Running off with the Skull Fort key

@lyserus Agree. No matter how something is someone is going to have an issue with it. If it just opened up I got friends that would complain for days about how the ships we kept fighting off kept coming back, eventually sunk us, then grabbed all the loot.

I think its fine that OP brings up the topic. But, it’s all going to be a personal preference. I prefer it be a key so that if i dont get the loot...then no one gets it and im gonna throw the dam key away. But, i get what you are saying OP. Get enough people to back you and they might look into changing it. It’s a legit gripe.

@ximp0sterx said in Running off with the Skull Fort key:

I prefer it be a key so that if i dont get the loot...then no one gets it and im gonna throw the dam key away.

Ok but... That's just not a great design though? Sure you prefer to throw it away, but you're still not getting much satisfaction out of this, no one is.

@lyserus said in Running off with the Skull Fort key:

Yeah you know I have the feeling that you will complain too if the door open straight after waves are finished and someone grabbed fort chest and skull

Why do you have that feeling? Have you gone through my previous posts and analyzed a negative attitude? I love this game and am 99% extremely positive about everything I have to say about it.

This is something I see as flawed. It was about an hour of intense fun gameplay around a skullfort that just landed flat even after a victory. I don't see how you coming on here and dismissing me as if I was aimlessly whining is constructive at all? The game is out, so I'm discussing things that maybe could be better.

If you don't see it as a flaw? Care to tell me why?

Whilst researching whether or not there was a point with camping out the fort in case they'd come back, I also saw that this can actually causes skull forts to not spawn again because the loot is still there... Another key related issue.

I've done many skull forts, lost some, won many... But none before have been boring. So again, what's your point (Other than being condescending, I mean)?

@verminpup Alright alright now let’s just tone this thing down. I mean cant we just talk before getting keyboard brave and debating something thatll end with everyone just p****d off?

Look, I get what you are saying OP and like I said bud...its a legitimate concern. Also, btw you are wrong. I get satisfaction out of knowing no one gets the treasure if I cant get to it myself. That’s just the way it is I’m greedy and if i have spent more time taking the waves down only to have a couple ships show up right at the end to take what I worked for...no way...im keeping the key or making sure it dont see the light of day before Ill let people come up and grab it from me.

Just how I am, not everyone is like that. Some I would guess might lay it down on the bar in a tavern and say “ok fellow pirate. If you want the key, then best me in a sword duel and whoever lives walks away with it.” But, that aint me.

The issue you described about another fort not popping because treasure remains in the first one that didnt get opened...thats a different story. I can agree with you and say that needs to be fixed. But, i say even if treasure remains in one, after enough time has passed then another needs to pop up regardless. You are absolutely right that needs to be addressed.

@ximp0sterx said in Running off with the Skull Fort key:

@verminpup Alright alright now let’s just tone this thing down. I mean cant we just talk before getting keyboard brave and debating something thatll end with everyone just p****d off?

Look, I get what you are saying OP and like I said bud...its a legitimate concern. Also, btw you are wrong. I get satisfaction out of knowing no one gets the treasure if I cant get to it myself. That’s just the way it is I’m greedy and if i have spent more time taking the waves down only to have a couple ships show up right at the end to take what I worked for...no way...im keeping the key or making sure it dont see the light of day before Ill let people come up and grab it from me.

Just how I am, not everyone is like that. Some I would guess might lay it down on the bar in a tavern and say “ok fellow pirate. If you want the key, then best me in a sword duel and whoever lives walks away with it.” But, that aint me.

The issue you described about another fort not popping because treasure remains in the first one that didnt get opened...thats a different story. I can agree with you and say that needs to be fixed. But, i say even if treasure remains in one, after enough time has passed then another needs to pop up regardless. You are absolutely right that needs to be addressed.

I don't think my tone was misplaced? I answered you politely, and answered the other person appropriately.

And yes, you may feel more satisfaction off of dropping the key in the water for no one to find. But that only from your personal perspective. On the grand scheme of themes, or rather, from the developer's perspective... No one is really satisfied. Your satisfaction here may be slightly greater than the alternative, but no one is truly satisfied.

