What does Sea of Thieves mean to me? #SOTAndMe

  • Sea of Thieves and the community around it has changed lives, we've all read the stories, this is sometimes much more than just a game.

    It means being able to shake off the stress of the day as soon as you take the wheel. It means adventures, shenanigans and so much laughter. It means sailing with friends from across the world, meeting new ones and being part of their journey. It means freedom. 🖤 - KattTruewalker

    https://twitter.com/BIGsheep/status/1097581841551425538

  • 37
    Posts
    23.2k
    Views
  • Not sorry

    https://imgur.com/jDxIzyT

  • Agree with you Kat, Sea of Thieves means the same things for me that you mentioned here. The 2 friends of mine that told me about the game back in 2017, did not get the game after release and it is sad because we had so much fun in Technical Alpha and Beta sessions. I used the opportunity of the Friends Play Free event and sent them the codes to see how much the game changed, maybe they will change their mind and come back on the seas.

    I have also met wonderful people from across the world, in the beginning from the official Sea of Thieves discord and after from The Cutthroats discord. Want to thank EVERYONE from that group for the amazing voyages and events we had so far, especially @Ragetrox who invited me to the group and @XithGK for putting a lot of time in organizing most of the events.

  • @KattTruewalker
    #SOTAndMe
    Sea of thieves means to me as a special game which helped me meet new friends and get through some stressful years. I have had so many different voyages with people and so many memorable moments which are always great fun. It also means having a relaxing time with my friends well sometimes lol🤣

  • @katttruewalker

    When I look out on the sea ... it's a little like this.
    https://i.imgur.com/O90WgAF.jpg

  • It means a lot to me. Thanks to this forum, you @KattTruewalker and all the dedicated members of this community.
    Sailing, the piracy, the freedom, the sceneries, the music, everything that makes this game a place where I feel good.
    And also the unique chance to be part of this big adventure with Rare.

  • While the fact that SoT could shake off of you the stress of a hard day is absolutely true, the same thing could be said of another game or a book or a lot of other things. What is peculiar, at least for me, is how it's done. Don't laugh (at least not too much), but there are times when i would like that the real world would be drawn just Sot. If the sea and it's behaviour is as near to the real one as possible, the islands, the outposts, the shacks, the objects (all kinds of them)the npc's, the skeletons, the monsters...everything is not too cartoony and not too real, just like i love it and would like to be in real life...and junping on my sloop without any mission to do, only for tasting a bit of sofa-adventure, for "who knows what i'll find", it's so fascinating that i can't resist it, even when i'm doing other things. Don't get me wrong, i have a life, a loving wife and i have friends...but, lucky me, i have SoT too!! Thanks a lot Rare❤

  • https://twitter.com/azuldimeter/status/1097835903517712384

    It can be frustrations sometimes too, but it's learning and knowing how to deal with that as well. ;)

  • Sea of Thieves is my favorite game of 2018, that's saying a lot since I own God of War, Spider-Man, Dragon Quest 11, Super Smash Bros and a lot more great games from 2018. Yet I'm still playing Sea of Thieves and I'm loving it.

    Sea of Thieves got me in contact with people I now consider actual friends, It gives me something to relax with after a stressful day at the office.

    Most of all it's a place of freedom, there are restrictions like in most game, but the game doesn't hold my hand it's not telling me what to do and it respects me to do the things I like and have meaningfull interactions with others the way I see fit. Be it PvP combat, just having fun boarding a new player ship and teaching them a few tricks of the trade or just gathering all players on a server and going for jolly co-operation.

    Thank you Rare and thank you everyone playing for making this world a great place to sail in.

  • I remember making a thread about this very topic way back in the day. I remember all the awesome comments I read, from people I never agreed with or people I've gotten to call friends since then. This makes answering the question tough because I remember all their thoughts too.

    But, basically, it is a special game, like no other I have played in quite some time. A game that gives you freedom, and the chance to do whatever it is you want to do. A game of stories, where every player has at least one memorable great story to tell. A place to meet up with friends I normally only talk to online, to share stories and adventures.

    There is not a clear cut answer to the question "what does sea of thieves mean to me" because it means many different positive things to me. 'Things' that have made it one my favourite games in recent years, and hopefully will continue to be a favourite in the years to come!

