My Enjoyment of the Game Has Been Ruined Over the Years

  • Skritsarn
    Lord
    Insider

    Not here to get validation or sympathy from anyone. Just want to give Rare this feedback:

    My experience as a solo slooper has been, at this point, for the most part ruined. The patches over the years have shifted the balance in PvP in a huge way in favor of multiplayer crews - on top of that the bugs that continue to grow in numbers and severity just make it a miserable experience to solo PvP. It just makes me sad since this has been my favorite game since it came out. Now i can't play it anymore without feeling extremely frustrated, knowing that the game didn't always feel like this. It's just sad that directly as a result of all of this, i hardly ever feel like playing anymore, and if i do, i do everything to avoid PvP now, which i used to love (even though it has never been without many problems).

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  • WolfManbush
    Lord

    I don't really agree with it affecting solo as much as a certain playstyle vs a certain playstyle

    heavy producers vs server hopping pvpers is where the lion's share of the imbalance has been growing imo

    Lots of people (solo included) can just do less risky things that still pay out pretty well

    event grinders and pve reapers getting wrecked by people that can join a server and buy supplies and have instant access to not only abundant supplies but powerful chain shots hurt activity and loot production imo

    As a solo I think the environment overall is healthier when it comes to ability to get things done
    unless someone is a massive solo loot grinder which is always a huge risk anyway

    There are also a lot more casual and less skilled players which makes the environment less ruthless than it used to be with less players and more of the servers having skill on them in the past.

    Pvp specifically in adventure has always been incredibly frustrating imo win lose or draw
    Not always the same frustrations but pretty darn frustrating on a regular basis ever since I can remember.

    The fancy paintball gun gameplay in the pirate game isn't something that I'm much into but I adapted just like pvpers have to adapt to my tactics aimed at getting stuff done and minimizing my dealings with them. Some people are really into it so it's not wrong it's just not something I've ever found fitting for this type of game.

  • SweetSandMan
    Commander
    Insider

    Neat post. Tons of detailed feedback on what's broken and suggestions on what can be improved.

  • a10dr4651
    Captain
    Insider

    Solo slooping has gotten harder recently. Decided to start giving it a go recently to re-hone my skills again. Got absolutely destroyed by a server hoppping R5 Brig the other day. Multiple boarders, double-gun animation cancel, never missing a shot on me and hitting my ship/mast without fail. Felt demoralising to combat that. Tried again today, better results today so I'm happy again.

    I feel for you. I'd take a break for abit.

  • WolfManbush
    Lord

    @a10dr750 said in My Enjoyment of the Game Has Been Ruined Over the Years:

    Solo slooping has gotten harder recently. Decided to start giving it a go recently to re-hone my skills again. Got absolutely destroyed by a server hoppping R5 Brig the other day. Multiple boarders, double-gun animation cancel, never missing a shot on me and hitting my ship/mast without fail. Felt demoralising to combat that. Tried again today, better results today so I'm happy again.

    I feel for you. I'd take a break for abit.

    solo pvp is a lot of risk that someone chooses to take on. Everything is amplified significantly for a solo pvper so I wouldn't say that has changed a whole lot

    for a pve or pve/pvp solo it's pretty easy going out there for a strategy that aims to avoid conflict and unnecessary high danger scenarios

    everyone gets a bad luck session from time to time but the whole 3 hours unbothered thing is pretty easy to find as long as people aren't taking a lot of risks as a solo

  • a10dr4651
    Captain
    Insider

    @wolfmanbush I was out looking for trouble haha. Reaper flag up, I was asking for it. I go solo to try practice PvP skills when I feel like I'm relying on my crew too much or I've just been doing alot of PvE lately and start missing cannon shots too often or getting killed during boards/defending boards. Fully understand you can go hours without any bother.

