[Mega Thread] Sea of Thieves: The Arena

I'm hoping this is just choosing between pvp realms and pve realms, with the only difference between them is that one have more pvp focused features than the other.
Because if this is a full mode, you know, can't play as usual but with this addition...this is going to kill the SoT we all know.

Don't get me wrong, I love doing pvp, but I also love this idea of a world where you never know what's going to happen, you can do pve but pvp as well.
But if this is what it seems? Pvp is obviously more popular than pve, so no matter what Rare is going to say about that they will never leave the "adventure mode" alone, bc when Microsoft and Rare see how many players come to play just this mode, how much money they can make (bc a store will be added for this supposed mode), they will.

So pls, pls, pls, pls, I hope it's just a server with this faction on it and more upcoming pvp-ish features coming but with the pve stuff too in it.

@alphacenturion2 you really think there won't be enough people to have 6 ships on a server? that makes no sense. PvP is still an element in Adventure mode and those who want to do that can still do that. Game modes divide up the player base too much when there are too many depending on the game 4-8 but we are talking about 2 modes, that give players depending on their preference exactly what they want. Only purely PvE players don't have everything they want. But the game should be much better for those players as well.

@letslipthedogs said in [Mega Thread] Sea of Thieves: The Arena:

I don't see what you are all complaining about. You want PVP you got it! The only difference is you got to fight other PVP players that are good instead of picking PVE players that don't want to PVP. I love the new game mode.

I don’t want a PVP ‘mode’ and I also don’t want a PVE ‘mode’. In fact, I’ve been gaming since I had a Sharp MZ700 computer and an Atari 2600 console in my room - I don’t even understand when or why PVP and PVE became such popular concepts.

I realise I’m probably shouting into the wind now but what I love about Sea of Thieves is that it’s a fun game with an increasing number of shared ways for players to play - with or against other players but together. I just fundamentally disagree with the idea of separating the player base into different modes which, as others have said better, will almost certainly have unintended but inevitable consequences.

@xcalypt0x unless the main game completely dies, there will for a long time be more than enough people to keep the servers full at 6 ships. Let's not somehow think the other 3 teams just somehow stopped production and aren't adding even more reasons to play the Adventure mode. I will be playing both modes and sinking players in both modes.

@personalc0ffee these are opinions based on lack of full information yet to be given and just pure fear(although with more information I may share some of your concerns, we'll see). I don't see how the seas will be emptier unless the game dies. How are we seriously talking about not having enough players to have 6 ships on a server. I keep seeing so many people saying this but it literally makes zero sense. I also don't see how less PvP in Adventure mode is a bad thing. It's still there for anyone that wants to do it. But the fact is those that want more of a balance or want more PvE will be more open to play the game now. I know dozens of people who stopped playing because of griefers. Sure they can still experience that, but will now are likely able to spend more time without encountering that to enjoy the game way more to the point that when it does happen it doesn't make them rage quit the game.

Hello everyone !

I wish I could say I am exited for that next update, but not really.
I hate to be negative about this, because it looks actually good and fun, plus the devs worked h*****n it.
However I fear for the future of the regular SoT game mode. There could be a gap between the two game modes.
It is something that happened before on another game franchise and one game mode took over the other.

I like SoT because of the big open world, exploring ilsands, digging chests, lore, progressing to legend and so on ...

I could see myself enjoy this game mode, still I have my concerns.

@khaleesibot I am currently discussing the content-update with my first mate. While I was at first worried about splitting the active community of Sea of Thieves and wiping out the population of The Adventure, we both came to conclusions, which are calming me down:

• Obviously The Arena Mode has to be a seperate game mode because of the following reasons. With 6 ships at max per server, it is unlikely to find a full match on your server. Even if you implement a NPC or blackboard to enlist yourself for The Arena inside the world map, you will have to teleport or server merge with other willing players to begin a match. So you'll end up on a different server anyway
• The Arena cannot overtake The Adventure resource-wise, because you cannot develop much besides cosmetics and weapon types or ships for The Arena. Even if you can develop actual New Content for The Arena it is likely that it becomes relevant to The Adventure as well. Also it is more likely that new content developed for The Adventure (like new map-parts) are added to The Arena as well. This means I don't believe Rare could abandon The Adventure, so we will still get exciting new content-updates for it
• The Arena can be a welcomed alternative between content-updates for The Adventure. While you are waiting for the next content-update and may not know what to do in the meantime, you can jump in The Arena. People will come back anyway to The Adventure to check out new content-updates
• Pirate Legends and crews who want more PvP can fight multiple player ships at once in a specific game mode. This can attract more attention to the game as it sounds like a popular business especially for streamers
• The Arena will not split the active community of Sea of Thieves noticeable. A lot of people enjoy The Adventure and will continue playing that, while inactive players come back to the game. PvP in The Adventure will not decrease by much as well, because sometimes a player wants to be a pirate and this is the perfect game and game mode for being a Thieving Pirate available.
• Only a few people can do always the same thing, so people will switch from The Adventure to The Arena back and forth, depending on their daily mood
• As The Sea Dogs are a fourth trading company, it seems not to split the Sea of Thieves Universe: You can earn some commendations and cosmetics in The Arena and wear them in The Adventure as well as you can wear cosmetics from The Adventure inside The Arena

I would have much preferred a pet reveal and launch date Rare, just saying.

Please, just don't kill the game splitting it in pvp/pve servers or gamemodes please.

I dont think the player base will be split, over the last few months the playerbase has dropped, I think we can all agree on that.

Pvp is a popular way people like to play, so implenting a game type with the sole intention of pvp in the main game would be hard to do, (not impossible, but difficult).