  • @katttruewalker

    I can loudly echo the same feelings. Sea of Thieves has become a special place that my spouse and I can go to and sail away all the stress of the real world and even from other games. It gives us the freedom to do whatever we want, how we want, for along as we want without any imposed boundaries.

    We have found many like minded souls that have become great friends and crew mates from around the world. We have sailed with pirates of all ages and walks of life. Sea of Thieves is very special and unique this way. Sea of Thieves is an ambassador introducing us all, sailing through and past all types of boundaries in the real world that would have kept us apart.

    So yes it does means FREEDOM! Freedom to sail when we want and do whatever we want. Freedom to meet other great players and people we would not have had the opportunity to do so otherwise. Freedom to be ourselves and play our way. Freedom to sail, laugh, and love the sea together.

  • @katttruewalker #sot@me one word pirates

  • Hmmmmmmm, what see of thieves means to me is:
    The last unique game on the market.

  • In my last semester of college, I joined a loose friend-group with a few other people, and was truly sad to get to know them just in time for us all to scatter our separate ways. Now, SoT is one of the best ways to keep in touch in between visits and everything. So glad for that!

  • This is a tough one. SoT is amazing in so many ways. From that first time your new pirate spawns at its first outpost, to the first time you set sail, the ocean, the wind, the salty spray, the friends, the growth of the game, content dumps, that first time you defeat the mighty kraken or meg, your first skelly fort victory, your first PvP victory and so much more.

    While I can continue on and on about the game and how much of it is amazing, I would have to say that the people that I have met in the community both out on the seas and here in these forums are what pushes SoT above the rest. I have been truly blessed to sail with so many of you and not once have I felt disappointed or anything less than wow.

    So, I would have to agree with the sentiment that SoT to me means Friends, from @QueenPucci who talked me into buying an xbox and this game to the friends I have met here like @x-Crowheart-x, @KattTruewalker, @KnifeLife or too many others to list. This truly is a remarkable game that truly is a great way to bring people together.

    So a huge thank you to Rare, Microsoft, and most importantly YOU. All of you that make SoT such a fantastic place.

  • The freedom to venture in anyway and method that I choose. Not to mention the beauty of the game makes it very easy to always return and play.

  • @x-crowheart-x said in What does Sea of Thieves mean to me? #SOTAndMe:

    We have found many like minded souls that have become great friends and crew mates from around the world. We have sailed with pirates of all ages and walks of life. Sea of Thieves is very special and unique this way. Sea of Thieves is an ambassador introducing us all, sailing through and past all types of boundaries in the real world that would have kept us apart.

    I've had the privilege & honor to sail with ye scallywags! :)
    Believe me, like so many I have met along my journey, the kindness & camaraderie that SoT facilitates is like no other.
    Memories & friendships are seldom created like this in real-life, thank you Rare, thank you community in creating this Freedom & such a beautiful game!

  • @Musicmee I see you lurking in the background matey, would love to hear your response to this thread as I am sure many others would too....

  • To describe what SOT means for me will be a difficult one...For more than two years i have been trying to explain to others and myself what SOT makes SOT so special in comparison to other games...Alas , for more than two years i fail to fully hit the nail on that one...

    SOT is a strange game, sometimes i wonder if it is just a game. SOT has a Soul , a Heart , a kind of Magic that embraces all those that stand open for it...i never been a modern man ( * Captain Caaaaavemaaaaaaaan!!!, heheheh moron). Therefore , i don't travel much ,don't want a car , don't do far away or extremely adventurous travels , don't do sports anymore since my good old back gave up on me.i have no need nor will to visit pubs as alcohol , although forced to an armistice , still has a siren singing in my ear , but i never answer the call, on wich i'm now 18 years dry as a new sock. But all these things together made that i'm not a village social guy , i don't go out , have 1 real life friend, in my own country i mean , so i live a bit a hermits life...Games , Books , Movies and Music are the things i killed my time with. Games , as in , mostly single player games where they take me by the hand and give me a false feel of freedom and rarely a multiplayer game in wich i never talked..

    When SOT Forum arrived i felt there was a chance to break the silence , a small one ,because who was waiting on an old sock who didn't hardly could write or talk English?...

