NPC Skeleton-Crewmate for Solo players (Sloop only)

Or, Crazy take here. Realize that solo is hard mode and deal with it. I like many others have successfully solo slooped in pvp for a long time. You do not need assistance of an AI for solo slooping. It would completely break the balance of the game. Stop asking for crutches, either get good or find some friends. Simple as that.

The fact that this idea comes up (and it's not a bad one) is proof that OPEN CREW NEEDS TO BE FIXED.

Even the most anti-social of players should be able to utilize open crew and find a like-minded also anti-social individual that they can silently play with and only use text/pirate chat.

If open crew had some VERY SIMPLE filters, it could obsolete this idea.

But until they do that...

At a high level, this isn't a bad idea. There would need to be some tweaks related to other player encounters and ensure that you are able to engage with other ships however you want and not have the "skelly" working against you. Those finer details could be worked out, though.

_
Just fix Open Crew, Rare...seriously...it's a joke that one of only two crew type options at your main menu is just a complete laughable joke that everyone pretty much STRONGLY encourages players to avoid at all costs.

@wolfmanbush Or counterpoint, people could realize that this at it's core has always been a PvP game and if they don't like that then this isn't the game for them. I look forward to seeing all the salty tears in a few weeks when season 8 drops. We deserve a proper pvp update and it's about time. People need to be reminded that PvP has always been a core part of this game and if they can't get onboard with that then this is not the game for them. Now does that mean they will always get pvp, no. I've had plenty of sessions where i spend hours searching for ships to sink and get nothing. However if you don't willingly accept the risks playing this game than there is nothing to be done. Because what if you give someone like me an AI that will repair for me. That's completely broken. I can already solo gally's on my sloop and that is with having to manage everything myself. Do you have any idea how much easier it would become if I had a bot that handled all the repairs for me? That's a huge advantage to any solo that actually can play and that further imbalances the game. I don't care if it helps the noobs because in the hands of good players it only creates further imbalance. I could shoot myself off constantly knowing that even if my ship took damage the bot would handle it. That is insanely broken.

@cptnpotbeard said in NPC Skeleton-Crewmate for Solo players (Sloop only):

Or, Crazy take here. Realize that solo is hard mode and deal with it. I like many others have successfully solo slooped in pvp for a long time. You do not need assistance of an AI for solo slooping. It would completely break the balance of the game. Stop asking for crutches, either get good or find some friends. Simple as that.

How would this break the balance of the game? A human friend that is playing with you can do all that the AI would do here, but way better. So why the complains about balance?

Thanks for the other replies, guys.

@pale-sabre So then get a friend? Or learn to manage everything by yourself like every other successful solo slooper has done? All you want is a crutch and that crutch brings nothing of value to the game. And as I mentioned if I have a bot on my ship that will always repair and bail for me I can make riskier plays without worry. That breaks the balance. Plus do you even have any remote idea the programming challenge that would create and the amount of stress it would put on the already terrible servers? Just no. Either get good at being self reliant or stop being anti social in an online multiplayer game. Simple as that. You don't need a bot to be your crutch. So sick and tired of seeing people whine about needing an advantage when solo in a game that is literally about playing with a crew. I sincerely wish Rare would return the onboarding screen back to how it was at launch with the prompt that confirms that when you set sail solo you are opting into hard mode. Either accept that you have chosen to play on hard or get some friends. Stop asking for a damn crutch. None of the rest of us need a crutch.

And as I mentioned if I have a bot on my ship that will always repair and bail for me I can make riskier plays without worry. That breaks the balance.

How would this break the balance? I mean, give it a little tweaking as I don't agree with everything said here, but it's obviously less effective than having two actual players. So where does it break the balance? You can make riskier plays, sure, but you could do that if you just "git gud" or "git frend" like you suggest and be more effective, so... how?

Either get good at being self reliant or stop being anti social in an online multiplayer game. Simple as that.

That's shockingly ableist. Some people have debilitating social anxiety. Some people have physical limitations. "Lots of us have just dealt with it" doesn't work when not everyone has the same capability you do physically or physiologically. Your "get over it" suggestion is actually impossible for some people. Also, some people have other situations that preclude them from playing with friends for a variety of reasons, and tell me you want to play open crew every day the way it is currently.

