Has season 8 ruined the game for you?

@crowedhunter said in Has season 8 ruined the game for you?:

@lordqulex Wait, I'm going to have to do this trash for two freaking months?

rumble rumble I have a stomach ache.

I've been grinding for three months now and am Guardians 74 and Servants 26. I know the level progression isn't linear (it's step-up), but since I have 100 levels total one could WAG it will take me another 3-4 months to get both curses. So... 6-8 months is more realistic.

My best advice is just aim for one level a day, then go play something you enjoy. Small, measurable, attainable goals will help you feel accomplished while maintaining your sanity. Yes it will take 200 days to get the curses, but that's this year!

@crowedhunter

I have mixed feelings about it honestly... Let me thought dump here for a minute.

• I understand that hourglass is the infinitely repeatable end game content. When you finally get to a point where the PVE is no longer a challenge, if conquering challenges is what motivates you, then hourglass is the game mode for you. It is not meant for the casual player.
• Sea of Thieves' advertisement almost exclusively features PVE activities. They attract players with videos of wacky pirate hijinks, who then get slapped in the face with the trophy ruby splashtail of toxic PVP encounters.
• That makes PVP a highly contentious topic. I feel the PVEVP'ers are generally a silent majority, but the forums are filled with pirates that either love it or hate it.
• These curses have been the #1 requested cosmetic since the inception of the game. Then Rare decides to slam them behind a highly contentious play mode. Gee, why would anyone think that is a bad idea?? (pajama kid meme here)
• S8 did something that was desperately needed in the Sea of Thieves: it legitimized PVP. It declared to the community and the world that PVP is present in the game and is not a discouraged playstyle.
• Now it's legitimized, PVP'ers absolutely deserve PVP exclusive cosmetics.
• Hourglass brought back the players that left the game since arena closed. In that regard it was a huge success.
• There is a non-zero percentage of players who tried hourglass because the curses are there and started to enjoy PVP. I don't know what that percentage is, but for those pirates hourglass was a huge success as well.

I feel the biggest problem is that the bulk of the community hates, or is generally unmotivated by PVP, and they put the most desirable cosmetics ever created behind a PVP game mode. Highly attractive rewards and a relatively unappealing game mode.

It's one big tangled mess but here we are...

@halogamer2005 season 8 actually made the game more fun and relaxing...PvE stuff is more relaxing, as PvP has become rarer
And on demand PvP got fairer...I enjoy this addition

No, while the season was ultra toxic to start, that seems to have died down and the remaining toxicity is contained in the hourglass.

Based on your OP, I'm not understanding how Season 8 even changed your game play. I'm a 95% PVEer, casual player, and I still think Season 8 is right up there as the best ever. I love PvP ON DEMAND. I've enjoyed my PvP loses because they were on demand. I do more PvP now than ever because it's on demand. Some things, I feel, are TOO grindy, horribly grindy, but you just got to play for fun and over time you'll get what you need. I do something different every time I log in, just to keep things slightly fresh. My only true complaint with this game is the world is too small.

@abelfam said in Has season 8 ruined the game for you?:

@abjectarity said in Has season 8 ruined the game for you?:

Season 7 is what killed it for me. Being 99% done with the game and then being told I have to regrind everything and nothing I had done before counter towards the trinkets. Definitely put a bad taste in my mouth. 8 didn’t bring me back and I don’t think 9 is going to either. Been playing other games instead.

I am sad to see that season 7 has done this to some of the other hardcore grind players like myself. I understand the frustrations. The only reason it doesnt completely bum me out is the fact that Ive always treated these things as rewards that will come in time. Im going to be playing the game regardless, and sure commendations/rewards will sometimes help guide my course a little, l know it will all just get done naturally as I play over the years. And sure enough Im hella far into season 7 content without specifically grinding for any of it.

But again I understand why it would be a huge turn off from the game.

Season 7 was great content that was very poorly implemented

Captaincy is amazing, truly incredible qol addition
Milestones are awesome for longevity

they forgot to stay connected to the heart of adventure while implementing it, they abandoned the adventurer in unnecessary ways for that update.

