Honestly, the onboarding process of the Maiden Voyage is not a proper setup for the game as a whole, which leaves us in a place of newer players feeling rough and making some consistent and unwelcome suggestions to change the game (PvE Mode, Safe Zones, etc). It doesn't properly help new players really develop any gameplay skills or to understand the gameplay loops they will engage with. A revision to this would do a world of good. For instance, what if we had something more along the lines of:
Wake up on Sailor's, as we do now, and run through what we presently do. But then, once we have the Ship fixed up we are sent by the Pirate Lord to another island nearby to hunt down an artifact (use the Riddle Voyage for this since X Mark was used on the first island). When dug up spawn some Skeletons perhaps.
Next we need to acquire a few gemstones (not the Mermaid Gems), one could be on a Shipwreck (introduce that Voyage type), one could be held by a Skeleton Captain (introduce that Voyage type), and one is held by a Ghost Ship (introduce that Voyage type). We bring all these back and the Pirate Lord makes us a Shroud Breaker so we can get through to the Sea of Thieves. Before we go, he issues us a warning:
Be prepared, once you get to the Sea of Thieves you'll share those waters with other pirates just like you. You're never really alone out there, and the skills and intentions of other pirates may vary wildly. Some might seek a good battle for the sake of it, some might want to plunder your loot for themselves, or some might just form up a shaky Alliance with you for the potential of greater profits. But succeed or fail, win or lose, it will be an amazing adventure.
I recommend getting yourself a crew, be it your personally recruited closed crew or taking your chances to find like minded pirates in an open crew. If you're brave enough, and are up to the added challenge, you could always try to go it alone. Just remember you'll come across crews and ships of different sizes on the waves, and going it alone can mean being quickly outnumbered.
Good luck on the Seas, swabbie. And always remember, it isn't about the gold it's about the glory.
And, finally, still keep the very basic lingering tutorial kind of stuff that happens on your first session (making you read the Pirate Code, recommending you to pick up a first Voyage, etc). To me, this would give new players a better sense of the game. They would learn a bit about sailing going around gathering the Shroud Breaker (which also fits the lore nicely), it gets them a chance at both land and ship combat, it shows them a range of the basic activities they will frequently do via an assortment of Voyages, it gives a sense of story like a Tall Tale, and in the end it gives them a reminder that this is an always online game with other players who might attack and sink you at any time (though maybe not).
Compared to what we have now, this would go a long way in actually onboarding new players to the game and set their expectations accordingly. I also think it might curb at least some of the debate and suggestions we see around here that go so strongly against the grain of the game as a whole. It is great we have a tutorial, it isn't so great that this same tutorial doesn't set proper expectations or allow new players to work on building up the most minimal amount of skills needed to survive out in a sandbox world with the experience skill gap can be wild. This game is often about personal mindset in regards to if you'll enjoy it or not, so it would be good to have the tutorial attempt to guide players to the right mindset for this style of game.
Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.
