New player, my personal experience so far.

Welcome

This isn't to dismiss your feedback or experience it's only to hopefully offer encouragement.

The sea is random and at times harsh, even unforgiving

but your experiences and the lessons and knowledge you gain along the way are rewarding in the end.

It's tough, frustrating, confusing as a new player but with time you will gain the tools that you need create more opportunity for your adventures.

Take your time, there is no hurry, you'll constantly be learning and growing and improving as a pirate and adventurer.

In the end it's all for something and you'll do awesome throughout the journey. Embrace the compatible encounters, keep the encouraging connections you find and meet along the way, be there for others when you can so that they too can find their own adventures. You'll do awesome things as the days go on.

@testamento9388 said in New player, my personal experience so far.:

Hey there!

I decided to create this post to share my experience in Sea of Thieves as a new player.

I love the game so far, but my main concern is the fact that you are throwing in the real world after you do the tutorial. The problem in my opinion is that as a new player, you don't have the acknowledgment of the game mechanics, and on top of that, you are in a world with experience players.

So last night, I decided to stop playing this game after I got hunted by two players who told me that they were practicing shooting on my ship. They started shooting on my ship, then on come aboard and repair my ship then after that, they started shooting at me again. When I tried to go to the city they come aboard kill me and move my ship.

I understand that the game is about PVP then PVE however situations like that is very frustrating . I don't mind to get hunted die and start over but keeping doing it and don't let me play the game is very frustrating.

Anyway, I hope some one can read it and if a dev read it, I suggest to do a system to avoid this kind of situation for new players..

thanks

While getting sunk is commonplace, what you describe is super lame and not at all normal.

I appreciate everyone's attempt to keep the player in the game, what would be your argument for him wanting to go play a different game where he doesn't have to deal with "the seas are just harsh" kind of reality? Why would I ever invest my relaxation or "fun time" in a game where I have a chance of having my fun ruined? Is the return even worth the investment?

If you don't have an argument then that says something.

@n0soup4u said in New player, my personal experience so far.:

I appreciate everyone's attempt to keep the player in the game, what would be your argument for him wanting to go play a different game where he doesn't have to deal with "the seas are just harsh" kind of reality? Why would I ever invest my relaxation or "fun time" in a game where I have a chance of having my fun ruined? Is the return even worth the investment?

If you don't have an argument then that says something.

The game is full of people that have taken lots of losses.

To some the winning and not losing is very important but to many they see the game as an adventure experience with random encounters involving other people. Wins and losses just being an ever existing part of the environment but not what defines the experience.

It's understandable to not enjoy this game, it's understandable to enjoy the game, it all comes down to compatibility and approach.

As time goes on the experience becomes less harsh because people sharpen their tools, they improve their strategies and performances and implement gained knowledge for more success in whatever they want to do.

@wolfmanbush Youre trying to sell me a game, not reality. I'm not buying 🤷‍♂️

If you cannot see the argument I'm trying to help here, then (like so many other threads I've interacted with you on) I cannot help you

@n0soup4u said in New player, my personal experience so far.:

I appreciate everyone's attempt to keep the player in the game, what would be your argument for him wanting to go play a different game where he doesn't have to deal with "the seas are just harsh" kind of reality? Why would I ever invest my relaxation or "fun time" in a game where I have a chance of having my fun ruined? Is the return even worth the investment?

If you don't have an argument then that says something.

Because that's the definition of a game... Games you can win, games you can lose. If you don't want to lose, go read a book or watch a movie.

Can your fun time be "ruined" by a bug? Sure. Can your fun time be "ruined" by toxic griefers? You bet. You won't find a game that can't "ruin" your fun time by losing, save maybe Candy Crush or some other casual games where there is no real end and losing a level every so often is no real setback because you just play it again.

Losing stinks in Sea of Thieves, it feels bad in every game. If you don't want your fun time "ruined" by losing, go watch a movie.

@n0soup4u said in New player, my personal experience so far.:

@wolfmanbush Youre trying to sell me a game, not reality. I'm not buying 🤷‍♂️

If you cannot see the argument I'm trying to help here, then (like so many other threads I've interacted with you on) I cannot help you

I know what it's like.

I lost just about all my fights when I started for a long time and just about all the loot I collected. I've played the game more than just about anyone has and most of that was solo. I lose less now, both fights and loot but I lose, often enough to never underestimate other pirates.

