Sea of Events, or Sea of Friends?

I think there was a realisation for Rare a year or so ago that leaning heavily on PvP brought in the wrong sorts of players.

I’m not saying all PvPers are a problem, I’m glad the freedom still exists to do that, but focusing more on co-operation and wholesome encounters has made the game more welcoming. It’s possibly also a result of their deal with Disney and trying to be more casual and family friendly.

So, while they haven’t condemned PvP really, I do think leaning on PvE for events is entirely intentional.

This is why I think that the old bilge rat adventures were great like the reaper runs because it gave people loot through pve but also gathered players together and increased player interactions both friendly and hostile which os what the game is all about. Also they usually brought new things to the game instead of just making you do things that you have already done, but now with a new reward

@leftypirate99 said in Sea of Events, or Sea of Friends?:

Overall I just can't understand why anyone would be upset that 3-6 days a year they may have been incentivized to be kind to other players. Absolutely baffeling unless they are so full of rage and hate that being nice to someone causes them distress. If you don't like it don't participate.

Flags of Friendship lasted two weeks in July 2021, Fury of the Damned lasted throughout the majority of October and into the beginning of November, Feast of Bounty lasted about a week around the end of November, and Festival of Giving started this past Monday, and ends in under two weeks from now.

You'll have to excuse me for wanting to call objection to this statement. My goal in making this post was to bring more awareness to how much PvP has been ignored and left in a pitiful state of failing under "intense" action, and multiple ships running away from another ship because they pose a threat to their ship's flotation alongside all of their treasure and pride, instead of figuring out a backbone to grow and fighting back. PvP isn't necessarily pushing people down, it's about a fun and relatively fair competition between two (or more) opponents. The objective to some people is to sink or get sunk, and sometimes the best defense is a strong offense. PvP doesn't get enough recognition because it isn't really meant to happen so often and even then, in short bursts. An event that tells people that maybe fighting is actually beneficial whether or not there is treasure on that enemy vessel is something that I feel would help with the unnecessary backlash against PvP, and encourage people to fight back against vessels that can definitely use a sinking, like the portal hopping Reapers people here seem to dislike.

let me know when the fighting event starts so I can not log in that week so you precious pvp's can have a "good fight"

@nex-stargaze said in Sea of Events, or Sea of Friends?:

[…] I think we can come to a safe consensus that while these events are nice... When are we gonna go stealing already? […]

You do realise that you can "help" a player with their Festival of Giving commendations by turning in the loot you stole from them - even if they don't realise it (at first) ?

This just softens the blow for the losing crew (if they stick around on the server obviously).

IMHO PvP doesn't need their own event or special weeks - it's going to happen anyway if the player wants.

Honestly we need to incentivize more PVE most good players now just server hop pvp with millions in reserve max rep on everything. I think reaper vs the world was perfect event they should bring back due to it heavily incentivising both PVE and PVP making the sea's very lively.

Events are here to push friendly interactions because there's too much PvP.
And you've been here for a year as far as I'm concerned you weren't really there when there were no events so how could you tell?
Literally 80% of the interactions I'm holding with other crews in this game is just bang bang shooty shooty bang bang none stop. So no I'm sorry but these events being friendly is good for the community and instead offers a different reward for making a bit more of the unusual decision that is : actually being friendly. And if I may add, you're asking for people to kill each other on Christmas? Lad they've already dedicated a whole faction for PvP and you just keep on constantly asking for more.

@lovelocc said in Sea of Events, or Sea of Friends?:

Events are here to push friendly interactions because there's too much PvP.
And you've been here for a year as far as I'm concerned you weren't really there when there were no events so how could you tell?
Literally 80% of the interactions I'm holding with other crews in this game is just bang bang shooty shooty bang bang none stop. So no I'm sorry but these events being friendly is good for the community and instead offers a different reward for making a bit more of the unusual decision that is : actually being friendly. And if I may add, you're asking for people to kill each other on Christmas? Lad they've already dedicated a whole faction for PvP and you just keep on constantly asking for more.

Anecdotally speaking from my own sessions and even from the perspective of Partnered PvP streamers, there isn't a lot of PvP going around. Lots of players are just busy collecting loot, not fighting back, and running away. These players don't want to fight and the lack of incentive alongside the content update not adding too much to encourage fighting amongst each other, you'd have to see my perspective is about as skewed as yours.

Then the events are constantly about being nice to other players when doing friendly stuff either doesn't work out to the favor of many completionists that embrace PvP, or PvE players that get stuck trying to submit their existence to a mute Xbox party chat player crew and get murdered on sight because of it.

Encouraging players to actually and consistently fight is a solution for one playstyle yes, but it also keeps the seas alive and filled with more dangers than bloodthirsty mermaids, monstrous crabs, common beasts, and skeletons of multiple flavors. Not everyone needs to fight for loot, sometimes people just want a really good fight, and then loot is taken out of the equation when the fight is well balanced between both crews. That's what a PvP event could encourage, hitting boats with chainshots, cursed cannonballs, fireworks even, something to make players want to sail off and sink an active boat on the seas, encourage more fights so players can have that backbone and even the empty boats getting needlessly attacked at the outpost can actually fight back.

