The current state of the Commendation "Reaper Rivals" is dire. Those hoping to accomplish it in any capacity are left either hopeless or seeking exploits to complete it, neither of wish I believe Rare desires.
On paper, it makes sense. It's to encourage PVP by making a particular item visible and desirable to Reaper crews. The problem is how the Item (The Skull of the Banished) is spawned, the amount required, and the current rewards for turning in a non-stolen Skull.
Within the current state of the game, there is very little reason to obtain a non-stolen Skull of the Banished. The quest itself is of decent length and is both difficult due to sheer enemy saturation and having to deal with being marked on the map both during and after albeit in different ways. The item is indirectly volatile, a massive beacon for those trying to steal it for the commendation. The reward for successfully avoiding capture and turning it in? An okay payout, and progress towards an unrelated commendation which has no associated unlocks. There is little reason for players to naturally want to go through such risk when safer options for greater rewards exist.
What this means is extremely few players are doing the voyage at this time, making the amount of Banished Skulls extremely sparse.
As for Reapers trying to get Reaper Rivals, they have no direct agency in its progress. Since they cannot initiate the voyage and spawn the skull as this would mark it at non-stolen for them, the only method for Reapers trying to get the commendation is to server hop. Either through quitting to menu or scuttling to new sea, scanning the map for potential reaper marks or Banished icons, and repeating if no luck. This is deeply unenjoyable and the repetition marked with the scarcity of the resource only invites hopelessness of ever completing the accommodation.
However, unlike the Relics for the King Commendation, two highly desirable cosmetic unlock is tied behind Reaper Rivals.
The intent of the accommodation and the unlock is to encourage PVP, but with the current state of the game it does the opposite. It encourages exploitation of game mechanics.
The current best way to obtain the commendation is to get either a friend or another willing player to enter the same session through any number of means, be it swapping sessions, begging other crews to invite their assistant before leaving, or even the use of VPN and/or other external programs, and then to have one player initiate the quest while the other takes the skull at the end. To reiterate, the best way to complete the PVP-intended commendation is through teamwork and exploitation of game sessions. This isn't even touching how those with hacking tools might bypass this.
Needless to say, this defeats the purpose of the commendation, and locking a highly desired cosmetic behind it only encourages players to seek out and discover these exploits. It's not healthy for the game to leave it in its current state.
As for my suggestion. Include a secondary method to unlock Reaping Rivals, or alternatively, a secondary method to unlock the associated cosmetics.
I am already aware the requirements for Reaping Rivals has been dropped form 50 to 15 and while dropping it further may help it wouldn't solve the heart of the issue.
I would personally suggest having Relics of the King or a similar commendation requiring Non-Stolen Skulls of the Banished also count towards unlocking the two Bone and Blade head cosmetics.
A commendation already exists that could fill this purpose. Relics of the King requires 50. I would personally suggest toning this down to something like 30, but even if it's left as is this still leaves a different method to unlock the cosmetic that Reapers have direct agency for. Progress would be slow, but like slowly grinding Hourglass or any number of other commendations, progress would also be consistent. It means a dedicated player could, over time, eventually unlock the cosmetics they desire.
I however specified the importance of the unlock still requiring Skulls of the Banished. If this change were put in place, those who had no luck hunting would instead look towards completing the voyage to work towards the unlock. This would in turn mean more Skulls of the Banished would exist, spawned in naturally by those trying to complete the quest. Which means for those who still wish to hunt, suddenly there exist more opportunities to steal from others.
Adding an alternative unlock requiring non-stolen Skulls would both encourage players to do the quest legitimately but also give Reapers new targets for if they desire the riskier, quicker method of stealing from others. This would encourage players to both start and complete the quest and encourage PVP as Reapers gain new targets. That the cosmetic is tied to the Skeleton Curse also means those doing the Voyage with the intention of unlocking the cosmetic will have likely cut their teeth on competitive PVP, indirectly making the banished skull marker a fun double meaning: A mark of valuable treasure, and a warning that the player in question (most likely) has some skill.
As it stands, the only way one can even attempt to get the cosmetics it through means Rare frowns upon: Exploiting sessions to get friends or similar farmers present. This isn't fun for the players and goes against the intended purpose of the Banished Skulls. If the Bone and Blade cosmetics could be gained through Stolen or Non-Stolen skulls, then suddenly there exist more reason to do the voyage, more players to hunt, and a consistent goal for players to strive towards.
Thank you for reading. On a personal note, as someone who had been trying to get the commendation and gave up, there is no feeling worse in a game where Cosmetics are the sole unlock. Sure, some items are time limited, and sure, some are really difficult to get. But the current state of these two cosmetics in particular is just depressing. As it stands, I've encountered 2 types of players in my attempts to unlock the commendation: Those once again trying to use exploits to get a friend or farmer on the same session as enemies so they can farm it, and Reapers who are so rabid for the skull in any capacity that they have devolved into extreme anger and toxicity. Encountering both in the same session isn't fun either: It's a nightmare. Both sides are so desperate to finish the commendation that it devolves into fury, and usually into screaming things through open mic I am not repeating here or anywhere else. It's not fun, and it's not worth it.
Give us a reason to do the Voyage, lessen tensions, and let's make the hunt for those cosmetics something to enjoy. I hope a change is made, for until it is, I won't be engaging with the Skulls of the Banished in any capacity.