    The past had proven me so wrong, from the first ever Alpha , i became embraced , by the people , who are today Legendary Pillars of this Community but also by the game itself...

    This game has been set up in such an unique , underlying goal , that forces you to put aside your fears and try to reach out to the random crewmate in order to form an oiled crew that can tackle the many dangers the game and the other Pirates throw at you...

    When the action dies off a bit , there is this time that you simply use to get the other persons in a better way , feel what they like about the game , feel what their humour is and try to bring that humour in order to put a smile on their face or hear a laugh in yer ear...

    This is the first ever game in wich i find the crewmates ' fun much more important than my own goals...
    SOT itself is a Heaven for creative people who like to build up a story that comes from their own mind. Rare delivers the visual and Music / Sounds part of that world , but the story is what you and unexpected encounters make from it...Roleplayers and Cosplayers find a pure Treasurechest filled with Islands , caves , ships and treasures to make their own vision of Treasure Island or Black Sails...

    Some place a stamp on this game or try to fit it in a category. PvP, PvE or a combination of both , it doesn't matter , as long as you don't try to pin yerself on one or more parts you name this game...SOT needs to be experieced to the Fullest or you will never be touched by it's Enormous Magic that can turn the most Dark person into a soon to be Saint that loves to walk in the Light that since SOT , was granted to him or her...

    SOT made me talk , SOT reawoke my love for improvisation, SOT gave me the task to make others smile during the game. SOT awokened alter ego's , figures of all kinds of origin, accents and stereotypical jokes ...All of this has come out of the seeds that this game and the People i have met have planted...This is a Heaven for Improvisation and when i had a good sleep, have the hours to spend and that adrenaline rushing , then nothing nor no one will stop me to try to make others laugh and welcome...

    Welcoming and Accepting People is a medecin in a world that struggles with a lot of depressed people...Play SOT , open up and accept the Healing that other Pirates ,mostly unknowing , give away for free...

    SOT has motivated me to see many far away Friends, it isn't obvious for a Hermit that has a certain routine that grants him safety , to abandon that all and step on a few trains for some hundreds of miles in an attempt to meet the Pirates he so loves and adores, to meet in real life...

    SOT , when you fully embrace it , togetehr with it's players, lengthens lives...It brings smiles on moments i abandoned laughing...i had lost Hope for a very long time in order to ever find a game like this , but after so many years of silence you will need a Bazooka to shut me up and if i can hear voices from my Friends in the afterlife , then i'm sure i will resurrect in a minute to grab that controller again...

    SOT made my life better , it has forced me to put the curtains aside and let the sun warm my face again...
    Without SOT i would be a loner , i may be still alone in real life , but when the evening draws and the SOT theme jumps up , i know i will never be alone , anymore....

  • @clumsy-george

    This mate gets it and as always, has very eloquently worded what so many of us feel. You sir deserve a grog and a toast.

  • @clumsy-george
    alt text

  • @clumsy-george mate your a good man and I shall call you captain george

  • @closinghare208
    Nah , Sir , because i don't want to be a Captain, i love to be a crewmate and hope that One day Rare introduces a Broom so i can finally bask in a title of Swabbie ...i'm nothing more , nothing less...

  • @testakleze said in 1000 gamerscore and a reflection of the last year.:

    Two days ago I finally finished getting my last achievement. I did not earn any of the old achievements before they were lowered but I was close to 1000 captain's chests. I would have a long way to go if they weren't lowered but unlike many games I've played in the past, I don't feel like my time playing this game is over, or even close.

    I think back to games I've spent most of my time on. Games like the Diablo series, the original Halo trilogy, Final Fantasy 7 & Tactics, even games so old as Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and the original Zelda. These were all good games that I absolutely loved. I spent hours upon hours playing them. Most of these games I would just replay. You can only play Sonic, Zelda, or even Final Fantasy so much before you do everything in it and beat it completely. That didn't stop me though. If I loved playing a game, I would replay it tons of times, but all of these games have an end. All of them have a finite amount of things in them to acquire or achieve. Eventually you will have to start over to continue.