@cptnpotbeard have you every tried this thing called "empathy"? So a solo-sloop gets a little helper. Maybe nerf it a bit from the suggestion provided, but what will that mean? It's available to anyone and not as effective as another crew member, so it is not really an advantage. I'm sure you're already so good at the game you'll still be able to roll up on fresh spawns and sink them before they get to their ship, per usual.

I like the idea of having a friendly skelly crew mate for my solo sloop. I would say in general it should be nerfed back a bit from what you're suggesting, but I like the "bones" of the idea (see what I did there? eh? eh???).

In my mind, so it doesn't become too OP (not that I think it is), here would be my suggestions:

1. The skeleton would stay on the ship.
2. The skeleton would have a cutlass only.
3. The skeleton could play shanties with me!
4. The skeleton could play shanties by itself.
5. The skeleton could repair and bail water, as well as be ordered to raise or lower sails. All of this would happen at the same speed as a normal crewmate or slower.
6. The skeleton could help raise anchor.

Honestly I'm torn at the thought that it could attack boarders, so maybe no cutlass. I'm not 100% where I stand on that honestly. I think there are a few things that I as a solo slooper could use a little help with, such as sails and repairs and bailing, but other than that it should primarily be a solo experience. I like the idea of interacting with it like a pet, drinking grog or playing shanties. Just something to make it a bit less lonely on the seas.

@sweetsandman
Agreed. Even some simple filters like what emissary you would want to raise, "Primarily PvP" vs "Primarily PvE", "Tall Tales" (even as specific as which one you would be working on), or "Current Adventure" would make things a lot easier. People would get to join in with a crew that already had at least a similar objective. Currently it's just people not being able to choose what they want to do, setting fire to the ship, and then logging off.

@cptnpotbeard said in NPC Skeleton-Crewmate for Solo players (Sloop only):

Or, Crazy take here. Realize that solo is hard mode and deal with it. I like many others have successfully solo slooped in pvp for a long time. You do not need assistance of an AI for solo slooping. It would completely break the balance of the game. Stop asking for crutches, either get good or find some friends. Simple as that.

Solo combat IS possible, and i will always find my self doing it, but having a derpy skele on a ship wouldnt break balance by any measure if it can only be done when solo.

@maximusarael020 Again the game is designed to be played with friends. If you have crippling social anxiety maybe don't play an open world sandbox multiplayer game? Even if they nerfed it it's still pointless. Just like the people who want private PvE servers to grind on. It completely goes against the core of the game which is to bring people together to have interesting interactions whether they be friendly or hostile. I agree open crew is garbage but that's why Xbox LFG exists and there is the Official SoT Discord to find people to play with. Plus the more you enable handicapping solo sloopers the worse off the playerbase becomes. They will become reliant on the bot to perform actions instead of learning to do the actions themselves which further inhibits their growth as a player because if you continue to rely on a crutch instead of trying to improve yourself you will never get better. But again if you give someone like me access to that skeleton as he described it where it can defend against boarders and repair and signal other ships I just become that much more unstoppable, plus for newer players it just makes you a worse player. You stop learning to look at the horizon because why bother, my skelly will tell me if anything is wrong? Water coming into the boat na Skelly's got it. See my point? It just cripples you by making you have to play the game less and less because you just don't want to deal with the fact you have chosen hard mode. You start becoming reliant on an AI to handle everything for you and then you don't learn how to play the game properly. It's just a bad idea. All it will do is make new players worse at the game because they won't have to learn the mechanics because the AI will take care of it for them thus making them worse players overall.

@cptnpotbeard So people who play the game with a crew currently are inherently worse than people who primarily play solo because they rely on other players to do things like repair, scan the horizon, etc? Interesting take.

I had suggested nerfing some of the capabilities stated in the OP. Would you have a problem with a pet skeleton that just played shanties and drank grog? If so... I guess you just hate fun. If not, then that's a place to start. If you have to command the skeleton to do things, then that still teaches you situational awareness as to what needs to be done on the ship. You can't just say "Repair" because if they only repair and never bail, you'll still sink. You still learn things about the game, and might have a bit better experience overall with longer player retention than currently happens if you could have a little skeleton buddy help you out when solo. There's no balance issue.

