Is this game worth buying an Xbox for?

  • DigitalVertigo

    Avast maties,

    After watching a lot of videos on this game I'm reminded a lot of my favorite game of all time, Ultima Online. I like the idea of an open PvP world where anything goes. The only problem for me is it's an Xbox/PC exclusive, I can obviously get around this by just buying an Xbox. Before I make that decision though, I had some questions about the game that I wanted to see if some Xbox beta players could answer.

    1. Am I going to be at a huge competitive disadvantage by using a controller? This is the one thing that could dissuade me from purchasing. I used to PC game exclusively, but being a software developer who's on a computer all day I've switched to consoles and love that experience far better at this point. I'm decent with a controller in FPS type games so I'm not new to them and am not opposed to getting a pro controller with paddles for an extra edge. I just wondered if the aim and turn mechanics will put me at a really big disadvantage.

    2. Will the game run fine on an Xbox 1 S? I don't want to buy a pro, mainly because I have two kids who game with me and I could almost buy 2 Xbox 1 S's for a single X. If the game is fun I'd obviously want them to play with me so I might end up buying 3 consoles. Since the One S is fairly affordable it is the preferred route. I don't really see much difference in graphics from the videos I've seen, so it's really down to performance.

    3. Is horizontal progression enough to keep me hooked? Do you guys find yourselves wanting to grind out quests to get cooler looking gear?

    Thanks guys!

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  • stem589

    @digitalvertigo

    My kids saved their Xmas money and they're buying one this week for SoT.

    The game being cross-platform allows this as my computer will be the other system they group together on.

  • Bartimaeu

    I could be wrong but I'm fairly certain you can still use mouse and keyboard on Xbox. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, please.

  • DigitalVertigo

    @qm-ginger-beard Actually, that's very helpful! Thanks for the info!

  • DigitalVertigo

    @stem589 I have a top of the line MacBook Pro for work (I do a lot of iOS development), I do run Windows on it but it's through a VM so I doubt it would perform well. My other Macs are pretty old. Even on bootcamp I don't know how well they'd perform, I guess I could give it a shot though since it's cross play enabled.

  • Rildan

    It's worth buying a PC for.

  • xx RoobyDoo xx

    @digitalvertigo No it isn't. You are a software developer so I'm assuming you are alright to buy it for PC lol. PC will always have the upper hand when it comes to cross platform play, a controller just can't give you that precision.

    If you have the extra change to buy an Xbox One then sure go for it. Just know that you'll also need to subscribe to Xbox Live Gold for a monthly fee also. If you already have the PC for it though then i'd buy PC. No monthly fees, upperhand with gameplay, and the game is HEAVILY optimized to run from potatoes to future PC's.

  • Lintaglen

    @digitalvertigo

    You used Ultima Online in your sentence. We are friends and enemies for life now.

  • boaton

    @digitalvertigo in my opinion, absolutely!! I’m biased though, I actually own a sloop and sail it in the keys🙃

  • StarQuest
    Lord
    Insider
    Founder

    @digitalvertigo It was worth it to buy two xboxes and 5 copies of the game for me and my friends. We have been having a blast and I have been finding games pretty boring for the last half of a decade.

  • Barnacle Blake
    Captain
    Insider
    Founder

    Absolutely! Plus xbox one s is dirt cheap. $229 with a game. The SOT x1 s is $299 though

  • GreenSwede

    You can have a better experience with this game by purchasing a PC, though of course it's going to cost more. Like most things, PCs and consoles are investments. Buying a PC or a console for just one game in particular is a bad idea no matter what.

  • RAYNBR0
    Marauder
    Insider

    This is my first ever PC game and I win 9/10 fights. I know the majority of people are on xbox so to me it feels easier. I find it easier to move and spin and dance around players with a keyboard and mouse. I'd say save the money an just get a controller for your pc if you prefer the controller like you said, rather than spending hundreds on a console for one game. That's what I would do at least.

  • Jack LittleShoe

    @digitalvertigo umm, i wouldn't really go out and buy an xbox for this game, but then again i have a PC that can run it so, yea.