An intense battle resulted in no one winning or feeling rewarded, that is not exactly a great outcome. After an hour of skull fort, no one had any progress to show for it... That's hardly a positive outcome.

Worse? I don't know where the key is? I don't know if there's a feature I'm not aware of where they may have hid it? I'm not sure if its supposed to glow a lot on the ground (Should I look for it more or not)? I'm not sure what happens with the key respawns if dropped at sea, or just disapears?

This kind of uncertainty all played into the anti-climatic experience of just falling flat to a "well, what now?". There's definitely room for improvement.

The point of the key is to force player interaction. Whether that be pvp or alliances. It's a world object that is meant to be steal-able, trade-able, lose-able because it creates a better story than just having the doors open. It allows people to form alliances and trust (and betray trust sometimes).

Having said that though: if the doors haven't been opened after 10 minutes the key should start emitting a light that grows in intensity minute by minute until it's a shining beacon. You want to take the key and run? Cool, but in half an hour everyone on the server is going to be chasing you.

I think that'd make for some fun tales as a crew purposefully takes a key to taunt people and tries to see how long they can survive with everyone chasing them.

You guys live in your little unicorn and pony world...but you play Sea Of Thieves.

And that would be ok if you wouldnt bring every little "ohhh unfair" here to this forum.

Again...who ever gets the key, can open that door whenever he/she wants. We do this regulary, we get in...get the key and if ANY Galeon or sloop is close, hey, we continue with our voyages and come back later. Whats the problem?

And no matter how many waves or how much time you spend on the island killing skeletons...the one that gets the key did the fort...not you if you dont have it.

Me and my crew, we are legends....the only reason we do forts is to do PvP...we dont want any treasure, we just want you to come and try to get it and we will sink you by any mean possible.

This is a game to bring friends, not to make friends.

Thats imho.

@verminpup said in Running off with the Skull Fort key:

All of this makes me wonder: What's the point of even having a key? All it does is give the option for someone to say "If I can't win this, then no one can" and then its just not really fun for anyone.

That's the point it creates more tension and turmoil and that is amazing. I love the thrill of trying to steal a key or taking it on the boat and taking off while being chased. It creates more stories and more drama. If it just opened people would just keep fighting and trying to piece meal treasure. Personally I don't ever want the key to leave. It's just another thing you need to be keeping an eye on, When a captain spawns NOTHING else matters but him. Better luck next time, For that is the key to victory!

If it came down to it where I fought the long fight for the skull fort to have some coward come up when the cloud drops trying to get the jump on us and chase us for an hour, You better believe I'll get board. I have sacrificed a key to the red sea before. If we did all the work and someone tries to claim it after the fact and I don't feel like playing anymore, NO ONE gets MY key lol.

sorry but this is NOT flawed and is good design. This game is about risk. Part of that risk is securing and not losing the key. Because you lost it or couldn't find it does not make it bad design. It works as intended. No issues here.

@frank3nst31n-69 said in Running off with the Skull Fort key:

I think that was us you “sank” twice we’ll just omit the three other galleons and a sloop that was also involved with our demise. Yes we took the key yes we ran and hid it then finished our athenas. We were gonna come back and slaughter you properly galleon vs galleon but yall had left. So we looted in peace then went and sunk a random sloop just cause he was nearby. Running with the keys a useful mechanic when your out matched due to other players having teamed up or the general madness skull forts can provide.

Nope, it wasn't. There was absolutely no sloop involved, no sure why you'd assume it is in such a massive game with thousands of players. And not sure why you'd claim I didn't "sink" galleons, why do people have such a terrible attitude on here?

@quixoticrocket said in Running off with the Skull Fort key:

The point of the key is to force player interaction. Whether that be pvp or alliances. It's a world object that is meant to be steal-able, trade-able, lose-able because it creates a better story than just having the doors open. It allows people to form alliances and trust (and betray trust sometimes).

