Are we ever going to see Character Progression?

  • The gameplay is fun but it feels empty when all you can really do is get aesthetics for your character and ship.
    Will we ever see a skill tree where you could buy a limited skill set?
    Thing's that wouldn't affect pvp too much like:
    Bigger bucket
    Carry more wood
    Carry more food
    Stable telescope
    Fast repairer
    Sprinter
    Deep breath
    See treasure from far away
    Speedy ladder climber

    I dunno I'm spit balling here, it would be more fun if your character was personalized and you had something real to work towards other than just "another skin" I have bought all the skins I want. What else is there to buy really?

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  • @moisty-squid no

  • I had a similar idea. It was ignored flawlessly.
    https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/topic/115832/more-combat-features-curses
    People were scared of the depth of possiblitys they might encounter on the repetitive seas. ;)

    And when I say repetitive, that does not mean I do not enjoy the game anymore.
    It just still has so much more potential.

  • Commendations is progression.

  • If they implement vertical progression the game will be instantly dead for me!

  • @bugaboo-bill sagte in Are we ever going to see Character Progression?:

    If they implement vertical progression the game will be instantly dead for me!

    Yeah I am also not one of those no-lifers anymore who can just play away for hours and hours to no end. Would fall behind quite quickly probably.
    I would enjoy something like skill-tree's etc. but nothing bound to another insane grind for progression with something that gives one an edge in combat.
    All kinds of advantages should remain only for the amount of the session.
    We log in - we have to earn everything anew.

    I played 'Planetside 2' once and a maxed out character who is obviously played by a veteran player, is just too advantaged over new characters.
    One of the reasons the game became so boring.

  • @moisty-squid That was explained that there won't be any progression like you described

  • @moisty-squid No, this game was designed with horizontal progression in mind. Someone with 10 hours in game should be able to kill someone with someone with 200 hours in game.

  • Rare has been very clear form the beginning that this will not happen

  • @odyssee-mit-tee

    Vertical progression system are allways bad for MP games with PvP, just because of balance!

    I played so many open world sandbox PvP games, i will never ever play one with any serious character progression system that give you 0.0001% more damage, accuracy, speed or whatever.
    Why, because it's just bait and to cater to exagerating gamers to "own" others.
    Yeah i quit PS2 for the same reason, i had the big pack at launch with plenty of coins and points.

    Horizontal progression is what i wanted for online PvP containing games forever and i'm playing games for 35 years now.

    btw german?
    Ich meine wegen dem Namen ...mit Tee . Hat mich an eine alte Pen and Paper Session errinnert.
    "Der Elf hat einen Rat für euch.
    Ein Rad, ist das schon erfunden?
    Mit T!
    Ein Rad mit Tee, hinten drauf oder was? 😂
    Ach ja, silly comments lol.

  • This won't ever be implemented because of the high difference it would make between new and veteran players.
    A clear example of this is Fallout 76. It is a PvE game with possibility of PvP if both players attack each other. Why is PvP not always possible? Because of the skill gap between players.

    Imagine that you are a new player and you encounter a player with all the skill set, and a much bigger experience in PvP...If nowadays novice players can't even think about sinking a much experienced crew why would you think a skill tree should be implemented?

  • Are we ever going to see character progression?

    You mean you haven't already?

    I journeyed to the Sea of Thieves, slayed the Hungering One, sat in all of the hidden thrones, followed Wanda's fate, defeated a skeletal armada, talked to an undead parrot, avoided the Trapmaker's most devious toys, brought 2 loved ones back together, navigated the stars, helped a ghost, released an evil spirit upon the land, traded fish for a Killer Whale, usurped the Fort of the Damned, survived the kraken, been burnt in the Devil's Roar, and encountered and done so, so much more.

    ...and you don't think any of that's progress!?

    I think somebody's been drinking too much of the seawater...

  • Implementing progression would be very difficult to do in SoT. As it is, you already don't have any cargo limits (loot on board and supplies in the barrels). You can handle all the ship interactions at a decent speed, can stay under water a long time, have enough health to survive a couple gunshots or 4 sword slashes, and can sprint infinitely. These are all mechanics where other games decidedly gimp you upfront, so you can grind to upgrade them. In SoT you're already at the standard that other games consider max level.
    Can you imagine having loot weigh the ship down so you can only carry 5 loot items on deck, and slowly upgrading that to a higher number? Or only being allowed to store 50 planks in the barrel, and having to grind for hours so you can store 100? Etc.

