PvP and Social Overhaul - New High Risk/High Reward and Ship Mechanics

  • A Pirate’s Life Should Feel Dangerous Again

    Ahoy Rare,

    I’ve sailed these seas for a long time now—long enough to remember when every sail on the horizon made my heart beat faster. Long enough to know the joy of a clean broadside, the chaos of a boarding fight, and the quiet calm of the ocean when your crew is laughing between islands.

    But somewhere along the way, something changed.

    Gold stopped mattering.

    When you’re sitting on millions, treasure becomes decoration. Sinking another crew feels fun, sure—but it no longer feels meaningful. Many of the best naval fights in Sea of Thieves end with no loot on either ship, and while the action is great, the pirate fantasy feels incomplete.

    A pirate’s life should always have something at stake.

    🏴‍☠️ A High-Risk, High-Reward PvP System (Opt-In & Fair)

    Core Philosophy:
    • Protect new swabbies
    • Give veterans something to care about again
    • Encourage organic naval PvP, not forced combat

    🛡️ Safety for New Players
    • Your first 1,000,000 gold is permanently safe
    • This acts as a “vault” that can never be lost
    • New players can learn, explore, and fail without fear

    After that?

    You’re a seasoned pirate. And seasoned pirates should sail with risk.

    ⚔️ Gold at Stake — Players Only
    • Gold loss only occurs when sunk by another player crew
    • No PvE loss, no random punishment
    • Example numbers (purely illustrative):
    • Lose ~25,000 gold when sunk by players
    • Earn gold for sinking others:
    • Sloop (1–2 crew): 25k–50k
    • Brig (3 crew): ~75k
    • Galleon (4 crew): ~100k

    This does a few important things:
    • Makes naval fights matter even when no treasure is aboard
    • Turns PvP into a self-contained risk/reward loop
    • Gives rich pirates a reason to care again

    Treasure is still valuable—but putting something on the line is what creates adrenaline.

    🧠 Preventing Abuse & Gold Trading (Important)

    This system would only work with safeguards, and there are ways to do this fairly:

    Anti-Exploit Ideas:
    • No gold gained from repeatedly sinking the same crew in a short window
    • Diminishing returns if two crews interact suspiciously often
    • Gold rewards only trigger if:
    • Both ships actively fired cannons
    • Damage occurred over time (not instant scuttles)
    • Opt-in flag (similar to Hourglass) so casual players aren’t forced into it
    • Server-side behavior analysis (Rare already does this well)

    The goal is naval combat, not gold farming.

    🌊 Life at Sea Needs More to Do

    Long voyages can feel empty. Right now, crews mostly:
    • Fish
    • Cook basic food
    • Play instruments

    We could turn ships into living, social spaces.

    🌱 Shipboard Systems & Activities

    Gardens / Planters
    • Grow plants, herbs, or rare seeds
    • Small buffs (stamina regen, cooking bonuses)
    • Cosmetic decor progression for ships

    Expanded Cooking
    • Bigger kitchen interactions
    • Multi-step meals
    • Crew coordination (timing, ingredients, roles)

    Crow’s Nest Gameplay
    • Scouting mini-interactions
    • Spyglass focus mechanics to reveal ships sooner
    • Incentives to actually stay posted up there
    • Skill-based spotting rather than passive waiting

    Crew Sparring
    • Friendly sword & gun combat on deck
    • No death penalties
    • Great for practice and downtime

    Pet Systems
    • Pet battles between crew
    • Feeding, happiness, light progression
    • Cosmetic or minor utility buffs (purely optional)

    Card & Dice Games
    • Poker, blackjack, dice, etc.
    • Crew-only or opt-in
    • Gold caps per session
    • Anti-cheat systems to prevent RMT/trading

    None of this replaces sailing—it fills the quiet moments between storms.

    🧭 Why This Matters

    Sea of Thieves is a sandbox—and sandboxes thrive when:
    • Veterans have long-term stakes
    • Casual players feel safe
    • Social interaction is constant
    • PvP feels meaningful, not empty

    A pirate’s life isn’t just about gold—it’s about risk, stories, and tension.
    The moment you spot another ship should make you wonder:

    “Is this worth the risk?”

    Right now, the answer is often “who cares?”

    Let’s make it exciting again.

    Final Thought

    This doesn’t need to replace anything that already exists.
    It can be:
    • Opt-in
    • Carefully tuned
    • Adjusted over time

    But any system that:
    • Encourages natural naval warfare
    • Gives veterans something to lose
    • Adds social depth while sailing

    …would make the seas feel alive again.

    As pirates, there should always be something at risk—
    your booty, and maybe your pride.

    Thanks for reading, and fair winds to everyone at Rare.

    — A long-time pirate 🏴‍☠️

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  • 📊 PvP Stats & Pirate Session Scoreboard (Simple, Meaningful)

    If PvP is meant to matter, then our actions during fights should be visible and remembered.

    A lightweight PvP stat system for both Hourglass and open-world pirate sessions would add huge value with minimal disruption.

    ⚔️ What to Track (Examples)
    • Kills / Deaths / Assists
    • Player Damage Dealt
    • Cannon Accuracy %
    • Chainshots Landed / Masts Broken
    • Repairs Done (wood used)
    • Water Bilged / Buckets Thrown
    • Revives Given
    • Successful Boards

    This gives recognition to every role — cannons, helm, bilge, boarders — not just the final sink.