The random encounters, the freedom of adventure, telling a story through activity, that's what kept me and many others around, through the losses, through the low points of SoT history. I don't sell people anything in this game I just speak what I believe to be accurate.

If people love it or are interested in it and they stick with it and adapt with an approach that doesn't fixate on what doesn't work, they will find their way with what works for them.

It's odd to me that people would try to discourage others from chasing after adventure in their own story. Not liking a game or being burnt out on a game shouldn't be justification for discouraging others imo.

@lordqulex said in New player, my personal experience so far.:

@n0soup4u said in New player, my personal experience so far.:

I appreciate everyone's attempt to keep the player in the game, what would be your argument for him wanting to go play a different game where he doesn't have to deal with "the seas are just harsh" kind of reality? Why would I ever invest my relaxation or "fun time" in a game where I have a chance of having my fun ruined? Is the return even worth the investment?

If you don't have an argument then that says something.

Because that's the definition of a game... Games you can win, games you can lose. If you don't want to lose, go read a book or watch a movie.

Can your fun time be "ruined" by a bug? Sure. Can your fun time be "ruined" by toxic griefers? You bet. You won't find a game that can't "ruin" your fun time by losing, save maybe Candy Crush or some other casual games where there is no real end and losing a level every so often is no real setback because you just play it again.

Losing stinks in Sea of Thieves, it feels bad in every game. If you don't want your fun time "ruined" by losing, go watch a movie.

It's not about that, its about the risk/reward to use that term. Dark souls for example can be a great comparison in so far as being punished or having a "rough time" in a video game, but there's at least satisfaction at the end of the tunnel, in overcoming your difficulties and having real progress. At least DS has a goal or a direction, SoT doesn't, and worse yet is there's not really any coming back unless you wanna spend another hour or so trying to catch up to where you last were.

The biggest take away is the comparisons between playing THIS game and another. You're right in so far as games can be " ruined" by certain things, but how often does it happen and is the reward in the end worth it? Why should I play Sea of Thieves if I could play another game where I could have much more fun and feel not as punished or have my experienced and time wasted as much?

@n0soup4u said in New player, my personal experience so far.:

Why should I play Sea of Thieves if I could play another game where I could have much more fun and feel not as punished or have my experienced and time wasted as much?

on top of commendations for random things they added seasonal passes and milestones, new players get rewarded for quite some time just for doing random things in the game, which leads them to rewards even in loss.

It's far later in the experience that true loss happens as then people are done with most of the sea of thieves side quests.

Just about everything counts for the first few months to a year of gameplay for most pirates, in plenty of cases it's more like 2 years of stuff that is progressing through random activities.

All a new player really needs to do is bring the time down between selling and avoid things like running for long amounts of time and they will make a lot of progress, consistency gets things done in this game as far as organic play goes. Nobody needs the big stacks and risky play, just stick to efficiency and consistency.

Easier gathering and easier selling leaves no excuses for not regularly selling loot.

@n0soup4u said in New player, my personal experience so far.:

@lordqulex said in New player, my personal experience so far.:

@n0soup4u said in New player, my personal experience so far.:

I appreciate everyone's attempt to keep the player in the game, what would be your argument for him wanting to go play a different game where he doesn't have to deal with "the seas are just harsh" kind of reality? Why would I ever invest my relaxation or "fun time" in a game where I have a chance of having my fun ruined? Is the return even worth the investment?

If you don't have an argument then that says something.

Because that's the definition of a game... Games you can win, games you can lose. If you don't want to lose, go read a book or watch a movie.

Can your fun time be "ruined" by a bug? Sure. Can your fun time be "ruined" by toxic griefers? You bet. You won't find a game that can't "ruin" your fun time by losing, save maybe Candy Crush or some other casual games where there is no real end and losing a level every so often is no real setback because you just play it again.

Losing stinks in Sea of Thieves, it feels bad in every game. If you don't want your fun time "ruined" by losing, go watch a movie.

It's not about that, its about the risk/reward to use that term. Dark souls for example can be a great comparison in so far as being punished or having a "rough time" in a video game, but there's at least satisfaction at the end of the tunnel, in overcoming your difficulties and having real progress. At least DS has a goal or a direction, SoT doesn't, and worse yet is there's not really any coming back unless you wanna spend another hour or so trying to catch up to where you last were.

