I want to provide my feedback concerning season 8. Before starting, I want to note that I realize that these reflections are inherently subjective and merely serve to communicate my preferences for the Sea of Thieves (SoT) experience. So, any comments about how you enjoy the grind or how my opinion would be different if I were better at PvP are expected but irrelevant in a conversation about subjective preferences.
First, I think the idea of on-demand PvP is incredible. The experience of diving under the sea and popping up in a battle is exhilarating. The two new factions make perfect sense and I, and I expect many others, find the cosmetics to be the most valuable in the game. I appreciate the ways provided for increasing experience gains in this new feature.
Second, I wish there was a way to use the diving under the sea feature as a time to stock up on supplies. Long queue times will make that waiting experience more and more boring.
Third, I understand that the game mode's development is mostly settled and that this will remain an open-world feature and I think I understand why that is the case. Yet, I wish it were a separate game mode (like the Arena was) where people have the same amount of supplies and are placed in match-making PvP instances like this. Having to resupply after each defeat can be exhausting and work towards motivating the player to stop playing.
Fourth, I have found that the PvP rewards are what I value most. So, the other things that can be obtained in the game have lost almost all appeal. What was the most fun about SoT was exploring the sandbox, doing PvE content, and engaging in impromptu and spontaneous combat either as the pirate or as the defending adventurer. While I can see how this new mode still has the attacker and the defender, it feels much more like the naval combat of factional militaries rather than piracy. This is because you didn't search people out in this case, you were paired up in a matchmaking system. I understand that you can still play the game the way I described above but the attraction to do this is diminished when you know that the PvP rewards can only be obtained through the grind of the new game feature.
Fifth, I find the grind to be absurd. Level 1000 seems intuitively unreasonable compared to the level 75 caps of many other factions. Also, level 100 seems a little high for access to the new areas and base curses. Perhaps level 100 would not be so bad if there were not diminishing experience returns as you climb the ranks so that roughly 100 sinks resulted in level 100.
My preferential suggestions for improvement include, first, reducing the level cap by 50% so that the rewards for level 1000 are available at level 500. Second, to remove the diminishing returns on experience gained for sinking ships so that obtaining the rewards for level 100 and above does not feel so exhaustively tedious. Third, perhaps consider dropping the requirements for entry into the various factional hideouts to 75 to better cohere with the max levels of the other factions.
My final reflection is to say that while this update felt amazing at first, it now feels tedious and like the only thing worth doing. The final result is that I cannot help but wonder if another game would be more rewarding. Again, these are just my subjective preferences and I am sure that many agree and disagree with me. So, perhaps some middle ground can be reached? Thank you, Rare, for your hard work on this game and for continuing to provide new content and improving your security to cut down on cheaters who depreciate the experience.