Having said that though: if the doors haven't been opened after 10 minutes the key should start emitting a light that grows in intensity minute by minute until it's a shining beacon. You want to take the key and run? Cool, but in half an hour everyone on the server is going to be chasing you.

I think that'd make for some fun tales as a crew purposefully takes a key to taunt people and tries to see how long they can survive with everyone chasing them.

Exactly. People are focusing a lot on the fact I mentioned the doors could simply open and it would be better (And I do think it would be better than the current situation). That isn't to say the key shouldn't stay in, it just needs to become better.

@yo-its-popo said in Running off with the Skull Fort key:

@ximp0sterx said in Running off with the Skull Fort key:

@verminpup Alright alright now let’s just tone this thing down. I mean cant we just talk before getting keyboard brave and debating something thatll end with everyone just p****d off?

Look, I get what you are saying OP and like I said bud...its a legitimate concern. Also, btw you are wrong. I get satisfaction out of knowing no one gets the treasure if I cant get to it myself. That’s just the way it is I’m greedy and if i have spent more time taking the waves down only to have a couple ships show up right at the end to take what I worked for...no way...im keeping the key or making sure it dont see the light of day before Ill let people come up and grab it from me.

Just how I am, not everyone is like that. Some I would guess might lay it down on the bar in a tavern and say “ok fellow pirate. If you want the key, then best me in a sword duel and whoever lives walks away with it.” But, that aint me.

The issue you described about another fort not popping because treasure remains in the first one that didnt get opened...thats a different story. I can agree with you and say that needs to be fixed. But, i say even if treasure remains in one, after enough time has passed then another needs to pop up regardless. You are absolutely right that needs to be addressed.

I think the issue is that its too easy to just dump a key in one of the glitch spots or even just sail off a couple minutes and dump it, and the key is completely lost.

It stops momentum and takes away from the thrill.

I don't think the doors should just drop open, but the key should be more visible when on the ground (no reason it should be about as visible as a Foul Skull), and after a period of time it should be clearly visible to people in the area.

If anything, this would heighten the tension and increase momentum as the people who absconded with the key would have to act quickly to press their advantage.

Absolutely!

@sshteeve said in Running off with the Skull Fort key:

@verminpup I will counter this with a story of my own from last night:

We arrive at a fort to find a galleon opening fire on us - we defend ourselves and kill all the crew and sink the ship.
As we do so a second galleon arrives at again opens fire, again we kill them and sink them and carry on.
The first ship arrives a second time - we kill them, sink them and carry on.
As we hit the final wave the first ship comes aback AGAIN so we kill the Captain, grab the key and run for it so that we can come back later with fresh paint and sails.

As we leave though we don't quite catch the wind enough and the second galleon comes in - turns out they seem to be working together, we get rammed, boarded by 8 players and as we are sinking I quickly grab and key from it's hiding spot and try to swim for it - but it's too late - the boat has sunk and I despawn to the new ship.

We head back to the fort to see the other galleons circling one another, the fort door is locked, the two galleons sail off.
I am glad the key was lost and noone got the treasure - we worked hard to first win the fort and then to defend it, so we had every right to hold off on opening the door.

That was not a very satisfying ending, so I'll just disagree and hope the devs see things the way I do ;)

@alzheimeers said in Running off with the Skull Fort key:

Its easy, Im a dirty pirate, i want a ugly key to open My loot up,

I want to be that dirty pirate ho steals the key in the end If you trust me,

I want to laugth all the way around the map with you on My tail after i hidden the key,

I want to be that pirate hwo looks at your face when u cant find the key after you sunk My ship (you know that kind of face that first start off with victory and just turns around to total anger) and you ragequit 😎😎

But this is just me 😁😁

That's fair, but the mechanics should definitely be better. I think it would be cool if who ever has the key has the skull cloud following them, or if at least the key would glow a lot more. I'm really not against the idea of pirates stealing the key, etc. I'm not against being betrayed or having everything stolen from me after working. I just want some kind of ending... not "Is it glitched? Did the key just disappear in the water?" anti-climatic ending.