So a game mode like arena makes sense, new faction, earn exp(repution by impressing) will get you to a max level of 50, you need 150 to hit pirate legend, do you see where I am going.....

New players to the game will have to go into adventure mode to become pirate legend, the new game mode will also bring life back into the game for pvpers.

I honestly think something along these lines will be implemented, this will strengthen the core game, give players that have left due to not enough action something to come back for and a new playerbase.

All positive things, it also means that if you hate one faction you dont have to do it just max out three of the four factions this will leave pvers not having to compete and pvpers having to do things in adventure, still given you the risk of you getting sunk and losing your loot.

Win all around and yes everything you earn in arena gets carried over because a cutlass you earn in arena doesn't have +5 damage compared to adventure as everything is all cosmetic.

@personalc0ffee splitting a player base is only relevant when a mode no longer has enough people playing to fill out a match. Plenty of AAA games have multiple healthy modes. We're talking about 2 here. Sea of Thieves only has 6 ships in a server and servers merge if not filled (I'm assuming this aspect will continue to improve to finally work properly... Lol). So really I don't see how this is a negative. We're not talking about massive servers, just 6 ships... If anything this is going to increase the overall population because this is what lots of streamers wanted and will attract more eyballs to the game. There are massive streamers that will be returning,we're talking a multiple fold in concurrent viewership for a while. We also know way more content is coming to the Adventure mode with 3 other teams working hard for us. These are just facts.

@lizalaroo I hope you're right.
BC if this gets more popular than the now called "Adventure mode", we can start saying goodbye to our beloved SoT as we know it right now.
We have a ton of precedents about one mode taking over the other, and the company itself leaving it abandoned.
They've always loved their vision about the SWAG and been very pasionate about it, I can't imagine how can they prefer this rather than slowly kill the game if the SWAG has failed (if that's the case, bc I think it's not).
Craig've just said that he loves the community and how it works with the game they've created, but this doesn't seem like it.

@darkmore111 im with you, hopefully many with fear based knee jerk reactions start to fully think about everything and calm down to at least a wait and see mode.

@atop360 no way, PvPvE is still there and I don't see a scenario where there aren't enough people to fill a server for a long long time.(as long as they get their server mergers working properly)

@personalc0ffee said in [Mega Thread] Sea of Thieves: The Arena:

@failedbread said in [Mega Thread] Sea of Thieves: The Arena:

I dont think the player base will be split, over the last few months the playerbase has dropped, I think we can all agree on that.

Pvp is a popular way people like to play, so implenting a game type with the sole intention of pvp in the main game would be hard to do, (not impossible, but difficult).

So a game mode like arena makes sense, new faction, earn exp(repution by impressing) will get you to a max level of 50, you need 150 to hit pirate legend, do you see where I am going.....

New players to the game will have to go into adventure mode to become pirate legend, the new game mode will also bring life back into the game for pvpers.

I honestly think something along these lines will be implemented, this will strengthen the core game, give players that have left due to not enough action something to come back for and a new playerbase.

All positive things, it also means that if you hate one faction you dont have to do it just max out three of the four factions this will leave pvers not having to compete and pvpers having to do things in adventure, still given you the risk of you getting sunk and losing your loot.

Win all around and yes everything you earn in arena gets carried over because a cutlass you earn in arena doesn't have +5 damage compared to adventure as everything is all cosmetic.

I absolutely do not want to be required to play Arena mode for any progress to Pirate Legend or Athena.

Did you fail to read my actually post, you need to hit max level on 3 factions to be pirate legend.

Arena is number 4 so pvp players can do arena and miss out on one of the others.

And in your case you can do gh, oos and merchant.

This will give a additional way to play and increase the player numbers making the game mode healthy, if you entangle both modes together like this, adventure mode will still get lots of players and players will want to prestige (get to pirate legend).

This should avoid another fortnite saga.

I honestly dont think any of the devs or anyone at rare would risk adventure mode, do you not see the passion in all of their faces about this game.

This company has made many great games, and are one of the only game studios I can say I truly trust still, they dont make any extra money at present as no microtransactions for pets etc, which they keep pushing back, stopping me from throwing cash at my screen.

Lets stop turning this into a diablo immortal disater, watch the update tomorrow, test the hell out of it as pioneers and make it as great as possible.

@personalc0ffee from what he said you absolutely don't... It's just an option

@ebacon1 said in [Mega Thread] Sea of Thieves: The Arena:

@personalc0ffee I think you have missed the point completely. PVP mode will help strengthen this game. Bring back the player base who are needing more in game content who are more competitive.

But, if the players who are returning, or just joining in, are only enticed by the PvP mode, how does that strengthen the game? If the more competitive players return only for the Arena, surely that'd only serve to dilute the playerbase of the core game, instead of working in more PvP events or abilities into the main game, unifying the two playerbases, rather than splitting them up.

PvP will stay in the Adventure mode but the pvper’s won’t be pestering new players

I reserve final judgment on this who affair until we get more solid details, but this to me, still sounds like it'll divide the playerbase, and dilute either, or both game modes in the long run.

@musicmee said in [Mega Thread] Sea of Thieves: The Arena:

Just going to drop this one here, for those of you worried, it sounds like the ADVENTURE continues!

Mike Chapman on Twitter

Glad to hear it from Mike himself, but it don't think anyone ever doubted we'd get more Adventure content. One concern of mine though, and I think some players share it, is that Rare's had a relatively small team for several years, both pre and post SoT launch. I'm worried how they're going to balance content updates, both quality and quantity wise, with 2 game modes to manage, instead of just 1.