Advantages to playing on PC, but not as much fun

  • Count Draguar

    The more I play the game and get involved in pvp the less I panic and the more I start to be able to come out on top in such encounters. However every so often I come across one or two members of a crew I am simply stunned by how easily they can dispatch me. Usually my crew will say 'they are cheating or they are PC players'. I just assume they are better than me, apart from a couple of times when I have gotten really bad lag just at the wrong time and wondered if it is possible to cause such lag to other players I have never considered it to be anything but my own slow reactions that caused my demise.

    However I do have a high spec pc that I don't game on much because I prefer the casual gaming an Xbox provides. So I decided to test how it is to fight on PC and let Sea of Thieves install on that yesterday, loving once again the fact I can install xbox games I have purchased for free on my pc and vice versa.

    So, the controls were confusing on my first go on pc and I didn't even know how to eat a banana (maybe I should have read instructions). However I loved the eye of reach and started practising by racing my nephew to shoot all the lights on the sloop as quickly as possible, a game he usually beats me on easily. To my surprise he gave up after two lights because I was already bellow deck, a huge advantage on the pc it seemed.

    Next he spotted a sloop and we sailed after it. He let me board and I easily sidestepped both pirates and killed them without suffering any damage, something I had never managed before. It felt wrong, I pitied them and we sailed away leaving them to reclaim their ship and treasure and I went back to using the xbox.

    What I want to ask is this: Is it just that I am inexperienced with an xbox controller and other (better) xbox players stand a fair chance against PC players. Was that sloop I came upon manned by a couple of very poor players, hence my success. Is there disadvantages of PC play I would have discovered had I played for more than an hour or so? My mouse is a gaming mouse with an adjustable dpi, but even so I hadn't expected such a difference. If, playing on the xbox, I came across myself playing on the PC then Xbox me would stand no chance.

    So, should I keep practising until my xbox skills improve. Is there disadvantages of PC play that I can exploit as an XBox player, so when I come across a PC player I am better prepared. Or should I just avoid getting into PvP as much as possible?

    Note: This would probably be better placed in a different forum to feedback, but if my experience is anything like the norm, perhaps it'd be a good idea to differentiate PC and Xbox players somehow. I know at the moment if I knew a player was on a PC I would run rather than fight.

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  • Terron29
    Master
    Insider

    I play on pc personally because I do not have an xbox and personally prefer to play any game that is first person on pc. Yes in general pc players do certainly have quite an advantage. Faster spin around movement and more precise aiming, also the ability to quick swap with 2 guns as opposed to sword and gun combo works better on pc I believe with keybinding. Overall you don't have as much of an unfair advantage as you would in something like call of duty or overwatch simply as a result of how sea of thieves differs from those games in the gameplay department but you do indeed have a pretty big advantage yes.

  • LogansDadToo
    Founder

    @count-draguar
    As you have found out for yourself, pc players have a distinct advantage in close quarters combat. Many feel the same way. Unfortunately there has been no word from Rare on this subject & your 'claims' will be strongly contested by some who are adamant that pc has no advantage.
    You will also be pointed over to the crossplay megathread by the same players.
    Please copy & paste your post in there :)
    https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/topic/57431/mega-thread-play-anywhere-and-cross-play-part-4?page=1

  • oxynatOr
    Seafarer
    Insider

    dont forget the loading time... 30sec for PC-Gamer and 3min for Xbox gamer...

    give us crossplay at Forza or other Sport games, when all can legit play with the same hardware!

    thoses Mouse+Keyboard adapter for x1 are not supported and not allowed!

  • thealcani

    i play on pc and there is also a controller attached to it... i dont use it in sea of thieves. if u want to complain about your controller use why dont u attache a mouse and keyboard to your xbox? isnt this possible these days?

  • SolidSnakeMig
    Captain
    Insider
    Founder

    @count-draguar you are not alone and there definitely seems to be a trend, unfortunately there still seems to be a big following of pc players who claim no advantage, all of us xbox players are salty and should just go and buy a pc or “git gud”. As an xbox player and a supporter for optional crossplay I thank you on behalf of those who share my opinion.

  • BinaryPlayerOne
    Master
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    Founder

    A controller cant match the precision and speed you get with a mouse & controller. It just cant. Some games it helps and is even essential to adjust the sensitivity on the controller up. But with no autoaim in Sea of Thieves. That adjustment will for most just make it worse.

    And when you add superior gaming displays and high-framerate over 30fps on Xbox. You got yourself as a Xbox player a big disadvantage.

    There is really no "trick" or tip to outplay a PC player in this game. You as a Xbox player are starting each fight with an disadvantage. And should feel extra good when coming out victorious.

