Pirate code of conduct being more "guidelines" that enforced rules in the harbor

  • Just curious; If you go by the "code of conduct" stapled to every tavern wall then having your ship obliterated and stripped for goods in the harbor should not be possible but, this has been a repeated problem I have encountered with opportunistic scavenger crews.

    Emptied ship comes after one returning to the harbor with nothing to lose and everything to gain by sinking them and collecting from the carcass.

    Is there any way to put a halt/punish folk who do this or is hauling everything at a sprinter's pace and sinking my own ship in a blaze of glory about the only way to deal with these predators?

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  • It's just a generic and common list of suggestions regarding behavior (not gameplay) to pretty much say "hey it's a game, play the game, don't make it personal verbally or with text, treat others how you wanna be treated yadayada" pretty typical stuff for a game or a forum

    Enforcement is done through discretion and imo the least enforcement the better. Enforcement isn't justice or truly solving anything it's just picking and choosing who will be punished and there is a lot of inconsistency in discretion and reporting and inconsistencies in enforcement leads to a lot of resentment within a community

  • @rabbitsshadow said in Pirate code of conduct being more "guidelines" that enforced rules in the harbor:

    Just curious; If you go by the "code of conduct" stapled to every tavern wall then having your ship obliterated and stripped for goods in the harbor should not be possible but, this has been a repeated problem I have encountered with opportunistic scavenger crews.

    Emptied ship comes after one returning to the harbor with nothing to lose and everything to gain by sinking them and collecting from the carcass.

    Is there any way to put a halt/punish folk who do this or is hauling everything at a sprinter's pace and sinking my own ship in a blaze of glory about the only way to deal with these predators?

    How are players attacking you against the CoC?? There is nothing in the CoC that says that players can't attack you at harbors.

  • @xultanis-dragon states to "leave attack in the sea" harbors are supposed to be semi-safe havens for folks to gather but, has turned into a slaughter house instead.

  • @rabbitsshadow that doesn't mean what you think it means. "All disputes are handled on the Seas" means "Don't take things out of game" (the game being Sea of Thieves means you're on the Seas any time you are playing). They just put it in there via what is known as "fluff" (meaning they made it sound more fitting with the game world than just saying "Don't take things out of game" which breaks the idea of immersion that they are big about with this title).

    The problem with doing these things with "fluff" is, as we see here, people not immediately understanding the meaning of what is being said.

  • @redeyesith fair enough but, then the game needs a harsher punitive system for scavengers looking for risk/reward else the whole concept of supposed camaraderie is a zero.

    I literally sail on the assumption that every ship I see in the ocean/harbor is out to knife me the first opportunity they get as the ones who don't are more the exception than the rule.

  • @wolfmanbush true but, without it there's a whole lot of (stolen) carrot and no "stick" so there's truly no reason for predatory players to stop their way of behaving since they know nothing will be done about them looting, spawn killing, and sinking others who just came in to sell their hard earned loot.

    shrug will have to stick to the assumption every ship is out to knife me. Thanks for affirming.

  • @rabbitsshadow said in Pirate code of conduct being more "guidelines" that enforced rules in the harbor:

    @wolfmanbush true but, without it there's a whole lot of (stolen) carrot and no "stick" so there's truly no reason for predatory players to stop their way of behaving since they know nothing will be done about them looting, spawn killing, and sinking others who just came in to sell their hard earned loot.

    shrug will have to stick to the assumption every ship is out to knife me. Thanks for affirming.

    everyone has their own view on what is "toxic" and what shouldn't be allowed.

    To me all gameplay is valid and all strategy is valid and none should be punished although a lot also shouldn't be incentivized through in game reward like commendations or stats

    Cheating should be banned and people that go out there just to run their mouth with racial slurs or targeting women or kids or people's identity stuff like that.

    People just being unpleasant/unfriendly either with gameplay or personality isn't something I have any interest in seeing being cracked down. We have block/mute/ignore and the ability to hop servers without consequence I think that's enough to handle non-extreme interactions

  • @rabbitsshadow Well believe it or not, thats actually how it was for real pirates. 😂 It was a life of glory, deceit, and disease. They also didn’t live very long. I don’t think this needs to change. This is a pirate game afterall. If you want to keep all of the loot you find, play Mincraft.

  • @rabbitsshadow that doesn't require punishment. Player interaction includes attacking other players. It is fine for those other moments to be rare, it makes you appreciate them all the more when they do happen.