    So what you're then essentially left with is... Mostly unrealistic upgrades. Like having the ship go faster or having your cannons do more damage, because reasons.

    What I would like to see in SoT however, is more mechanical progression that allows you to customize the gameplay a bit. However, it would have to be exactly on par with the existing mechanics/equipment, which would make it very difficult to balance. But it would be cool if you could unlock mechanically different equipment, which you can only swap out at an outpost (similar to changing ship cosmetics). Unlocking and experimenting with them would give people something to do for a while and would increase the depth and variety of gameplay and PvP. Take some of these for example;

    • Cannons that fire at a much higher velocity, meaning it's easier to land your shots and you have higher range than standard cannons. However, each cannonball and chain shot has enough recoil to put a hole into your own ship, players take damage and automatically break a leg when fired from these cannons, and firebombs/blunderbombs can't be used because the force causes them to explode immediately when fired.
    • Sails that can be raised/angled faster, but have lower allround speed.
    • Sails that give higher top speed, but take longer to raise/angle, or even have less range of motion.
    • Ramming armor for your ship; you don't get holes from ramming into another ship, and cause more damage to them. But you still take damage from having your sides/rear rammed, and your ship turns slower.
  • @Bugaboo-Bill
    Year I think you are right, but the game will become boring after some while.
    I usually play with my girlfriend in the evening because I have a job.
    The game is a lot of fun, but it is almost impossible to make any progress unless you are playing marathons. And thats not possible if you start after 18:00 ... ^^

    I clearly believe that leveling a character should never be permanent, but things like ambassador status, which only gives you better quests, or refindable quest items would be great. These things doesnt change the PVP behavior. Because you have to play hours in one Session to gain "progress" and its very frustrating if you gain, for example, ambassador level 5 after 6h of gametime ... then you eat something and the game kicks you because of inactivity ... everything is lost then ...

    And yes it is a Multiplayer game, but you can Link these things to the "captain" or the sessionInitiator ... then you can save your ship Design as well or the last time chosen Ally.

    LG

    #meSorryForMyBatEnklitsch

  • @mortathelegend
    sorry not boring. I mean frustrating ^^

  • @mortathelegend sagte in Are we ever going to see Character Progression?:

    @Bugaboo-Bill
    Year I think you are right, but the game will become boring after some while.
    I usually play with my girlfriend in the evening because I have a job.
    The game is a lot of fun, but it is almost impossible to make any progress unless you are playing marathons. And thats not possible if you start after 18:00 ... ^^

    I clearly believe that leveling a character should never be permanent, but things like ambassador status, which only gives you better quests, or refindable quest items would be great. These things doesnt change the PVP behavior. Because you have to play hours in one Session to gain "progress" and its very frustrating if you gain, for example, ambassador level 5 after 6h of gametime ... then you eat something and the game kicks you because of inactivity ... everything is lost then ...

    And yes it is a Multiplayer game, but you can Link these things to the "captain" or the sessionInitiator ... then you can save your ship Design as well or the last time chosen Ally.

    LG

    #meSorryForMyBatEnklitsch

    I'm a singleparent man living with my daughter, i have a fulltime Job and a dog and other Hobbys like playing in a Band, having a sidecar Moto.
    I play since launch /alpha tests and let it all happen by the way, i dont play every day andi dont play very long sessions, mostly 2-3 hours 3-5 days a week, including weekends.
    For sure i have played more this or that release and longer sessions, but rarely.
    In no way i was frustrated or cared a lot about progression.
    Sure i focussed on this and that to unlock cosmetics or do old events, but in general i do what others want to do and progress by the way playing and having a pirate adventure.

    Edit: 6hrs for a Grade 5 emissary.
    What are you doing??? 😁
    It takes an hour max. No matter what faction.

  • @bugaboo-bill sagte in Are we ever going to see Character Progression?:

    btw german?
    Ich meine wegen dem Namen ...mit Tee . Hat mich an eine alte Pen and Paper Session errinnert.
    "Der Elf hat einen Rat für euch.
    Ein Rad, ist das schon erfunden?
    Mit T!
    Ein Rad mit Tee, hinten drauf oder was? 😂
    Ach ja, silly comments lol.