@kustho said in Running off with the Skull Fort key:

You guys live in your little unicorn and pony world...but you play Sea Of Thieves.

And that would be ok if you wouldnt bring every little "ohhh unfair" here to this forum.

Again...who ever gets the key, can open that door whenever he/she wants. We do this regulary, we get in...get the key and if ANY Galeon or sloop is close, hey, we continue with our voyages and come back later. Whats the problem?

And no matter how many waves or how much time you spend on the island killing skeletons...the one that gets the key did the fort...not you if you dont have it.

Me and my crew, we are legends....the only reason we do forts is to do PvP...we dont want any treasure, we just want you to come and try to get it and we will sink you by any mean possible.

This is a game to bring friends, not to make friends.

Thats imho.

You completely misread the intention of this thread and built it to your own narrative. Running away with the key is fine but: THEY DID NOT.

There was no ship around, there was no where for them to run. Both galleon had been sunk and did not come back. By the time all mermaids were gone we still couldn't find the key. This means it was either dropped in the water, or in a location where it could not physically be seen on the island.

If you want to go to forts and mess people just to mess with people, for sure go ahead, that's just not an argument against giving the game a better and less confusing/glitchy mechanic. If you manage to steal the key for fun, then it should turn into a chase, not into NOTHING.

@trickrtreat01 said in Running off with the Skull Fort key:

@verminpup You lost the key. They may have hidden it and come back and hour later. They may have accidentally lost it . Who knows.

The key adds another layer of strategy and dynamic that makes the game more fun.

As I have said, I don't mind being able to hide the key. But as other have said, there's problems with it.

You shouldn't be able to "hide" the key by clipping it through the environment, and I really don't agree with the whole "Dumping the key in the water so no one can have it is fun" argument.

I'm just not convinced that this is actually working as intended. At least fix all bugs related to it, or change things a little to avoid such bugs from creating problems.

Make the key glow. If a ship makes it out with the key, it should at least glow as much a villainous skull. It would still be possible to hide the key between rocks in the water... But a meticulous pirate should be able to scout the island carefully and find it. Otherwise whats the point?

And I think a Key lost at sea should float forever and glow. Even if I don't end up finding it, I want to know that I can.

@capt-sharazad said in Running off with the Skull Fort key:

@verminpup I've just come out of a nasty scenario. 3 galleons - all insta-ganking sloops, trash talking (not the polite kind mind you) Made our athena voyage a nightmare. after we handed in a skull fort popped, now the crew i roll with are not new to the game and know our stuff. so we decided to head to the fort and help the sloops out on the server. if a sloop arrived we would give them the key.

I am going to re-iterate my early point in bold.

THESE GALLEON CREWS WERE NOT NICE PLAYERS TO PLAY AGAINST OR WITH

So we sailed over to the skullfort. Sank all three crews (that was intense) cleared it and swiped up the key over about an hour-and-a-half timeframe. we then sailed off with the key. speaking to my crew about the general "disgusting / offensive / derogatory" Galleons crews we'd faced at the fort and earlier, we scanned the horizon for any sign of a sloop. zip none. then came the vote....

" You know, this is quite the bad server. I really dislike these guys attitude there not even trying to have fun. I want a crew vote. for this specific skullfort. No-one gets the loot. we toss the key overboard."

The reply's came in all in the affirmative and gloop bye key. we then sailed back to the fort and "acted" loading up the booty and defended the island from the crews untill they sunk us all the time we were wailing that "You just sunk us! we just lost the key! Oh noooooo!" etc etc

Total time spent messing with some bullies - 2 hours+
Total money made messing with the bullies - $0
Total Rep made from messing with the bullies - 0

That feeling when you see them sat at the skullfort for 30 mins+ trying to find the key thats already at the bottom of the ocean.... Priceless.

Moral of the story - Dont be a Bully or ill make sure you dont get any loot at the expense of other players.

I mean, fair enough, but I'm not a bully at all and I'm not sure what your point is? You've definitely proven that it can be abused to troll people, and even though in your case it may have been warranted, it will not always be so.

@pithyrumble Yep, exactly!