All they needed to do was to create a positive transition from adventurer to Captain. Creating legacy stats, not stats that unlocked or counted for anything, just the story being preserved. A page in the back of a logbook, a journal on the shelf, a special permanent page on the website, there are many options

#2 mistake imo, removing the overview stats from the site, completely unnecessary act (they still keep the stats) and killed who knows how much activity and motivation when it wasn't necessary

#3 is more of an icing on the cake of frustration. They should have set saving the ship to 0 cost as soon as it became a known issue

7 was by far their worst season for activity, by far the worst season for driving committed players out but it didn't need to be. It felt corporate, it felt insensitive to dedication, none of that needed to happen because at the core of season 7 are a lot of amazing changes to the game.

They still keep those stats, I hope one day they realize how important telling the whole story is to pirates, how much motivation it creates, and they return the overview stat page as it was.

@da-german420 said in Has season 8 ruined the game for you?:

the hourglas made me quit sot n im happy with it, i just think sot is the grindiest game i ever played , the grind in gta online was a joke against the grind in sot. what offers sot when u dont grind? n would be the hg fights fun without leveling n unlocking cosmetics, the only thing sot offers r the tall tales ,n just the first set was creative, the rest is recycled n they love lantern riddles at rare .i just think without level the fractions n figting over the loot the game is actually really boring n empty. on top the battles r laggy n clunky

I have friends in the gaming industry and the way they put it is "every contemporary online game is simply grinding for battle pass levels right now. All you have to do is find the grind you enjoy and then it won't seem so grindy."

I enjoy SoT's grind. The adventure mode grind. This supply, dive, fight, repeat grind is just boring and miserable. Most players will decide whether to continue with hourglass or get cursed and get out inside of the first 25 levels. There is no reason to make the grind take months when the player's decision takes days.

@pugawuga216 said in Has season 8 ruined the game for you?:

Literally all of this. I'm one of the players who quit back in like season 6 and came back for the hourglass gamemode, so here I am on the forums defending it.

I think if maybe they gave some similar cosmetic to these curses or a PvE variation to satiate the players who can't force themselves to play the mode, then some of the problems and issues we are seeing right now might be resolved.

What I hope they don't do, is change the requirements for the current curses. They're supposed to be hard to get, like gold curse or legendary cannons, and I hope they stay that way, otherwise people wouldn't feel as strong of a pull to want it. Everyone wants to be special, and keeping the curses rare keeps them special.

I think they should have mostly made PVP cosmetics ship cosmetics, so I can see you on the horizon and think "oh no!" PVE'ers wouldn't be terribly motivated to get these so hourglass wouldn't be littered with bad faith participants, and PVP'ers would love them because they'd be exclusive PVP cosmetics. But putting highly coveted cosmetics behind a generally poorly received game mechanic was a terrible idea. That's why you see all the cheaters, all the salty pirates, and are able to buy levels off of Ebay.

@halogamer2005 I am in the same side, mate. The difference might be that I am 43 years old and after few years playing SoT, I managed to get good company on the seas. BUT that is not relevant to the topic. SoT used to be a piece of artwork. I enjoyed just logging in, sail to Thieves Havens and watch sunset running around and moving the mouse only to do not get Lazybeard. I love what they accomplished with water textures, colors, sailing .... I used to feel like in the real ocean.

Now all that feeling is very secondary. Personally, to me, it feels like some new-manager took the wheel. But that manager is not a sailor like the old one probably used to be. She probably is a gamer, a Twitch partner or some star in the gaming industry. She probably played and worked on many First Person Shooter games in several companies. That is what industry does: Money. FPS sells more than a piece of art. She will use the art created previously to now make money.

Sadly for people like us, what has been created in S8 is here to stay. We need to learn to handle it. To play with it. Some people is doing these duels without even fighting. Only to get the curses and open the reaper's and athena's extra doors. After that, probably they (we) will not play these modes NEVER again. Because we know it sucks. I will go back to the tornado, the vault, the skelie galeons, the tales ... the shovel and the compass!

From time to time, I play a tale or the initial journey JUST to remember what this game really is to me: Pirate Stories. Not silly PVP like the industry is full of.

I hope my comment here worth something.
.. and... if you see a ship named for example "roll dices to win" or similar, just put your sails up and talk. May be there are more people like us.