    Yup. Aber nicht wegen dem Pen and Paper. ^^
    Als ich anfing Sea of Thieves zu zocken hab ich jeden Tag eine Glaskaraffee Tee runtergestürzt wegen viel Wasser an einem Tag trinken.
    War eines dieser Projekte das ich mal unternahm für bessere Gesundheit. ;)

    Back to topic:
    My character was maxed out in Planetside 2.
    But the overall gameplay became so boring!
    I was a fan of the hex-system before it was taken over by the lattice system and the start of the horrible meatgrinders free of skill.

    Maaaaaan from that point onwards every session was the same.
    ° Outnumbering = Win
    ° Outnumbered = Lose

    No tactic, no strategy - just braindead zerging. Nothing truly counted anymore.
    I hope garbage like that will never happen to SoT.
    Cause it totally could with the help of private servers!

    In fact I just found a Galleon-Alliance server. Saw only two though.
    And they hogged all the events and were an annoyance in general with their presence for someone like me who just so happened to be solo-slooping.

    This does not happen too often. It would be really bad if that becomes a trend.
    Me and my bro fought back "a clan" like one or two weeks ago who just had one Galleon but you knew they were a clan because of their names.

    People like that usually got +12 people in general.
    Imagine 3 Galleons ganging up on the rest of the server. Hope it will never happen.

  • @groggy-mayles sagte in Are we ever going to see Character Progression?:

    What I would like to see in SoT however, is more mechanical progression that allows you to customize the gameplay a bit. However, it would have to be exactly on par with the existing mechanics/equipment, which would make it very difficult to balance.

    And then...

    • Cannons that fire at a much higher velocity, meaning it's easier to land your shots and you have higher range than standard cannons. However, each cannonball and chain shot has enough recoil to put a hole into your own ship, players take damage and automatically break a leg when fired from these cannons, and firebombs/blunderbombs can't be used because the force causes them to explode immediately when fired.
    • Sails that can be raised/angled faster, but have lower allround speed.
    • Sails that give higher top speed, but take longer to raise/angle, or even have less range of motion.
    • Ramming armor for your ship; you don't get holes from ramming into another ship, and cause more damage to them. But you still take damage from having your sides/rear rammed, and your ship turns slower.

    Unlikely and completely unable to balance this, also open ls another can of worms and pandoras box of combat exploits.
    Lets hope it will never happen.

    All the debates about combat balance.
    For a comical fun pirate game it would be enough to have the cutlass and the flintlock pistol
    , but no we need more weapons, more this amd that.
    And what is the outcome?
    Rare not beeing able to balance and fix the combat system.

    I say no, sorry.

    I'd even remove the blunder and the EoR!!! For balance sake and for having fun in the first line and not min maxing or going for any meta.
    PvP meta's are bad to have and need to go away!!!

  • @bugaboo-bill sagte in Are we ever going to see Character Progression?:

    I'd even remove the blunder and the EoR!!! For balance sake and for having fun in the first line and not min maxing or going for any meta.
    PvP meta's are bad to have and need to go away!!!

    EoR and Blunder are situationary weapons. Powerful with luck and skill but situational and only with this notice they are balanced.
    The pistol is my favourite actually but the hitrec is so bad on it that I refuse to use it. I shot through the barrel a skeleton was holding with it often enough and hit the skeleton behind it.

    The sniper in comparisation hits most of the time. If it hits of course.
    In PvE the people jump around like monkeys or move in deceptive patterns to avoid being hit by anything.

    Meta can never be eradicated I think. People will always play in the way that makes them the most powerful and force everyone else to join the bandwagon or perish.
    Bunnyhopping for example. Annoyed me since the first FPS shooters. ^_^

    Yet some people love it cause it gives them the feel of more control over the battle.
    Which is only half true. If the enemy does it too it becomes one hell of a clownshow from an audience perspective.
    Never like the hopping cause it just looks ridicolous.
    This is not how they fought in Pirates of the Caribbean! ;)
    Or in any movie.

    A pity there is no penalty for continous jumping. Like stamina for example.
    But it wont happen probably and we will see the immersion destroying, jumping player creatures until the end of time. ^_^

  • @galactic-geek none of that is character progression, that's just doing quests....

  • Everyone here replying to the headline and not the post.
    My suggestion is toward utility not PvP. Things that don't effect PvP.

  • @moisty-squid no

  • I'm split on this one too.

