What is it I should do exactly to progress?

@wolfmanbush

Thanks for the input. I've run the first 2 but not so much the third. Tall Tales are fun but I do want to get Athena 20 since I do have a slight obsession with ghost stuff. Pokemon for example I always ran a team of ghosts. Anyways I agree health is more important for sure.

@luciansanchez82

This is how I used to do Athena stuff. But the amount of volcanic activity and the fact it takes me roughly 2 hours to do 1 voyage which nets me around 1/50th of rep by the looks of it seems like it's not worth the time. Especially when it's hard for me to sit still that long. I have stomach issues so I need to frequently eat more often than other as I can't eat as much as a normal person and I can often get disconnected during that time. It's a bit of a rock and a hard place.

@danbeardluff

I do kinda know how the game plays pretty well. I've taken down kraken and megs and even ships on my own. I've done ashen Athena on my own along with several Tall Tales. It's just the pvp that gets me. I just need to find a decent crew or server that isn't full of toxicity or something and overcome my social anxiety. I did hear Rare has been kinda messing things up in ways like that but since I'm usually solo I never really noticed what it was all about.

By the way nice profile pic. Not too much into One Piece myself but I can appreciate the characters none-the-less.

Hey there Xeno, ur really shooting yourself in the leg by saying you refuse pvp. This game is a hybrid pvevp. Regardless of your opinion, pvp is part of the game and you will have to face it. The game has many challenges and obstacles. Think of other players like events like the meg or the kraken. The real question is how you deal with the pvp.

Now lucky for u pvp doesn't just mean "fight" in this game. Running away is a strategic opportunity available to all. However, like everything in this game, including the fighting, it is based on skill. Seriously, running away is based on experience, for example all ships have diff speeds based on the wind direction. If you observe, galleons are the fastest with the wind, but against it they are the slowest, knowing the speed of each ship is imperative for running away.

Equally, avoidance is important as well. Making sure you monitor the sea around an island frequently is extremely important in the game, also known as combing or monitoring the seas. There are many other tips and tricks to the game that may be used but it's a lot, regardless u can find them on youtube. Scan the map for any reapers ship and if your unsure about something, then always go with that gut feeling that something isn't right. Personally, if I see a ship approaching saying their friendly, I already got my scope out aiming at the cannons of the other ship, a few seconds later I already made up my mind and I'm on the cannons loaded and ready to fire. The other player invaded my space, it's his job to put the effort to de escalate the situation. Always be weary, the game is a bit higher in lvls of toxicity but at the same time it has some of the best team work out there.

One great technique I use is scanning. This means I gage or scan the lvl of experience or skill that other players have. This helps determine how threatening they may be if being chased or attacked. For example, some questions u should be asking urself when u see another ship is How many cosmetics do they have? Do they look like fresh meat or seasoned meat? Do they have the correct sail angle when chasing me? Are they anchored at an island? Do they seem like pirate legends?

Now one final recommendation, this game is literally based on working with other crew members. the tall tales, journal's, pirate code, and lore of the game literally continue to remind you of this throughout the game. With that said, this might just be a good game for getting over your fears. I don't like to socialize myself but some of the best experiences I've ever had in any game has been in this one when I've synchronized with my crew mates or joined alliances. Yes, it's a double edged sword, and yes prepare for disappointment because things don't always work out but that should also be part of the fun and challenge. Ultimately, joining a sloop and playing by urself is considered a huge disadvantage and handicap.

Devs, as far as I've remembered, have stated that sloops are considered this game's version of "hard" mode.

Progression of rep at the moment isn't very important. The real entertainment value is in the journey and not so much in the destination itself

@red0demon0

I am aware of the speeds and such. By saying "I refuse to pvp" I simply meant I will not go out of my way to steal from others and generally I can try to fight back if I get attacked but I am just not skilled enough to have a chance of success so I generally choose to try and flee.

The social anxiety part of things is more that I am just a nervous person in general. There are a few people I know and have been friends for years with but it took around a year before I felt truely comfortable talking with them. Mainly I just dislike my voice and I always feel I can ruin a good time just by saying something or come off as "annoying".

I do also understand there will be disappointment at times aswell with finding crews. It goes that way in any type of game. There was a crew I did find in the discord that seemed pretty cool a while back for example but things escalated between everyone and they all went their seperate ways. It can just be tough sometimes to find one that you flow with.