  • Sir Lotus
    Master
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    Boatswain

    @thealcani nope. it's not possible yet.

    edit: natively i mean. there is a way to do it, but requires additional hw.

  • BinaryPlayerOne
    Master
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    Founder

    @oxynator said in Advantages to playing on PC, but not as much fun:

    dont forget the loading time... 30sec for PC-Gamer and 3min for Xbox gamer...

    The initial load of the game is much longer on Xbox and the new X. But the loading times when dying feels more or less the same now on both Xbox and PC. At least for me.

  • Count Draguar

    Oh well, it's quite a relief that I didn't just get the reply 'you die because you suck at xbox' :). Shame there isn't an xbox advantage I can exploit, but I still prefer xbox play as it's more casual and relaxing after sitting in front of a pc at work. I like the idea of cross-play, however if you are seriously wanting to be one of the best players on here then it seems you have to play on PC which I think is a shame. If they removed cross play then the PC server might become full of 'serious' players and therefore be a less enjoyable experience. No simple solution it seems, but as long as they are aware of it I'm sure they'll find a way to even it out more.

    I wouldn't want to play with a keyboard and mouse on my xbox, but how about an elite controller, is that better?

  • UVG Reign
    Founder

    @count-draguar You sidestepped and avoid damage? Wait till you see the added benefits of spamming space bar and add jumping to the mix!

    Rare said in their internal testing with alphas and stuff, kb and mouse only had a 4% advantage. Shows how much they know about pc vs console gaming

  • oxynatOr
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    @thealcani sagte in Advantages to playing on PC, but not as much fun:

    i play on pc and there is also a controller attached to it... i dont use it in sea of thieves. if u want to complain about your controller use why dont u attache a mouse and keyboard to your xbox? isnt this possible these days?

    becuase it is not supported by M$ and they will Ban you out of XBL.

    And yes, they can check it pretty easy... even i have written a software to doing this !

  • Count Draguar

    @uvg-reign said in Advantages to playing on PC, but not as much fun:

    @count-draguar You sidestepped and avoid damage? Wait till you see the added benefits of spamming space bar and add jumping to the mix!

    Rare said in their internal testing with alphas and stuff, kb and mouse only had a 4% advantage. Shows how much they know about pc vs console gaming

    When they said a 4% advantage that may have been on a low spec pc connected to a low resolution display and a standard keyboard and mouse. My pc has a Vega 64 GPU, 4k monitor and gaming mouse with adjustable dpi and side buttons. Serious gamers will have all this and more and so the advantage would be much more pronounced.

  • oxynatOr
    Seafarer
    Insider

    @sir-lotus sure it is, over a 3rd party "hack" not re-commanded!!

  • BinaryPlayerOne
    Master
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    Founder

    The thing about Sea of Thieves is that it's not just a twitch based game. There are more elements to a fight and encounter. So even tho a Xbox player is at a disadvantage against PC players. You can still come out the winner.

  • oxynatOr
    Seafarer
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    @binaryplayerone sagte in Advantages to playing on PC, but not as much fun:

    A controller cant match the precision and speed you get with a mouse & controller. It just cant. Some games it helps and is even essential to adjust the sensitivity on the controller up. But with no autoaim in Sea of Thieves. That adjustment will for most just make it worse.

    And when you add superior gaming displays and high-framerate over 30fps on Xbox. You got yourself as a Xbox player a big disadvantage.

    There is really no "trick" or tip to outplay a PC player in this game. You as a Xbox player are starting each fight with an disadvantage. And should feel extra good when coming out victorious.

    oh yes, and when they wirte you messages xD like Cheater... ♥ (i'm on Xbox)

  • oxynatOr
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    @binaryplayerone sagte in Advantages to playing on PC, but not as much fun:

    @oxynator said in Advantages to playing on PC, but not as much fun:

    dont forget the loading time... 30sec for PC-Gamer and 3min for Xbox gamer...

    The initial load of the game is much longer on Xbox and the new X. But the loading times when dying feels more or less the same now on both Xbox and PC. At least for me.

    from the fery yes, but its a pain when someone shoot you from deck and the mermaid take like 3minutes to bring you back.

  • Count Draguar

    @binaryplayerone said in Advantages to playing on PC, but not as much fun:

    The thing about Sea of Thieves is that it's not just a twitch based game. There are more elements to a fight and encounter. So even tho a Xbox player is at a disadvantage against PC players. You can still come out the winner.