Yes, LFG and Discord exist. Outside of the game. But they still require certain efforts that maybe some people aren't just ready for. Also a lot of them say "must have 20+ days played, I'll be checking profiles" so how are newer players supposed to play and learn? And again, "if you have x disability maybe don't do y" is just freaking awful, man. We can try to make things a bit more accessible to people. No one here is suggesting creating a mode with no threats and god mode. Just a little not-as-good-as-a-human assistant. You don't like where the OP suggests that it fights off boarders. Honestly I'm not 100% on that either, so suggest dropping that ability or altering it rather than "No, git gud noob bad idea." Have some empathy and creativity. If things don't change and don't get added to the game that can potentially bring more people in then you'll be very happy to have the seas all to yourself and the same 25 people still playing in year 7 because you managed to chase off anything that might make the game enticing to newer players. At its core yes this is a social game, but it's also just a lot of fun to play by yourself in the limited time some people get to play.

Also, the game isn't nearly as social as it could be anyway. People like Blurbs call for things like "player interaction" which for him is just code for "fighting/combat". Twice yesterday I had no loot, no emissary flag, and was speaking through my speaking trumpet at other crews just wanting to chat. One person had a cool ship name, so I told them that and they immediately opened fire on my ship. I never fired a shot and just sailed off, but they never responded or anything. Same thing with another ship, just sailing by, lit off some flares, and they start attacking. I try talking to them and nothing. So where's all the social-ness that should be in the game?

It's gone from where you could meet other crews to people just seeking out every ship they can see to fight it. Maybe THAT'S why someone would want an AI helper. Because every time they try to interact with someone in the game instead they just get shot at and sunk. At least a skelly friend won't betray you or set your ship on fire or blow your own ship up with a keg and then log off.

The npc will either be useless or OP. Especially if available to a seasoned player.

If I had a bot to bucket and bail the fleet and stage 3 Veil voyages would be an absolute joke.

A couple of issues with the idea as presented:
Pay to hire? No. The people who actually need a bot buddy probably don't have 150k a session to blow.

Since everyone wants to help the newbs, cap them off if any faction reaches 25, or any combination reaches a total of 30. If it's to help newbs, cut off the n00bs.

I am 100% against this idea in general, specifically as mentioned for this iteration.

And as most of you are aware, being alone on a sloop can be extraordinarily stressful, especially in PvP.

No. No it isn't. It "hard mode" or EXTREME mode. :p

My idea is, that you can hire (or buy) your Skeleton at new shops in the Outposts

Heard before. But..why would anyone hire "skeletons?" arent they suppose to be the bad guys. We hunt down and take skulls.

Once you got your new Crewmate, you can name him/her/them it. I'll name it Skelly here.

Wait, you can only hire "One" so this only benefits Sloops? That isn't fair. What if your a Galleon crew? Wanna hire three of them?

Option 2: Steer ship in a circle [Skelly takes the wheel and steers the sloop in circles and makes sure to avoid collisions]

can you imagine the AI tho? so many things to avoid...and going in circles?

Option 2: Steer ship in a circle [Skelly takes the wheel and steers the sloop in circles and makes sure to avoid collisions]

How strong they gonna be? Lvl one for beginners strong or Fort/Golden Strong?

The Skeleton-Crewmate immediately despawns if another player joins your crew, or if you join/form an alliance.

With the price you offer, I wouldnt want another player. Im getting my money worth.

With this, it could be way less frustrating being a solo player in the Sea of Thieves. Some people don't have the opportunity to play with someone they know and don't want to play with a stranger.

I still frustrated. What if they attack someone, they throw the white flag and wanna stop. Skeleton not gonna stop.
What if I wanna board enemy ship? Leave them alone on my ship to...keep going in circles, Repair ship (wasting my resources) or straight?

Your Skeleton-Crewmate can be more than a way to make your solo life a bit easier, it also can be a true friend on the vast blue ocean and make you feel less lonely.

or a Pain in the next if the AI tends to break itself, there been times the skeleton enemies do odd things.
Sorry, but use the Looking for Group if your having rough time.
AI crewmate wont be fun

@pithyrumble I mean 150k as a one time payment, the skeleton would be yours then forever.

I agree with the alarm argument, it is a bit OP. Also true that Skelly should be idle by default and you have to order it around to do stuff.

Also I think it should attack players, although I'd make him way weaker than a player.