The biggest take away is the comparisons between playing THIS game and another. You're right in so far as games can be " ruined" by certain things, but how often does it happen and is the reward in the end worth it? Why should I play Sea of Thieves if I could play another game where I could have much more fun and feel not as punished or have my experienced and time wasted as much?

Please forgive my ignorance, I've never played Dark Souls. If I understand your correctly, what you're saying is "at least when you lose in dark souls, you get experience and progress towards improvement. But when you lose in Sea of Thieves, you lose all progress and your only recourse is to start over and begin collecting loot again." Do I have that correct?

If so, my response is simply, you're right. In that sense, this game is more grueling than other games. But games being difficult hasn't turned away gamers in the past and I doubt it will in the future. Super Metroid Impossible wasn't created because gamers shy away from a challenge. Some players relish the winner-take-all mechanic, some tolerate it, and some despise it I'm sure, but here we are. Not every game is for everyone, and not every game is for every night. Some nights I do just want to be left alone and play at a pace that Sea of Thieves doesn't permit.

I want to attract and keep more pirates on the seas, to be sure. But if someone can't tolerate the core "if I sink I lose everything and start over again" mechanic in this game, then it's best they do so inside of the refund window. 🤷‍♂️

It might be a good idea to alternate between Sea of Thieves and another game, at least until you get the hang of it. Don't play for too long and get bored, keep the experiences fresh.

@lordqulex Ok but we also have to understand that SOT not only appeals to casual gamers but generally speaking it's main player base is casual. Again this still doesn't solve the problem that SOT has no real reason to play it. Even when I first started playing the game (my friend had recruited me) I asked him what we did with gold, and after learning it's basically useless cause it's only for cosmetics I wondered why I should even play the game?

It's not any particular one problem when it comes to SOT it's a plethora that when all grouped together scratch your head and make you think, is this even worth it? I think that what this new player(OP) has stated, and what many many many others have complained about in the past is a valid complaint that not many other games have a problem with because there's some sort of proper compensation or at least consolation to look forward to(with regards to other games). As we've all experienced in the past, there is none in SOT. You spend 3 hours looting, doing quests and whatever else, only to have absolutely nothing by the end of it. And what have I learned? Maybe to guard my ladder? Maybe to check my horizons? but do I have to risk losing everything each time at the cost of having to learn something?

I can go on and on and start talking about the required "training"(how many games actually require you to go look up youtube videos just in order so you can compete or play the game...?) or learning one must do in order to get used to the game and its harsh environments but we have to remind ourselves: This is a video game, and if I can take the path of least resistance when it comes to enjoying myself, why not play something else?

@d3adst1ck Completely ignoring the reasoning behind the comparison and how SOT advertises itself.

People know what they're getting in to for DayZ. If you're going to suggest SOT is DayZ then explain why so many people, new players, have come onto the forums to express their grief about a PvP experience they had? Or at the very least the constant posts about casual players wanting certain nerfs, etc.

@n0soup4u said in New player, my personal experience so far.:

@lordqulex Ok but we also have to understand that SOT not only appeals to casual gamers but generally speaking it's main player base is casual. Again this still doesn't solve the problem that SOT has no real reason to play it.

Perhaps for you. There are countless reasons people play SoT

immersion, escapism, socially, roleplay, laughs, goal chasing, chaos, time with friends/family, on and on and on

I don't have any interest in racing games and a lot of popular rpg games, that doesn't make it a pointless experience, that it isn't rewarding or fulfilling to others, it doesn't mean others shouldn't play those games or that they should be discouraged from playing what they enjoy, it just means an individual isn't compatible with the experience.

@d3adst1ck Remember when we could just buy a game and have fun? I do

@wolfmanbush First of all, why do you keep replying to me when I'm not talking to you.

Secondly, half those things are mitigated by my previous arguments and the PvP scene.

Thirdly, this still isn't an argument, you can still find all those things in many other games, games that have an actual goal and an actual purpose to the currency you obtain in said game. Gold only became barely useful when they allowed you to buy supplies, prior to that (when I first started, as stated...) it was PURELY cosmetics.

Fourth, I didn't think I had to spell it out: What does SOT provide that another game does not. I'm thinking about what I wanna play tonight, I weigh my options between the library of games I have, I look at pros and cons, I think of SoT and put it against other games. I recognize SOT has an unreasonably harsh community and unrewarding gameplay that can be privy in wasting of 3 hours of my time (games are already a waste of time as is) if I get attacked and lose all progress for the night. Why would I play this over any other game?