    Maybe, but when playing with my nephew he is better than me, he has better reactions, panics less and is better at multitasking (jumping whilst fighting and changing weapons). However the first time I played on PC and even without learning all the controls I was immediately better than him, he was amazed at how I took out that sloop so easily. This means that coming across someone of the same level as myself but on a decent pc I will get beaten every time.

  • UVG Reign
    Founder

    @count-draguar said in Advantages to playing on PC, but not as much fun:

    @uvg-reign said in Advantages to playing on PC, but not as much fun:

    @count-draguar You sidestepped and avoid damage? Wait till you see the added benefits of spamming space bar and add jumping to the mix!

    Rare said in their internal testing with alphas and stuff, kb and mouse only had a 4% advantage. Shows how much they know about pc vs console gaming

    When they said a 4% advantage that may have been on a low spec pc connected to a low resolution display and a standard keyboard and mouse. My pc has a Vega 64 GPU, 4k monitor and gaming mouse with adjustable dpi and side buttons. Serious gamers will have all this and more and so the advantage would be much more pronounced.

    It was year or so ago, @Musicmee can you remember? I cant remember if it was a dev blog or innsider vid. First signs I guess rare didnt know what they were on about

  • Bola Satanica
    Marauder

    I'm a PC player and almost never lose a CQC PvP fight to xbox players, only when they bunch up to kill me. If you see a PC player just avoid CQC PvP, just run away for your life, that's my advice. Because you will be farmed.

  • TachyonGray
    Seafarer

    Would a solution be to allow xbox users to use keyboard and mouse? would at least give people the option. Used to play Unreal Tournament on console, with this option available, there was a little icon next to a player that told you they were playing with a mouse, so you knew to engage or evade. do think it's an issue, that needs to be resolved one way or the other (including a statement saying nothing will be done - get over it).

  • Musicmee
    Vanguard
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    Moderator
    Founder
    Deckhand

    @uvg-reign This was one of the early dev videos with @TEDDY-25 and I believe they noticed only a less than 4% player advantage based on the stats and figures they had at the time.

  • Count Draguar

    @musicmee said in Advantages to playing on PC, but not as much fun:

    @uvg-reign This was one of the early dev videos with @TEDDY-25 and I believe they noticed only a less than 4% player advantage based on the stats and figures they had at the time.

    It'd be interesting to update this with current figures.

    How about PC Players have their name tags in a different colour. Then you can choose to avoid them or take up the challenge?

  • LogansDadToo
    Founder

    @count-draguar @Musicmee
    The 4% advantage was at killing skeletons, so not really a pvp stat!
    Apparently pc players were 4% more 'efficient' at killing skeletons during pve.
    This stat always gets brought in to these discussions & isn't really relevant, although it still shows pc players had an advantage way back then!

  • UVG Reign
    Founder

    @logansdadtoo said in Advantages to playing on PC, but not as much fun:

    @count-draguar @Musicmee
    The 4% advantage was at killing skeletons, so not really a pvp stat!
    Apparently pc players were 4% more 'efficient' at killing skeletons during pve.
    This stat always gets brought in to these discussions & isn't really relevant, although it still shows pc players had an advantage way back then!

    The reason I bought it up was becuase before the game came out, that was another thing everyone took as gospel because rare said so, that pc players were only 4% better by their testing so crossplay is ok then lol

    But in the real world mb&k demolishes against pads and people still defend them. And makes me laugh when people say "its only in close quarters so doesnt matter", 9/10 ship battles someone ends up boarding someone else.

  • TheShieldWolf

    I have to say, I'm a PC player and I never put two and two together. My friends and I are all on PC and we win 95% of our battles. We've only been sank a few times, even against multiple crews. It kind of makes sense now. I don't have an xbox so I can't say for sure, I've never been a particularly skilled video game player, but I pretty consistently wreck people on this game. I've been under the assumption that we're just really good, but now after reading some of these forums it's dawned on me that we might just have an advantage because we're all PC players.

    Huh, kooky.

  • oxynatOr
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    @personalc0ffee sagte in Advantages to playing on PC, but not as much fun:

    @oxynator said in Advantages to playing on PC, but not as much fun:

    dont forget the loading time... 30sec for PC-Gamer and 3min for Xbox gamer...

    give us crossplay at Forza or other Sport games, when all can legit play with the same hardware!

    thoses Mouse+Keyboard adapter for x1 are not supported and not allowed!

    Load times do not matter expect from the Ferry and mermaids and it is near instant and matches the same speeds as those of us on PC.

    oh noo, i was playing with PC-Gamers and they told me, "normally we don't play with consoleros because of the loading times" and yea, they had already catched up animals while i was w8ing in the black screen :(
    if that is happening while a fight... they can repair while i have to wait ... you see my point?

