Hourglass is at a bad state right now for most casual players and in this thread I’ll list out the main problems I see with it whilst trying not to blur the lines too much in between, and propose potential solutions I’d imagine most players would agree on and would love if rare genuinely considered some of this feedback instead of leaving the mode dry and unfair.
1) The Leveling.
Problem: As it stands, hourglass (as long as you’re consistent with it) is the best way to level up both of the “top” factions (Reaper's and Athena's), and makes insane money when holding streaks.
On the other hand, if you’re not able to hold streaks and just want to get access to the reaper lair or want to have a ghost curse, it is a painfully slow process to grind that usually ends in a streak loss or just a loss in general which sets you back a ton and gives you almost nowhere in terms of leveling.
Solution: In terms of the “slow” process I’ll address actual queue times and match times with potential solutions in the point number 3 but to focus on the rewards and leveling:
I believe the reputation gain for the Reaper's Bones and Athena’s fortune should be greatly reduced to encourage you to gain your distinctions for those companies by playing the non-pvp mode and actually sailing around doing steals and voyages and forts on the high seas like it’s intended, and for the actual hourglass allegiance for leveling up Servants of the flame and Guardians of Fortune, that should be increased and should be based on more than just a win, more on that in the next point.
2) Gameplay and Allegiance gain.
Problem: the gameplay as of right now includes a LOT of running and sailing and matches can take an hour or even more if the enemy team chooses to waste your time, only for you to sink after your time's been wasted and gain pretty much no allegiance for all that time spent.
Solution: make it so MORE factors go into what gives you allegiance,
"How many shots did you land on the boat?"
"How many times have you sent the other crew to the ferry?"
Make it so your performance actually counts for something as opposed to you playing well and sinking in the end and getting absolutely nothing for it, and on top of that you can have a sort-of win multiplier that rewards you even more because you won, so nobody loses in the end and your 40 minute fight doesn’t feel like a waste of time in the end just because you sunk.
And as for the running: so many people already suggested this, which is to make it so the circle shrinks throughout the match, so by the time it hits the 15-20 minute mark you can’t really run and matches won’t exceed that time-frame.
3) The queue times and rewards.
Problem: As of currently, the queue times are pretty bad in a lot of cases, because more casual players and newer players don't really have an incentive to hop into the PVP mode.
Solution: I have two solutions that work hand-in-hand, first one being to give those players (whether skilled, or not) an incentive to actually play the mode, because as of right now the grind is long and there are not enough rewards between levels especially if you're going for the allegiance 1000 curse, so adding more rewards, curse customizations, etc.. will make players WANT to run more hourglass instead of giving up before they're even near the next reward.
And secondly: Make it more accessible! by putting it in the main menu of sea of thieves as an option along with the Maiden Voyage and the normal High Seas you make it faster and more accessible than ever for everyone to queue in without having to join a lobby and figure out how the hourglass on the table work and have to sail far enough to dive, and this perfectly ties in with point number 4.
4) Supplies and fairness.
Problem: Someone who's been holding their streak for a while has infinitely more supplies than someone who hasn't. Curseballs are also a huge cheat code in equal-skill matches.
also, spawning-in on a normal high seas lobby isn't fair to either side as you can spawn in a fleet event, near a sea fort, get third-partied, and the list goes on and on and on...
Solution: By making the queue reachable from the main menu, this should also guarantee crews to spawn with a fair and equal amount of supplies. whether that be a default preset, or a "supply shop" before queuing and here's my concept for it:
The Supply Shop: Every crew joining into hourglass likes their resources differently than others, so to maintain both fairness and the ability to customize your ship's loadout, everyone can be assigned an equal amount of "credits" they can spend on food, cannonballs, storage crates, wood crates, meat, etc... but they get to CHOOSE what they want to buy, they can sacrifice some food for more cannon balls for example, or they can do with the default amount of cannon balls to get more firebombs, and so on. It gives players a sense of freedom in their supplies whilst also still being on an equal playing field to other crews queuing in.
And as for the high seas issue, just make it like arena, make it so that hourglass takes place in it's own servers with 2 equal sides when it comes to rocks and obstacles, instead of having an advantage over the other by just spawning in a better spot like it is right now.
In conclusion:
Hourglass should be a custom game-mode in the main menu away from the high seas to maintain maximum fairness and to encourage more players to try it out and greatly reduce queue times, supplies should be as close to equal as possible through either a balanced supply shop of some sort or to just give players an equal preset, put less focus on actual Athena and Reaper leveling and way more attention to Servants and Guardians allegiance with more rewards sprinkled throughout levels to keep players engaged and working towards their next milestone, make the bounds/circle close in over time to prevent running and to keep matches quick and enjoyable, and reward players based on their general performance rather than if they just win or lose with winners getting the benefit of a higher allegiance gain and a streak to try and keep which in turn gives them even more allegiance.
I believe the things I've addressed can all seamlessly work together to make hourglass overall a more enjoyable experience for everyone on the seas, if you agree with it, leave an upvote and comment to keep this Thread alive and to hopefully get rare's attention, and if you disagree with some of the things I suggested then let's discuss your concerns and POV more.