@n0soup4u said in New player, my personal experience so far.:

@wolfmanbush First of all, why do you keep replying to me when I'm not talking to you.

Secondly, half those things are mitigated by my previous arguments and the PvP scene.

Thirdly, this still isn't an argument, you can still find all those things in many other games, games that have an actual goal and an actual purpose to the currency you obtain in said game. Gold only became barely useful when they allowed you to buy supplies, prior to that (when I first started, as stated...) it was PURELY cosmetics.

Fourth, I didn't think I had to spell it out: What does SOT provide that another game does not. I'm thinking about what I wanna play tonight, I weigh my options between the library of games I have, I look at pros and cons, I think of SoT and put it against other games. I recognize SOT has an unreasonably harsh community and unrewarding gameplay that can be privy in wasting of 3 hours of my time (games are already a waste of time as is) if I get attacked and lose all progress for the night. Why would I play this over any other game?

1. Public conversation that anyone can substantively participate in.

2. To you

3. People can find the game experience that is compatible for them, sometimes that's multiple games, sometimes it's just one, this game obviously isn't compatible for you and the only issue with that is you regularly try to turn your incompatibility into discouragement for others.

4. Individual journey, people play for different reasons, they find it rewarding for different reasons, it's personal, there is individuality within it. Why I play isn't exactly why others play, we share the environment but we are all here for our own reasons, that's what adventure is, a personal story.

@d3adst1ck said in New player, my personal experience so far.:

@n0soup4u said in New player, my personal experience so far.:

@d3adst1ck Remember when we could just buy a game and have fun? I do

Yeah, but I didn't buy games I'm not going to like and then complain that I don't like them either.

OP said he loved the game 🤷‍♂️

@wolfmanbush So you've essentially given me a nonsense answer about how everything is subjective and completely ignore the reality of how people work. You live in a fantasy world lol. Not sure why I bother to engage with you

@n0soup4u said in New player, my personal experience so far.:

@wolfmanbush So you've essentially given me a nonsense answer about how everything is subjective and completely ignore the reality of how people work. You live in a fantasy world lol. Not sure why I bother to engage with you

I've spent years trying to encourage adventurers in SoT. On and off the forums. You say the reality of how people work, the reality is that the approach they choose will largely determine their success in the environment. They can use discouragement and defeatism as a resource for their approach or they can use encouragement, hope, and belief to find themselves an experience that works for them, that allows them to thrive.

@n0soup4u said in New player, my personal experience so far.:

@lordqulex Ok but we also have to understand that SOT not only appeals to casual gamers but generally speaking it's main player base is casual. Again this still doesn't solve the problem that SOT has no real reason to play it. Even when I first started playing the game (my friend had recruited me) I asked him what we did with gold, and after learning it's basically useless cause it's only for cosmetics I wondered why I should even play the game?
It's not any particular one problem when it comes to SOT it's a plethora that when all grouped together scratch your head and make you think, is this even worth it? I think that what this new player(OP) has stated, and what many many many others have complained about in the past is a valid complaint that not many other games have a problem with because there's some sort of proper compensation or at least consolation to look forward to (with regards to other games). As we've all experienced in the past, there is none in SOT. You spend 3 hours looting, doing quests and whatever else, only to have absolutely nothing by the end of it. And what have I learned? Maybe to guard my ladder? Maybe to check my horizons? but do I have to risk losing everything each time at the cost of having to learn something?
I can go on and on and start talking about the required "training"(how many games actually require you to go look up youtube videos just in order so you can compete or play the game...?) or learning one must do in order to get used to the game and its harsh environments but we have to remind ourselves: This is a video game, and if I can take the path of least resistance when it comes to enjoying myself, why not play something else?

It has the same reason every other game has: because you enjoy it. I sailed last night with two swabbies who still needed to level OoS to get PL, and I've been 75/75/75/75/50/20 for years. We play the games we enjoy because we enjoy them. I won't enjoy Hunt: Showdown, or Dark Souls, but I can appreciate why people do. What happens at the "end" of Dead by Daylight when you've unlocked all the perks and skins you like? You keep playing because you like the game. What will happen at the end of Hunt: Showdown once you unlock the hunter and loadout you like? You keep playing because you like the game. What happens in Sea of Thieves when you get your captained ship, unlock all the trinkets and decorations you like, and your pirate looks appealing to you? You keep playing because you enjoy it.