@nex-stargaze You're unconsciously exposing the idea that events simply don't work.
By making it more PvP focused players are still not going to care and still sail away into the distance.

@wolfmanbush said
"trying to push one of these on the entire population doesn't end in a positive or healthy scenario and it's also not enjoyable for competition to include people that aren't into it and aren't experienced to where it's a challenge"

I am not sure if you are aware but you are playing Sea of THIEVES and pvp is something you have to deal with the moment you log into a server. Is it really a bad thing to push a core component of the game when so many people already fight eachother? If someone doesn't enjoy the fact that someone could come up to them and fight then they should not be playing a pvpve game with the word thieves in the title and should go play lego star wars or something

@wolfmanbush
You have the wrong mentality when you say ot is not a combat game with adventure it is a adventure game with combat, it's neither of those because it is both. There should not be one over the other both are equally as important to the core gameplay. Without one the other becomes pointless and boring. This is also why I agree that there should be more events that encourage pvp. I also previously commented that events should be more like the bilge rat adventures. The reapers runs forced you to raise the reapers mark and then pve in a specific area so that instantly increases the risk of pvp while you are doing pve, but it doesn't inherently make the player interactions hostile, it just influences them to happen and lets the player decide what to do. That is the best way to do events in my opinion.

@jojo-buddy-v2 said in Sea of Events, or Sea of Friends?:

I am not sure if you are aware but you are playing Sea of THIEVES and pvp is something you have to deal with the moment you log into a server. Is it really a bad thing to push a core component of the game when so many people already fight eachother? If someone doesn't enjoy the fact that someone could come up to them and fight then they should not be playing a pvpve game with the word thieves in the title and should go play lego star wars or something

The definition of "thief" (from Oxford Languages):

a person who steals another person's property, especially by stealth and without using force or threat of violence.

And another (from Dictionary.com)

A thief is a person who steals, especially in secret and without using force or violence. The plural of thief is thieves.

The only PvP implied by the title of the game is typically non-violent.

@realstyli said in Sea of Events, or Sea of Friends?:

The definition of "thief" (from Oxford Languages):

a person who steals another person's property, especially by stealth and without using force or threat of violence.

And another (from Dictionary.com)

A thief is a person who steals, especially in secret and without using force or violence. The plural of thief is thieves.

The only PvP implied by the title of the game is typically non-violent.

Emphasis on "especially" also it's a pirate game, and in the title it says that things are going to be stolen which btw can be done stealthily it is just usually more effective to sink someone

I see where you're coming from, but i honestly think if there was an event based purely around PvP, not a lot of people would take part. It's rare a crew will go looking for a fight. Forts, in the early days of Sea of Thieves, Forts would be the place for PvP. They were always being contested by more than one crew. Now you can complete a normal fort, FoF and stack FOTD and chances are you won't get attacked. Even Reaper Emissaries, a faction built for PvP won't engage in PvP. PvE based events work because a lot of people will do them, giving the PvP a chance to occur. I don't think the majority of people would take part in an event that had no PvE. Of course you could ignore the event and just sink people anyway.

@wolfmanbush a good example of something that was a good event that became permanent is the Thieves Haven Athena voyages. Those do not inherently force pvp, but they drive players together in one part of the map where they can be friendly or hostile. Also don't events force pve onto those who normally only pvp? I am not saying that there should be events that just tell you to sink 10 ships, kill 100 players, and make someone call you slurs, I think they should either be like reapers vs the world where there was a mix of pvp and pve challenges, or like thieves haven voyages or reapers runs where it drives players together to increase player interactions positive or negative.

@jojo-buddy-v2 said in Sea of Events, or Sea of Friends?:

@realstyli said in Sea of Events, or Sea of Friends?:

The definition of "thief" (from Oxford Languages):

a person who steals another person's property, especially by stealth and without using force or threat of violence.

And another (from Dictionary.com)

A thief is a person who steals, especially in secret and without using force or violence. The plural of thief is thieves.

The only PvP implied by the title of the game is typically non-violent.

Emphasis on "especially" also it's a pirate game, and in the title it says that things are going to be stolen which btw can be done stealthily it is just usually more effective to sink someone

Definition of "especially" (from Oxford Languages):

1. used to single out one person or thing over all others.
   "he despised them all, especially Sylvester"
2. to a great extent; very much.
   "he didn't especially like dancing"

Maybe just drop the whole using the "thieves is in the title" argument to justify aggressive PvP. It's a flawed argument that's used too much. The game is PvPvE. The freedom is there to choose how to play the game, some are pure PvE, some are pure PvP - both in my mind are like getting a pizza and only eating the base or the toppings.

