Will a system that has been in place since the game's release no longer exist for Season 20?

  • Zeyrniyx
    Captain
    Insider

    All Sea of Thieves players know this all too well: whether you're a PvE or PvP player, one of the game's most valuable systems—and the one that keeps us engaged as players—is quite simply progression. Whether it's Gold progression or Reputation progression.

    I've been playing since 2020, and I really think Season 20 will be the first season—unless there's another major announcement in June—for the Xbox Showcase or even on the Insider—that offers absolutely nothing in terms of progression.
    For example: selling a specific item x times.

    If custom servers are really the only major addition in Season 20, I’m sorry to say this, dear developers, but it’s going to be a disaster. Because yes, of course custom servers are a goldmine for content creators, but how many players do they represent?

    I’m no fortune-teller, but here’s the thing: I already know that all casual players will go have fun for an hour on the custom servers to check out the possibilities, but they’ll never stick around for the long haul.

    As I’ve said in several posts here, before passing judgment on Season 20, I’m waiting for more information, but honestly, I’m not at all—and I mean not at all—optimistic.

    I also mentioned in a post when Season 14 came out, with the new weapons, that Sea of Thieves is starting to look more and more like Fortnite... I never would have believed it would go so far as to copy the Battle Pass or premium store model.

    Rare developers, you know how fragile the trust your entire community has in you is; unfortunately, I fear this will only get worse.

    I saw someone somewhere say: Season 20 content? Make it yourself.
    I’m fine with the idea that we are the main characters of the game, that we write our own story, but, getting back to the CS, without personal progression?

    Now, hold on, I can see where you’re going with this: I’M NOT ASKING FOR CS TO INCLUDE PROGRESSION! I’m just pointing out that for the first time—the very first time—the developers risk completely abandoning Adventure Mode for something that will be used by less than 2% of players.

    I really hope I'm wrong, and even though I might sound harsh in my posts here, I'd love for the game to be doing well, but it's clear that things are going badly—very badly.
    We still have two months—barring any delays—to hold out hope, but that hope is slim, very slim, and disengagement is growing day by day. How long can this kind of situation last?

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  • PC MonkFish
    Master
    Insider

    An easy win for engagement given the presumed dearth of content in Season 20

    • New sweat chest for people to fight over.

    • On demand voyage for the Chest Of Fortune. If unable to create a new voyage simply add to the Legendary voyage multi island quest. Keeps people on one server. Tuck opportunites.

    • All Factions are taken up to prestige X. No new cosmetics needed. Number go up.

    Adventure needs SOMETHING.

  • Hegemon3
    Commander
    Insider

    Funny thing. They closed the arena because keeping separate game mode for 2% of players was too problematic. Now they are adding separate game mode for 2% of players.

  • Lem0n Curry
    Vanguard
    Insider

    @hegemon3 said in Will a system that has been in place since the game's release no longer exist for Season 20?:

    Funny thing. They closed the arena because keeping separate game mode for 2% of players was too problematic. Now they are adding separate game mode for 2% of players.

    2% of playtime not players.
    We don't know yet how much the Custom Servers will be used.

  • Zeyrniyx
    Captain
    Insider

    @lem0n-curry a dit dans Will a system that has been in place since the game's release no longer exist for Season 20? :

    @hegemon3 said in Will a system that has been in place since the game's release no longer exist for Season 20?:

    Funny thing. They closed the arena because keeping separate game mode for 2% of players was too problematic. Now they are adding separate game mode for 2% of players.

    2% of playtime not players.
    We don't know yet how much the Custom Servers will be used.

    As for the 2% of players I mentioned, that’s just a rough estimate. In fact, I reckon content creators probably account for less than 2%.
    Admittedly, we don’t yet know the level of engagement among CS players, but as I said in the post, you can’t expect long-term engagement (unless you’re part of a community with multiple levels of gameplay) and, as we know, that represents a minority of players. In that respect, therefore, it’s not so far-fetched to suggest already that mainstream, long-term engagement will obviously be lower. Hence my initial concern, which raises the issue of seasonal content based solely on separate servers, thereby leaving the adventure mode at the mercy of FOMO events.

  • Zeyrniyx
    Captain
    Insider

    @lem0n-curry a dit dans Will a system that has been in place since the game's release no longer exist for Season 20? :

    @hegemon3 said in Will a system that has been in place since the game's release no longer exist for Season 20?:

    Funny thing. They closed the arena because keeping separate game mode for 2% of players was too problematic. Now they are adding separate game mode for 2% of players.

    2% of playtime not players.
    We don't know yet how much the Custom Servers will be used.