    🧭 Session Scoreboard (Press TAB)

    Similar to games like League of Legends/Valorant/Etc:
    • Press TAB to view a crew/session scoreboard
    • See your crew’s contributions in real time
    • Optional visibility (crew-only or personal stats)
    • Hourglass and Adventure stats tracked separately if needed

    This keeps things competitive for PvP-focused players while remaining unobtrusive for casual crews.

    🏴‍☠️ Why This Matters
    • Gold eventually loses meaning — stats don’t
    • Encourages improvement and role identity
    • Makes every naval fight feel rewarding, even without treasure
    • Adds depth without forcing PvP on anyone

    Stats don’t change the sandbox — they celebrate what already happens.

  • After reading your point of view, I think you need to find a game similar to Sea of Thieves instead of coming here to propose these impossible opinions

  • You’re asking for a lot of changes and things. But forget. Current players, vets and newbies can’t even play what they currently have. So many complains about even the simple of mechanics

  • If I am reading this correctly if a player has 2 million in gold and another player sinks them. The winning player gets a gold reward calculated on the size of the ship.

    The log book currently does this for captained ships. The only change required would be increasing the value instead of it being based off how long the ship was on the seas. The log book could easily be added for all ships, just with less details. Crew joining the ship have 10 k deduced from their accounts if they have more than x gold. Refunded if the ship is still float 5 min after they log off.

    With the new server merge from repeated sinks in a short time from the same crew, I do not think we need to worry that much about transfer of gold by spending hours sailing and sinking over and over.

    This sounds ok. RARE did toy with the idea of a gold penalty for sinking but play testers did not like it.

    Other stuff needs more details but I do like the idea of sparing on boats between islands, its a long requested feature.

  • @mr-spx-ss said in PvP and Social Overhaul - New High Risk/High Reward and Ship Mechanics:

    After reading your point of view, I think you need to find a game similar to Sea of Thieves instead of coming here to propose these impossible opinions

    I appreciate that not everyone will agree with every suggestion, but dismissing feedback as “impossible” without engaging with the ideas isn’t very constructive.

    Sea of Thieves has evolved significantly over time because players share different perspectives and ideas — many of which once seemed unlikely until they were refined and implemented.

    The intent of my post is to contribute thoughtfully to the discussion around long-term engagement, PvP incentives, and social interaction, not to change the core identity of the game.

    If you disagree with specific points, I’m happy to discuss them — that’s how good feedback helps the game improve.

  • @burnbacon said in PvP and Social Overhaul - New High Risk/High Reward and Ship Mechanics:

    You’re asking for a lot of changes and things. But forget. Current players, vets and newbies can’t even play what they currently have. So many complains about even the simple of mechanics

    I don’t really agree with the idea that Sea of Thieves has become overly complicated from a mechanics standpoint. The core ship and pirate mechanics are largely the same as they were at launch — sailing, cannons, repairs, boarding, cooking, fishing, and basic social interaction haven’t fundamentally changed.

    Most additions over the years (Hourglass, Captaincy, Guilds, Seasons) didn’t increase mechanical complexity — they added optional structure and progression on top of an already familiar gameplay loop. A new player today still learns the game the same way they did years ago.

    I am just proposing newer PvP incentives, increased social interaction, and a TAB scoreboard to add more depth to the game.

  • @miserenz said in PvP and Social Overhaul - New High Risk/High Reward and Ship Mechanics:

    If I am reading this correctly if a player has 2 million in gold and another player sinks them. The winning player gets a gold reward calculated on the size of the ship.

    The log book currently does this for captained ships. The only change required would be increasing the value instead of it being based off how long the ship was on the seas. The log book could easily be added for all ships, just with less details. Crew joining the ship have 10 k deduced from their accounts if they have more than x gold. Refunded if the ship is still float 5 min after they log off.

    With the new server merge from repeated sinks in a short time from the same crew, I do not think we need to worry that much about transfer of gold by spending hours sailing and sinking over and over.

    This sounds ok. RARE did toy with the idea of a gold penalty for sinking but play testers did not like it.

    Other stuff needs more details but I do like the idea of sparing on boats between islands, its a long requested feature.

    Thanks for taking the time to engage with the idea. You’re mostly reading it correctly, and I appreciate you calling out existing systems that could be leveraged rather than reinvented.

    To clarify one point: the intent isn’t that a player with 2 million gold would lose an arbitrary or scalable amount based on their total wealth. The idea is more of a flat, predictable, opt-in stake (with safeguards like a protected first million) so that PvP encounters always have something on the line, even when there’s no treasure aboard.

    I agree with you that the Captain’s Logbook is actually a great existing framework. Expanding or adapting it (with simplified versions for non-captained ships) feels like a very natural extension rather than a new system.

    On gold transfer concerns, I’m also aligned with you — server merge logic, diminishing returns, and repeated-sink detection already solve much of the abuse problem. The goal is to encourage organic naval encounters, not gold farming.

    I’m aware Rare previously experimented with gold penalties and that playtesters didn’t like the implementation at the time. I think the key difference here is choice and protection — opt-in systems, clear limits, and permanent safeguards for newer or casual players. That context may change how such a system is received today, especially for veterans who currently lack meaningful risk.

    And I’m glad you mentioned sparring. That’s exactly the kind of low-risk, social interaction I’d love to see more of while sailing between islands.

    Appreciate the thoughtful feedback. This is exactly the kind of discussion that helps refine ideas into something workable.

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