    You should have the mindset that you have. Doesn't mean you can't interact, or even try to interact in a peaceful manner when confronted, but you should be ready and expecting that pirates in another crew may well be out to take you out or steal your stuff. We're all pirates out there, after all.

    I manage myself with some simple rules, and I'll communicate those in attempted peaceful encounters. You keep your Ship out of Cannon range from mine (keep your broadside away from me), you don't come on my Ship (even if we form an Alliance). Break these rules and I will engage, either trying to kill you (you came on my Ship) or to sink you (you put your Ship in a position where it could be a threat to mine). I might not win the engagement, but it is going to happen at that point.

    Is it possible that I make exceptions for any of these personal rules? Yep, on a case by case basis. You let me know you are turning your Ship to reposition (which will cause you to broadside me) in advance and I'll probably allow it (I'll load up to be battle ready just in case you try something). Announce your desire to come on my Ship and why, I might let you up there if you keep your Weapons holstered and accept mine will be drawn the entire time as I keep an eye on you (cause one wrong move and I'm gonna try and take you out).

    Along with all that:

    Keep an eye on your surroundings, even in the midst of doing other tasks take a beat to check out the horizon all around you. This will reduce the odds of someone sneaking up on you. Look out for more sneaky tactics by scouring for Mermaids and Rowboats.

    Don't implicitly trust anyone outside of your own Crew, and even then not if you're in an Open Crew (there are ways to troll in this case, which is why we have the Brig option). Pirates are prone to betrayal if they think they can get the upper hand.

    Be firm and back up things you state. If you take my advice actually be ready to at least try and take people out. If you are lenient you are showing weakness, if you show enough weakness you make yourself a target among pirates.

    All in all, the pirate code was not broken by what you describe, and Outposts are not safe harbors (the only safe space in Sea of Thieves is on the Ferry once you're already dead - no one can harm you there). Keep your head on a swivel, keep your wits about you, and be more pirate!

  • @redeyesith I've taken to fire a warning shot if I see a ship blatantly changing course and potentially heading my way. Doesn't deter most as there's no real penalty in death, you go back and just carry on doing the looting you were doing before you died.

    If I solo (I accept folks will pillage me, it is their way) I tend to make folks expend their shot as much as possible before sinking my own ship and blowing the gunpowder to Hell - if they are going to take what I have they are going to earn it and I am not going to be their "restocking" position.

  • .....much like Parley in pirates of the caribbean ;P

    If you're gonna follow the Pirate Code of Conduct after dots and words then you're not allowed to sink ships....at all haha.
    So yes, it's a guidline.

  • @reapinglegion heh, going to take anyone with the name "reapinglegion" as to not even having those as guidelines but, more "flights of fancy told to children to get them to restful slumber" :P

  • @rabbitsshadow ....alright haha, my name comes from two WATAIN (black metal band) songs:

    • Reaping Death
    • Legions Of The Black Light

    So i took the ReapingLegion as a name, really a coincidence really....came up with it when i was drunk and blasting some metal \m/

  • @rabbitsshadow said in Pirate code of conduct being more "guidelines" that enforced rules in the harbor:

    @redeyesith I've taken to fire a warning shot if I see a ship blatantly changing course and potentially heading my way. Doesn't deter most as there's no real penalty in death, you go back and just carry on doing the looting you were doing before you died.

    So, it doesn't deter everyone, but it does deter some. Sounds about right to me. And you're correct, there is no penalty for death, it is just part of the Adventure you're on. This applies to people with Loot too, because Loot is generally meaningless in this game so even if they had some many would not feel like they lost anything. Loot is abundant, only gains you Gold (of which there are also other means to make gains here, including the Seasons system now), and Gold in the end means nothing. So, just like them, if you lose it doesn't mean anything so don't get so stressed about it.

    Every objective in this game is obtainable with time. It might not happen at the exact moment you want it to cause you got taken out, but you'll get it next time or the time after that. Even the technical end game of Pirate Legend is just a matter of time if you keep playing the game and having Adventures!

    If I solo (I accept folks will pillage me, it is their way) I tend to make folks expend their shot as much as possible before sinking my own ship and blowing the gunpowder to Hell - if they are going to take what I have they are going to earn it and I am not going to be their "restocking" position.

    Totally fair. And if you can accept the loss solo you can accept the loss in a Crew. Again, like you yourself said, it really doesn't matter.

    The grander point though is that there is nothing wrong happening here, people aren't being prevented from playing, they aren't being harassed (as they have the control via the tools available), if someone finds themselves in this loop they only have themselves to blame.