    Incidentally, as for player engagement, I doubt we’ll ever see any data on that.
    Admittedly, we did have data from the Arena, but only because it closed down; but do you see, for example, any official data on players using Safers Seas? Absolutely not.

    As I said, when the CS is released, there will obviously be some curiosity among players, but I doubt it will go beyond one-off events.

    I should point out, though, that I’m pleased about the release of the CS; it’s just that I’m worried about the adventure mode, which is the game’s main mode...

  • D3ADST1CK
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Founder

    I don't think Custom Seas is going to impact Adventure. It doesn't have progression and most people just tinker with a creation mode for a bit and get bored. It's a great tool for people who want to recreate Arena or do TDM, create machinas or events, so it does have some use cases but those aren't enough to capture the devs full attention IMO.

    The comparisons between user playtime % of Arena and Custom Seas doesn't really apply though, since in Arena's case the low playtime was part of the reason for closing it because updates to the main mode (Adventure) frequently broke elements of Arena and required extra fixes and maintenance. At the time they were also planning on having the adventures change the map which would have affected Arena even more since it relied on static battle locations. These issues don't exist with Custom Seas because it is basically the same as Adventure.

  • RoboRob R66Y
    Castaway

    i think they are banking on the reccurening events to be the popular thing. adding the last man standing event which is basically just a mode people asked for with arena and making it a time limited event on a rotation... this is what they should have done with arena in general. arena failed because of what you said above. progression. or lack of. arena only got 1 progression update. the coolest arena cosmetic wasnt even released 2 weeks ago with the fight nights. main arena had 2 reward tiers, reworked arena had 1 tier that required all the other 2 reward tiers to be 100% completed. well except for the ones you could do on high seas because apparently a weapon kill on high seas isnt the same as a weapon kill in arena. however digging up chests in high seas or shooting another ship with a canon on high seas was the same as arena. whatever? both color variations were pretty ugly. the arena ship skins being added to the game with updates lately.. cool i guess.. but also just more doom and gloom signs that the end is near. were they added because we asked for them? most likely not in the majority of the cases. the reality? it gave them new cosmetics to add without having to do any work as these were already made assets no longer being used.

    i think they are banking on all these new changes to carry season 20 but like you said. its just another warning sign we are in managed decline mode. 1 the custom seas needed to be a paid service cause the game desperately needs money to stay viable. we might be slightly better off now than we were before the emporium even existed. if you go back and look at those early videos. joe neate i believe it was.. said how morale was super low at the office. the game wasnt worth the effort being put into it any more. with the bulk of the players not having even bought the game because of gamepass. game sales had dried up. the lack of content pushed most of those early adopters away from the game. it was a game that was literally costing them more than they were making to keep adding content to. then they added the emporium. and this revitalized the game. they were making money! things seemed upbeat again! theres a light at the end of the tunnel.... well that light at the end of the tunnel was on a newly formed volcanic island the is slowly being eroded back into the sea. the light is sinking into the depths.

    but the reality is custom seas adds nothing of significance to 99% of the player base so they wouldnt be willing to pay a monthly fee for it. so making it free makes sense. even though it seemed to have "free" air quotes around it like its time limited free because they have no other actual content. so even making custom seas free for all to use. maybe 30% player base will mess around with it within the first month. dropping to maybe 15% second month. lucky to be at 5% by the end of the season. and i feel 5% is insanely generous.

    they are also hoping the new season pass structure will help carry the season. and letting us pick 1 ship cosmetic out the cash shop might urge people to go buy the rest of the set. its a well known tactic in the industry. and one they have actually done before. i dont recall how or when they did it. but i recall getting a few misc ship parts from sets from the shop in the past. ironically the only one i would have actually been willing to pay rare for. the obsidian capstan since the whole rest of the set was twitch drops except the capstan which was a give away code for streamers. i would have given rare $50 for that.... instead i waited for it to become a gamepass ultimate perk.... never happened. so lets not even give microsoft the money i guess.... why would anyway PAY to sub to a twitch streamer? why do people gift subs? no idea.... i will NEVER do that... oh... i can get an obsidian capstan for $15 if i gift 3 subs to a channel? sure. the one and only time i will ever give twitch money. so thanks rare for letting hitbotc get a little money instead of giving it to you guys or microsoft i guess?

    its also possible the gold shop rework might be expected to carry season20 but honestly saving that for a mircosoft reveal event seems insanely sad. it would look so terrible for the company and the game if their reveal was an attempt to rework something they mismanaged for so long. and after the doubllon debacle which shouldnt even be happening but they are putting their foot down on the issue.... i still gotta finish my season pass but this is honestly it. many of us invested more time with this game than it ever servered

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