@fretfulelk45403 said in Has season 8 ruined the game for you?:

I got level 170 on 'The servant of Fire' and quit. I was disappointed that PvP itself was not very interesting. I put up with deathly stress just for the sake of a curse. I didn't have much feelings for PvP, but I had a painful two weeks to give up my life to achieve 170 in the beginning of season 8 and I had a lot of bad feelings. This game itself doesn't support reasonable PvP and all kinds of stress are terrible. Two months ago, I already achieved 170 lvl , but I didn't feel any sense of accomplishment, and I lay down because of stress and couldn't do anything for three days. In this debate, someone said to me, "If you're not good at PvP, you should never have these curses." I didn't understand, I started this game for the same amount of money they paid. But they ignored me because I wasn't good at games, so I risked my life to get 170 for two weeks. I think this season has gone wrong, it's all gone wrong, everything has been terrible and it's transformed comfortable leisure time into hell.

No offense, but that's is on you. I understand people have addictions and compulsions, I have friends (yes more than one) that failed out of college because they played World of Warcraft instead of going to class. These things are designed to feed off players' FOMO and trickle dopamine to get them to keep coming back. I recognized this very early which is why my goal is one level a day and then doing something else so I don't literally ruin my life to get some sparkles for my digital pirate avatar.

If this is really what the game did to you then seeking professional help is probably better than asking strangers on the internet what they think of the game mode that absorbed your life for the better part of a month.

@fretfulelk45403

I think you misunderstand by what I mean by professional help, or whatever automatic translator Rare uses flubbed the translation.

...I put up with deathly stress just for the sake of a curse...all kinds of stress are terrible...I lay down because of stress and couldn't do anything for three days...so I risked my life to get 170 for two weeks.

No video game is worth "deathly stress" or risking your life. Sounds like your desire to get the curses put you in a great deal of danger and the professional help I was referring to was psychological or psychiatric. Please don't put yourself through that, it's just not worth it to make your pirate look like a sparkle or a skeleton. I'd rather you be happy and healthy when I see you on the seas than a phantom or a skeleton.

@fretfulelk45403

Long sigh here... A game is simply the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles (Bernard Suits). Voluntary obstacles. Voluntary. Nobody is forcing you to do this (to the best of my knowledge). If you are that stressed then take a break. That's on you, not Rare. As much as I disdain it in some instances, corporations are not beholden to make sure their customers maintain a healthy lifestyle while consuming their product.

Is the game mode fun? Not for me. Is PVP stressful? Yea I can feel the adrenaline increase my heartrate when I play it. Would I literally risk life and limb to make my online pirate avatar look different? No!! And neither should you! I'm not ridiculing you, I'm remarkably and exceptionally terrible at PVP. But I want the curses, so I have devised a plan that reduces stress and allows me to not care if I win or lose any given match: one level a day then go do something else.

If the game is that stressful that is ceases to be a fun pastime for you, and that crosses the boarder into addiction, which is not my area of expertise. I'm not ridiculing you, what I am saying is if a game is literally ruining or risking your life, then please, for yourself and the people who love you, please uninstall it. Please return if and only if you can find a healthy way to play it.

@fretfulelk45403 said in Has season 8 ruined the game for you?:

@lordqulex
They are playing with users by taking the curse that everyone wants as hostage.

Absolutely and 100% agree with you here. I have merely been playing since the Fate of the Damned update and I honestly believe putting the most coveted cosmetics behind a widely unpopular play mode was both needed, and the biggest blunder they've made. They needed a massive carrot to attempt to attract players to the play mode and at least get them try try PVP on demand, but with so many players having negative feelings around PVP feeling that the curses are being held hostage is a natural progression.

It's not voluntary at all.

Unless Rare has sent a mercenary hit squad to your home and demand you play their game, it is absolutely and unequivocally voluntary to play the game. If playing the game has gotten to the point of being a compulsion or an addiction, which frankly is what many predatory game designers are aiming for, then as I've mentioned before you can find help for that.

I never agreed on that and since the time I paid for the game, I have access to all cosmetics in the game. And face it, the problem is that the game itself is giving you a tough experience.

Yes, easy games are boring.

Since games are made on the premise of enjoying leisure time, all contents must be enjoyed with a moderate level of difficulty.

