouldn't be a bad idea where all you do is go around and explore the story of the Sea of Thieves itself. Either reduce or eliminate gold and reputation gain in 'story mode' so the allure of treasure and huge gains still remains in Adventure.

@kommodoreyenser and you see, that's something I'm fine with. If the devs added a 'Story Mode' where the sole purpose was just to just do the ever-increasing story of the Sea of Thieves, but then reduce or eliminate gold and reputation gains, I'd be fine with that.

@rusticwolf01 Private servers are coming soon for a small fee.

@awyrlas oh absolutely, that's an option. For an arena type mode where all you do are the Tall Tales and maybe some kind of exploration faction associated with it. But, all you get are commendations and reputation for the new faction maybe. But, as a cost, you lose the ability to run treasure voyages for Athena, GH, OoS, and MA for gold and reputation.

@itzbrayy ah, I see you didn't fully read my post and only saw what you wanted. I am a PvPer and see that side of things. I'm also a PvEer, and I see that side of things. If I'm on with my crew, I can run voyages all day and can run or fight just about anyone with no issue. But, then again, on my off days, I'll find myself in a solo sloop to run Tall Tales or fish. And, I've had good days where another ship will pull up and essentially do the "give us your treasure and you can go" deal which I'm fine with, because all I have are some grubs and the starting supplies, minus more planks for storms. So I can, as you say "Adapt Overcome Survive" but it'd be nice to have something like Arena but just for exploration and story's sake.

@rusticwolf01

I agree to some extent. Honestly I wouldn't mind if tall tales were a separate server all to their own, as you don't get that much gold or doubloons for completing them or stealing them. Maybe make it so you get little to no gold for completing them, but I don't know. I don't care either way as you do have checkpoints to save your progress, but if they did add a private server for tall tales it wouldn't be too bad.