There were Single-Player flags that you could fly to turn off the PvP. Hear me out:
When you're playing solo; you are at such a massive disadvantage against even duos and basically can't win against 3+ unless you MASSIVELY out-skill your opponents.
Why?
Because they can maneuver AND shoot. You can't. You can't fire your cannons from the helm (that I know of).
They can sneak aboard your ship while guarding theirs. You can't.
They can steal treasure AND fight you. You can't.
They can: Fire at you, maneuver their ship, AND repair any damage you do, all at once. You can't.
Basically, they can be in 2, 3, or 4 places at once. You can't.
Sailing solo is such a hard-mode that it's almost not worth playing unless you enjoy the massive challenge.
Add onto that the fact that a Kraken attack is certain death: If it grabs you, you can't get free alone, and good luck killing 8 tentacles before it sinks you. You can't fight it AND repair damage.
And there's a built-in balance to this already in-game; If you're sailing the anti-PvP flag; you are not sailing any other flag. No rep boosts, no PvP flag. Nothing.
And here's more balance:
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It only works if you're solo. Get a second crewmember; the flag unequips, even in the middle of a voyage.
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Ships that are flying the flag could appear silvery, or see-through; something to let people know at a distance 'You can't attack this' to prevent wasting time and ammo.
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Any cannons the ship fires at people or player ships go through them harmlessly.
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Heck, if you want to get goofy; the Ka-boom sound effect of cannon fire could be replaced with a loud BA-GAWK! of a chicken. So people know, right away, that it's harmless. No trolling allowed!
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It only works against PLAYERS. Skeleton ships can still be fought, and can still sink people flying this flag.
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And, lastly; if players get more than a certain value of treasure on their ship; it turns off the no-PvP flag. To prevent using this to accrue massive treasure runs with less threat. Of course; there's still the Kraken and Meg to punish that, too.
I mean, I get it; PvP is part of the game. I've said that myself in other threads. I'm mostly venting, and I like thinking up solutions to problems. Even just hypothetical ones.
But I hate that I can't enjoy SoT solo when my friends are busy, because the game mechanics are not designed for it.
And the last few times I joined a pub crew (Which has not been for a LONG time. I mean YEARS); they'd get my help, then kick me before turning in treasure. So I don't pub anymore.
But what would people think of it? I mean, put aside 'It won't happen at all.'
Would this be a fair solution?