Absolutely not. I bought Rogue Legacy and Dead cells. I wanted to like them but I just didn't. Oh well. This is a sandbox game. I like vaults, I like lost shipments, I like making gold and meeting pirates and wacky pirate hijinks. I don't like hourglass, and that's ok because not everything created is catered specifically for my preferences.

If you want to make it really difficult, level 1000 would be appropriate, but level 100 should be accessible to anyone. This is the main content of season 8, and ghost curses and skull curses are key elements. Level 100 is only 1/10 of level 1000. so it doesn't make sense that only level 100 takes four months. Level 1000 is for high rankers and very few people achieve it, it's only for them, but level 100 is the most basic thing that needs to be accessible to everyone.

I agree. Hourglass is the infinitely repeatable end game content for highly skilled pirates, hence level 1000 rewards. I think the base curses should be accessible to everyone as well, and I also agree that a pirate has made their decision on whether to stick with hourglass long before levels 100/100 and its a ridiculously high to ask people to play a game mode they don't like for so long to get cosmetics they've been requesting for years. It's silly and the grind it too much.

All I'm saying is that these basic access conditions were so high that they almost killed me, and I didn't do it voluntarily.

See and this is where I'm still suck. The basic access conditions are too high, but who physically locked you in a cell feeding you nothing but bread and water if and only if you played hourglass in Sea of Thieves? Nobody, not nobody, is forcing you to do anything. You want the curses, that is expected. But the choice to play or not play the game is yours and yours alone.

And you keep trying to avoid real problems and mentioning personal problems to me, it's not a debate about me, it's a debate about problems in the game.

The game has many, many problems, but until kraken tentacles physically manifest themselves from your computer screen, grab your hands by the wrists, and play Sea of Thieves for you, what you are describing is an addiction. Please do not let a game kill you.

@jolly-ol-yep said in Has season 8 ruined the game for you?:

Issue is : Now I'm ok not to bother with anything anymore in this game.
This is over.
Charm broken.

♬So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time
… It's something unpredictable
But in the end, it's right
I hope you had the time of your pirate's life♬

at least you found something for a while, that's really all any of us get out of being committed to something

The experiences you enjoyed, the things you learned, you get to keep those. Those weren't taken from you, you decide how you carry those, with or without SoT.

@jolly-ol-yep

I'm at a point in my life where my motto is "something in, something out." I am of course talking about accumulating things—about to lose my last grandparent so there will be a lot of "stuff" up for grabs in my family. My parents are trying to downsize their possessions and I'm trying desperately to take as little of it as possible. And every time I buy something I ask myself "what is this replacing" or "do I really want/need this?"

I kind of feel this is where SoT is. Portals, sea forts, and random rocks now litter the seascape, reducing meg/kraken/ship spawns. We lost a world event and it was kind of replaced by a OOS voyage. They reduced the number of ships per server because of system resources (I know, ancients' history at this point).

At this point what Rare really needs to do in order to add more content is to retire some of it. We lost arena for hourglass. As much as I love burying treasure I don't really feel anyone uses it. I understand that Rare needs to keep producing fresh content to keep players interested, and so they should retire the stale content that no one really cares about. I earned all the Party Boat cosmetics honestly, and I would not mind if that was all retired and sold for doubloons. I know someone probably put their heart and soul into Flameheart WE and treasure boards, but all things end. I've sailed with pirates who will server hop as opposed to actually doing a Skeleton Fort. Make way for something new.

I think I've had a change of heart on this. Hourglass may have ruined the game.

Before season eight, I could go into the discord and find a variety of things to do. I just like playing the game, I don't particularly care if we do vaults or lost shipments or world events. Now I go into the discord and all I see is (literally copying and pasting here):

• LF3 reaper HG | Be good 1000+ Hours| Im bilge | Galleon 19
• Lfc gally athena hg NA be good don’t leave after 1 loss
• LF1 Athena HG | Need Helm 1k hrs | be skilled

Hourglass bestowed upon the community such a stigma against losing. The number of times I've played where the person left after the first loss. People volunteering to be bilge on a galleon to be carried by better players. Sea of Thieves stopped being an adventure, it stopped being risk reward, and it turned into win or lose. And this community does not like to lose.

So in that sense, that I can't go on the discord to just find a crew to play with, yea, kind of ruined...