Feedback and Question About Crew Size Limits in Sea of Thieves

  • MilliiSilly
    Castaway

    Dear Sea of Thieves Team,

    I hope you're doing well! I'm a long-time fan of Sea of Thieves and truly appreciate the creativity and atmosphere you've brought to the seas. I'm writing to share some feedback and also ask a question regarding crew size limits.

    I think the current setup works well for the sloop (1–2 players), but the brigantine and galleon feel a bit limited. I’d like to suggest increasing the crew sizes to:

    Brigantine: 3–4 players

    Galleon: 5–6 players

    These ships are designed for more complex teamwork, and having extra hands on deck could make sailing them more balanced and enjoyable, especially in challenging scenarios like PvP, forts, and Tall Tales. It would also let larger groups of friends play together without having to split up.

    This brings me to my question:
    Why is the galleon limited to just 4 players?
    It seems like such a large ship could easily support a bigger crew, and I’m curious if this is due to technical limitations, balance concerns, or design decisions.

    Thank you so much for your time and for continuing to develop such a unique and adventurous world. I hope my feedback is helpful, and I look forward to many more voyages!

    Kind regards,
    MilliiSilly

  • Login To Reply
    7
    Posts
    5.4k
    Views
  • D3ADST1CK
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Founder

    The galleon was originally tested with 5 players, that's why there are 4 cannons on the side, and they found that it was better balanced for 4 players. The other ships were designed later, which is why they have less cannons per side than their total crew size.

    They aren't going to increase crew sizes at this point because the ships are not balanced for it.

  • BurnBacon
    Vanguard
    Insider

    These ships are designed for more complex teamwork

    yeah and On a Galleon, even 4 people still cant function, let alone 3 on a Brig.

    having extra hands on deck could make sailing them more balanced and enjoyable

    That is if everyone actually does anything. Most cases, Galleons leave at least 1 on deck while 3 players...Board a single Sloop.

    Why is the galleon limited to just 4 players?

    Balance. 4 Players, 4 Cannons, 4 Jobs

    It seems like such a large ship could easily support a bigger crew

    It can, but say your a 2 duo sloop. Do you wanna get into a fight with a Galleon that has say..8?

  • CaptDirtyOar
    Ship Mate

    It's all about balancing the game out. The crew and boat sizes are perfect as is.

    Bigger crews then current 4 players on a Galleon not only affects combat battles, but would also affect quests and other aspects in the game.

    Just imagine a six man Galleon doing the fort of the dammed, no one could contest it especially two or three man crews of sloops and brigs. Same with other raids across the map.

    Raiding vaults would be so easy also, you would get all the loot out in a minute. Defending forts with a six player crew would be over powered, two on ship, four on island defences or boarding...

    If I had a full Galleon with six players on it I would have four players trying to board the enemy boats, just imagine trying to spawn on your sloop with 4 enemy players on board after being killed? The game would go the grave. All you would need is one player steering the six man Galleon, one on repairs and rotating to cannon. The rest just board the boats.

    And now with Cannons of Rage in the game, that would make things bad also. Just imagine a 6 man ship chasing another boat and using the Cannons of Rage to shoot heaps of players infront or on the boat being chased?

  • HiradC
    Lord
    Insider

    Bigger ships feel harder to manage but once you see how efficient good crews can be on them you realise increasing the crew size any further would be somewhat game breaking. They just take more practice and communication, they are absolutely manageable.

  • PotatoSord
    Marauder
    Insider

    A galleon with 6 players would be unstoppable. Even 6 inexperienced players would be near impossible to sink. You could have 2 guys running permanent bilge and rep while still having a full 4 man to cannon and helm. 2 people running permanent bilge and rep on its own makes a galley near unsinkable.

  • ickama
    Marauder
    Insider

    I mean we could get bigger ships like the war and grand frigate to have more people in your crew but if that were to ever happen, there would need to be some major re balancing in the game AND the map would need to be expanded more

    alt text

Login To Reply
7
Posts
5.4k
Views
4 out of 7