    Once I recieved my last achievement for sea of thieves, which was completing 250 goldhoarder voyages, I decided to take a moment to relax and think about my time in this game. I sailed to the great spire in the middle of the world and shot myself up to a high ledge. As I sat there watching the world around me I thought to myself that this game is still so full of life and enjoyment. I thought back to my very first voyage. It was release day and coincidentally my birthday. I started a single person sloop and started to get my first impression of the game. I traveled to sunken grove to fight off four skeleton captains. They happened to be in the cave at the bottom of the island. I made so many trips down there getting killed that another solo slooper showed up to dig up chests. He had no mic but he was friendly enough. He tried to help me kill my skeletons but gave up and left without me noticing after getting killed a few times. Eventually I finished up and went to turn in. I've played pretty consistently since then but not once has my enjoyment started to slip.

    As I sat on the spire thinking about all the fun I've had, all the people I've met, and all the changes and improvements I've seen brought to the game, I realized that this isn't going to be a game that I play to the end and have to start over to continue enjoying. This game doesn't have a character progression system. It doesn't have armor and weapons you find or unlock to increase your strength. It doesn't have a story mode that you play through and ultimately finish. This game has more replayability in it than most games. People can argue that their isn't much to do in the game and that its lack of story is a problem, but I don't see it that way. The players create the story, we are the characters. We give this game its life everytime we play it.

    I've been here since day one. I've earned pirate legend and athena 10 before the cursed sails released and the changes to athena missions when the devil's roar was released. I've been a part of every bilgerat event and major update. I've earned every bilgerat commendation except the shrouded ghost. I've earned all the goldhoarder and order of souls commendations. I've done tons of skull forts and skeleton ship battles. Like many other games, I've experienced most if not all of what it has offered. That doesn't make this game feel stale like others eventually have though. It's not like I'm firing up a game on Tsavo highway on legendary for the thousandth time, or I'm starting a new barbarian. I don't find myself replaying the exact same stuff over and over simply because I ran out of stuff to do and needed to start over. Other games are scripted, they pretty much force you to do what they want. Sidequests can steer you off on a different path but eventually you are bottlenecked into further story progression or an endgame grind. Parts of the game can seem like they give you freedom but they might be locked behind the lack of an ability, character level, story, or something else. Sea of thieves gives you true freedom. You can go anywhere and you're just as powerful on day one as you are after a year of playing. Some people might think this makes the game lack depth but I feel like it gives it more life.

    I watched from the spire as a sloop was parked next to rum runner island. I wondered if it was a solo slooper or a duo. I wondered if they were new to the game or seasoned veterans. They were too far away to see any ship cosmetics or to even see what their sails were doing. I thought they could be new because of the small island they were on and how long they were there, but at the same time athena missions were changed and they could have four captains to kill there. Then I thought to myself that they are the interaction that feeds this game. They aren't an NPC sitting there waiting for a player to talk to them. They don't have a mission for me. They may not even be friendly. Not knowing is part of the excitement. I could go say hi and end up helping them collect treasure and teach them some things about the game, or they could try to board me and start firing on me which might turn into an epic drawn out battle full of gut wrenching moments. I'm not gunning down predictable brutes while grunts run away scared repeatedly until a cutscene wraps everything up. I'm not following behind Sephiroth seemingly one step behind him while getting the feeling that if I hurry I'll catch him sooner. My time in this game is spent exactly how I want to spend it. I can avoid players and concentrate on treasure. I can ignore treasure or hand it out to friendly pirates I come across. I play how I want to and the game doesn't hold me back until I do what it wants me to.

    I've spent roughly 1500 hours in this game and I'm still loving it. I don't find it old or stale. The lack of progression, either character or story, doesn't force players into these bottlenecks. It doesn't create gates the player has to earn their way through. It gives players true freedom. It ensures that each game session can't be predicted. Every voyage can be unique and memorable. That is exactly why I keep coming back to the game and enjoying it day after day.

    I watched the world around me as my sloop sat parked next to the rock. I thought about what all was going on just on my server alone. I thought about how even after so much play time and after doing everything I have so far, I can still set sail and find some kind of excitement on the horizon. It was a great moment for me reflecting on the game and my experiences, and just sitting on top of the world watching the storm, the sun, and the moon was calming. I had hoped I would witness a second solar eclipse while I was up there but almost getting struck by lightening when a player joined the server was cool enough, and it acted as a reminder that people will continue to enjoy this game just as I do and they will keep coming back.

