preface: This is a long essay, if you don’t feel like reading one there’s a TLDR at the bottom and I’d appreciate exposure if you agree with my points. It's separated into 3 points and I've made statements I think are particularly important bold. I worked quite hard to bring this to fruition and hope that what it offers is taken into consideration
1st point - cosmetics
2nd point - voyages
3rd point- enemies
Rare, without a doubt, has done an exceptional job with the content they have added since launch, facilitating amazing experiences and stories. That said, key parts of the game have been close to completely ignored, whilst very isolated features like Tall Tales and Arena have been brought to fruition. In this I will cover what I believe to be the most barren and disserviced areas of the game, exploring what approach should be made to fixing them, rather than giving specific suggestions as those have been given in excess.
Cosmetics:
Cosmetic progression and implementation has been done poorly since launch. The biggest issue is that not enough cosmetics are locked behind commendations, since the ones that are locked give set goals for the player to achieve, regardless of the amount of gold they possess. Cosmetics like the Kraken or Hunter set should be locked until their respective activities have been completed a certain amount of times. This not only gives direction in the game that’s rewarded, but makes each cosmetic purchase feel special and earned. My example is the fishing rods’ cosmetic implementation. With every one of them locked behind commendations, the feeling of buying your first custom fishing rod is special. This is then followed by multiple, lower-tier sets being unlocked that you'll choose from, then ending with you pursuing your preferred, higher-tier version. More cosmetic types need to be done this way to make commendation progression actually feel rewarding. Similar to the Hunter’s Call, each company should sell their own full cosmetic set that slowly unlocks throughout leveling up, accessible in their menu rather than at an unaffiliated shop. This includes all equipment, ship livery and clothing, since all factions don’t have a full set of their own. I also think curses would make a very good level 50 purchase for each faction but since they’ve been tied to Tall Tales I doubt that will happen.
Next issue is that cosmetic variety has been sparse. Whilst a few options have been sprinkled in since launch like make-up, tattoos and scars, it hasn't been enough to truly attain satisfying character customization. We’ve seen NPCs bolstering things like jewelry, piercings, and glasses, whilst never having the option to personalize our avatar with them. When cosmetics are your game’s only progression, it needs to be extensive. Beyond character customization, ships need further options and depth for cosmetics. More sets need their own capstan, wheel and cannon cosmetics added, whilst ensuring the ones already implemented match their respective livery better (colour scheme wise). What's more, higher-tier hull and sail cosmetics need to be more than just repaints. Each hull and sail should match their theme with slight variants of model and structure. Examples would be the Wailing Barnacle set having more misplaced and missing planks along the deck, barnacles would line the bottom of the ship and fish models should extrude from the front, rather than just be painted on. This would help each player’s ship feel more unique, with the very best sets changing appearance to the same extent as a skeleton ships. Rowboats should also colour match your ship when docked. Older sets need to be updated to change the color of various parts of the ship like newer sets do (changing the colour of the mast, harpoons, etc.).
Lastly I want to critique Rare’s method of implementing cosmetics into the game. Mainly, we have had far too many limited time cosmetics being added, whilst very little persisting sets that leave a lasting impact on the game. This becomes extremely prevalent for cosmetics that pertain to a certain activity being added, then removed due to its affiliation to the event that came alongside said activity. It’s a shame that sets like the Wailing Barnacle can no longer be a reward for destroying mermaid statues, or that the Bone Crusher set can’t be tied to killing skeletons. The current reaper sets make more sense as time-limited cosmetics since once their affiliated event ends, so does everything to do with the event. I understand time-limiting cosmetics help raise their value, but when a feature persists after an event, so should the related cosmetics. A simple solution to this would be to reintroduce recoloured or slightly remodeled versions of unavailable sets and lock them behind their affiliated activities. This would keep the exclusivity of past sets, whilst not wasting cosmetic content. Another issue I have is the inconsistent treatment of some sets. The Bone Crusher set and the Forsaken ashes set both have the issue of being half unobtainable. Both had some time-limited items introduced alongside an event whilst others have stayed in the game. Having only half a set attainable for new players is bad design and leads to disappointment as many strive to complete a set. Either an entire set should be used as time limited content, or none of it.
Voyages:
Tall Tales were wasted potential. I say this as someone who cherished every moment of the campaign and think Rare did an absolutely fantastic job with it. The “waste” is that the Tales are so separate from the rest of the game that the items gained aren’t even stealable, going against core design philosophy Rare has used to create this pirate game. Whilst multiple playthroughs of the campaign are encouraged, the majority of players will only complete it once, as there’s not enough variation to justify five repeats. This leads to Tall Tales leaving zero longevity on the rest of the game for its players. What’s disappointing is that each mechanic introduced in this campaign could’ve made for its very own voyage type. Voyages have seen such a small amount of attention since launch, with us only getting cargo runs as an addition to any company. Additional variants for voyages has been needed far more than a story campaign.
Rare has a platform for introducing voyage types, but their neglect has caused voyages to become beyond menial, consequently heavily reducing the amount of loot that can be found on other player’s boats. Tall Tales have shown the potential for engaging quests in the Sea of Thieves world, and I hope attention is given to the companies' quests rather than only using Tall Tales as a platform for voyages. Each company needs a new quest type introduced every five levels, rather than the current system of simply making them longer. Tall Tale mechanics should be used as the guideline for introducing engaging quests, whilst better integrating them into the world. This means that quests shouldn’t lock you away from your ship, the items received should be stealable and the questing locations properly randomized. This is what’s needed to facilitate the PvPvE nature of Sea of Thieves.
