Suggestion: Low level content to introduce and encourage PVP/ naval combat.

  • EligibleEel6171
    Marauder

    I think there should be some content designed to help new players learn the fundamentals of naval combat. Currently a new players options are: 1) Hourglass, 2) A voyage that involves battling an entire fleet of skeleton/ ghost ships, 3) Sailing round looking for a skeleton ship, 4) Hoping that a skeleton ship spawns on you, 5) Attacking or waiting to get attacked by other players of unknown skill level.

    None of these options seem like an ideal first step towards learning the fundamentals of naval combat as they are either unpredictable, too difficult or overwhelming, or nothing like battling other players. I think the current tutorial, and safer seas, are lacking in this regard and there should be some low level content for newer players, that will help them learn the basics of naval combat and give them some stepping stones towards PVP so they're not completely unprepared when their ship is attacked on the high seas.

    First and simplest idea would be a voyage to battle a single skeleton ship (as opposed to a whole fleet of them). This could at least provide a consistent way to get into a (not too difficult) naval combat situation. (It would also give players a way to "earn" a storage crate at the beginning of their voyage, rather than having to buy or hunt for one)

    Second (far more ambitious) idea would be AI pirates. These would be similar to skeleton sailors except:

    • Fewer per ship: only 2 on a sloop, three on a brigantine, 4 on a galleon (with similar health and respawn times as players and ability to bail).
    • Ships move and turn at the appropriate speed depending on ship type/ wind direction.
    • Ships can be demasted/ anchored etc..
    • Will sail towards you and attack first (unlike roaming skeleton ships).
    • Will attack unoccupied ships near islands.
    • Potential option to do an "hourglass style" battle/ voyage which would not have the same rewards as hourglass, but would help you learn and get comfortable with the format and how it all works.

    I think this could help players get a better feel for what it's like to battle other players, without being overwhelmed/ thrown in the deep end. They could learn the advantages of aiming at the mast/ wheel. Learn how boarding the enemy boat and anchoring them, or getting a single kill can give you the upper hand or turn the tide of battle. They could learn on safer seas the importance of checking the horizon when doing a voyage, and learn to outmanoeuvre and use the wind direction to their advantage to escape from larger ships.

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  • heslashthem
    Legend
    Insider

    Always been a believer in experience is the best teacher. Get out there and pick a fight, sink, try again. You can read a tutorial but that won’t make you good, practise is how we get better, and that’ll involve getting into fights.

  • EligibleEel6171
    Marauder

    @Tesiccl, nothing wrong with that approach at all. I personally enjoy the "learn by failing" approach. But I think different people have different learning styles and some people learn better with a bit of success along the way to motivate them and there's nothing wrong with that either.

    I agree that players won't get good at PVP from reading a tutorial, or battling skelly ships or AI pirates, but it would provide them some consistency during the early stages of learning. They lose a fight to an AI because they didn't do X, so they do X and they see themselves do better in the next fight. They get a sense of progress and it encourages them to keep trying. Unlike battling a player where they lose because they didn't do X, so they do X, but the next player does Y so they don't actually do any better.

    In the same way that it would be hard to learn to play the piano if the keys kept shuffling about and changing size and shape, it's hard to learn to fight human players who are constantly adapting and changing their behaviour to counter whatever lesson you've just learned.

    I'm not talking about getting good from this content. I'm talking about building a solid set of foundational skills from which you can begin to learn from your mistakes and figure out how to combat different playstyles.

  • HiradC
    Lord
    Insider

    You're not wrong, considering maiden voyage only tells you how to raise and repair mast and raise anchor. But then I don't know as a percentage of new players how many even bother doing it. If you disregard any new player who is introduced via friends and would have some form of tutorial via them.

    Looking at xbox achievements 28.92% have completed maiden voyage
    Only 63.55% have set sail for first time

  • Capt Pilotes
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Founder

    This game is all about getting experience and knowing the game little by little. There are no skill trees or abilities, so everything goes to ship handling and decission making. If there was a tutorial that told you all the stuff you learn by playing there wouldn't be any sort of satisfaction when you achieve your goals.
    You need to supply your ship and sail into adventure. With the time you will learn when to slow down, how to face your enemies and all the mistakes you make in the process will be way more satisfying than having a tutorial that shows you exactly where to shoot or how to land a deckshot.

  • EligibleEel6171
    Marauder

    I could be wrong, but it feels like people are reading the title, seeing the word "tutorial", and rejecting the ideas based on that. As such, I've edited the title to bring it more in line with what I'm actually suggesting. I'm not suggesting a step by step tutorial that holds your hand and tells you what to do every step of the way.

    I'm suggesting some low level content, that still forces an organic learning process, but provides a small amount of consistency for players who are still trying to grasp the basics. I think this would encourage more new players to try and remain open minded about PVP, it would encourage variety in skillsets and skill levels, and would ultimately help to kind of "blur the line" or "bridge the divide" so there's less of a hard split between "PVPers" and "PVEers".

  • BurnBacon
    Vanguard
    Insider

    Currently a new players options are: 1) Hourglass, 2) A voyage that involves battling an entire fleet of skeleton/ ghost ships, 3) Sailing round looking for a skeleton ship, 4) Hoping that a skeleton ship spawns on you, 5) Attacking or waiting to get attacked by other players of unknown skill level.

    None of these options seem like an ideal first step towards learning the fundamentals of naval combat

    How everyone I know learn. No tutorial will really prepare you for what is to happen.

  • CaptDirtyOar
    Ship Mate

    Playing on High Seas is the best for learning.

    Safer Seas is also good to get use to the game mechanics without real player enemies. Take on Megs, Skeleton ships and anything else on the islands that's killable. Practice makes perfect, then try some High Seas onces you know more.

  • Metal Ravage
    Champion
    Insider
    Founder

    If you want to learn how to swim you have to jump into the water; to learn how to play SOT you just have to play it. There is no tutorial that will teach you how to handle situations with other players. Time spent playing the game and your experience will be your guide.

    There are hundred of videos out there, yet nothing will come close to the feeling you get when you brave SOT.

  • Europa4033
    Captain
    Insider

    Thing is, you can't fight an AI and expect to learn about player strategies, tactics, etc.

    "How did he board us? Oohh there's a sound to listen for when they grab the ladder. Now I know what to listen for, and anticipate."

    Nothing helps a new player learn, like the real thing. I remember my first few days in this game, I got really good at sinking skeleton ships. I didn't worry about chainshot, curseballs, or boarders, because those things were of no consequence to me since I could sink ships without worrying about them. I also got too focused on damaging the ship, not caring about hitting other places on the ship.

    Then time and experience against other players taught me a whole different world that AI didn't even bother with.

  • Bulla5278
    Master
    Insider

    2) A voyage that involves battling an entire fleet of skeleton/ ghost ships

    Small correction here. If you dive to a ghost fleet then yes you're fighting multiple ships at the same time but for a skeleton fleet you're fighting them only one at a time. This is your best option and the most recommended way to get comfortable with naval combat. This voyage is also available in Safer Seas so you can practice without fear of a third party. Maybe there just needs to be a clearer description of what the raid voyages actually entail because the thumbnail does look intimidating and can lead people to believe that you're fighting the entire fleet at once. In addition to that I'd say watch content creators. They usually focus on PVP so you can see how they handle many different situations and then try to implement them in your next play session.

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