Are any of the other games I mentioned any different? I watched a stream of Hunt: Showdown the other day to decide whether I want it or not. I like the idea of it, I want to play it, I want to like it, but much like Dead by Daylight I'm going to be absolute trash at it and constantly beating my head against the boots of my opponents is not appealing to me in those style of games. Sound familiar? The same could be said about Sea of Thieves—some people just won't like this game's grind, and that's ok. Not every game is made for every gamer. I had to watch YouTube to learn what was going on in Hunt: Showdown. I had to watch YouTube to learn optimal economics and strategies for Eve Online. Honestly in that regard, Sea of Thieves is no different than any other title on the market. I remember last year when I downloaded GTA5 Online because Epic was giving it away for free or something. Mind you, I've played literally every other GTA title that hit the market; I'm that old. There was too much going on for me to figure out the first thing to do, a good place to start. I uninstalled it the same day, maybe after an hour or two of gameplay. Honestly, even with board games, the expectation is to watch two or three online tutorials before you play a new game that isn't super casual.

I want more pirates on the seas as much as anyone else, but I'm not going to sacrifice their fun time just to make mine a little better. I'm not going to convince someone to play Sea of Thieves if they don't like it. They owe it to themselves to find the grind they enjoy be it this game or another. We're just here to tell the OP yea, this game isn't as casual as the adverts portray, sorry matey. That's just the honest truth: the fun graphics, simple controls, and lack of progression betray the expectations of casual gamers that get this game. But there is elegance in that simplicity: I love how everyone has the same ships, the same cannons, the same four weapon choices, the same map to play on, etc. It makes the game so much more casual and less time hungry than games like Hunt: Showdown where you have to play for hours to unlock the gun you want, or Eve Online where player corporations expect daily play time akin to a second job. I love how Sea of Thieves' only expectation is you board a vessel and have a baseline knowledge of how to play the game. Every game now a days expects you to do some preliminary research to learn how to play, Sea of Thieves is no different, but at least with Sea of Thieves it stops there.

@lordqulex Right, so you wrote all of that to suggest the game(s) isn't(aren't) for everyone. But the advice everyone gave OP was "keep playing" and "get used to it". Obviously everyone here who plays is gonna defend the game because they play it, but so would anyone of any obscure game, it doesn't mean there aren't problems with it. We can go down the list of obscure games that have communities for no reason and why those people enjoy it but it doesn't make the game any bigger or help casual players want to play the game.

I'm just trying to make the point that if you were gonna waste your time playing video games, it would seem to be (by the inability of people to sell the game to me) that one should logically find something else that won't risk their frustration. To that point I'd also argue that most multiplayer games aren't really worth it either, OW2, league of legends, etc. Those games are horribly balanced and having to listen to my room mate scream at his computer every night kinda tells me he isn't enjoying his time. It took me a while to even convince a friend of mine to stop playing overwatch cause every time he'd play he'd get angry (Even most MMO's are just grindfests with no proper purpose or fulfillment).

Whether it's SOT or not my main point is I don't know why we have this idea that we have to grind, tolerate and suffer through a video game in order to enjoy it X % of the time. The point about dark souls was there was some goal or feeling of consolation in some part: you can retrieve your souls, or come back when your stronger and beat the boss. There's a path forward to bouncing back, SOT on the other hand is just a SLOG(which HAS got better over the years) of having to do chores to go and get resources and sail 10minutes, maybe 20minutes depending where you are spawned, to go back to where you were or re-engage the enemy (if you are half decent at PvP and want to try for revenge).

In game tutorials are fine but that's a huge weak spot that has been discussed by others in SOT, even by OP. He wasn't ready and there's not enough discussion to about preparing new players for the seas. If we take nothing else out of this conversation at the very least could we agree there needs to be a revamped tutorial or some sort of proper engagement with a new player about what to expect? Or explaining the many different features of PvP that you'd have to otherwise resort to 3rd party resources to find out about?

This convo has gone off topic though and I'm not gonna continue discussing about the imbalances and social problems of SOT, but will note that they do play a part in the consideration of why someone should play this game or not over another.