  • WolfManbush
    Lord

    @a10dr750 said in My Enjoyment of the Game Has Been Ruined Over the Years:

    @wolfmanbush I was out looking for trouble haha. Reaper flag up, I was asking for it. I go solo to try practice PvP skills when I feel like I'm relying on my crew too much or I've just been doing alot of PvE lately and start missing cannon shots too often or getting killed during boards/defending boards. Fully understand you can go hours without any bother.

    the whole tucking that that went on forever largely switched over to server hopping for reapers

    which entirely makes sense for them to do but it's gonna bring you a lot of a specific type of attacks. They aren't gonna have loot and often not a flag worth fighting for and it's gonna be a tough night out as a solo with all the available resources they have starting out or hopping portals

    Some people would encourage fighting these crews over and over to improve but I don't much agree with that. Those are generally pointless fights that they themselves wouldn't often win if they were in a similar situation

    Instead what I think builds up solo pvp skills is taking on brigs and galleons of just random people on the server

    This allows people to improve by fighting people they may be more skilled than as individuals but being outnumbered creates a nice competitive battle.

    It gives time to practice as someone can draw out the fight 10 or 15 or 20 minutes to practice as opposed to trying to survive for 2 minutes before getting spawn camped into oblivion

    When I was trying to improve certain parts of my performance I would just focus on that while fighting a brig or galleon with non-tdmers/serious pvpers on them

    This way I could work on my angles and my strategies without as much urgency which overall helped me improve more consistently

  • a10dr4651
    Captain
    Insider

    @wolfmanbush some very helpful advice there Wolfman for people trying to improve PvP skills. That's what I mostly do. I throw the Reaper flag up mainly so these crews know I'm up for PvP and if they beat me, the flag is there prize. Its rare I see portal hopping sweats, think I just got unlucky. I fully understand why people use the portal hopping but its the reason why less people fly emissary flags these days. Its a catch 22 and needs some form of rework.

  • Glannigan
    Sailor

    There is no sympathy for self inflicted wounds...

  • RealStyli
    Champion
    Insider

    Solo has gotten harder... if you get into PvP. But, from experience lately, the seas have never been more peaceful.

    I've seldom really gone looking for PvP because it never felt satisfying. Usually ends up with bunny hopping around, hit reg issues, and chomping on food constantly. On the rare occasions it ends up in a proper naval battle, it's a blast - win or lose. I just wish the CQC was as much fun.

    But it's been that way since day one. Sure, solo's gotten harder since extended damage, revive and chainshots were introduced, but the game was never intended to be played alone - we just embraced it.

    If I have any advice, it's just to try not to care so much. Be more zen about the pixels and you'll find you're more content.

  • CGallerine
    Commander
    Insider

    PvP is the voluntary "Hard mode", the game isn't and has never been designed for Solo play, the devs have acknowledged this and said they don't want to cater to solo players, as an attempt to encourage people finding a crew and possibly making new friends.

    The game is meant to be multiplayer, but simply allows solo players, finding a crew is the best step forwards.

  • ajm123
    Legend
    Insider
    Founder

    I can't change your mind. Your a solo slooper.

    What I can say is playing with people is what makes this game fun. Now do I think the game has changed over the years..depends...at its core no.

    This game imo is built around a team aspect. To run solo is why most will say solo is hard mode.

    I would rather play on normal if that means playing with randoms I don't know just for some sanity when playing.

  • Hayrre
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    I love solo slooping always will. Might be because I play exclusively on Xbox servers and the skill gap is a lot smaller and the seas are not as hectic. 1500+ hours soloing here

  • PithyRumble
    Castaway
    Insider

    Have I commented on this? I hope not lol.

    Solo slooping has not gotten harder or easier. I think the learning curve is a little steeper currently so I'll give you that lol. Once you learn it, it's incredibly easy and reasonably profitable.

  • Red0Demon0
    Commander
    Insider

    yeah solo is near impossible now when up against good skilled crews. It used to be where as a solo you could figure out exactly what choice you made that eventually led to one's own downfall but with each update it's now more shifted towards the fact that the enemy might just have more numbers

  • PersonalC0ffee
    Captain
    Insider
    Boatswain

    Unfortunately there is a lot of toxicity in our community and that really ruins the enjoyment, especially if you're a solo slooper.