    @KattTruewalker It seemed like a lot to retype. I'd like to add that I agree that this game can be a stress reliever. Just finding a high peak to sit on or sail around chasing the horizon can help you forget about the stresses of life and relax. Not many games can do that.

  • #SotAndMe

    Sailing in some of the most glorious seas ever!
    Oodles of exciting things to make!
    Terrific new lifelong friends.
    Adventuring with some amazing pirates on the best voyages.
    Never thought there'd be a pirate game like this.
    Dedicated and passionate developers making the game possible.
    Meeting people from all over the world and sharing experiences.
    Extremely excited for what's to come in the future!

    https://imgur.com/ohuEOY7

  • SoT means to me there is a game and it's Devs that care more for playing for the matter itself than to gaming systems.
    I always exhaust on games what make progression mandatory and dont let you play relaxed regarding any progress, achievements, get better gear etc.
    I recently liked a game, but it ask me to pay tax and "put effort" in to pay this regularly/ to earn curency ingame.
    Things like that, things like "You have to..." to sustain etc. allways drive me away and make it more feel like a job, a task to do than to play a game. You know when you just want to do X, but you have to do Y to survive. pay tax, sustain, to get that item to get stronger, get access to Region Y or whatever. All that detracts me from the feel i play a game. I do these things, but i want to decide when and how to play the game and i dont want a game to give me tasks i have to do now and mandatory, i dont like games that keep me busy doing things i maybe dont like to do. If i ever want to do it, i want to be free in my decisions when and how to do it.
    See becoming PL is nothing i needed to do. I could do it in a rowboat only digging up messages in a bottle. SoT gives me the freedom to do it that way and i wont be in any disadvantage. I dont know a game where i can play ineffective and lazy, and focussed on fun what does not punish me gamemechanically to do so in some way.

    SoT is different it ask nothing and it grants you only cosmetics and titles, but nothing else. You can play the game and fully partake in all aspects of the game with no letdown, but your own inabilties and lack of knowledge of the game. So you learn how to play and then play, but you need not grind or rush anything, you can, but you need not. Playing to me is mainly for fun and everybody has different taste.
    The gameloop to me is perfect it's alternatively relaxing and action.
    It's easy here, but challenging there.
    It's a good competition sometimes and rewards cooperation.
    SoT means i can just play and dont need to grind to get better, i dont need to pay money to get better and i just can play and let things happen by the way.
    I became PL yesterday.
    11 Month of casual for fun play with nice people, having fun doing the PvPvE mixed experience.
    I think Arena will be cool, but tbh i think i dont want to play it more than adventure mode.
    If you want quick action and pvp yes why not, but to me it would miss the whole thing of atmosphere and relaxing moments with beautiful sunsets and landscapes to watch. It takes away the feeling of beeing in the seas with plenty of islands, but to be in an Arena, and i guess it will be a limited space.
    I hope the game evolves further and adds more to the adventure mode.
    I hope the Arena is to please the heavy competetive players and streamers who want to show quick action, because they seem to have hard times to fill the relaxed moments of the adventure mode with appealing content.
    And i hope that Rare continues to keep the game family and casual friendly and even with Arena wont turn it into the next toxic players dominated game.
    This is more complicated than to code this gem of a game.
    Keep it the game it was and is and continue this revolutionary approach to online Games.
    Until as far as i can say you did all right and to me you developed and released one of the best games for decades and personally the best online game i've ever played.
    And this because of your horizontal progression approach and because you try to create a family and casual friendly game.
    The gamers who strive have plenty of games.
    The players what play mainly for fun and casually have less games what can be played the way we can play Sea of Thieves.
    Without the need to "work" things off instead for playing it for fun.

  • @clumsy-George ok but I still will call you captain George mate

  • Here's what Sea of Thieves means to Shelley Preston!

    https://twitter.com/residentveg/status/1098175676153249793

    I am in the process of coming up with mine :) Stay tuned!

  • And Joe Neate....

    https://twitter.com/JoeNeate1/status/1097941274366230528

    His passion for something different shines through!