  • DigitalVertigo

    @lintaglen I'll meet you outside the Brit graveyard with my flamestrike precast and my insta halberd at the ready. :)

  • demonicthing
    Marauder
    Insider
    Founder

    @digitalvertigo YARRRRR ME MATEY. I am a PC player but have befriended a few xbox box players who are very talented at the game. I do consider the PC a bit of an advantage just because I have used it my whole life. Now he is also a PC guy and prefers the console, I have witnessed him jumping onto an opposing crew ship and destroy the crew. I think it might just be a situation where one feels more comfortable with the device they are using. I dont think there is any serious dis advantage if you have mastered your craft and are proficient with it! Hope that helps and see yer on the high seas !

  • MDK PopinFRESH
    Marauder

    @barnacle-blake said in Is this game worth buying an Xbox for?:

    Absolutely! Plus xbox one s is dirt cheap. $229 with a game. The SOT x1x s is $299 though

    That isn't an Xbox One X bundle. That is the price for the Sea of Thieves Xbox One S Bundle.

  • Barnacle Blake
    Captain
    Insider
    Founder

    @mdk-popinfresh ya typeo still a xbox1

  • HeartlessHammer
    Marauder

    @digitalvertigo Firstly. I have to say that the most enjoyable part of the game was the adventure, not the promise of some end game content or loot. Im not sure that is exactly what most MMOs would call game progression anymore, as they all seem to have adopted the same scheme of maneuver.. but who knows what the future holds. I left the game wanting to come back for more adventures and to get more stuff, of anything really, just to have an excuse to go on another adventure.

    I think the game was fabulous. It reminds me of how SWG used to be back in the day, where community and challenge and not having a set pattern to follow were what made a great game. This game kinda breaks the weekly rinse wash repeat N raids per week / month.

    I play with a group of mixed xbox / pc guys.. I dont think they (consoles) have any real disadvantage in this game.. not any that was noticeable to us at least.

  • Timidobserver
    Founder

    My honest answers
    Q1: IMO, only buy an xbox if you have a potato pc and are looking for a cheap, effective way to get access to the game. If you have a decent gaming rig just play on that. Aiming with a keyboard, mouse is easier. Gaming mice,keyboards will provide a competitive advantage. I expect that PC players might get access to UI addons or UI overlays if addons are unsupported.

    Q2: I got nothing for you here. The game plays just fine on a regular Xbox One for me, so I imagine that it plays even better on an S or an X.

    Q3: This one depends on the player. For me, the answer is most likely no. I'll play it for a decent stretch and I will have a lot of fun the entire time. It's a really fun game, but I've found that pure horizontal progression and pure vertical progression games tend not to hold my attention into the long-term. I find myself going back to games that find a good balance between the two.

  • MDK PopinFRESH
    Marauder

    @digitalvertigo

    1. To second what @QM-Ginger-Beard said, I play it on PC and haven't noticed if I'm playing with an Xbox One player or another PC player unless we start discussing mechanics for helping someone learn how to do things in the game and key/button bindings come up.

    2. They made a Sea of Thieves Xbox One S bundle so I would certainly expect it to play fine on it. Most of the players that I've met in-game where the discussion came up regarding controls mentioned they were playing on either an original Xbox One or an Xbox One S. None of them complained of performance issues and the only gripe from one of them was the obvious one you mentioned of a Controller -vs- Mouse & Keyboard. As I haven't played it on the console I can't give you a great answer on how the aiming feels, however, I will say that all of them, even the player who lamented he didn't have a Mouse & Keyboard, did fine with the majority of the game's mechanics.

    3. I just discussed this in another post regarding "Weapon Upgrades" https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/post/435740
      I personally don't even need the cosmetics to enjoy the game, however, I do love being able to customize and make my character, and eventually my ship(s), uniquely mine. The art director and environment lead have done an absolutely amazing job with the style and environment. It is amazing how the game has a cartoony look & feel up close, however, from a distance things can look amazingly photorealistic. The mechanics of the ships and the interaction with the water really "sell" the feeling of sailing, really encourage good coordination among your crew, and make for some fantastic encounters.

    @boaton, I'm curious how well you feel they emulated the feeling of sailing a sloop? I would tend to think this would help strengthen your opinion of the game rather than lean toward a bias. I get that you are probably like me and could just sail around in the world and enjoy the game (your bias as someone who enjoys sailing), however, I'm really interested in how well they matched the feeling you get from actually sailing a sloop.