    Remember though, solo slooping is HARD mode. Get yerself a crew.

  • NecroNikolai13
    Captain

    Yeah, pretty much lost any desire to play anymore. There's no mystery in what the ship on the horizon is up to, either they're doing they're own thing or they're turning to come fight. First doesn't concern me and I'm bored by the second and just leave the server.

  • ntraills
    Ship Mate

    It is hard to find a compelling reason for pvp when sailing solo. When I feel like pvp, I join a crew. Preferably a really good one, cause I'm mediocre at best :p.

  • SuperPopato
    Seafarer

    @wolfmanbush

    event grinders and pve reapers getting wrecked by people that can join a server and buy supplies and have instant access to not only abundant supplies but powerful chain shots hurt activity and loot production imo

    doing world events or running reapers now is just putting a timer on yourself until some server hoppers show up to tuck on you. then when they've shot all their chain shots it's easier and faster to just sink, get a new ship with free chain shots and come back to harass you again endlessly.

    I used to run reapers and do world events, but that playstyle is literally impossible now thanks to server hopping and buyable supplies.

    the worst part? these people aren't worth fighting because they don't have loot. they're just here for no risk all reward. they're a waste of time, and you can't even gather loot or turn it in because of how relentless they'll be.

  • WolfManbush
    Lord

    @superpopato said in My Enjoyment of the Game Has Been Ruined Over the Years:

    @wolfmanbush

    event grinders and pve reapers getting wrecked by people that can join a server and buy supplies and have instant access to not only abundant supplies but powerful chain shots hurt activity and loot production imo

    doing world events or running reapers now is just putting a timer on yourself until some server hoppers show up to tuck on you. then when they've shot all their chain shots it's easier and faster to just sink, get a new ship with free chain shots and come back to harass you again endlessly.

    I used to run reapers and do world events, but that playstyle is literally impossible now thanks to server hopping and buyable supplies.

    the worst part? these people aren't worth fighting because they don't have loot. they're just here for no risk all reward. they're a waste of time, and you can't even gather loot or turn it in because of how relentless they'll be.

    Their prime days of over hunting are over.

    Too many ways to adapt now for the would-be-prey

    All they have left now are runners and people willing to sacrifice it all just to not feed into their style of play

    It hasn't been good for the organic session experience imo. They reap what they sow but it also has negative effects for more than just them. Now people that do invest in servers have less to interact with for their own food chain climb.

    The glory days of the high danger high reward which was really really healthy at the beginning of the emissary system are done.

    From over hunting without server investment and from feature after feature being added that imbalances the high danger/high reward situation. It's not going back because more people realize now that there are ways to achieve what they want without getting involved in one sided situations where they take all the risk and all the treasure loss if it doesn't go their way.

    and judging by the athena emissary ledger compared to pretty much no athena activity on organic servers I'd guess that alliance servers are also enjoying the new recruits that have opted out of the organic experience as well

    and if they luck out and it goes their way the hoppers spawn an island or 2 over and are back for another fight in 3 minutes lol

    All of it combined weakens the food chain but I think how chain shots were released so abundantly just allowed the rest to be amplified and the consequences amplified. People got real tired of taking those chain shots from people with no loot right after they finished an event real quick.

    Then people from that playstyle have the arrogance and lack of self awareness to run around complaining about running and calling them cowards when they literally bring nothing to these fights and take no risks. The same people that are willing to spend 3 hours tucked on some kid's boat to steal their athena chest can't invest 20 minutes on a server to make a fight appealing?

  • ButteryBarnacls
    Marauder
    Insider

    Some of the changes has made it more of a challenge to solo sloop. I adapted.
    Sometimes I think this game is very reflective of real life and reveals people's approach to such.
    Solo slooping was never an intended scenario but some of us do it anyway.

