<![CDATA[So about these AI ships]]>

I only got to fight the skeleton ships for about a half hour so far. But in my short time against them some concerns stood out immediately. Some I'm hoping will change after the event when they're a persistent threat in the world, but I doubt it. My biggest concerns are:

  • The ships appear out of the water. Much like the "kraken" and megalodon, they don't truly roam the seas, they just spawn in when certain conditions randomly trigger them. This isn't so bad with sea creatures under water, but the whole appeal of AI ships is that there's some actual sea traffic in the world aside from the occasional encounters with other players. But with the way they spawn in, it defeats that purpose.
  • This one I'm not as certain of with my brief time playing the update, but the ship doesn't seem to actually be controlled by the skeleton crew. I don't remember seeing skellies operating sails, only the cannons and helm. The capstan doesn't function, and it seemed like the ships turning and acceleration etc. all work automatically despite what the crew is doing. This is disappointing for me, though not surprising. I want the AI ships to operate under the same rules players do. I want to board the ship and drop the anchor and kill the helmsman and crew mates operating the sails to disable the ships functionality.

I have other complaints with things like the crew repeatedly spawning and sinking the ship feeling unrewarding when more just suddenly surface, etc. But I'm mainly worried that the first 2 points I made will persist after this event is over. The way the AI ships behave now makes them feel like more another random unrewarding sea creature fight that sponges a bunch of damage and costs a lot of resources rather than what players really want out of AI ships.

]]>https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/topic/69063/so-about-these-ai-shipsRSS for NodeSun, 19 Apr 2026 13:08:55 GMTWed, 01 Aug 2018 06:39:59 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to So about these AI ships on Thu, 02 Aug 2018 01:39:59 GMT]]>

@soulless-rager the Meg does. I've witnessed it with my own eyes. Been in a battle with 2 galleons, 1 brigantine, 1 sloop and the Meg roaming around biting everyone, skeleton ships included. It was pretty epic.

]]>https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/post/845744https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/post/845744Thu, 02 Aug 2018 01:39:59 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to So about these AI ships on Thu, 02 Aug 2018 01:11:16 GMT]]>

One of the concerns I have that I forgot to mention is do creatures like the kraken and megalodon also attack AI ships?

]]>https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/post/845733https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/post/845733Thu, 02 Aug 2018 01:11:16 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to So about these AI ships on Wed, 01 Aug 2018 14:38:08 GMT]]>

@lizalaroo said in So about these AI ships:

@soulless-rager maybe after the event is over the AI ships will be free to roam the seas, or maybe it will be a chance encounter like the Meg and Karen, who knows :)

One can hope, and pray

]]>https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/post/844833https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/post/844833Wed, 01 Aug 2018 14:38:08 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to So about these AI ships on Wed, 01 Aug 2018 07:16:44 GMT]]>

@soulless-rager maybe after the event is over the AI ships will be free to roam the seas, or maybe it will be a chance encounter like the Meg and Karen, who knows :)

]]>https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/post/844338https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/post/844338Wed, 01 Aug 2018 07:16:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to So about these AI ships on Wed, 01 Aug 2018 07:01:04 GMT]]>

@crimsonraziel maybe my experience was different because it seemed that skellies ended up at least waiting a minute from respawning, I say this boarding one alone and fight for quite some time.

]]>https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/post/844326https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/post/844326Wed, 01 Aug 2018 07:01:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to So about these AI ships on Wed, 01 Aug 2018 06:59:02 GMT]]>

@weststormborn said in So about these AI ships:

@soulless-rager killing helmsman causes the ship to have loss of steering for a few minutes because other skellies can’t steer.

Not for a few minutes, they respawn so fast. I didn't have the time to clock it while I was on board, but it felt like the skellies only have to sit 30 seconds on the ferry, just like players.

]]>https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/post/844325https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/post/844325Wed, 01 Aug 2018 06:59:02 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to So about these AI ships on Wed, 01 Aug 2018 06:50:36 GMT]]>

One thing I would like is if there was a way to steal supplies from skelly ships or deplete them so the encounter can be less of a huge grind but still as challenging as ever.

]]>https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/post/844322https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/post/844322Wed, 01 Aug 2018 06:50:36 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to So about these AI ships on Wed, 01 Aug 2018 06:48:04 GMT]]>

@soulless-rager killing helmsman causes the ship to have loss of steering for a few minutes because other skellies can’t steer. Skeletons also have to repair their own ship. I would have no problem if skellies manned sails. The anchor thing is because it is cursed and because it’d be op if the skele ship can be stopped by one player boarding. The underwater thing is because it might represent previously sunken ships ( this is my own excuse for this approach no devs talking). The ships do have loot, but there seems to be a bug where the loot surfaces way later than normal.

]]>https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/post/844319https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/post/844319Wed, 01 Aug 2018 06:48:04 GMT