  • Arch Fable

    Absolutely not. Buy a PC. It's cheaper in the long run. I would buy the game in a heartbeat for PS4, but the two children known as Microsoft and Sony somehow don't want to cooperate with each other on this one. Hence the exclusivity. Plug and play with a controller in case you want to use that due possible wrist issues. Otherwise the input method doesn't matter much.

  • FIVE FARTS
    Seafarer

    @bartimaeu

    You’re wrong. ;-)

    Although you can buy cheap Chinese USB dongle things to use a mouse / keyboard on Xbox One.

  • Inbred Chimera

    I bought a Playstation 3 just to play Little Big planet 2 on release. I only managed to afford it 6 months after release. The Little Big planet 2 disk remained in the PS3 for at least 2 years without being removed once. Apart from playig Journey once and LBP1 for a while because it was free and unlocked content for LBP2, the latter was the only game I played in those two years, and the bulk of my play for a 3rd year.

    One game can definately carry a console as far as I'm concerned.

    Now that I recall, I actually got a Gamecube for christmas about 5 years after they came out (not a wealthy family), and I played only one game for a week, which was Pikmin. If it wasn't for pikmin, I would have never asked for the Gamecube.

    Anyone feel free to reminisce with me on the glory of the Gamecube...
    One game is enough. If not, there's also Breath of the Wild which has had phenomenally good reviews.

  • boaton

    @mdk-popinfresh the sailing physics are excellent🤗 it’s definitely the best I’ve ever seen besides real life. add me, I’d like to sail with you good sir!

  • Boost King
    Master
    Founder

    Yes, buy an Xbox for this game, 100%

  • Ryz Argos
    Founder

    I play on the x, and team up with peops on pc, s, and og one. I started playing on og one, and the differences I've noticed is pop-in texture details and foliage on my old one, the x runs smooth, no pop in or anything. Other X enhanced games have crazy detail at extreme distance, and much better lighting, shadows, textures, and other effects. I am familiar with m/k controls, and will use it when it's fully supported without 3rd party.
    SoT isn't an rpg, and doesn't have power differences in gear, so all peops are equal power wise, and the only inequality is cosmetic.
    I can't see anything but my hands in-game, and cosmetics are trivial to me. I don't tirelessly hunt pieces in other games as much as my friends seem to care about such pursuits', but do enjoy spending my gold when I got it. I still love playing, SoT is the most fun I've had online. The best parts for me is the solving of maps/riddles, and the interactions' between my crew and other crews. I enjoy hunting other crews when I'm bored of digging up boxes, and sometimes trying to parlay an alliance. The game is what you make of it, kinda like Minecraft, minus building and crafting. Replace those with following treasure maps/riddles to dig up a box, and sailing... You got SoT. There will be other kinds of fetch quests, transporting goods, and raid like boss missions. All this in an open world where trolls might steal your hard earned gains, and it equals fun to me! Goonies like awesomeness!

  • haydensolo
    Captain
    Insider
    Founder

    @digitalvertigo said in Is this game worth buying an Xbox for?:

    Avast maties,

    After watching a lot of videos on this game I'm reminded a lot of my favorite game of all time, Ultima Online. I like the idea of an open PvP world where anything goes. The only problem for me is it's an Xbox/PC exclusive, I can obviously get around this by just buying an Xbox. Before I make that decision though, I had some questions about the game that I wanted to see if some Xbox beta players could answer.

    1. Am I going to be at a huge competitive disadvantage by using a controller? This is the one thing that could dissuade me from purchasing. I used to PC game exclusively, but being a software developer who's on a computer all day I've switched to consoles and love that experience far better at this point. I'm decent with a controller in FPS type games so I'm not new to them and am not opposed to getting a pro controller with paddles for an extra edge. I just wondered if the aim and turn mechanics will put me at a really big disadvantage.

    2. Will the game run fine on an Xbox 1 S? I don't want to buy a pro, mainly because I have two kids who game with me and I could almost buy 2 Xbox 1 S's for a single X. If the game is fun I'd obviously want them to play with me so I might end up buying 3 consoles. Since the One S is fairly affordable it is the preferred route. I don't really see much difference in graphics from the videos I've seen, so it's really down to performance.