    On the one hand SoT is supposed to be a level playing ground (except all the cheaters LOL).

    On the other, practically all my friends quit this game because "grinding" just for cosmetics didn't hold their interest.

    So while I enjoy the game as is, I could accept a change that would get more people playing.

    Improving the player base is the best (and only) hope for this game's future.

  • @moisty-squid said in Are we ever going to see Character Progression?:

    Everyone here replying to the headline and not the post.
    My suggestion is toward utility not PvP. Things that don't effect PvP.

    Everything you suggested would directly influence PvP.

    The only progression this game could possibly have is items and abilities that take away just as much as they give you. Like I mentioned, stuff like sails that can be raised/angled more quickly, but have lower overall speed.

  • @moisty-squid

    Short answer: Nope...

    Your character progress happens to be related to the person playing not the pirate in the game. Every pirate is equal and yet not everyone is the same, the definition of a skill based approach.

  • Everything affects PvP!
    Just to say.

    @Odyssee-mit-Tee
    Bunnyhopping is... just like trying to exploit hitreg more and like using animation breaks.
    I dont Care for PotC, i'm coming from Monkey Island, Pirates of the Burning Sea and other pirate videogames, none of them are played like a shooter and we shouldnt have this shooter meta.
    At least it is more balanced for several situations, but DG is still too strong and just to please some shooterplayer streamers with some influence.
    Yea weapons meant to he used situationally, yet people bunnyhop on Sloops insist on having EoR and Blunder to be viable in this close quarter situation ^^
    Bad players, skill means to adapt and use the cutlass!
    Actually it's viable again.
    The DG imho should completely go and the cutlass should be locked.
    Freedom of choice is good as long as the freedom of choice is not a meta that forced everyone to use this.
    Because then there is only the freedom to lose with a weak loadout.
    Great freedom.
    Also i dont argue with balance, 8 argue with pirates and like someone already wrote to me in this forum, my "stupid pirate fantasy" . From a streamer girl showing her dekolleté while playing video game craving for attention. Silly and a little pitiful imho.
    Just too old for this ^^
    If you have no weapons choice there will be no loadout meta, but only one loadout. A piratish cutlass and flintlock one :-)

    EoR is maybe cool to have it should be bound and only usable in the crows nest to sniper another ships Capt'n or canoneers.
    Blunderbuss is an annoying weapon.
    I in general like games with higher ttk. The actual damage weapons do i'd give all pirates 300 or even 500 HP.

  • @bugaboo-bill sagte in Are we ever going to see Character Progression?:

    EoR is maybe cool to have it should be bound and only usable in the crows nest to sniper another ships Capt'n or canoneers.

    I doubt that will happen. I dunno why it seems so hard for Rare to fix the hitreg on the pistol but if the sniperrifle cannot be taken everywhere, no one can safely dismantle gunpowder-skellys from a safe distance.
    Without using a fire- or blunderbomb that is. I know it sounds crazy but the pistol is not hitting the barrel whenever I shoot "too quickly" which is just nonsensical!

    It is like the game needs me to point the gun in a certain direction for at least 0,5 seconds to give it a better chance to hitreg.
    But the wildwest urge to quickshot is always there and ruins everything!
    I wish the no-scope would just also and automatically just go straight.
    Maybe then the game would not "think" so hard about if that was a hit now or not.
    In the end speculation is all I am left with.

    Allthough the sword gives a very piratey feel, many seabattles were also fought only with rifles and guns during that era, probably also by pirates and not just the previliged, crown boots licking military battle ships of that time. ;)

    But as a Darksouls-franchise player the current sword-system bores me to tears.
    Just swinging and trying to glue yourself to your target and hope you bypass the block, which seems to happen sometimes regardless of actual blocking.
    ( Or maybe that guy wanted to hit me but it was not animated because of the lag and my attack just arrived earlier! )
    ( Hitting right after blocking is a sure way to just recieve hits without retaliation. )

    If the double-gunning recieves another nerf by an unavailabe EoR and an unreliable flintflock hitreg, I really wish for more variety with weapons.
    ° Sword + dagger,
    ° two daggers/ two swords (?)
    ° woodenplank slap ( a disorientation of one full second, but the plank breaks )

    And the "holding effect" of the sword is too strong with several swords.
    One idea would be that sword-spam recieves a nerf in groupfights.
    If a hit is registered to also hit a team-mate in any way, the weapon stops as if held back and no damage is done.