  • Daddy Sanctus
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    @oxynator The load times are pretty even between them now. The only real big difference is the initial load in time to the game. /// You're most likely not going to get banned for using 3rd party hardware on the Xbox. I've yet to hear of anyone at least being banned for it and have a number of friends who currently use it.

    @thealcani No, that is not possible for this game without 3rd party hardware. Even then, it does not give the same "feeling" as playing with a kb/m on PC. The ratios for mouse movement are not the same.

    @Count-Draguar The Elite Controller definitely has some advantages over the standard controller, but in the long run will still pale in comparison to the kb/m.

    @UVG-Reign Those statistics were in regards to killing skeletons, not other players. Xbox players can also spam the jump button as well, it may just require rebinding the button to something else on the controller.

    @GradedClover504 I've seen a number of PC players admit to having an advantage here on the forums. Yes, there are a few that deny it, but most will agree that PC at least has some sort of an advantage. Some may disagree to what advantages those are, but most seem to agree there is one.

    I've always been a console gamer, playing only a few games on PC (WoW, Path of Exile, Terraria, and now Sea of Thieves). I started playing Sea of Thieves on console, and put in about 150 hours or so into the game before switching to PC. I've now put about an equal amount of time into the game on PC and I for sure can tell you there are definite advantages. Usually I'm the guy that is sent over to board your ship and slaughter you while my team fires cannons into your hull, as most of my friends are on Xbox.

    I think first and foremost, Xbox players should be granted the ability to use kb/m. That would level the playing field a ton, and at least allow them to use that option if they choose to. Some may not, as using a controller (in my opinion) is much more comfortable than a kb/m.

    I made a post a while back with my experiences.

    https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/topic/54922/pc-vs-xbox-my-experience

  • UVG Reign
    Founder

    @daddy-sanctus I know it was only against pve, but no one questioned it against pvp and stuck with that 4% answer. Skeletons walk in a straight line towards you, pretty unmissable even with their claimed 4% advantage but that was their stats for it.

    Even with jump mapped to a paddle button on an elite pad, you cant track your target when jumping circles because the sensitivity is too low even on highest to turn quick enough. Why do people defend pads like theyre not at a disadvantage f*s

  • Daddy Sanctus
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    @uvg-reign Yeah, I'm surprised that they only said there was a 4% advantage on skeletons as well. When I'm playing with 1 other PC player, and 2 Xbox players, we on the PC seem to wreck the skeletons and die fewer times than those on Xbox. Could just be the people I'm playing with though.

    I agree, the Elite Controller isn't going to come close to a kb/m, but it does provide a slight advantage over the standard controller. There should definitely be some increased sensitivity options for controllers than what is currently offered.

  • LogansDadToo
    Founder

    @daddy-sanctus
    The skellies back then were just normal ones & they weren't as difficult.
    They also didn't use to appear in groups of 6 with pistols or blunderbusses either!!
    I suppose xbox players would have had more of a chance back then ;)

  • Prodigy Burns
    Captain
    Founder

    I think two people suggested adding mouse and keyboard support for Xbox as a solution and to that I say hell no. The day Xbox supports mouse and keyboard in competitive games is the day I chuck my Xbox out the window. I play on console to not have to deal with the discomfort of a mouse and keyboard or m+k players.

    If we're going to acknowledge PC players have an advantage the realest solution is making crossplay optional.

  • lotrmith
    Marauder
    Insider

    @binaryplayerone said in Advantages to playing on PC, but not as much fun:

    A controller cant match the precision and speed you get with a mouse & controller. It just cant.

    PC will always be the m*********e.

  • SteelRoots55
    Marauder
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    @personalc0ffee said in Advantages to playing on PC, but not as much fun:

    @gradedclover504 said in Advantages to playing on PC, but not as much fun:

    @solidsnakemig It's obvious the pc players don't acknowledge the advantage. A lot of them don't want the player base cut by separation of platforms. I don't intend to insult pc players but they also like having the easier fodder of console players. Anyone will get a more enjoyable experience from a game with success, as long as it's not to easy. I feel the platforms should be separated and players should have the option to cross plat or not. Aggressive pvp players will want cross plat. Adventure minded explorers, probably not.

    PC has some advantage and Rare can balance things.

    I am an adventure minded individual and I do not want optional crossplay options because it segregates the player bases.

    I'm a bad PC player and I don't want to lose my needed advantage.

    There, fixed it for you.

  • SteelRoots55
    Marauder
    Insider

    @personalc0ffee

    Get where? Been legend for a couple weeks because I actually played the game correctly.

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