@xeno1485

Yeah, it is difficult to find others that u can completely connect with, but when it happens it feels great. As for progression, pvp isn't all the game is, and not always will you be attacked. Lots of voyages such as vaults or merchant shipwrecks under an emissary provide lots of gold and rep. Athena is difficult to progress cuz it's limited and I suggest not even trying to force urself to max it out cuz the incentives are so low for the work output. Even getting to athena might feel like burnout if that's all u try to strive for from the get go.

@red0demon0

Not necessarily. I just have a slight obsession with ghost stuff as I mentioned in a previous comment. I do really want the ghost set. Doesn't help I need to do 25 FotD to get some of them unlocked. I do enjoy other stuff though. I've just been stuck for so long I just want to get it done and over with though so I don't have to worry much on it anymore.

My biggest suggestion is try to reduce your level of concern over getting up those Ranks. The way this game is designed, everything will come to you with time. For some it will take longer than others, but it isn't about the destination it is about the journey. If you can love the game for just being the game that it is, in time you'll get everything your heart desires and have an amazing time on the way. Sure, people like to flex about how quick they get things done, but with the existence of Alliance Servers among other things none of that has much meaning either.

Take pride in your own accomplishments. Remember, Solo Sloop is basically the hardest difficulty setting in other games. And by the sounds of it, that has been the main way you have played all this time and you've seemingly accomplished a ton of stuff in that time. Just keep chipping away at it and you'll get there.

I've been playing since launch, I'm not maxed out across the board yet. I'm a Rank 10 Athena with maxed out Ranks on Gold Hoarder, Order of Souls, and Merchant. All my other Factions are at absolutely random Ranks right now (with Sea Dogs being my lowest because I've never liked the Arena Mode and still wish it had never been made since it actually has caused way more strife/misunderstanding/arguments in the community on numerous fronts than anything it potentially solved or bestows before being functionally abandoned).

Like the Pirate Lord himself says, it isn't a out the coin (and by proxy the slick clothes, weapons, and tools), it is about the glory of the adventure you took to get there. If you find yourself in need of a crew mate sometime I'd be happy to sail with you. I work in the tabletop games industry so am very accustomed to interaction with the socially anxious. I'm not the best at PvP but can hold my own in a fight (and more numbers means better odds of survival). I'm casual in my amount of time cause life is busy and all that. I'm in the US in the Eastern Timezone, but I maintain odd hours as well so I can potentially be available almost whenever.

Feel free to hit me up. If a crew mate doesn't appeal to you I would also be happy to share any and all wisdom I may or may not have.

Best of luck on your continued adventures!

@redeyesith

Sure. I mean with open crew it's just that I've tried a few times but every time has been negative. People join and then leave making it feel like I've done something wrong, people joining trying to take charge, people joining and immediately start trying to PvP anyone they see when I don't really go out of my way to do it and even tell them not to yet they do it anyways. So i just decided to stop trying open crew. Discord was a bit better but as I mentioned I did get banned or suspended or whatever even though I wasn't being the antagonistic one. If you would want to group up some time I wouldn't mind some company and help.

Gold hoarder is 54, Order is 53, and Merchant is 52. Sea Dogs at around 14 or so, Fishing is around 24 I think, Reaper is 18, and Athena is 8. Just to give you an idea of my ranks and such.

I agree though arena needs a bit of tuning or something. It's extremely toxic there. Sometimes I go in there just to see if it's still as bad as League of Legends and sure enough people are there in the lobby calling people R-bombs, N-bombs, and F-bombs (the 6 letter one not the 4 letter one) which is really not ok.

If you do wanna sail some time though let me know and I'll get you my gamertag.

@xeno1485

First if you are willing to group up with other crews, maybe recruiting a crew member isn't that bad.

Second, you don't have to do the emissary system to progress. It just goes quicker that way. You can simply do voyages, without the extra risk.

Third, never sail with more than you are willing to lose. Learn to flee and do drive by sells.

Fourth, try going to the devils roar, usually less popular area.

Good luck

@cotu42 said in What is it I should do exactly to progress?:

@xeno1485

Fourth, try going to the devils roar, usually less popular area.

Good luck

This is so dang true really. Being US East Coast I find you can basically have a PvE session by logging on a bit later in the evening and heading to the Roar. Couple nights ago I did an Ashen Athena over there solo while being highly leisurely (talking parking my boat multiple map grids away from an island out of all volcano range, rowing over, doing my thing, and rowing my butt back). Took a real long time that way, I think I played for 5 hours, but I never saw a soul in that entire time. Just me and the roar.

Not something I do often, because it is so quiet, but it really can work a treat when you want to play and need the little extra space. I will note it isn't 100% fool proof, others use this tactic too and sometimes people will roll through the region hunting folks. But more often than not I would say it pans out.