    Bullets also do not count when they hit a team-mate.
    They do not fly through him at a target. Yet swords do. Which is ridicolous.
    Effortless attack spam without strategic placing is one of those things also ruining the epic feel of battles in narrow spaces.

    In comparisation while the sword-dash charges up the pirate should be able to turn around normally and not be so wierdly forced to be glued in the innitial direction.

    Those who charge should not be punished to chosing the daring strike.
    And the shotgun is strong enough as it is, even with the apparently even worse hitreg now.
    Four solid hits still lose to getting one-blundered of course.

  • @moisty-squid said in Are we ever going to see Character Progression?:

    Everyone here replying to the headline and not the post.
    My suggestion is toward utility not PvP. Things that don't effect PvP.

    Nearly all of the things you listed will affect PVP. Being able to bail more, repair faster, run faster, carry more supplies, and climb ladders faster than normal are all benefits that will impact PVP.

  • @Odyssee-mit-Tee @Bugaboo-Bill I play PlanetSide 2 as well. The developers have been pretty good about rebalancing the game so that new players aren't as disadvantaged in terms of equipment, but obviously since headshots are rewarded so much more than bodyshots veteran players are going to dominate every matchup.

    Still, recent developer updates show they're very interested in changing up the metagame and improving the new player experience.

  • @moisty-squid said in Are we ever going to see Character Progression?:

    Everyone here replying to the headline and not the post.
    My suggestion is toward utility not PvP. Things that don't effect PvP.

    That is where you are wrong.
    All of the following would greatly affect PvP:
    Fast Repairer = Easier to save your ship in a fight
    Carry more food = Easier to keep yourself alive in a fight.
    Carry more wood = Once again, easier to save your ship while in a fight, less times you have to run to a barrel
    Bigger bucket = Yet another way to save the ship. Bucketing more water at once saves time while in a fight
    Sprinter = You could catch up to people fleeing with chests, you could get to another ship a bit faster, etc...
    See Treasure from far away = Any increase to seeing treasure from far away would make more crews looking for it when sailing by other ships, causing more fights.
    Speedy Ladder Climber = You are able to get on an enemy's ship much faster, and drop anchor to disable their ship for a time.
    Deep breath = Could swim to another ship longer without having to breathe. Whether that is to get on ship to attack, or to keg ship.
    The only one i could see not causing any type of PvP change would be the stable telescope. (And that one is somewhat in game already anyway. Stand on the sail itself , and you have a steady spyglass)

    The whole point of this game is that there is no actual progression. Everyone has an equal shot at sinking/killing each other. Adding ANY kind of boon for hitting a certain level can and will tip the scales in someway in a fight.

  • no we are not this is not a mmorpg

  • @moisty-squid said in Are we ever going to see Character Progression?:

    @galactic-geek none of that is character progression, that's just doing quests....

    How do you progress if there is no quest/voyage/journey/adventure?

  • The only character progression should be cosmetic.

    Now I’d have no problem with locking specific cosmetics based on experience gained into a pool with leveling. You choose the Pirate archetype on a level tab in the menu. This would allow you to see the level required to earn the cosmetic.

    Could have the classic Pirate style. A more bandit thief style. A royal style. All sorts of pirate themes. Once you reach a high level you unlock more specific type themes. Mermaid. Skeleton. Ext.

    Each level adds a new cosmetic. Then once all cosmetics are earned you then get the ability to unlock color customization for the cosmetics.

    This would be about the only level I’d vote for.

  • Uh.... no.

    Experienced players already have a significant advantage. You wanna make it worse? A max level solo slooper with the meta build wrecking fully crewed mid level galleons?

    Bad idea babe...

  • Lets just imagine for a moment, that the stories you create on the seas, Megladons, Forts, Pirate encounters, that one time bob threw a bucket of sick on you. The memories you create with your friends grinding that fort for the 50th time... is your progression.

    No skill tree would even be close to the reward of looking back at that one accomplishment you did with your crew. We all have one. Mine is fort of the damned. 50 times in the first week, I was one of the first people to do it.

    I lost a lot of gold at that fort, made a lot of friends, had long sessions of gaming with no sleep. At the time it was stressful, exhausting but also fun and in that I created a memory in this game i will never forget.

    Its not about the gold my dude... its about the glory. The story we tell. Thats your progression... not some ability to carry more planks.

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