    3. Is horizontal progression enough to keep me hooked? Do you guys find yourselves wanting to grind out quests to get cooler looking gear?

    Thanks guys!

    I would say it’s worth it, and on the plus side, you get an Xbox for later use lol!

  • FuzzyPyrate
    Master
    Insider

    @rildan said in Is this game worth buying an Xbox for?:

    It's worth buying a PC for.

    I retired my older gaming laptop and got a newer one just so I could play SoT with decent settings.

    While by no means a top of the line model, my new rig runs a dual core Intel CPU at 3.8 Ghz, Has 8 GB of RAM that I can upgrade to 32, and a 4 GB Nvidia 1050ti. It's not the 1060 but It'll let me play at the recommended settings shown here https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/shacknews/assets/editorial/2018/02/Sea-of-Thieves-PC-Recommended-Requirements.jpg

  • Uber Knight72
    Marauder
    Founder

    Yes,
    Especially now that Xbox Ones can be netted on eBay for less than 100 doubloons. My brother is buying one JUST for SoT

  • saladbrains
    Master
    Founder

    @digitalvertigo people have already answered 1 and 2 so i will just answer 3 with my opinion.

    Is it worth buying an xbox for?
    I would say the game itself is not worth it, currently. I will say my opinion might change after launch. (However there's lots of good games on xbox and I think the xbox is still worth getting if you have the money to spend on one).

    It really depends on the type of person you are, do enjoy engaging people in PvP? Would sailing around fighting people be entertaining enough to keep you in the game?

    For me I'm more a PvE player, I like quests, exploring, adventuring and doing random stuff with friends (like shooting yourself on top of the outpost just to see if you can get up there).
    There's currently supposed to be 2 more factions at launch, both with similar types of 'fetch' quests. The horizontal progression seems quite shallow at the moment, I don't find the same satisfaction from it as say a game where you do these things and in the end you unlock a skill or are able to afford an upgrade to gear, etc.

    Maybe they will have items that require progress in several factions to unlock (they do have items that require progress in one faction to unlock). If they added the ability to take two voyages at the same time, eg while you're looking for treasure you can also be collecting things for the merchant guild. edit: this would help make the quests less 'go here, get thing, go here, get thing' and more 'go here and do all these things before you move on'.

    tl;dr - the game itself feels fairly empty at the moment and i don't think the other two factions will add much more depth to it (i could be wrong). the satisfaction i think is more from the sailing - it's very satisfying to sail and a beautiful, sometimes terrifying experience at the same time - adventuring with friends and engaging in occasional PvP.

    if you've made it through this sea of text i commend you!

  • lumpaywk

    1, the xbox supports mouse and keyboard now but that said the controller isn't a disadvantage as the pace of the game is actually more suited to it.

    2, xbox one s will run the game just fine. The X will give you 4k but other than looking a bit better you wont notice a gameplay difference.

    3, The progression is no different to any other game and i really hate the suggestion that it is. Your still have progression you have rank (levels if you will) that unlock better more rewarding quests. The only difference is that your weapons and gear will not increase in power. But with any game as your gear increases so to does the enemy power and your not actually getting anything better. This game just removes that insanity in favor of a more even player base and the ability to play with anyone. If anyone suggests there is no progression in this game they clearly do not understand how the game works.

    As for the xbox its deffo worth getting. Not only does it have the best console OS it also has the best media features of any console and by far the better controller. I am talking as someone that has xbox one x (had an s and an original), PS4, switch and a gaming pc. The xbox is by far and away the system i use to play games.

  • EnragedWolfy
    Master
    Insider

    I would deffo buy a Xbox for this game but I am a biased Xbox fan I have no problems playing it with a controller.
    I run the game on both the original Xbox one and the one x and both run fine so the one s should run no probs as for the game it's self I love playing it just because it is a really fun game and not to fussed about the progression the Xbox one s with sot download is £250 in the UK I would buy one if I didn't already have 4 Xboxes and 3 copies of the game on pre order.

  • Joda1123
    Ship Mate

    if you have a pc then no

  • The Warcrombie
    Ship Mate
    Founder

    There isn't a reason to get an xbox if you play on pc..

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