@khaleesibot
This feels as though it's turning into another thread about griefers & trolls, which there is another megathread for, running in tandem with this one...
To clarify, is this what you are asking on this Megathread?
If you want to sail around, explore & do quests, should you be able to be left alone to do so?
If you want to be a terror on the waves & pick a fight with everyone, should you be able to do that without backlash?
If you want to do a mixture of both, in any different number of combinations & ratios, how does SoT let you do that?
Ultimately, in the name of inclusion, how can we keep everybody happy at the same time?!
Big questions... Being able to play SoT the way you want to, right now, really comes down to plain luck, it seems... The population of your particular server, how often you encounter these people, & what they (& you) then do seems to be the deciding factor on whether you get to play SoT how you want, & ultimately, enjoy the game or not...
I've played for hours & not seen anyone sometimes- which suits my personal 'sail solo & enjoy myself' play preference... Other players are bemoaning never seeing a soul to engage in a sea battle with, or, on the flip-side, being turned off the game because they can't be left alone for 5 minutes to do anything because they keep getting killed...
I don't have any answers, which I know is unhelpful, but it seems like compromise for one camp is going to upset another, somehow... (Henry Ford- pleasing all of the people all of the time, comes to mind...)
Can Rare change people, fundamentally? Can they encourage players to coexist, even if they want different things out of a game, & play nice together? Does the Pirate Code do enough?
Could some players sail under a flag of neutrality, so that they can declare their intention (I'm just a merchant- spare me!) Would that be open to abuse?
Could a 'wild' stretch of sea become where bloodthirsty pirates go to fight amongst themselves & decide who is the strongest? Ideas off the top of my head...
Do we, as players, just need to treat each other with more respect & consideration?!
I hope a balance can be struck, I really do... Good luck, Rare, I hope you can manage it... :D