Each extra voyage variant should be incrementally purchasable in separate menus, rather than the current flawed system of randomizing the options, as you progress through levels. These voyages should exercise each area of Sea of Thieves gameplay, including parkour, sharpshooting, sailing, puzzles, exploring, etc. There is so much potential for questing in this game, making Rare’s neglect towards additions all the more bitter.
As you unlock new quests from a company, they should increase in difficulty and reward, but not scale in length. Rare has used length as a facade of difficulty since launch, giving skeletons more health, giving more maps and generally increasing the time needed for tasks that ultimately don’t change in difficulty. This leads to quests becoming more and more laborious as you gain rep, on top of becoming stale due to the lack of variety. Higher level quests should be failable, and require far more awareness than current voyages, creating an appeal to return to more basic quests. I’m not saying some quests can’t be long, but current difficulty is artificial and doesn't scale in complexity.
Additional voyages would not only help make reputation progression more satisfying for the partaker, but enrich pirating and PvP in the world. A lack of loot on many ships can be attributed to many avoiding voyages due to their repetitiveness. With a large amount of extra voyages to explore, more will have loot aboard as spoils, as there is an apparent lack of said loot amoungst players, making the piracy aspect of the game dull and unrewarding. Mercenary voyages do a good job at getting loot aboard ships and incentivizing PvP, but suffer from the same repetitiveness and their time-limited nature prevents lasting impact for the game.
Enemies:
Skeletons have been Rare’s go-to antagonists for far too long. They can be satisfying to crowd clear, but pose no legitimate threat to a player that understands the basics of the game. Especially upon land, the small roster of enemies has made PvE more of a chore than an obstacle. The game needs more enemy variety that not only changes the way we approach the world, but expands it to make it more lively.
Currently the Sea of Thieves world can feel very barren when not surrounded by players, something that can be attributed to the significant lack of creatures and beasts in the world. Obviously enemies aren’t necessarily the only fix for this, but since they make much more of an impact on gameplay than passive AI, they should be prioritized. Location specific enemies should be implemented to differentiate areas like caves and reefs beyond aesthetic, as well as begin to separate the four different regions across the map more extensively. Rare obviously has the ideas of Mermaids, crabs, and other fantasy creatures brainstormed, so it doesn’t make sense that we’ve had to wait so long for anything other than skeletons.
Speaking of skeletons, the method of scaling them in difficulty has been done with the same flaws as the voyage progression. Skeletons increase in health and overall speed as you progress, leading to killing them not only feeling laborious, but unfair as they will begin to swing even when you strike them and have pinpoint accuracy. Skeletons work as mob waves, they are pathetic alone but effective in large hordes. This should be accounted for in the AI. Skeletons should encircle you, making sword spam not an option as you’re attacked from each side. Their sword dash should cover more distance and either activate much faster or be non-cancelable to require players to move and not be complacent with their placement. They need to account for the skeletons around them to make themselves effective as a horde. Firearm skeletons also need improvement, as they make no effort to put distance between an approaching player, as a ranged enemy should. A pistol or sniper skeleton should flee when pressed to prevent the all too familiar situation of sword spamming to constantly stun, possibly also blind-shooting behind them to make the chase more dangerous. This smarter AI should become more and more prevalent as you level up, alongside unlocking a few new abilities and traits along the way.
We also need enemy variety that challenges place-styles and methods we’ve developed whilst fighting skeletons. We need enemy types that require us to change the way we play the game to effectively defeat or avoid. This could be as simple as having a very mobile enemy, effective at keeping its distance, encouraging the player to preference ranged weapons, unlike the majority of PvE that basically requires a sword. Possibly a winged creature that picks up any barrel in the crowsnest and drops it on your ship would make you scramble to hide them below deck. We need opponents that not only subvert expectations, but make us change the way we approach and interact with the world to break the monotony of fighting brain dead skeletons.
Conclusion
So that’s my coverage on what areas of Sea of Thieves need attention. I tried to be as broad as possible when it came to the implementation of said areas, since singular feature ideas only help so much. I’d like to see what parts of my suggestions people could expand on and what they think of what I put forward. Ultimately I think Rare are doing a great job with what content they added, but can’t help but question what they’ve chosen to spend time on.
TLDR:
More appropriately themed cosmetics locked behind affiliated activities’ commendations
Further cosmetic variety and depth
Complete cosmetic sets
More company exclusive cosmetics
Less time-limited cosmetics
Don’t split sets between obtainable and unobtainable
Tall Tales don’t have longevity
The companies need new voyage types introduced every five levels
Quests shouldn’t lock you away from your ship, should properly randomized locations and have items that are stealable
Quests should scale in difficulty, complexity and risk, not length
Additional voyage types will get more players questing, subsequently enriching piracy
New enemy types that diversify that world and its locations
Skeletons need AI improvements that cater to their horde nature
Skeletons need to scale in complexity, not health or speed
New enemies that make new and change existing playstyles
