Make ambushes and pvp better by hiding other crew's names

@aprovoked-mango how?

@jaydizzle-g Here's my thoughts on it.

@faramous You. I like you.

@crusaderjesus I personally never got the chance to test this on an outpost but I absolutely agree the gamer-tag definitely gives you away underwater

@aprovoked-mango
Newsflash, the game is called Sea of Thieves. :P

Imo, if you get ambushed at an outpost then you're either
(a) Reckless: for even trying to cash out your loot on an outpost with another ship docked on it.
(b) Not good at PvP: Even if the other crew scuttled their ship to hide themselves better, you must not ever let your guard down. Even if you got unlucky/outmatched, SoT is designed to let skills triumph. It's not griefing; it's by design.

Besides if you do get successfully ambushed, they deserve your loot. The amount of planning it takes to successfully pull-out an ambush takes patience, creativity and experience.

I, for one, congratulate the crew that stole my loot instead of whining about it on the forums because what else did you expect from a game where everyone's a pirate.

Also, there is no way of "reporting" pirates. I can't imagine why you even need other's GTs besides the good ol' 'name-and-shame' approach.

EDIT: Also people are not "idiots" on the internet because anonymity, it's because they can't be touched in real life by their victim. So unless you can figure out where people live or their personal info or you're someone who don't know how to let things go, I doubt knowing their GT would change the outcome at all.

@faramous Ugh that sounds tedious. Imagine if you're need to cash out quick because of an enemy ship chasing you or the server will go down for maintenance, and the closest outpost to you happens to take 15% off your profits and you wish you had the time to look for a better outpost

@faramous Maybe, but that's too much speculation/variables for my taste about the more outpost / safe zones.

EDIT: I forgot to finish the sentence. I meant there's too much speculation for me to start evaluating. :)

I actually enjoy the exploration/co-op more than the PvP, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to hit back harder ;)

By "should" in, "If server is about to go down then it should cash in for you!", do you mean:
(a) The game will automatically award you coins on shut-down
(b) Rare should implement a system that will do that for us

I didn't get any money at the last server shutdown but perhaps Rare added that feature recently

@faramous Share the link if you find it, I'll be more than happy to check it out and to see what other people think of it.

And you're right, a doomsday server-message preferably with a timer would be the best approach.

@aprovoked-mango You have concatenated a lot different things in one comment so therefore you get a list :)

• "Its abit ironic someone needing an edge in pvp when claiming the game is all about pvp and personal skill ." I'm not trying to get an edge in pvp to make it easier, I'm doing it to make better for reasons stated in the original post. Also this suggestion is a double-edged sword since it's applied to both me and them, so your argument is invalid.
• "This game has been open to alpha's and pioneers for over a year, no one has struggled to ambush someone else because of a GT" Yes but we are limited by the visibility of the GT leaving no substantial room for creativity.
• "You can hide yourself plenty fine GT's visible atm if you know what youre doing, the only real exception was mentioned above and thats when youre swimming in the water, that is incredibly clear to players IF theyre paying attention" yes because reading a GT displayed on the screen in a contrasted colors requires my utmost attention to spot. See why I want them removed? It’s pretty hard to ignore/miss a floating "Ser Pineapples" in the water. So it’s less about IF but more about when they see me and by removing GT, you have to rely on your prediction where the other player is to find him faster
• "It only takes your crew to distract them for you to have your opportunity to board . Afterall, its about using your skill to win ." yes your crew-mates can help with the distraction but that doesnt stop players from jumping overboard or try to sneak on-board, the GT is like a glaring neon light "I'M RIGHT HERE, YER SCALLYWAGS" thus making it luck the other crew don't notice you. Also it's not skill to read GT on screens, just saying.

I'm sorry if this is too scathing so far but that's just my thoughts on what you said. But perhaps the only valid concern you brought up is about the toxicity but I believe even knowing GT wouldn't do anything. My point was if you know their GT, what can you really do about it that will have tangible or meaningful results?

Nothing. In practicality, reporting such behaviors never do anything. Will Microsoft or Rare ban or time-out players who paid for their game for toxicity? Probably not. If they did, it’ll most certainly be abused.

So what if you just mute them in-game if you know their GT? You will be at a disadvantage because you can't hear the muted person communicating with their team anymore.

Humans are animals. If they feel threatened or defeated, and you take away both their ability to flight or fight, they vent. The best thing to do is to just ignore them for then you’re literally taking away the only power they have left for the time being. Don't take this the wrong way but the best way to deal with toxicity to grow a thicker skin and simply get back at them in-game without stooping to their level.

@biggx01 I actually ran an 'experiment' to test this out. If you're looking to make friends (as I am too doing) you're better off in the recruitment section of the forums, friending randoms in your crew and friending people you meet on the forums.

The way the game is designed it simply makes it impractical to make friends from other crew without previous interaction with them because you have everything to lose if they backstab you and they have everything to gain. You don't make friends if you can't trust them.

@aprovoked-mango trading's a nice idea. It would def encourage cooperation with other crews if the game design enables some degree of communication with other ships

How about if you see a friend outside the crew, his GT is visible and you both can use your shared bond to get both crews to co-operate?

@logansdadtoo You are sharing it with your crew. Every other crew is a potential threat and depending how or if Rare manages this, they will always be a potential threat because PvP.

"If you have no GT's you won't know who's friendly, who's not, who you've met before, who to avoid " again, it's a PvP. If Rare wanted us to be friends with other crews we would have an option to make fleets. The only people you can trust with certainty is your crew.

After thinking about my original idea and the potential for trolling or using foul language, I propose this: players can hide their GT for a minute with 5 mins recharge to do it again. Also, if they talk to you, they immediately break their "stealth" and you can see their GT.

'I want invisible gamer-tags so i can outpost camp, troll & be an unpleasant opponent & no one will know who i am!!' Not who, but where. And, why not. Again, piracy.

"benefit players who wish to cheat, use underhanded tactics or grief." YES it's a pirate game. That's what pirates DO!

@LogansDadToo

Congrats to you, I suppose if you made good friends. In my experience every contact I had with other crew begins with them firing at us. So I don't know how you do it but good for you.

"So why have they then given us emotes to communicate friendship??" So we don't need to Alt+Tab to add friends? Here's the thing, of all the players you fought against. How many of their GT do you remember? Personally, I barely can remember my own crew GTs.

"And with your last 2 responses you have made it quite clear the reasoning behind your request!! " - I definitely hope so.

"You think that sort of behaviour is ok because 'you're a pirate'" - YES, OUI, SI, JA, DA.

@kukkapants Oh yes this guy gets it

See? I, too, know sarcasm

Also I don't condone cheaters.