  • @bugaboo-bill Conga-Rats on reaching Pirate Legend!
    alt text

  • And.... Andrew Preston!

    https://twitter.com/keeyaaaa/status/1098252235186806784

    Sorry, trying to dig all the devs videos out.

  • @conal-cuan sagte in What does Sea of Thieves mean to me? #SOTAndMe:

    @bugaboo-bill Conga-Rats on reaching Pirate Legend!
    alt text

    thanks mate :)

  • @KattTruewalker I saw this yesterday and it’s taken me a long time to try and think of the correct words for a response. Not because I do not know what to say more of howI can say it. I then realised there probably isn’t a right or wrong way so I will just open up and start typing and see what happens.
    —————————————————————————————

    #WhatHasSoTDoneForMe

    Firstly, it began with the 2016 (?) E3 trailer I saw the game and the uniqueness and possibilities it could bring, I saw the way the trailer had been made with people playing and there reactions to the scenarios they had been put into and it peeked my curiosity. I made all my friends watch and then for the next couple of years i waited.

    I was in a pretty dark place in my life before I joined the forums, I was diagnosed with Agoraphobia when I was 16 which caused me to leave education and basically become a hermit and recluse inside my bed room. I smoked as a coping mechanism, anddidn’t particularly talk to many people and the ones I did would be on a party through my Xbox. I basically lost my zest for life.

    It was by chance one day I saw one of my friends on my list playing the SoT technical Alpha and headed to the forums to find out about how I may get involved. I signed up and didn’t really expect much and just lingered in the shadows for a few days lurking and reading what the community was talking about.

    After a small amount of time I was shocked to see a community like the one I was witnessing, there’s was not an ounce of toxicity, everyone was really happy to talk and share there ideas and would go out of there way to inform and just generally be nice people. It shocked me that much I actually wrote my first post about how amazed I was that such a place on the internet could possibly exist. And by the welcomes and responses from that thread I dived in headfirst on the forums and haven’t looked back since.

    I got accepted into the TA and got to learn the ropes from the many kind people around here, which is something what would not have happened on any other game or forum due to my social anxiety’s, but something was different here and through that I became more and more active and involved.

    So for me Sea Of Thieves helped push me into talking to strangers, which in turn gave me abit of a confidence boost. It showed me not everyone on the internet is some judgemental person who will find your flaws and weaknesses and use them as a means to push you down. It taught me there can be light in a dark place and also made me realise you can find good and happiness in the smallest and strangest of places, especially where you may not expect to find it. It also showed me that what might seem like the smallest of interactions can be some of the biggest to others.

    The memories, friendships and scenarios in the game has definitely has a massive impact on my life.
    It’s consistently contributed to my trying to sort my life out and has definitely played a part as a coping mechanism and an escape from reality when times get tough.
    Without sounding to dramatic it has definitely had an impact and helped me start the long upward battle of getting my life back on track.

    I’m now smoke free, back in education, and the forums itself have saved me from many a panic attacks, if I start getting nervous or feeling ill I will quickly pull up the site and read through a thread. If a day gets to much and I feel I want to give up and don’t have the strength to carry on I escape into a fantasy realm where I do have power and strength and the will to make a difference.

    I could litrally keep rambling on for hours but I will cut it off here as I don’t particularly want to give my whole life story and this isn’t a captains log either!

    But to wrap it up for me Sea Of Thieves has helped me in a multitude of ways on my journey through mental illness and I look forward to what the future holds and also have an unpayable debt to the game, developers and this wonderful crewmunity!

    You are all awesome and I look forward to meeting more of you in game and creating more memorable moments in the future!

    Keep #BeingMorePirate! 😃

  • @musicmee mate do yours soon please

  • @katttruewalker SoT for me is a game that has been a fresh breath in a genre that has been lacking the last few years until the next pirate game is out for me to look into and play.

    I get to hop on sail solo if I am just wanting to work on miles and the remaining cargo or go right into a galleon with the fleet and other folks I game with at the time to focus down the commendations as either a stand alone ship or in alliance based on what we want to do for the day/night.

    Very few games keep me playing them for long anymore and this game has done that thus far.

37
Posts
23.2k
Views
29 out of 37