  • @reapinglegion said in Pirate code of conduct being more "guidelines" that enforced rules in the harbor:

    @rabbitsshadow ....alright haha, my name comes from two WATAIN (black metal band) songs:

    • Reaping Death
    • Legions Of The Black Light

    So i took the ReapingLegion as a name, really a coincidence really....came up with it when i was drunk and blasting some metal \m/

    Fair enough XD

  • @rabbitsshadow

    Pirate Code -

    Article 3 : Disputes Are Settled upon the Waves

    None shall quarrel or overly dissent against another crew, but let every engagement be settled by sword, pistol and good seamanship.

    Which basically means don't go crazy angry over another player. Its similar to certain family moto's, don't fight amongst family, save it for the court/field/rink. (Basketball,football,hockey). Don't turn an argument or disagreement into a blood feud where you wish death upon another human being. Settle it in out on the seas, aka settle it in the game.

    The term the "seas" or the "waves" literally just means the game. Not a specific location in the game. Its just the game.

    Also what you are talking about is the Pirate Code NOT the Code of Conduct. Nothing in the Code of Conduct says that you can't be attacked.

    The Pirate Code is more what you'd call "guidelines" then actual rules.

    Sorry to burst your bubble, they players did nothing bad, you got attacked and you got sunk. Be better next time.

  • states to "leave attack in the sea" harbors are supposed to be semi-safe havens for folks to gather but, has turned into a slaughter house instead.

    That for Ingame ruling. Means to keep all "fights" and arguments ingame, not out. Dont send msg or hunt them down else where.

    harsher punitive system for scavengers looking for risk/reward else the whole concept of supposed camaraderie is a zero.

    No. Sorry. No.

    sail on the assumption that every ship I see in the ocean/harbor is out to knife me

    And thus, the game itself. The great unknown. Like getting into a car or riding a bike. Will I get into an accident?

    I've taken to fire a warning shot if I see a ship blatantly changing course and potentially heading my way.

    Advise NOT to do such a tactic....some will see that as a "Come at me bro" signal instead of Warning. More, Im ready for a fight, are you?

    That all I got, I hope others who feel the same take it all in.
    The CoD needs to be read and "understood" correctly.

    There are also Ingame Rules, that are unspoken and some do follow. Of course, not everyone follows or knows these but it helps.

    • Mic and Speak what you are doing. Sometimes "Tall Tale" keeps the beast away
    • Cannons Up. Meaning your not doing any fighting.
    • Simple Emote Wave
    • Alliance Flag up
  • @xultanis-dragon no bubble to bust - just confirming what I read to see if it was incorrect. Love the sandbox and intend to keep playing :)

  • @burnbacon said in Pirate code of conduct being more "guidelines" that enforced rules in the harbor:

    states to "leave attack in the sea" harbors are supposed to be semi-safe havens for folks to gather but, has turned into a slaughter house instead.

    That for Ingame ruling. Means to keep all "fights" and arguments ingame, not out. Dont send msg or hunt them down else where.

    harsher punitive system for scavengers looking for risk/reward else the whole concept of supposed camaraderie is a zero.

    No. Sorry. No.

    sail on the assumption that every ship I see in the ocean/harbor is out to knife me

    And thus, the game itself. The great unknown. Like getting into a car or riding a bike. Will I get into an accident?

    I've taken to fire a warning shot if I see a ship blatantly changing course and potentially heading my way.

    Advise NOT to do such a tactic....some will see that as a "Come at me bro" signal instead of Warning. More, Im ready for a fight, are you?

    That all I got, I hope others who feel the same take it all in.
    The CoD needs to be read and "understood" correctly.

    There are also Ingame Rules, that are unspoken and some do follow. Of course, not everyone follows or knows these but it helps.

    • Mic and Speak what you are doing. Sometimes "Tall Tale" keeps the beast away
    • Cannons Up. Meaning your not doing any fighting.
    • Simple Emote Wave
    • Alliance Flag up

    Yeah, the last batch of folk had just left the harbor and went out of their originally plotted course to head in our direction - at this stage I am not bothering to wave as that in itself is already a hostile act.

    Regarding the mic; most of the folks I have heard speaking on the sea have either been German or Russian neither of which I can could converse in well enough to (literally in this instance) save my life.

    May run alliance flag but, then have had that also not mean much in the past.

    Thanks for the feedback though, it is appreciated - the ocean calls :)

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