  • Skritsarn
    Lord
    Insider

    @red0demon0 Exactly this. It's more like rolling dice now since events that are out of your control is the largest contributing factor of what determines success vs failure. So the only thing you can really control is whether or not you enter combat in PvP. No PvP game is 100% purely skill and there is always a bit of randomness involved, but it becomes a problem when the luck factor is too big.

    I play solo for several reasons and the fact that it's hard is one of them. I'm someone who enjoys spending time to master a game so for me solo slooping has been perfect. One of the reasons i can so clearly tell the balance has changed a lot is because i used to have more PvP success when i had like half the play time lol.

  • Red0Demon0
    Commander
    Insider

    @skritsarn said in My Enjoyment of the Game Has Been Ruined Over the Years:

    @red0demon0 Exactly this. It's more like rolling dice now since events that are out of your control is the largest contributing factor of what determines success vs failure. So the only thing you can really control is whether or not you enter combat in PvP. No PvP game is 100% purely skill and there is always a bit of randomness involved, but it becomes a problem when the luck factor is too big.

    I play solo for several reasons and the fact that it's hard is one of them. I'm someone who enjoys spending time to master a game so for me solo slooping has been perfect. One of the reasons i can so clearly tell the balance has changed a lot is because i used to have more PvP success when i had like half the play time lol.

    I don't think events are the largest contributing factor to success/ failure, events are scaled based on the type of ship used so in that case it's fine. Sometimes, but rarely will you get more than 1 event at a time and in that case it can be a juggle, but it's not something that happens normally either. Most cases of success/ failure have to do with just other real players being in a larger crew. This has always been the case but that failure rate for solo sloops has increased dramatically with additions such as teammate revive and chain shots. Teammate revival is the worst offender I would say as it's the only ability in the game that is not available to solo players. Furthermore, it made the eye of reach slightly less useful as it was no longer used as a strategy to shoot across enemy ships to dwindle their numbers. On the other hand, chain shots only take 1 shot to completely halt the movement of the ship. Other lesser things like firebombs add to the maintenance that solo's must focus on.

  • Vin The Rat
    Marauder
    Insider

    @wolfmanbush said in My Enjoyment of the Game Has Been Ruined Over the Years:

    @a10dr750 said in My Enjoyment of the Game Has Been Ruined Over the Years:

    @wolfmanbush I was out looking for trouble haha. Reaper flag up, I was asking for it. I go solo to try practice PvP skills when I feel like I'm relying on my crew too much or I've just been doing alot of PvE lately and start missing cannon shots too often or getting killed during boards/defending boards. Fully understand you can go hours without any bother.

    the whole tucking that that went on forever largely switched over to server hopping for reapers

    which entirely makes sense for them to do but it's gonna bring you a lot of a specific type of attacks. They aren't gonna have loot and often not a flag worth fighting for and it's gonna be a tough night out as a solo with all the available resources they have starting out or hopping portals

    Some people would encourage fighting these crews over and over to improve but I don't much agree with that. Those are generally pointless fights that they themselves wouldn't often win if they were in a similar situation

    Instead what I think builds up solo pvp skills is taking on brigs and galleons of just random people on the server

    This allows people to improve by fighting people they may be more skilled than as individuals but being outnumbered creates a nice competitive battle.

    It gives time to practice as someone can draw out the fight 10 or 15 or 20 minutes to practice as opposed to trying to survive for 2 minutes before getting spawn camped into oblivion

    When I was trying to improve certain parts of my performance I would just focus on that while fighting a brig or galleon with non-tdmers/serious pvpers on them

    This way I could work on my angles and my strategies without as much urgency which overall helped me improve more consistently

    I concur with this WolfManbush character.

    Also, soloing against anything more than a duo I don't bet on myself winning. Never have.
    Escaping? Sure. But pulling some fancy streamer stuff where I solo a three-man and make them look like fools? Nah.

  • Skritsarn
    Lord
    Insider

    @red0demon0 You misunderstand lol :D I mean events as in just anything that randomly happens during the course of combat - not the world event feature!

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