There are commendations that encourage thievery from other players, so that's very much part of the game. I've already given my thoughts on why I think Rare are not going to focus on too many events around aggressive PvP though.

@wolfmanbush said in Sea of Events, or Sea of Friends?:

@jojo-buddy-v2 said in Sea of Events, or Sea of Friends?:

Emphasis on "especially" also it's a pirate game, and in the title it says that things are going to be stolen which btw can be done stealthily it is just usually more effective to sink someone

Sea of Thieves offers the essential pirate experience, from sailing and fighting to exploring and looting – everything you need to live the pirate life and become a legend in your own right. With no set roles, you have complete freedom to approach the world, and other players, however you choose.
Whether you’re voyaging as a group or sailing solo, you’re bound to encounter other crews in this shared world adventure – but will they be friends or foes, and how will you respond?

The bold are very important

This game welcomes non hostile people. It offers everyone the opportunity to play how they want.

Yes someone can play however they won't but is an event requiring people to do gold vaults not influencing them to do those instead of something they wanted to do? Also whether they like it or not they are going to get sunk at some point. Also with the current event it is no longer a question of whether I should be friendly or hostile it is just simply be friendly and give them all of my loot for an event. Before you go and say that it is to soften the blow for someone who does sink, that is not the case, yesterday I did a flameheart with the sole intent on giving it to someone, a friend I know was getting comendations they need then realized the event was active and decided to give it away which they normally would never do.

@realstyli Are you suggesting that a thief has, not even once, used violence or force to steal something. Would sea of robbers be a better title for the game for you? Sea of pirates might be the best, just straight to the point. But the dictionary defenition of the title isn't even the important part, it is the fact that it is a pirate game where people steal stuff which most people can figure out from the title and context clues but you go ahead looking at the dictionary and be confused on why people use force

@wolfmanbush 1st of all on your point that people who want comendations don't like pvp, I have every single comendation available other than the shrouded ghost related ones, I know someone else who is in the same boat and both of us love to pvp or pvpve. But 2ndly you are saying that there is no incentive to fight someone, would an event with part of it to fight someone not be a good incentive, but I do agree that it is a problem that there isn't an incentive. I forget who it waa by but somone in the forums suggested adding a item like sail canvas that all player ships drop to add some incentive. There is also the idea of the reaper faction flag costing money to raise and selling for more to make it a greater risk for hoppers.

@jojo-buddy-v2 said in Sea of Events, or Sea of Friends?:

@realstyli Are you suggesting that a thief has, not even once, used violence or force to steal something.

No, but I never used the word exclusively.

Would sea of robbers be a better title for the game for you? Sea of pirates might be the best, just straight to the point. But the dictionary defenition of the title isn't even the important part...

I think it is when an argument for PvP is made around the title, by many, repeatedly over the years.

it is the fact that it is a pirate game where people steal stuff which most people can figure out from the title and context clues but you go ahead looking at the dictionary and be confused on why people use force

I'm not at all confused as to why they use force. In my opinion, a lot of it stems from the need to see a reaction to their actions and impose a playstyle on others. I'm just as happy to stealth on board a ship, take what I want and leave without ever seeing the player I'm stealing from.

But, again, your argument hinged on the title, which is a weak reason to justify violent PvP... I quote your point to WolfManbush above:

I am not sure if you are aware but you are playing Sea of THIEVES

I'm all for stuff that's geared towards having crews work together to achieve a goal.

Unfortunately, for a while now, a lot of the events we've seen take the lazy approach to having crews "work together"...

"Do this thing while in an alliance to earn extra favour!"

Sound familiar? You have to simply be in an alliance. The alliance crew could be fishing over at Mermaid's Hideaway while you're over at Kraken's Fall doing Flameheart and getting bonus favour.

The alliance system does not encourage anyone to work together. Outside of the loot buff and a tracking system, it doesn't offer anything of real value to either crew. The loot buff is significant, too. If anything, the alliance system proves that gold has minimal significance to a lot of players.

Ya know what you can't do by simply being in an alliance? Glitterbeard.

If they really want crews to work together, they need more things like Glitterbeard that require the cooperation of multiple crews to work together to achieve something. Maybe starting up a player activated world event, unlocking a temporary weapon that can be used to make a world event easier/safer. The possibilities are endless for encouraging crews to work together. The Hungering Deep is probably the last good crack they took at having crews work together prior to creating the commemorative for Glitterbeard.

Furthermore, the Festival of Giving plays more like the Festival of Taking...with a Consolation Prize for everyone else.

If you want to have an event be truly about GIVING loot, come up with a way to ensure that the loot was actually given and not stolen. Make a donation box at outposts where players must put things in and have another crew take it out within X amount of time of it being put in. Use the new Quest Board. Make it so that the only way it counts towards the event is if another player takes your map within X amount of time of it being posted. There's all sorts of ways to do it.